How to Be Articulate

http://www.wikihow.com/Be-Articulate

articulate (a) 口條好

Three Parts:

Sounding More Intelligent

Being More Well-Spoken

Going the Extra Mile

to go the extra mile: 下多一些功夫

Being articulate gives people the impression of a solid, full education and cultured mind; it will make people more likely to listen to you and to respect your intelligence. Whether you're giving a presentation or trying to tell your best friends a funny story, if you make an effort to think before you speak and to be more clear and concise on a regular basis, then you will be the most articulate person in the room in no time.

concise /kənˈsaɪs/ (a) 簡潔

Part 1 of 3: Sounding More Intelligent

1. Know your subject. Speak on matters where you are able to bring more clarity to others or help add to the discussion. Speaking from a desire to add something or just get your voice heard, will not add to your perceived level of articulateness. Let others speak about things that they are an expert in and add to that discussion through articulate questions. Do your research and know the alternative perspectives but be willing to quit sharing when you move outside your current knowledge.

to add to: 增進

If you don't know your subject well but have to speak on it, then extensive research will help you sound like you know your stuff.

2. Think before you speak. This helps to eliminate the verbal pauses and may prevent you from saying something that does not make sense. It's okay if this slows you down a bit. In fact, pausing before you give a real answer will make you look more thoughtful and intelligent than someone who just blurts out a string of nonsensical phrases as soon as a question is posed.

blurt (v) 脫口說出

If someone asks you a question and you really want to think it through, don't be afraid to say, "Come back to me in a minute. I need to gather my thoughts." You will sound much more prepared after you have time to think.

3. Expand your vocabulary. Using a variety of words that mean the same thing creates more interest and color in your speech. If you do not understand the words you read, consult a dictionary or thesaurus. The easiest way to expand your vocabulary is to read, read, read. Knowing synonyms for words can be helpful, but you should make sure you use them correctly instead of using a word you've only ever seen in a dictionary aloud for the first time.

You can create vocabulary flashcards and quiz yourself. Make a goal of learning ten new words a week.

4. Use real words. Shun slang and contractions. Instead of hi, use hello, instead of yeah, use yes. Never use huh, uh-huh unless in the context of a story or event….if you're giving a formal or even semi-formal presentation, then it's important to use intelligent, full words. Avoid too many contractions (say "I cannot" instead of "I can't") and speak in complete sentences as much as you can, unless you are not doing so for effect.

shun (v) 避免

5. Use correct grammar. Study the proper uses of the following words: I, me, him, his, he, no, not. They are commonly used incorrectly in cases such as double negatives and when listing people. When reiterating a fact you already stated, always say "as I said", never, "like I said". Here are some other tricks to know:

You should say, "He and I were discussing…" instead of "Him and I were discussing…"

You should say, "You can give your report to her or me," instead of "You can give your report to her or I."

You should say, "Such as…" instead of "like…"

6. Exude confidence. If you want to sound articulate and intelligent, then you have to look confident when you deliver your message. Make eye contact with the audience, sound like you really mean what you say, and speak loudly enough for people to hear you. If you seem comfortable with your message and like you believe in your words, instead of second-guessing yourself, then people will be more likely to believe in it too.

exude [ɪgˋzjud] (v) 顯露

second-guess (v) 預測

Make your sentences sound firm and decisive. Don't end your sentences with a question or with turning up your voice slightly, or you'll sound like you're constantly asking for affirmation.

7. Improve your posture. Your posture can go a long way in making you sound more intelligent. Stand up tall and avoid hunching over at all costs, whether you're standing up, walking, or sitting down. Don't cross your arms over your chest; keep them at your sides and use them to gesture.

to go a long way: 持續

at all costs: 無論如何

Elongate your neck slightly. Standing up tall will make your words sound more forceful and will make people believe that you know what you're talking about even more.

elongate /ɪˈlɑːŋɡeɪt/ (v) 伸長

8. Prepare -- a lot. If you want to sound smart, then you can't just spout out your latest ideas to a group of people or your close friends without thinking about how you'll frame them in advance. What you have to do is prepare what you're going to say, whether you're giving a class presentation or talking to your girlfriend about a relationship issue.

spout (v) 喋喋不休

frame (v) 構想

Rehearse what you have to say as much as you need to in order to feel comfortable about saying what you have to say.

It's important to practice and rehearse, but it's also important for what you say to sound natural. Therefore, you should know the material well enough to change things up if it becomes necessary.

Part 2 of 3: Being More Well-Spoken

1. Be more concise. Saying more by saying less can make some people shut down or quit listening. Add content to discussions that is as condensed as possible without being vague. Talking until you get to your point will ensure half of your audience has already tuned out. State your point up front and people will know what you are trying to elaborate about.

to tune out: 沒有在聽

If you have to give a speech and there's a time limit, don't squeeze in the thirty thoughts that come to your head. Pick the three most important ideas, and elaborate on those.

to squeeze in …: 把…硬擠加進去

2. Eliminate verbal pauses. Words such as um, a, like, etc... degrade and detract from what you say. They disturb the flow of a sentence and make it detached. A nonverbal pause is much better. When floundering for words, a nonverbal pause, placed correctly, gives the listener the effect of a dramatic or studied thought. It confirms your control over what is being said.

to detract from: 減損

to flounder for …: 慌亂著找…

studied (a) 經深思的

Speaking more slowly, eliminating distractions, and making eye contact will also help you stick to your message.

3. Speak more slowly. Another way to speak more clearly is to speak more slowly. You may feel that if you rush and say everything you wanted to say, that you'll be able to get it over with and make people see your point more clearly. However, if you take the time to slow down, think about what you have to say, and pronounce your words in a way that won't make you mumble or confuse your audiences, then you will actually be more well-spoken.

to get … over with: 將就做完…

mumble (v) 含糊說話

You don't have to speak…so…slowly…that you feel like you're pausing between every word, but pausing in between sentences to give yourself time to prepare your next sentence will do the trick.

If you speak too quickly, there's also a chance that you will say something that you regret or that makes absolutely no sense, and you'll have to do some backtracking to make your audience understand what you really mean; you can avoid all that by speaking slowly to begin with.

backtrack (v) 回頭再來

4. Use your hands. If you keep your hands in your pockets, you are more likely to stutter, forget what you have to say, or to confuse your audience. That's because using your hands to gesture can help you explain what you mean and can get your whole body into the speaking process. Communication doesn't just come from your mouth, but from your posture, your eye contact, your gesturing, and your body language -- it's part of a whole package. So the next time you speak, take those hands out of your pocket. Even if you don't use them to gesture a ton, you'll feel more comfortable if you gesture a little.

stutter (v) 口吃

Keeping your hands in your pockets will also make you look less confident, which will make your message look weaker.

5. Limit distractions. Another way to be more well-spoken is to be really focused on your message. You may be saying "um" and "uh" or forgetting your train of thought every few sentences because your phone keeps vibrating, because you're running late, or because you're worried about a meeting you have later that day. So, stay in the moment and focus on what you're saying when you're saying it as much as you can.

to run late: 快要遲到

If you are focused only on your message, you'll be able to deliver it more articulately, and your audience will pay more attention, too.

Part 3 of 3: Going the Extra Mile

1. Expand your knowledge base. If you want to make a lifelong effort to be a more articulate person, then you have to live a more intellectual life. Read contemporary and classic fiction to be immersed in the world of literature. Read non-fiction and the paper to be up-to-date. Watch the news to have a better sense of what is going on in the world, and how relevant issues are expressed. Talk to other intelligent people and make a habit of communicating wisely.

relevant (a) 重要的

Sure, reading an extra book a month or reading the paper every day may not immediately make you more articulate the next time you have a conversation, but you will able to see it impact your speaking and cognitive abilities in the long run.

cognitive /ˋkɑgnətɪv/ (a) 認知的

2. Get to know your audience. Another way to be more articulate is to work to have a strong sense of the group of people you are talking to. If you're giving a presentation on a poet to a group of literary scholars, then you can assume that they understand the vocabulary and concepts you are using; but if you're teaching a group of fifth-grade students to write their own poetry, then the words you use, and the level of explanation you give, will have to be very different depending on who you're talking to.

Being a complete genius won't help you at all when talking to a group of nine-year-olds; to be a professional at being articulate, you'll have to adjust your words and speech to your audience whenever it's necessary.

3. Tell a story. If you tell a story, you are more likely to get rid of all that verbal filler or the hesitation, because you will know it like the back of your hand and will be able to move more fluently from one sentence to the next. If you have a story that illustrates your point very well, then you should use it in a speech or when you talk to people, and you will sound more animated and articulate because you'll be speaking from a place that makes you comfortable.

filler (n) 填充物

to know … like the back of one’s hand: 對…瞭如指掌

Practicing telling the story in advance, of course, can help you fine-tune it, even if you think you know it pretty well.

4. Get inspired by famous speeches and speakers. Go on YouTube or another online source and watch some great speakers, such as Martin Luther King or Steve Jobs, and see if you can learn anything from them. You can also read some great speeches, such as "The Gettysburg Address," to see if you can pick up on how to impress and inspire people. You can also just watch some particularly inspiring speakers on the news who are particularly well-spoken and thoughtful and see what you can learn from them.

Gettysburg Address: 蓋茲堡演說

Take notes while you watch or read. You'll see that you can learn a lot about how to be articulate just by watching other people who are well-spoken.

5. Make your content even more interesting. Another way to wow a crowd or a co-worker and to get your message across is to make sure that your message is worth listening to. Though telling an amazing and inspiring story about how you finished a marathon with a sprained ankle may not be perfectly stated, if you make the story interesting enough, people will be able to overlook the times you pause, stutter, or use verbal filler. So, the next time you're nervous about talking to people, don't just focus on how you state the message -- focus on making the message itself as engaging as possible.

To make your content more interesting, you can not only trim down the extra verbiage, but you can also figure out what would be the most captivating thing to tell your audience.

verbiage /ˋvɝbɪɪdʒ/ (a) 多餘詞彙

6. Join a speech club. This will put you in touch with like-minded people and will give you the time and place you need to give speeches, captivate audiences, and learn to be more articulate. If you're feeling shy or afraid to speak in front of audiences, this will give you the push you need to become a more confident, articulate person.

中譯

3部分:

聽起來更睿智

談吐得宜

下功夫

談吐好的人給人印象是學歷高, 以及有涵養的心智; 它讓人更願聽你說話, 並敬重你的睿智. 不管你是做簡報或是告訴朋友一件趣事, 若你在說話前費心思考, 總是言簡意賅, 那麼很快你會是周遭人之中最懂表達的人.

3-1: 聽起來更睿智

1. 要表達的主題上做功課. 對一些事作演說, 同時是你能讓這些事的內容更清楚讓人了解, 或對討論有幫助. 光想著增加內容, 或是只是一昧表達意見, 不會讓你感覺更有條理. 讓其他人發表他們專精的部分, 並透過明確的問題將內容加入討論裡. 做好功課, 並分析其他觀點, 當說到不懂的部分, 要願意停下發表.

如果不熟主題, 但必須對其作演說, 泛讀相關資料能讓你聽起來專業些.

2. 開口前思考. 這能幫助減少口說停頓並預防說出不明究理的話. 如果因此讓你說得慢一點也沒關係. 事實上, 問題當前, 應答前停頓一下, 比喜歡脫口說一串無意義的贅詞的人, 能讓你看起來更深思熟慮, 更有智慧.

如果有人問一個問題, 你真的希望好好思考一下, 不要害怕說, ‘請一分鐘後回來. 我需要整理下想法.’ 有時間思考, 你會聽起來更有準備.

3. 增加你的字彙量. 使用多種字詞表達同一個東西, 能讓演說吸引更多關注, 有更多變化. 若你不懂你讀的字, 查一般字典或同義字字典. 增加字彙量方法最簡單是多看書. 多知道各個字的同義字會有幫助, 不過你要確定用字正確, 而不是拿一個你只在字典見過的字, 事實上卻是初次使用它.

你可以做字彙閃卡, 測驗自己. 定目標每周學習10個新字.

4. 用實實在在的字. 避免俚語與縮寫. 比起用hi, 你應用hello, 比起用yeah, 你應用yes. 決不要用hun, uh-huh, 除非是為呈現故事或事件的內容…假使你要做正式或半正式的演說, 那麼使用睿智, 完整的詞語是很重要的. 避免太多縮略詞 (要說 “I cannot”而非”I can’t”)並儘可能用完整句子,除非為營造效果.

5. 使用正確文法. 學習以下字詞適當的用法: I, me, him, his, he, no, not. 它們是普遍會被錯用的, 像是在雙重否定句, 或是列指人的時候. 當重申已說過的事實, 要說 ‘as I said’, 決不要說, ‘like I said’. 這裡是一些其他技巧.

你應說, “He and I were discussing…” 而非 “Him and I were discussing…”

你應說, “You can give your report to her or me,” 而不是 “You can give your report to her or I.”

你應說, “Such as…” 而不是 “like…”

6. 顯出自信. 若你想聽起來更有條理更精明, 你必須演說時看起來有自信. 與聽眾眼神交流, 會讓你聽起來誠懇, 而且要提高聲量讓人聽見. 若你看來對演說內容感到自在, 你相信你所說的,而不是在猜測, 人們也會更易於相信你說的.

讓句子聽起來堅定果斷. 別用問號或微提的音調做結尾, 否則會好像你一直在尋求肯定.

7. 改善姿勢. 你的姿勢能提供很大幫助, 讓你的談話聽起來更睿智. 切記要挺直不要駝背, 不論是站, 走, 坐. 不要雙臂叉在胸前; 讓它們在身體兩邊, 使用它們做出姿勢.

微伸脖子. 站直能讓你的話聽來更有力, 以及讓人更相信你言之有物.

8. 多多準備. 如果你想聽起來機智, 你不能只是向一群人或親近的朋友喋喋不休說出立即的想法, 而沒有先思考怎麼樣組織說法. 你需要準備你要說的, 不管是課堂演示, 還是跟女友談論感情問題.

依照需要多演練要發表的內容, 以便自在發表演說.

練習與預演是很重要, 不過讓內容聽起來自然也很重要. 因此, 你應熟知內容, 以便需要時應變.

3-2: 更健談

1. 說話簡潔. 簡短的詞語能讓人閉口不言或不想聽下去. 討論中增加內容, 儘可能簡潔但不含糊.講到意思傳達完了的時候, 此時一半的聽眾也已經神遊去了. 先闡述出重點, 大家就知道你要說明的是什麼.

若你必須限定時間內演說, 別一口氣把腦裡30個想法擠在演說裡. 選3個最重要的要點, 詳加說明.

2. 去除口頭停頓. 像um, a, like等等…的字, 會降低並減損你的內容. 它們會中斷句的流暢感而使它分散. 非口語的停頓好得多. 當思索字詞時, 一個非口語停頓, 時機正確, 會給聽者一種效果,像是強烈或精心營造的感覺. 它確保你掌控住說出口的內容.

慢慢說, 別分心, 眼神接觸都可助你專心於你的內容.

3. 說慢點. 另一個說話更清楚的方法是說慢一點. 你可能會覺得假如你急著把所有想說的都說完, 你會更能應付掉這個場合並讓人更明白你的重點. 然而, 若你從容放慢腳步, 思考你要說的,用不會害你含糊, 或是讓聽者困惑的方式說出字字句句, 那麼你反而更能增進口才.

你不需要說得太慢, 慢到好像每字之間都有停頓, 不過句子間停頓以給自己時間準備下一句, 會有效果.

如你說太快, 你還會有可能說出讓你後悔的話, 或是牛頭不對馬嘴, 迫使你倒轉好讓聽眾懂你指的是什麼意思; 你可避免這些窘境, 先從慢慢說話開始.

4. 善用手勢. 若你把手放口袋, 你會更容易口吃, 忘記要說的, 或讓聽眾糊塗. 那是因為做手勢能幫助你解釋你的意思, 讓全身都投入演說過程中. 交流不是只從口, 而是還有從你的姿態, 眼神,手勢, 身體語言 --- 口說只是整體的一部分. 所以下次你說話時, 將手從口袋拿出來. 就算你不習慣做大量手勢, 做少許手勢, 你還是會感到比較自在.

把手擺口袋裡還會讓你看來更缺少自信, 這會降低你的說服力.

5. 限制分心事物. 另一個學習健談的方法是真正專心在你傳達的內容. 你可能會因手機震動, 快遲到了, 擔心當天接下來的會議等等, 而害你直說”嗯”, “啊”, 原本成串的想法被打斷. 因此, 活在當下, 儘可能在演說時專注於所說的.

若你只專注你的內容, 你會能夠演說得更清楚, 你的聽眾也會更專注.

3-3: 下功夫

1. 拓展知識範疇. 如你願意終身努力提升口才, 你必須過睿智的生活. 讀當代或古典小說, 沉浸在文學的世界裡. 讀紀實及研究報告以了解現況發展. 看新聞以多掌握世界局勢, 相關話題如何呈現. 跟其他聰慧的人交談, 培養睿智地交流的習慣.

當然, 每月多讀一本書或日日閱報不見得能立即讓你下次說話時口才提升, 但久而久之你會見到如此做對你在說話與認知能力的影響.

2. 研究你的聽眾. 增進口才另一個方式是要努力了解你的聽眾群. 若你是對一群精通文藝的學者介紹一位詩人, 你可以假定他們明白你使用的詞彙與概念; 但若是教導一群五年級生寫詩, 使用的字詞, 解釋的程度, 會十分不同, 關鍵便在你說話的對象.

當你對一班9歲孩子演講, 當個百分百電腦奇才不會有多大幫助; 要想成為好口才的能手, 必須依需要, 針對對象調整措詞.

3. 說故事. 如果你說故事, 你會更能擺脫贅語或是猶豫, 因為你對故事瞭若指掌, 可以一句接一句流暢地說. 如果你有一個很能描述你的重點的故事, 你應該在演說中或是與人交談時使用它,會聽來更生動更清楚, 因為感覺很自在.

當然預先練習說故事可幫助你調校它, 即使你認為你已經很熟了.

4. 從著名演說與演說家得到啟發. 上YouTube或其他網站觀看一些了不起的演說家, 比如馬丁路德或賈伯斯, 看看否能從而學到些東西. 你還可以讀偉大的演說, 像蓋茲堡演說, 看是否可以學習到如何驚艷或啟發他人. 你還可以只是新聞上看些特別激勵人的講者, 口才好又思慮縝密, 看看可以從中學到什麼.

當觀賞或讀到什麼時, 做筆記. 你會發現光是觀看其他口才好的人, 你就能學習不少增進口才的方式.

5. 增加內容的有趣度. 另一個讓聽眾或同事驚艷, 有效傳達信息的方法, 就是確定你的內容具可讀性. 某個你如何在扭傷腳踝的情況下完成馬拉松這樣精彩勵志的故事, 儘管講述的過程也許不完美, 假如你讓故事內容夠有趣, 人們會忽略你停頓, 口吃, 贅詞的時候. 所以, 下次當你怯於與人交談時, 不要只專注於如何說 --- 專注於要讓內容本身儘可能引人入勝.

想讓你的內容更有趣, 不能只是修正掉多餘措辭, 還要想想說些什麼最能引聽眾著迷.

6. 加入演說團體. 這會讓你跟志同道合的人接觸, 並提供了你練演講, 吸引聽眾, 鍛練口才所需的時間與場合. 若你害羞不敢面對聽眾, 這能給你你所需的推力, 讓你成為更自信, 口才更好的人.