Is it that important to be able to talk?

Being able to speak is the primary productive force, and it cannot be more important.

Everyone can use language. Please note that not everyone can speak. Some languages can effectively solve problems, while others can make people laugh and cry; Some people's speeches will last forever, while others are easily forgotten.

This reminds me of a book called The Power of Speech, written by Frank Lentz, an American political and business language planner. He believes that people are always preconceived, emotional and biased, so how people understand your words is the key to successful communication.

In order to help you find effective language, this book introduces ten principles of successful communication, namely conciseness, conciseness, credibility, consistency, novelty, phonology, expectation, visualization, questioning and context. Here are three most important points to share with you:

The first thing is to be concise, not to use uncommon words, and to reduce people's understanding cost.

An example is given in the book. In the past 50 years, the most memorable catchwords in America are words with simple pronunciation. If it is not simple enough, someone will simplify it. For example, KFC is called "KFC" and dairy queen ice cream is called "DQ". In addition to simplicity, it is also concise, and the simpler the better. If you can use phrases, you don't need long sentences. If you can use three words, you don't need four words. For effective communication, small is better than good, short is better than long, and easy is better than difficult. The credibility of language is also very important.

People will only buy your account if they trust you. If your words lack credibility and run counter to existing facts, situations or perceptions, their impact will be much worse. Building credibility is simple, tell others what kind of person you are, and then become such a person; Keep your promise and remind people that you really are what you promised. To put it simply, it is necessary to speak with one voice and do what you say.

Besides, you should want to say what people want to hear.

You should tell people's deepest hopes, worries and dreams, so as to touch the most fundamental and primitive part of people. In this respect, politicians are better. For example, Roosevelt once said a classic sentence: "The only thing to fear is fear itself." President Kennedy also said, "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." Roosevelt and Kennedy said these words in order to arouse Americans' most idealized self-awareness.

But more importantly, these two statements are essentially similar to reminders. They expressed their confidence in the brave quality of Americans, stressed that Americans are patriotic and have the spirit of self-sacrifice, and then let people pay more. Psychologically, these words are like parents saying to their children, "You can do it, I believe in you". ?

In addition, it is also important to ask questions during communication. Whether in politics, business or daily life, if you make a conclusion, the reaction of the listeners often depends on their views on the speaker. At this time, if rhetorical questions are used to state the same sentence, the listener will be involved and interact. The book says that if the speaker and the listener can interact, the communication effect is the best. A rhetorical question needs an answer, and the answer itself is interactive.

Finally, pay attention to the context. Tell people the "reason" first, and then tell them the "result".

Only in this way can you explain why what you say is important. Context also includes the order of languages. Different order, different understanding. For example, there is a film theory called montage, that is, two unrelated shots appear in turn, which will make people associate. The front shot shows a man holding a knife, and the back shot shows a woman opening her mouth, which tells us that this woman is frightened. But if the clock in front of the camera shows three o'clock in the morning and a woman opens her mouth, we will think that this woman is yawning.

This is the importance of order. We should also pay attention to this when using language. You should consider what to say first and then what to say.

The above are the important principles of effective speech for your reference.