Some people think that there's a TED Talk formula:
有些人認為 TED 演講有一套公式:
"Give a talk on a round, red rug."
在圓形的紅地毯上頭演講、
"Share a childhood story."
分享童年往事、
"Divulge a personal secret."
透露私人的秘辛、
"End with an inspiring call to action."
結尾要能激發人有所行動。
No. That's not how to think of a TED Talk. In fact, if you overuse those devices, you're just going to come across as clichéd or emotionally manipulative.
並非如此。 不該這樣來看待 TED 演講, 其實如果過度倚賴這些小把戲, 你只會給人老調重彈 或是操弄情緒的印象。
But there is one thing that all great TED Talks have in common, and I would like to share that thing with you,
但是所有精彩的 TED 演講 確實都有個共通點, 我想要來分享給大家,
because over the past 12 years, I've had a ringside seat, listening to many hundreds of amazing TED speakers, like these. I've helped them prepare their talks for prime time, and learned directly from them their secrets of what makes for a great talk.
因為過去 12 年來我都坐在場邊, 聽過上百場如同這些的精彩演講。 我幫助他們準備壓軸的演講, 並且直接從他們身上學到 造就精彩演講的秘密。
And even though these speakers and their topics all seem completely different, they actually do have one key common ingredient. And it's this: Your number one task as a speaker is to transfer into your listeners' minds an extraordinary gift -- a strange and beautiful object that we call an idea.
雖然這些講者及其議題 看起來南轅北轍, 他們其實都有著 一項重要的相同要素, 也就是這個: 身為演講者的首要任務, 是在聽眾的心裡 獻上一份別出心裁之禮, 一項少見且美妙的東西: 我們稱之為「理念」。
Let me show you what I mean. Here's Haley. She is about to give a TED Talk and frankly, she's terrified.
給大家看看我說的意思。 這是海莉。 她即將帶來一場 TED 演講, 很顯然此時她舉足無措。
(Video) Presenter: Haley Van Dyck!
(影片) 演講人:海莉.凡.戴克!
(Applause)
(掌聲)
Over the course of 18 minutes, 1,200 people, many of whom have never seen each other before, are finding that their brains are starting to sync with Haley's brain and with each other. They're literally beginning to exhibit the same brain-wave patterns. And I don't just mean they're feeling the same emotions. There's something even more startling happening.
在長達 18 分鐘的時間裡, 1200 名諸多原先互不相識的觀眾, 發現到他們的思路開始 與海莉還有彼此的腦袋同步。 他們真的開始呈現出相同的腦波樣貌。 我說的不僅是相同情緒的感受, 還發生了更叫人吃驚的事情。
Let's take a look inside Haley's brain for a moment. There are billions of interconnected neurons in an impossible tangle. But look here, right here -- a few million of them are linked to each other in a way which represents a single idea. And incredibly, this exact pattern is being recreated in real time inside the minds of everyone listening. That's right; in just a few minutes, a pattern involving millions of neurons is being teleported into 1,200 minds, just by people listening to a voice and watching a face.
讓我們稍來一窺海莉的腦袋。 幾十億個錯綜複雜的 神經元交互連結, 但是看這邊... 數百萬個神經元交互 連結而成一個觀念想法, 且神奇地這個樣態正被同步 重現於聽眾的腦海裡。 沒錯!只消幾分鐘的時間, 涉及數百萬個神經元的連結排列 被隔空傳達到 1200 名聽眾的腦海; 單單透過眾人聽著聲音、看著一張臉。
But wait -- what is an idea anyway? Well, you can think of it as a pattern of information that helps you understand and navigate the world. Ideas come in all shapes and sizes, from the complex and analytical to the simple and aesthetic.
但是等等... 到底什麼是「理念」呢? 你可以將其視為一種資訊的樣貌, 能幫助你認識以及遊走這個世界。 理念可以有各種樣子和大小, 打從複雜、需要理性分析的, 至乎簡單、關於感性之美的。
Here are just a few examples shared from the TED stage. Sir Ken Robinson -- creativity is key to our kids' future.
這裡有幾個在 TED 講台上 分享理念的例子: 肯.羅賓森爵士帶來 「創意是孩子們前途的關鍵!」
(Video) Sir Ken Robinson: My contention is that creativity now is as important in education as literacy, and we should treat it with the same status.
(影片)羅賓森爵士:我主張現今教育 創意的重要性不亞於讀寫能力, 我們應當同等重視。
Chris Anderson: Elora Hardy -- building from bamboo is beautiful.
安德森:依蘿拉.哈蒂帶來 「竹材建築是美觀的」。
(Video) Elora Hardy: It is growing all around us, it's strong, it's elegant, it's earthquake-resistant.
(影片)哈蒂:它就生長於我們的周遭, 它很堅韌、優雅,而且抗震。
CA: Chimamanda Adichie -- people are more than a single identity.
安德森:琪瑪曼達.阿蒂奇說 世上所有人不僅有單一個身分。
(Video) Chimamanda Adichie: The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete.
(影片)阿蒂奇:單一故事產生刻板印象, 刻板印象的問題並非它們不正確, 而是它們有失周全。
CA: Your mind is teeming with ideas, and not just randomly. They're carefully linked together. Collectively they form an amazingly complex structure that is your personal worldview. It's your brain's operating system. It's how you navigate the world. And it is built up out of millions of individual ideas.
安德森:你的內心充滿諸多理念, 而且並非只是隨機獨立, 而是細膩地連結在一起, 集結起來組成出奇複雜的結構, 那就是你個人的世界觀, 是你大腦的作業系統, 是你在這個世界找到方向的方式, 它是由上百萬個 不相干的理念所打造出來的。
So, for example, if one little component of your worldview is the idea that kittens are adorable, then when you see this, you'll react like this. But if another component of your worldview is the idea that leopards are dangerous, then when you see this, you'll react a little bit differently. So, it's pretty obvious why the ideas that make up your worldview are crucial. You need them to be as reliable as possible -- a guide, to the scary but wonderful real world out there.
舉例來說,你的世界觀要是有一小部份 覺得貓咪很可愛, 那麼當你看到這個畫面, 你將會做這樣的反應。 但是如果你的世界觀 另一個部份認為 獵豹很危險, 那你看到這畫面的時候, 你的反應就會稍有不同了。 因此很明顯的, 為什麼構成你世界觀的 諸多理念舉足輕重。 它們必須盡量靠得住, 指引我們在外頭嚇人 又美好的現實世界中找方向。
Now, different people's worldviews can be dramatically different. For example, how does your worldview react when you see this image:
每個人的世界觀可能截然不同, 例如: 你的世界觀看到這畫面會作何反應?
(Video) Dalia Mogahed: What do you think when you look at me? "A woman of faith," "an expert," maybe even "a sister"? Or "oppressed," "brainwashed," "a terrorist"?
(影片) 達莉亞.摩珂赫德: 你看著我時會想到什麼? 虔誠的婦女?專家?甚或是修女? 或是受迫害、被洗腦過的人、 恐怖分子?
CA: Whatever your answer, there are millions of people out there who would react very differently. So that's why ideas really matter. If communicated properly, they're capable of changing, forever, how someone thinks about the world, and shaping their actions both now and well into the future. Ideas are the most powerful force shaping human culture.
安德森:不論你回答什麼, 數百萬人的反應可能截然不同。 這就是為什麼理念十分重要。 若溝通宣導得宜, 它們就足以永久改變 某個人看待世界的方式, 並且影響到他們現在以及將來的作為。 理念是形塑人類文化最強大的力量。
So if you accept that your number one task as a speaker is to build an idea inside the minds of your audience, here are four guidelines for how you should go about that task:
如果你相信身為演講者的首要任務 就是在聽眾的腦海裡建構理念, 那我提供大家達成這任務的四大要點:
One, limit your talk to just one major idea. Ideas are complex things; you need to slash back your content so that you can focus on the single idea you're most passionate about, and give yourself a chance to explain that one thing properly. You have to give context, share examples, make it vivid. So pick one idea, and make it the through-line running through your entire talk, so that everything you say links back to it in some way.
第一、限制你的演講 只提一個主要的理念! 理念是很複雜的東西; 你必須回去刪減演講內容, 這樣一來你就可以全神投注 在你最熱衷的單一個理念, 給你自己機會完善地闡釋。 你要言之有物、分享例子、 讓它活靈活現; 所以挑出一個理念來, 做為連貫整場演講的主軸, 這麼一來你提到的每一點 都能夠回溯到該主軸。
Two, give your listeners a reason to care. Before you can start building things inside the minds of your audience, you have to get their permission to welcome you in. And the main tool to achieve that? Curiosity. Stir your audience's curiosity. Use intriguing, provocative questions to identify why something doesn't make sense and needs explaining. If you can reveal a disconnection in someone's worldview, they'll feel the need to bridge that knowledge gap. And once you've sparked that desire, it will be so much easier to start building your idea.
第二、給聽眾一個去關心的理由。 在你開始在聽眾的腦海裡 建立些東西之前, 你必須讓觀眾的腦袋 願意歡迎接納你。 達成此事的主要工具是什麼呢? 好奇心。 激起聽眾的好奇心, 運用扣人心弦、發人省思的問題, 來點明為什麼有些事情 不合理以及需要說明; 如果你可以點出 某人世界觀裡的一處斷點, 他們將會感到 有橋接知識斷層的必要。 一旦你點燃了這種慾望, 要開始建構你的理念 將會更加容易得多。
Three, build your idea, piece by piece, out of concepts that your audience already understands. You use the power of language to weave together concepts that already exist in your listeners' minds -- but not your language, their language. You start where they are. The speakers often forget that many of the terms and concepts they live with are completely unfamiliar to their audiences. Now, metaphors can play a crucial role in showing how the pieces fit together, because they reveal the desired shape of the pattern, based on an idea that the listener already understands.
第三、按部就班建構出你的理念, 在聽眾原本就懂得的概念之上, 運用語言的力量 把早已存於聽眾內心的諸多概念 交織羅列在一塊兒, 但不是用你的語彙, 而是要用他們的語彙, 以觀眾的感受作為出發點, 講者常忘記他們習以為常的 諸多術語或概念 對聽眾而言是完全不熟稔的。 這時候,運用譬喻 在銜接內容上就極為重要了, 以觀眾已理解的概念為基礎來隱喻 能更清楚展現出你想要呈現的樣貌。
For example, when Jennifer Kahn wanted to explain the incredible new biotechnology called CRISPR, she said, "It's as if, for the first time, you had a word processor to edit DNA. CRISPR allows you to cut and paste genetic information really easily." Now, a vivid explanation like that delivers a satisfying aha moment as it snaps into place in our minds. It's important, therefore, to test your talk on trusted friends, and find out which parts they get confused by.
例如當珍妮佛.卡恩 想要說明前所未見的 生物科技 CRISPR 時, 她說:「這就好像第一次 你有了文字處理器來編寫 DNA, CRISPR 讓你可以輕易地 剪下、貼上基因資料。」 這時候像這樣活靈活現的解說 產生令人滿意的茅塞頓開時刻, 讓人一點就懂。 因此找信任的朋友排練內容, 並找出讓他們困惑的部份很重要。
Four, here's the final tip: Make your idea worth sharing. By that I mean, ask yourself the question: "Who does this idea benefit?" And I need you to be honest with the answer. If the idea only serves you or your organization, then, I'm sorry to say, it's probably not worth sharing. The audience will see right through you. But if you believe that the idea has the potential to brighten up someone else's day or change someone else's perspective for the better or inspire someone to do something differently, then you have the core ingredient to a truly great talk, one that can be a gift to them and to all of us.
最後,第四點、 讓你的理念值得分享。 也就是問你自己: 「這個理念造福到什麼人?」 我希望你們誠實以對。 如果該理念只受用於你或你的組織, 那麼我很抱歉,它大概不值得分享, 聽眾很快就會看透你。 但如果你相信這個理念有潛力, 可以點亮他人的一天, 或是改善他人的觀念, 又或者激發他人改變作法, 然後你就有了精采演講的核心要素, 可以帶給觀眾以及所有人一些收穫。