Presentations are a very common form of work in our work. However, some people's speeches are still fresh in their memories, while others are long forgotten. The difference lies in the use of language. Therefore, for a successful presentation, we must pay attention to the linguistic requirements.

●Oral expression should have a good voice

In ancient and modern times, many people who have made great achievements in China and abroad attach great importance to the oral expression art of speech, and train hard to improve their oral expression skills.

In order to overcome the congenital problem of unclear pronunciation of speeches, the ancient Greek democratic politician Demosthenes often practiced hard with stones in his mouth, and finally became a famous orator. U.S. President Abraham Lincoln and Japanese Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka have been said to be good stories about their emphasis on the art of oral expression. The oral expression ability of speeches by great figures such as Sun Yat-sen, Mao **, and Zhou Enlai has also reached the state of perfection.

In real social life, we often see such a situation, when some people speak, the speech script is not very ideal or there is no speech script at all, just because they have mastered the oral expression skills, have well-trained oral expression skills, and speak with excellent voice, which makes people applaud. But some people are not, the manuscript is not badly written, but when he speaks, it is either humming haha, or repeating long-winded, which is annoying, and the main reason is that they do not attach importance to the art of oral expression and do not have good oral expression skills. It can be seen that the level of oral expression ability directly affects the success or failure of the speech.

1. The sound is correct and clear

In order to effectively express the thoughts and emotions of the speaker, it is first necessary to pronounce the words correctly and clearly. If the pronunciation is not right, the listener will not know what it is saying.

In order to achieve the correct and clear standard, efforts need to be made from two aspects: first, the correct use of the articulatory organs. The articulatory organs are an organic whole, and these organs can only form correct and clear speech when they coordinate and cooperate in the process of pronunciation. The second is to pay attention to the size of the venue space and the use of loudspeakers. Speakers must control their voices depending on the size of the venue space so that everyone in the audience can hear clearly. When using a loudspeaker, you should also be careful to keep a moderate distance.

2. The sound is powerful and durable

In addition to meeting the above requirements, the voice of the speech needs to be powerful and durable. To do this, the speaker must overcome the habit of muttering and make the speech feel strong and uplifting. If the sound is not dynamic, it will not be able to infect the listener.

In addition, the voice needs to be long-lasting when speaking. Some speakers started to speak in a okay voice, which was more powerful, but slowly, the more they spoke, the more boring they became. This kind of sound with no beginning and no end will greatly weaken the effect of the whole speech, and the audience will doubt the speaker's self-confidence, and then doubt the content of the speech. Whether the voice of the speech is beautiful or not directly affects the effect of the speech. The use of the voice in speech has its own internal rules, and it can be improved with training.

●Oral expression should be solemn

The solemnity of the speech is embodied in the oral expression, which is the standardized and appropriate choice of words, the appropriate use of stress, pause, speed and rhythm, the pertinent and powerful language, and the harmonious and natural intonation.

The choice of words is standardized and appropriate, which mainly refers to the accuracy and appropriateness of the words, and the grammatical and logical use of words. The choice of words and phrases of the speaker should not only be considered from the linguistic factors such as the meaning, emotional color, and grammatical characteristics of the words, but also from the factors such as national policies, the identity of the speaker, and the occasion of the speech, so as to make the language of the speech standardized and rigorous. On the contrary, if you use some colloquialisms in life and talk nonsense, you will lose the solemnity of oral expression.

Stress, rhythm, intonation, etc., are also important factors that reflect the seriousness of the speaker's oral expression. In speeches, the following oral expressions often appear that are not solemn:

The first is that the oral expression of the speech is unstressed, there are arbitrary pauses, and the speed of speech is very fast, like a "cannon"; The pace is too tight, and the whole speech seems panicked. The main reason for this is the inability to properly control the stress, pauses, speed and rhythm of spoken expressions.

The second is the frivolous language of oral expression, the indiscriminate use of modal words, and too many colloquial words, either "hum, ha", or "ma, ah". Someone once made statistics on this kind of problem of a certain speaker, and even said more than 150 "ah" words in a 10-minute speech, an average of one every 4 seconds, which destroyed the general norms of language, dismembered the meaning of the sentence, and inevitably made the speech lose the solemnity of oral expression.

The third is the inability to use intonation correctly, the intonation does not fluctuate, it is plain and silent, and even pretends to be a posture, plays with flowers, and has a strange voice.

The above three undesirable phenomena will inevitably affect the solemnity of the speaker's speech.

●Make good use of humorous expressions

Humorous and witty language can enhance the expressiveness of the speech, not only deepen the theme, but also make the atmosphere of the speech relaxed and harmonious; It can not only adjust the rhythm of the speech, but also relieve the fatigue of the audience.

Former US President Ronald Reagan was good at using humorous language to win praise from the audience and even his opponents when he gave a speech.

During his presidential campaign, Reagan debated age in a televised debate with Mondale. Reagan knew that his 70-year-old age was a major obstacle in the campaign, and when a reporter asked President Reagan both scathing and politely if he was too old to be president, Reagan smiled confidently and replied, "I want you to know that I don't want to use age as a capital in this campaign, and I don't intend to take advantage of my opponent's youth and inexperience for political purposes." This intimidatingly short punchline made the young opponent realize that his four-year campaign effort had been wasted on the television screen, and he smiled helplessly, as if his youth had become another obstacle to his presidential campaign. Reagan won over voters with this humorous and witty conversation, clearing the way for his campaign.

● Colloquialism

The so-called colloquialism is to require the speaker's speech to be "catchy" and "ear-to-ear". "Catchy" and "in-ear" are the basic requirements for speech language. "Catchy" is a requirement for "speaking", that is, speaking is no different from ordinary speaking; "Listening" is the effect of "listening", so that people can sound without language barriers, as smoothly as they usually speak. Therefore, the speaker's speech must stand the test of speaking and listening.

The colloquialism mentioned here is not the reproduction of everyday spoken language, but the standardized and logical oral language that has been processed and refined. For example, some speakers' impromptu speeches often have problems such as repetition, verbosity, confusion, ambiguity, and improper use of words, words that do not reach the meaning, improper collocation of words, and syllables that are protracted, falling off, pauses, and customary spoken language, which do not conform to the rules of colloquialism. In order to make the lecture colloquial, it is necessary to pay attention to the following points.

1. Use short sentences whenever possible

The sentences are too long, laborious to speak, difficult to grasp, and sound urgent and incomprehensible. For example: "We cannot but proceed from reality and formulate policies that take into account, especially the economic backwardness of the region." If it is changed to: "We must proceed from reality, especially taking into account the economic backwardness of this place, and formulate policies." This change makes it sound "catchy" and "ear-to-ear".

2. Change the inverted sentence to the formal sentence

An inverted sentence is a positive rhetorical method that has the effect of emphasizing a certain component. However, some inverted sentences appear very awkward in the speech, and they are not "ear-catching" enough, and after they are changed to formal sentences, they are easy for the audience to grasp. For example: "A person who is intimidated by difficulties before the start of work is a person who lacks courage." It would be much better if the sentence was changed to "People who don't have courage are intimidated by difficulties before the work even begins."

3. Change or delete incomprehensible words or idioms

The speaker uses the voice to communicate feelings, while the glyphs of the text do not act as a medium. If the speech is mixed with some words or idioms that are inconvenient to listen to or unfamiliar to the audience, the audience will sound struggling, which will affect the effect. In this way, it is necessary to use it carefully, for example, "appropriately" can be replaced by "suitable", "i.e." can be replaced by "is", "how similar is nair" can be changed to "how similar it is", etc.

4. Change monophonic words to diphthongs

Because monosyllabic words are short, they are not easy to hear; The sound of two-tone words has existed for a long time and left a deep impression on the listener. Therefore, the words in the speech should be changed to two-tone words as much as possible. Such as: had - was, has - has been, just - just (just like), because - because, if - if (if), should - should, time - time (time, moment, season).

5. Change obscure words to commonly used words

The so-called obscure words mainly refer to words that are not commonly used and have obscure meanings. Deliberately change them into common, ready-made words in your speech. For example: Mercedes - running, cursing - swearing, refuting - refutation, noisy - noisy, permanent - permanent, etc.

6. Don't use coined, weird-looking words

Coined words refer to words that are made up by individuals, which are not in line with reality and do not conform to the laws of the Chinese language. Such as thoughts, postures, grandeur, gait, etc. Ye Shengtao said: "These strange-looking words are the first things created in the language, and they are the inappropriate ingredients in the meaning...... Coined words are like privately printed banknotes that are forced to be circulated in the market. Counterfeit banknotes do not serve as exchange. ”

7. Explain difficult terms in clear language

When we give speeches, we often use some technical terms and more abstract scientific concepts. How to explain them is the problem of the popularization of language. First, we should pay attention to explaining abstract concepts with easy-to-understand images; the second is to use examples to illustrate things that are unfamiliar to the audience; The third is to explain a certain phenomenon by contrast.

●Concise and crisp

Language is a tool for conveying information and communicating ideas, and the skills and expressions of the speaker are mainly reflected in the use of language. In today's information age, the pace of people's life and work has greatly accelerated, and it is even more necessary to use concise, accurate and clear speech. It is especially important for the speaker to use language concisely and clearly.

In history, many master speakers cherished their words like gold, and their words were concise and to the point, leaving many beautiful chapters.

On November 19, 1863, President Lincoln delivered a famous speech at the inauguration of the Gettysburg National Memorial Cemetery. The main speaker that day was the prestigious orator Edward Everey. His speech lasted two hours. Lincoln's speech lasted only 10 sentences, which took two minutes, but the effect was excellent. Lincoln's speech reads as follows:

"Eighty-seven years ago, our forefathers founded a new nation on this continent, born in freedom and based on the principle that all men are created equal.

"We are engaged in a great civil war to test the longevity of this country, or of any country born of liberty and the principles mentioned above. We are assembled on one of the great battlefields of this war. The martyrs gave their lives to keep this country alive. We are here to dedicate a part of this battlefield to them as their final resting place. It is entirely appropriate and appropriate for us to do so.

"But, in a broader sense, this land we cannot consecrate, we cannot sanctify, we cannot deify. The warriors who fought here, both alive and dead, have sanctified the land, far from being able to add or subtract from our meager strength. What we say here today will not be noticed by the world, nor will it be remembered for long, but what the warriors did here will never be forgotten by the world. But those of us who are still alive should dedicate ourselves here to the unfinished cause that the warriors have so nobly advanced. Rather, we should dedicate ourselves here to the great task that remains before us—to draw more devotion from these glorious dead to accomplish the cause to which they have given their complete and complete devotion; We must make the greatest determination here not to let these dead die in vain; We want to regenerate the nation freely under God's blessing, and we want to make this government of the people, by the people, and for the people endure forever. ”

Today, Edward Averey's two-hour speech has long been forgotten, and Lincoln's sonorous and powerful speech is hard to forget and has become one of the world's immortal documents.

One of the keys to Lincoln's success was that his language was concise and clear, which suddenly grasped the center of the speech and expressed a profound connotation in concise language.

The success of Lincoln's speech gave us the following inspirations:

First, if you want to achieve concise and bright language, you must repeatedly scrutinize the speech and temper it.

The second is to skillfully use the logical power of the art of speech.

Speech is not a performance, and the logical power of a speech far exceeds the artistic effect of a performative speech. In Lincoln's speech, the central idea of the speech runs throughout, and it has a strong logical force.

Third, the content should be concentrated, the rhetoric should be simple and concise, and there should be no superfluous decorative elements.

As the speaker Edward Everey wrote to Lincoln after the Gettysburg dedication: "It took me two hours to touch on a subject that you have ...... in a few words."

The simplicity of the language has infinite charm. When speaking, speakers should pursue conciseness, brightness, pertinence and accuracy of language as one of the important means of effective speech.

● Emotional sincerity

When giving a speech, we should not only consider the form, content and inner philosophy of the speech on the effect of the speech, but also take into account that the object of the speech is people, so the speech should be emotionally moving. The audience is most taboo for the speaker to be domineering and disciplined in his speech, and he does not like to listen to empty and dry truths. What the audience likes is the speaker's own authenticity.

So, where does the speaker's genuine sentiment come from? It doesn't come out of nowhere, it's not a gesture, it's just a show, it can only come from real life, from personal feelings. As a speaker, in order to impress the audience, he must first impress himself. Only through feelings can we discover each other, discover ourselves, find common things from them, and produce a psychological "resonance effect".

On May 14, 1917, a lecture was underway. On the podium, a man with a short stature was making an impassioned speech, sometimes walking back and forth on the podium, sometimes waving his arms vigorously, sometimes leaning over, sometimes leaning back, his passionate tone and appropriate movements, giving people endless contagion.

He was Lenin, the great thinker, revolutionary, statesman, and famous orator. Lenin's speech is unique, not only because the content of the speech is rigorously structured, the arguments are clear and powerful, and he is good at grasping the key points, but also the language is easy to understand, vivid and to the point. And the most important thing is not that, it is his full passion and inner strength. Confidence in the victory of the proletarian revolution, contempt for the enemy, love for the people were the source of his passion and strength. Therefore, in his speeches, he is always so enthusiastic and energetic. At the same time, he is also good at instilling his passion into the hearts of every listener with his words and deeds.

Lenin's passion, without the slightest element of artificiality. His speech did not use beautiful rhetoric to sensationalize the public, nor did he win sympathy with his disease-free **, but inspired and inspired the masses with his strong belief and persistent pursuit and correct understanding of right and wrong, and called on them to rise up and fight.

MacArthur of the United States was not only a commanding military commander, but also a passionate orator. Some of his famous and wonderful speeches were full of passion, which brought tears to the eyes of the audience and endless aftertaste. For example, in 1951, on the occasion of his 52-year military career, he was invited to deliver a famous speech entitled "Veterans Don't Die" at a joint session of Congress: "I am about to end my 52-year career as a horseman...... All my childhood hopes and dreams came true...... But I still remember two lines from one of the most popular ballads in the barracks at that time...... "His soulful speech won the thunderous applause of the senators and representatives for a long time, and many members of Congress and listeners and viewers who listened and watched in front of the radio and television were in tears."

In 1962, at the age of 82, MacArthur returned to West Point, where he had studied and worked, and gave his most moving and final public speech to the cadets. He concluded by saying, "My life is nearing twilight...... My former glory and honor are gone...... I listened as hard as I could, but in vain, longing to hear the subtle and enchanting melody of the bugle as it played the wake-up trumpet...... Echoing in my ears, echoing repeatedly, responsibility, honor, and national ......" MacArthur's passionate speech made the students present so moved that they could not control themselves for a long time. They think about the meaning and weight of the words "responsibility, honor, and country".

It is difficult for a speaker to convince the audience if he speaks flashily and only seeks to be beautiful; If the feelings are not genuine, it will be difficult to make the audience fall in love and resonate with them. Li Yanjie said it well: "In speeches and all artistic activities, only true feelings can make people angry; Only true feelings can make people pity; Only true feelings can make people laugh; Only true feelings can convince people. ”

●Confidentiality of the content of the lecture in advance

On September 23, 1952, Nixon responded on television to false accusations made against him by saying that he had used his political funds for office expenses for his personal welfare. At this time, calls for Nixon to be removed from the list of candidates were rising in waves.

At the time, the news media pursued Nixon's aides, demanding answers to Nixon's "whether to remain a candidate or to withdraw from the race." Nixon asked his aides to answer that he had not yet made a decision and that he would make a decision as he spoke. So, people have a strong curiosity to see what is going on. The audience was the largest since watching the political speech on television. The number of telegrams, letters, and telephone calls was unprecedented.

Prior to his speech, most newspapers across the country, including major Republican newspapers, had announced that Nixon was being withdrawn from the list of candidates. After the speech, the world of public opinion made a 180-degree turn, and there was a favorable reaction in favor of Nixon, and the unfavorable situation was reversed at once.

If the content of the speech had been revealed earlier, the audience would have been reduced, the impact would not have been as great, and Nixon might have been pulled off the list of candidates.

In 1969, the United States launched an anti-Vietnam War frenzy, and thousands of anti-Vietnam War demonstrators poured into Washington. Opposing opinions from the Cabinet, Nixon's aides, and members of Congress poured into Nixon.

Nixon was faced with two choices: withdraw or continue to fight? Nixon was preparing to make a televised speech on November 3 of that year. The White House press office was crowded with reporters who insisted on the speech. But Nixon ordered not only not to send a text of the speech in advance, but also not to disclose anything about the content of the speech.

After careful consideration, Nixon stood in front of the camera. This time, more people tuned in to watch his speech than any one presidential speech. Countless pairs of eyes were on him, and countless people listened to his voice: "I have chosen a plan to achieve peace. I believe it will succeed ......"

As a result, Nixon had a promising record — his approval rating rose by 11 percentage points, the most since the Gallup polls began, with a single presidential speech.

This shows the power of secrecy about the content of speeches. However, it is important to note that the confidential content must be valuable, otherwise the opposite situation will be true.

●Pause or silence – the use of silent language

Silent language is a brief pause or silence in speech and is a type of silent language. There are pauses in language expression, and punctuation plays a role in writing activities in the form of written language. In speech and conversation, pauses can soothe the tone and increase the rhythm of the language. There are two types of pauses, one is natural pause, that is, the pause made when speaking because of ventilation; The second is to deliberately pause in places that could not have been stopped in order to pursue special expressive effects, which belongs to the scope of language arts, and sometimes it is even possible to make an appropriate amount of silence in speech to give full play to the special charm of language arts.

In our work, such as presiding over meetings, making reports, and giving speeches, we often encounter this situation: the venue is chaotic, the audience is talking to each other, holding a small meeting, absent-minded, looking left and right, what should we do? Of course, you can turn up the volume and raise your voice an octave to get the listener's attention; Some people will knock on the table, lose their temper, and reprimand the audience by shouting reprimands to calm the noise, but this is inevitably negative, and it is easy to breed the audience's resistance, even if the venue is temporarily quiet, it will also increase people's disgust psychologically. Besides, the contrast between a smaller sound and a louder voice is not great, and it is not very noticeable. It is better to use a temporary pause or silence.

It is said that the secret of the success of the famous orator of the Taisho era in Japan, Ryutaro Nagai, is here. When he noticed that there was commotion, uneasiness or confusion in the audience, he did not tear his voice open, but lowered his voice, or even fell silent completely, only the shape of his mouth was still moving, as if muttering to himself, and his expression was particularly mysterious and solemn. The audience listened and listened, and suddenly there was no sound on the stage, and they immediately became alert, thinking that there must be something special, and in an instant, silence created silence. This is the best way to go, as the 19th-century British writer and thinker Carlyle said: "Silence and language work together to create a double mood." ”

In language communication, the meaning expressed by silent words is rich and colorful, ranging from glad approval to silent protest; It can be both a majestic deterrent and an expression of weakness; It can be a refreshing acquiescence or a wordless rejection. Therefore, silent speech has the effect of "silence is better than sound at this time". "There was not a sound, no applause, only a deafening silence." This is the best communication effect of the silent language.

In a certain context, silent language can quickly remove all kinds of obstacles in speech transmission. It's like the conductor of the orchestra raises his baton, the noisy venue immediately goes silent, and the orchestra and players immediately enter the playing state, so that the whole scene will be "controlled in silence".

During one of the debates, Lincoln's silent words had a striking effect, turning him from defeat to victory. In his final speech, he paused abruptly and stood silently for several minutes, staring at the faces of the crowd in front of him, who were half friends and half bystanders...... Then he said: "Friends, whether Judge Douglas or I myself was elected to the U.S. Senate, it doesn't matter, it doesn't matter at all; But it is this great issue that we are asking you today that is more important, far more important than any personal interest or anyone's political future. Friends," he paused again, and the audience held their breath lest a word slip out, "the problem will continue to exist, breathe, and burn even as Judge Douglas and my own poor, fragile, useless tongue rests in the grave." ”

In this passage, Lincoln twice uses silent language to tug at the heartstrings of the audience, adding a touching atmosphere to the language of his speech, thereby enhancing the power of the entire speech to unexpected effect.

One of the pinnacles of US President Ronald Reagan's political career was his speech at the 1980 Republican National Convention accepting the presidential nomination. The speech culminated in a pause at the end of the speech, when Reagan was about to finish his prepared speech. He looked around at the audience, then turned his gaze to the TV camera lens and said loudly, "I remembered something that wasn't part of my speech, I don't know whether to say it or not." At this point, he paused again, then spoke of America as a refuge for those who "yearn to breathe the air of freedom." Then he added: "I confess that I am a little afraid to make my proposal, but I am even more afraid not to make it. His suggestion was to ask all those present to join him in praying silently for a few minutes for the "battle" he was about to take. There was no sound in the room, only a deep silence. In one fell swoop, this speech strengthened the Republican party base of Reagan's presidential campaign and added weight to his ascension to the US presidential throne.

Reagan's first pause was to change the subject, from written speech to improvisation; The second pause is to stop talking, "still holding the pipa and half-covering his face", one is to reflect his sincerity and courage, and the other is to stimulate the audience's desire for knowledge; The third silence is to reverently guide the audience to "fight" the election together. Silences lasting several minutes are generally rare in speeches.

The key to the use of silence is to determine the length of time according to the situation, when it is done, when it stops. If the time of the silent speech is not properly mastered, as long as it is slightly longer, the audience may wake up from this slightly longer moment, and make psychological preparations before the climax suddenly comes, then the speech will be dull and tasteless, and will not have the unique effect of silent speech. It is important to note that silent language should not be misused in a pretended manner regardless of the occasion and situation, otherwise the result will only be counterproductive, and it will only give people a sense of pretentiousness or elusiveness of the city.