“当我们陈述演讲时，大概拥有60秒的时间来抓住听众的注意力，建立信任感，引向话题并引发他们继续听下去的欲望。”美国Well Said公司主席兼《说得好!如何演讲和对话才能起到效果》的合著作者达琳?普莱斯(Darlene Price)这样说道。

　　If you waste those precious opening seconds with a joke, an agenda, an apology, housekeeping details, a string of thank-yous, or a rambling pointless paragraph littered with “ums” and “uhs,” your audience’s minds are likely to drift, and you may not get them back. “You, your message, and your audience deserve much more,” Price says. “You need to put the art in the start, the most important part of the work.”

　　如果你将这宝贵的开场白时间浪费在讲笑话，日程安排，致歉，客房详情，一连串的感谢以及一段充满了“嗯、呃”等语气词的毫无意义的段落时，听众的思绪就可能会容易转移，你也无法将他们的注意力再次集中回演讲之中。普莱斯对此表示：你，你所传达的信息，以及你的听众理应获取得更多，因此在开场中赋予艺术手法便是工作中的重中之重。

　　That’s a tall order for any speaker — and it requires us to develop and rehearse a well-crafted attention-getting opener. Price offers seven options.

　　这对于任何演讲者而言都是一个很高的要求——这同时也需要我们认真设计并精心排练开场独白，以此来吸引听众的注意力。对此，普莱斯提出了7条建议。

　　1. Tell a captivating story. 讲述一个吸引人的故事

　　"Of all the starters in your tool kit, storytelling is among the most powerful and consistently successful,” Price says. “As humans, we’re hard-wired to enjoy and learn from stories. ”

　　普莱斯说道：“在所有开场演讲方式的手段中，讲故事当属最强大也是最具有持续成功力的手法。”“作为人类，我们天生便会欣赏故事并从中受益匪浅。”

　　The story can be about you personally, which tells the audience first-hand why you’re invested in and passionate about the topic. Or you can tell a story about another person who the audience can learn from. “Another option: tell a fable, wisdom tale, historic event, or anecdote,” Price says. “The idea is, start with a brief 60- to 90-second narrative that launches your speech and captivates your listeners, and make sure the story encapsulates the key point of your message.”

　　开场故事可以涉及个人，这样便能先入为主告诉听众为何你如此关注这一主题，你也可以讲述一段事关他人的故事让听众从中学到一些知识。普莱斯说道：“另一个选择便是讲一段寓言，智慧故事，历史事件或轶事，这样做的目的在于通过简短的60-90秒叙事开启你的演讲并吸引在场观众，并确保故事中包含了你想要传达的关键信息。”

　　She suggests you consider these questions as you craft your version of “Once upon a time”: What challenges have you (or another) faced in relation to your topic? How did you (or another) overcome them? Who or what helped you or harmed you? What lessons were learned? What do you want your audience to gain, feel, or do as a result of the story?

　　普莱斯建议通过“很久很久以前”的故事版本构建演讲框架，具体涉及：你曾遇到过与主题相关的怎样的挑战?你是怎样克服困难的?谁曾经帮助了你抑或伤害了你?从中吸取了怎样的教训?你希望你的听众们能收获，感受或者并根据故事结局做出怎样的反应?

　　2. Ask a rhetorical thought-provoking question. 提出一个发人深省的反问句

　　“As a speaker, you ask rhetorical questions for persuasive effect; you don’t expect the audience to answer aloud, rather silently to themselves,” Price explains. When crafted and delivered well, rhetorical questions influence an audience to believe in the position of the speaker. “Clearly, Shakespeare’s character Shylock is leading his listeners to think ‘yes’ four times in order to justify revenge against Antonio. What do you want your audience to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to?”

　　普莱斯解释道“作为一个演讲者，提出反问句便是要收获一种说服效果，你并不能指望听众们会大声做出回答，多数情况下，他们只是安静地在心中做出回应。”一旦构建并提出一个出色的反问句时，这便能说服听众信任演讲者陈述的观点。“显然，莎士比亚(Shakespeare)作品中的夏洛克(Shylock)为了证明报复安东尼奥有理便引导读者四次思考“是”的问题。你希望你的读者表态是或否吗?”

　　In addition to yes or no questions, you can also arouse curiosity and motivate your audience to think about the answer, she says.

　　她表示，除了是与否的问题，你还可以借反问引起听众的好奇心并刺激观众去思考问题的答案。

　　3. State a shocking statistic or headline. 陈述匪夷所思的数据或标题

　　“The statistic, bold claim, or headline needs to be directly related to the main purpose of your presentation,” Price explains. “Its impact ideally persuades the audience to listen and respond positively to your recommendation and next steps.”

　　普莱斯表示：“数据，大胆的断言以及标题往往要直接与你所要陈述的主要内容相关联。”“这将影响到说服你的听众继续听下去的心理，积极回应演讲中的提议并涉及到下一步行动。”

　　4. Use a powerful quote. 引用强大有力的引言

　　“Employ the wise words of a well-known person because the name allows you to tap into his or her credibility, likeability, and notoriety,” she says. The quote must have meaning and relevance to the audience.

　　普莱斯说道：“由于名人本身能够赐予你名称所代表的可信度，受欢迎度以及名声，使用名言名句也将起到良好的效果。”引言必须有特定的涵义并为观众所熟知。

　　Imagine you’re urging a group to reach consensus, or giving a talk on conflict management. You could open with: “Mark Twain once said, ‘If two people agree on everything, one of them is unnecessary.’ Even though some of us disagree on the xyz issue, each of us is necessary in the reaching a resolution.”

　　试想你正在要求一组人群达成共识，或是针对一个争议性话题展开讨论。你可以以这样的方式开场：“马克?吐温(Mark Twain)曾经说过——如果两个人总是意见相投，那么其中一人肯定是多余的。即便我们团队中有人并不同意某事，但是任何人都将在达成决议中起到必要作用。”

　　5. Show a gripping photo. 展示一张吸引人的照片

　　A picture is worth a thousand words — “maybe even more,” Price says.

　　一张图片胜过千言万语——“或者更多”，普莱斯说道。

　　“Use photos instead of text, when possible,” she suggests. A quality photo adds aesthetic appeal, increases comprehension, engages the audience’s imagination, and makes the message more memorable.

　　对此，她提出了自己的建议：“在可能的情况下尽量使用图片而非文字，”一个高质量的图片能增加演讲的美感，促进理解，引发听众的想象力并让信息更具有可记忆性。

　　Price offers the following example of an effective use of an image:

　　对此，普莱斯运用以下案例来论证有效使用图片所产生的效果：

　　The president of an electronics equipment company needed his managers to cut costs. Rather than showing mundane charts, graphs, and spreadsheets, he opened the meeting by asking, “What sank the Titanic?” When everyone in unison replied, “an iceberg,” he displayed a beautiful high-definition image of an iceberg on the screen: the tip of the iceberg was clearly visible above the water; the much larger portion was dimly visible below the surface ofthe water.

　　一家电子设备公司的总裁要求部门各位经理削减成本。运用疑问“是什么导致泰坦尼克的沉没?”而非展示图表，图形和表格来展开演讲，当大家在齐声回答“冰山”时，总裁在大屏幕上展示出了一张冰山的高清图像：水面之上的冰山清晰可见，更多部分则是水面之下依稀可见的巨大冰块。

　　“The same thing is about to happen to our company,” he continued. “Hidden costs — the dangers beneath the surface — are about to sink this company. I need your help.” This visual metaphor spawned a creative, productive brainstorming session that inspired every business unit manager to diligently hunt for what they labeled the “icebergs,” says Price. The result was saving millions and ultimately the company.

　　她继续说道：“我们公司也将遭遇同样的命运，隐藏在表面之下的危险——隐性成本将摧毁整个公司。我需要你们的援助。”普莱斯说：这种视觉性的隐喻催生出了创新且富有成效的头脑风暴效果，从而刺激各个部门经理努力发掘总裁所说的“冰山”，结果便是节省上百万的资金并最终保住了公司。

　　6. Use a prop or creative visual aid. 使用道具或创意视觉辅助工具

　　“A prop is a magnetic tool that hooks your audience and keeps them watching — or listening,” Price says. A visual aid can also help emphasize a point.

　　普莱斯说道：“道具是一种有吸引力的工具从而能够紧紧“勾住”观众并让他们保持听讲的状态。”视觉辅助工具能够帮助强调演讲重点。

　　“Think about how you could use items like a big wall clock, a colorful gift bag, juggling balls, a deck of cards, a bunch of carrots, or another prop, to introduce your topic, captivate the audience, inject humor, and drive home your message.”

　　“想想你怎样才能利用像大挂钟的工具，丰富多彩的礼物袋，杂耍球，纸牌，一堆胡萝卜以及其他道具来介绍你的主题，吸引观众，注入幽默色彩并引出你所传达的信息。”

　　7. Play a short video. 播放短视频

　　Imagine kicking off a product management meeting with a video of compelling customer testimonials, or opening a fund raising event for endangered species by showing an Amur Leopard playing with her cubs in the wild.

　　试想用一段引人注目的客户推荐视频来召开一场产品经营会议，抑或是通过展示美洲豹在野外同幼崽玩耍的视频来开启濒危物种的基因筹款活动。

　　“Videos evoke emotional responses,” Price explains. “Unlike text and bullet points on a slide, you can employ people, pictures, and sound to reel in the audience, add drama, and communicate the gist of your message quickly.“As Walt Disney said,“I would rather entertain and hope that people learned something than educate people and hope they were entertained."

　　普莱斯表示：“视频能够唤起情绪反应。与文本和幻灯片上的信息点不同，你可以运用人像，图片，声音来吸引观众，增加戏剧效果并迅速传达信息要点。”正如沃尔特?迪斯尼(Walt Disney)曾经说过，“我宁愿娱乐大众，并希望人们从中学到一些东西而不是教育人民并指望他们能被我娱乐。”