Can you remember the first time you spoke¹ in front of a group? My own "first" happened in front of 30 people. My hands were shaking, my legs trembling. “G-g-g-g-good morning everyone. Today I will talk about…”

你还记得第一次在人群面前讲话的情景吗？我的“第一次”是在30个人面前讲话。双手颤抖，两腿哆嗦。“大家早……早上好，今天我要讲的是……”

After that failure, I did whatever it took to overcome my fear of public speaking. I read books on presentations.I watched TED² talks. I worked with public speaking coaches.

那次丢脸的经历后，我用尽一切办法克服演讲的恐惧。我阅读有关演讲的书籍，看TED演讲，向演讲老师学习。

Fast-forward a few months, to when I spoke in front of 200 people. I was still nervous about public speaking but I knew the audience wanted me to succeed. So, instead of focusing on my own fears, I focused on serving my audience. And in that way I became a confident speaker.

几个月很快过去了，又到了面对200人演讲的时刻。这次我仍然很紧张，但我明白观众希望我成功。所以，我并没有将焦点放在自身的恐惧上，而是将注意力集中在为观众服务上。这种方法使我成为一名自信的演讲者。

I've since discovered three simple steps to becoming a confident speaker, and created the Expressive³ Leader System. I teach these steps to thousands of business leaders, helping⁴ them to speak with confidence and make a bigger impact.

从那以后，我发现只需简单三步就可以成为自信的演讲者，并自创了一套“表现型领导体系”。我把这些方法教给成千上万的企业领导，帮助他们自信演讲，获得更大的影响。

Apply these three simple steps so you too will become a confident speaker:

如果你也想成为自信演讲达人，不妨试试下面这三步。

1. Prepare.

1. 充分准备讲稿

While preparing for my speech, I was at a loss about what I should say. Hall of Fame speaker Patricia Fripp later asked me, “If you could have one sentence instead of the entire talk, what would you say?”

有一次在准备演讲稿时，我无从下手。名人堂演讲大师派翠西亚·傅立普之后问我：“如果你只能说一句话而不是完整的演讲，你会说什么？”

My message was, “Go for your dreams and never give up.” Using that as a guide, I came up with personal stories that people could relate to. In just minutes, I wrote an entire memorable⁵ speech.

我的答案是：“追求梦想，永不放弃”。把这句话作为演讲纲领，我想到了许多能与观众产生共鸣的个人轶事。仅仅几分钟，我就写出了一整篇令人难忘的演讲稿。

The takeaway: Create a clear overall message so you know exactly what to say.

秘诀：要有一条清晰的主线，这样才会知道自己要说什么。

2. Practice, with a coach.

2. 找专业教练帮你练习

Practice doesn’t always make perfect. But practice augmented⁶ by coaching will help you greatly improve. I wanted to have a powerful voice, so I worked with celebrity⁷ voice coach Roger Love. He has a track record of having worked with successful entrepreneurs⁸, including Tony Robbins and Suze Orman.

熟练并不总能生巧。但辅以教练指导的练习就能帮我们大幅提升演讲技能。我想拥有强有力的嗓音，所以我找到了专门给名人提供发音指导的罗杰·洛夫。他口碑不错，与许多成功的企业家合作过，比如托尼·罗宾斯和苏斯·欧曼。

So, with Love's help, I learned to do voice exercises before speaking, to warm up my voice. The more I practiced, the more confident I became. I now have a powerful voice.

就这样，在洛夫的帮助下，我学会了在演讲之前做发声练习，预热嗓子。练习得越多，我就变得越自信。现在，我的嗓音已经很有力量了。

The takeaway: If you want to practice public speaking more effectively, get coaching.

秘诀：如果你想更高效的练习演讲，请找一个教练帮你。

3. Perform.

3. 增强表现力

Confident speakers are performers. They express ideas effectively and confidently.

自信的演讲者都是表演家。他们能有效并自信地表达自己的观点。

I once had to speak in front of a group of CEOs over age 50. I worried that they might say, “You're too young. You're not qualified⁹ to speak here.” And then I remembered what Richard Branson had taught me: “Picture you're talking to friends in the living room.”

有一次，我为一众50多岁的CEO做演讲。我曾担心他们可能会说，“你太年轻了，你没有资格在这演讲。”但我又想起了理查德·布兰森说过的话：“想象你和朋友在客厅聊天时的情景。”

I arrived at the venue¹⁰ early. I talked to audience members: “Hi, I'm Jonathan, it's good to meet you.” Once I was on stage, people no longer thought of me as a stranger. I was a friend.

我早早来到了会议地点，在台下和观众闲聊：“嗨，我是乔纳森，很高兴见到你们。”这样一来，当我站上讲台时，观众就不再把我当成陌生人看待，我已经成为他们的朋友了。

After the talk, people said, “Jonathan, I liked your talk. Can you be my public speaking coach?”

演讲结束后，他们都说：“乔纳森，我很喜欢你的演讲。你愿意当我的演讲教练吗？”

The takeaway: Picture yourself talking to friends in your living room, so you will be more relaxed and in control.

秘诀：想象自己正和朋友在客厅闲聊，会让你放轻松、把握好节奏。

How do any of us become confident speakers? Prepare, practice, perform.

想成为自信的演讲达人？充分准备，反复练习，表现自己。