Common public speaking problems

    The use of “I feel”, “I think” and “maybe”

    In the question-and –answer session of the speaking competition, many contestants began their answers with uncertain expressions like “I feel”, “I hear”, “maybe” and “perhaps”. These words show that the person is only speaking from his or her point of view. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Work on keeping your answers brief and to the point. Also work on delivering them with calmness and confidence. Instead of the empty-sounding “I guess”, using facts, together with a clear conclusion based on those facts, is far more likely to be popular with an audience.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

    Don't stick to the same tone. It can be boring. Try to mix it up. For example, when they spoke about their dreams, some sounded romantic. Others used humor. Very few used several different styles tighter. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} , rather than just sticking with the same one.

    Irresponsible answers

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} . you're responsible for your words. Even though you want to answer quickly, you don't want to sound foolish. So you should think twice before you talk. Don't be like the student who, when asked about his opinion on book piracy(盗版), started by saying he supported it.

    Talking around the topic rather than directly answering it

    You should focus on one point and give a clear solution. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} . is it asking you to discuss a certain topic or to present your own point of view?

    Use one or two arguments together and give a strong conclusion. Remember that judges are not judging you on whether they agree, but on your ability to say what you think clearly.

A. Try mixing more than one style.

B. Improving your communication skill.

C. Using only one speaking style

D. It's important to involve your audience.

E. Public speaking is different from personal conversations.

F. The key is to work out what question is being asked

G. To the judges and audience, this lacks the support of facts and seems not to be reliable.

    The summer before my dad died, we moved house. Up until that point, our family had our own space to spread out. Money was tight, so there was no television set, but we owned a turntable on which my dad's records played constantly. Mostly, it played Bob Dylan. Tracks from The Basement Tapes and Desire became an important part of our new life. My brother and I, aged 8 and 10, climbed trees, built hideaways and learned the words of Clothes Line Saga. We would chant over the, lost in our own joy.

    It was January when my dad left us forever because of the cancer. He was 36 going on 37 then, the same age as Dylan. Afterwards, our laughter disappeared, but we kept on playing the records, which became our only ritual of remembrance. The two men became so intertwined in my head, I struggled to tell them apart.

    Dylan was my dad's gift to me. What child wouldn't be fascinated by songs full of pirates and seasick sailors? How did it feel to have No direction home? Farewell, Angelina became my party-piece. I would sing this at church cheese and wines to the assembled audience. A lot of donations were made.

    Growing up, I remained a fan of the music, but I wasn't obsessed with Dylan until one day in early 1995, my brother bought us both tickets to see him play at Brixton Academy. London felt like a long way to go. But finally seeing Dylan step out onto the stage brought a sudden rush of excitement.

    I have seen Dylan a couple of times since. My brother is not around so much these days. But he was up for a visit recently. We passed a happy evening laughing and drinking, while his son, aged nine, performed his party—piece Subterranean Homesick Blues for us. He sang it word-perfect. And so it goes on: Dylan's music as a gift, passed down the generations.

    "You're going to do WHAT?" I asked my best friend, Julie, in alarm.

    "I'm going to try out for the cheerleading squad (啦啦队)," she said, eyes fixed on the ground. We had been best friends since second grade and we did everything together. We had made many plans about what we would do this year, but now she was going off on her own. I was sure that if she joined the cheerleading squad, she would become best friends with someone else and I couldn't stand the thought.

    "Why are you doing this? Do you really want to hang around with those girls instead of me?" I cried, my voice filled with anger.

    "It's not about the girls," Julie said. "It's about the sport. I want to be on the squad at the high school level because they win scholarships (奖学金) at state competitions, and I have a better chance if I'm on the squad here," she explained. "Besides," she added, "it's not like I'm leaving the country or something."

    "Goodbye," I marched off, leaving Julie standing with a sad look on her face.

The rest of that week I was unhappy, and I avoided Julie in the hall. I planned to watch the first game and ignore Julie. Instead, I was amazed by the enthusiasm and skill of Julie's cheering. Although she was the youngest member of the team, Julie enthusiastically led cheer after cheer. I saw how her face lit up with joy. I was stunned (目瞪口呆) as I realized that she loved the sport. Trying out for the team had nothing to do with me—maybe it was just something she wanted to do.

    I approached her shyly, but Julie smiled immediately. "Hey, you were really great." I began, and then added quickly, "I'm so sorry I've been rude to you about your joining the squad."

    Julie smiled and replied, "A group of us are going for ice cream. Why don't you come along?"

    Julie's quick forgiveness made my eyes burn, but I smiled in return. As I walked toward the cheerleaders, I realized there was room in Julie's life for all of us. We could save the competition for the game.

    Palaces are known for their beauty and splendor, but they offer little protection against attacks. It is easy to defend a large building, but usually these buildings are not designed with the comfort of a king in mind. When it comes to structures that are both beautiful and defensive, the European castle is a big success.

    Castles were originally built in England by the Normans in 1066. They built towers and walls to secure the land they had taken. These castles provided the Normans with a quiet and safe place. They also served as bases of operation for attacks. In this way castles served both defensive and offensive roles. Besides, castles served as offices for governors. Those that were socially beneath the governor would come to report affairs and express their respect. They would address problems, handle business, feast, and enjoy festivities in castles. So castles served as social centers as well.

    The first castles were made from earth and wood, and they were likely to suffer from attacks by fire. Then wooden castles were gradually replaced by stone, which greatly increased the strength of these towers and walls. However, attackers could throw flaming objects into castles through the windows or burn the wooden doors. This led to moving the windows and entrances off of the ground floor and up to the first floor to make them more difficult to access.

    During the Middle Ages, attacks increased in regularity, so castle defenses were updated. Arrow-slits were added. They were small holes in the castle, which allowed defenders to fire without being hurt. Towers were built from which defenders could provide fire on both sides. The towers were connected to the castle by wooden bridges, so that if one tower fell, the rest of the castle was still easy to defend. A lot of rings of castle walls were constructed, so that even if attackers went past one wall, they would be caught on a killing ground between inner and outer walls. All of these increased the defense of castles.

    The end of castles can be attributed to gunpowder. During the 15th century, artillery, a kind of large guns, became powerful enough to break through stone walls. This greatly made the role of castles less effective. Though castles no longer serve their original purposes, remaining castles receive millions of visitors each year who wish to experience the situations of ancient times.

    Can you be too beautiful? It is hardly a problem that most of us have to bother — as much as we might like to dream that it were the case.

    Yet the blessings and curses of beauty have been a long-standing interest in psychology. Do those blessed with shiny faces and an attractive body live in a cloud of appreciation — or does it sometimes pay to be ordinary?

    At the most basic level, beauty might be thought to carry a kind of halo (光环) around it; we see that someone has one good quality, and by association, our deep mind may assume that they have other good ones too.

    Even in the courts, a pleasing appearance can work its magic. Attractive criminals are likely to get less strict sentences, or to escape punishment entirely; attractive plaintiffs (原告), meanwhile, are more likely to win their case and get bigger financial settlements. "It's an effect seen everywhere," says Walker.

    But if beauty pays in most circumstances, there are still situations where it can have opposite results. While attractive men may be considered better leaders, for instance, hidden sexist prejudices (偏见) can work against attractive women, making them less likely to be hired for high-level jobs that require power. And as you might expect, good-looking people of both sexes run into envy — one study found that if you are interviewed by someone of the same sex, they may be less likely to employ you if they judge that you are more attractive than they are.

    More worryingly, being beautiful or handsome could harm your medical care. We tend to link good looks to health, meaning that illnesses are often taken less seriously when they affect the good-looking. When treating people for pain, for instance, doctors tend to take less care over the more attractive people.

    Ultimately, scientists point out that focusing too much on your appearance can itself be harmful if it creates stress and anxiety — even for those already blessed with good looks. "If you are crazy about attractiveness, it may affect your experience and interactions," she says. It's an outdated saying, but no amount of beauty can make up for a bad personality. As the writer Dorothy Parker put it so elegantly: "Beauty is only skin deep, but ugly goes clean to the bone."

    They were a happy family: four daughters all in the same school in different grades. The youngest, Janice, who was in my class, seemed to be glued （粘）to her mother's skirts. The three older girls took the bus to school every morning, but Janice was always driven to school by her mother.

    One Friday, Janice's mother asked for a talk with me. She said in a soft voice, "My husband is going to Europe on business for two weeks, and he insists that I go with him. I have tried to explain over and over that Janice needs me here. But he thinks that she will be fine without me so I have no choice; I have to go. I have told the babysitter to drive her every morning. Will you please give Janice special attention and help her? I want to be sure everything goes well for her." I told her that we would make every effort to support Janice. I even volunteered to meet Janice at her car so she would see a familiar face. As a mother myself, I'd like to help. Janice's mother thanked me for our understanding.

    On Monday morning, expecting a tearful, anxious child, I planned a special program of fun and games. I waited outside to greet Janice, but just then the bus arrived and not three, but four girls got off. Janice skipped along joyfully, saying "goodbye" to her sisters as she ran with two friends into the classroom. I walked slowly into the classroom and called Janice over to ask how the bus ride went. Impatiently she said, "Oh, I always want to take the bus with the other kids, but Mother needs to be with me. You see there won't be any more babies, so I have to be a baby a little longer. While she is away, I'll just ride the bus every day. I am five, you know.