世界演讲冠军Craig Valentine的Speaking Tip: 5个让数据发挥最大效用的方法
Have you ever heard a speaker go into a list of one statistic after another during their speech? If you haven’t heard one, you will. Statistics are very valuable in speaking, but only if you use them in an effective way. Simply listing the stats is not enough; you have to interpret them, so your audience knows exactly what those stats mean for them.
If you follow these five keys, you’ll be way ahead of the game and you’ll be using stats instead of losing audiences.
1. Don’t drop stats off–drive them home.
For example, over time I’ve used the following statistic about lifelong learning. I say, “Each year you’ll spend between 500 and 1000 hours in an automobile.” This stat might be interesting, but it’s certainly not compelling, and that’s because it hasn’t been driven home.
Here’s how I might drive it home: “Each year you’ll spend between 500 and 1000 hours in an automobile. Do you know, if you live to be 75 years old, you’ll spend approximately 7‐10 years of your life in an automobile? Seven years! Here’s my question to you: What are you doing with that time? Are you simply passing it, or are you using it? Do you know that 10 years is enough time to earn two PhDs?”
“I suggest turning your car into a rolling university. You can listen to audio books and quickly become an expert, compared to the rest of the country. Oh – just one other thing; please, no meditation tapes in the car!”
This is how you can drive a point home; by showing exactly how the stat affects them and what they can do about it, how they can take action on it. So don’t just drop the stats off – drive it home!
2. Use stats within a story.
One of the best ways to drive stats home is by using them inside of your stories. For example, I use stats inside of one of my stories when I say this:
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Well, she struck a chord in me. And anytime a chord is struck in me, I go to my Rule of Three, and if you just take this Rule of Three and throw everything else I say into the nearest garbage can, it will put you far ahead of people in most endeavors that you try. Here it is: Read three books on that topic.
Unfortunately, the average American reads less than one book per year. Did you know that? 58% of Americans – that’s almost 6 out of every 10 Americans – after formal education, never read another non‐fiction book in their life. And then we wonder why we don’t grow.
So I read something one day that said, “If you read three books on one topic, you’re an expert on that topic, compared to the rest of the country.”
Don’t get excited – you’re an expert by default. But you’re still an expert!
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Now, stop right there. If I had stopped at the fact that the average American reads 1 book per year, I would have dropped the stat off instead of driving it home. I drove it home by letting my audience know how it affects them and how
they can use it to their advantage. In other words, they can get a significant edge in any endeavor by reading three books on one topic.
After this stat, I usually talk about my story of this homeless woman and how the three books on imagination led me to winning the World Championship of Public Speaking.
And because I cited the stat within the story, my audience was able to see firsthand how using that stat to my advantage really paid off, so they’re sold on the benefits of taking action, on reading at least three books on one topic. That’s #2, which is to use stats within a story.
3. This has to do with statistics versus a story. Write this down: A story will outdo a stat every time.
The problem with simply quoting stats is that they’re relatively impersonal and unemotional. When you hear stats about millions of people having AIDS or being homeless, what do you think? Probably, “Oh, that’s terrible!” But chances are you don’t well up with tears.
But when we dive deep into the story of one person, and we get to see the struggle through his or her eyes, it will soon be our eyes that need attending, because it’s emotional.
Please remember that your audience makes decisions based on emotion, backed up by logic. The story brings the emotion, while the stat brings the logic.
Stating that 1000 people were mugged this year won’t touch us like the story about one little girl named Jenny who was mugged. Little Jenny will outdo big stats every time. We need to use statistics to back up and give depth to little Jenny’s story.
4. Literally point us to the source.
Listen to this. What if you heard me say this in a presentation: “If you pick up Michael Port’s book called Book Yourself Solid, and you thumb through to page 36, and you look down at the last sentence in the second paragraph, you’ll come across the following statement: “Most business problems are personal problems in disguise.”
Now isn’t that much more visual than just saying, “Michael Port once said...”? For two reasons:
1) It builds credibility for you. Your audience knows you’ve read it firsthand.
2) It gives your audience members a reason to purchase that book and an actual page to turn to.
Remember, if they leave your speech and let’s say they purchase a book that you recommended to them, while they’re reading it you’re still touching their lives, long after you’ve left the speaking platform, and of course that’s the kind of impact you want as a speaker. Point them directly to the source.
Last but certainly not least:
5. Use statistics for involvement.
You can use them to get your audience involved. For example, at a conference I once heard a really good motivational speaker use stats, and this is what he said: “Look at one of your neighbors that you’re sitting next to. Statistics show that next year at this time either you or your neighbor won’t be back here. That’s right. Half of you will still be in this organization and 50% of you, statistics show,
will give up. Half of you will not renew your membership. You’ll give up and you’ll quit. Those of you who stay will be winners. Look at your neighbor again. Now let me ask you: which one of you will it be?”
That was very powerful to newbie speakers. He was speaking to a group of aspiring speakers. And I even heard people say, “Hey, it won’t be me!”
Even today when I have a tough speech and I feel like sometimes I want to give up, I always think back to what that speaker said and I keep coming back. I don’t quit. I didn’t want to be in that bottom half. His long lasting effect is what you want to have as a speaker, and the proper use of statistics will help you make it.