Speech Topics Are Everywhere 演讲主题无处不在
Pay attention to your life and the ideas will come.
关注你的生活，灵感自然会出现。
By Ray Engan
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Where do you find speech topics? A simple answer comes from 2003 World Champion of Public Speaking Jim Key: “I live life, and I pay attention.”
你在哪里找到演讲主题? 一个简单的答案来自2003年世界演讲冠军吉姆·基: “ 我生活，我关注。”
Here are three words to help you use that advice, which in turn can lead you to develop hundreds of speech topics.
这里有三个词可以帮助你使用这个建议，它可以引导你形成数百个演讲主题。
1 Reflect. 反思。
Great stories lead us to reflect. Fairy tales begin “Once upon a time …” The movie classic Star Wars starts with the words “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away …” Reflect on your life, and feel the stories flow. Your childhood is a wonderful place to start. Use your older, wiser eyes to look back at your youth, and reflect on the memories and how they’ve changed you.
伟大的故事引导我们反思。经典电影《星球大战》的开头是这样的:“很久以前，在一个遥远的星系里……”反思你的生活，感受故事在流动。你的童年是一个美好的开始。用你年长而睿智的眼睛去回顾你的青春，反思那些记忆，以及它们是如何改变你的。
Live life, pay attention. When I was 4, my brother convinced me to steal a piece of candy. As I grabbed it, he screamed, “Mom! Ray’s stealing candy!” She instantly busted me. Reflecting on that moment, I now understand, no matter who says otherwise, wrong is wrong. Twenty-five years later, that moment led me to return 1,263 USD that I had found and could easily have kept. It’s a story I now use in my speeches. It’s relatable because all children have people who influence them. What we take from those people defines us.
关注生活。我四岁的时候，我哥哥说服我去偷一块糖。我一把抓过去，他尖叫道:“妈妈! Ray偷糖果!”她立刻抓住了我。回想起那一刻，我现在明白了，不管谁不这么说，错就是错。25年后，那一刻让我归还了那1263美元，那是我找到的，本可以很容易地保存下来的。这是我现在在演讲中使用的一个故事。这是有关联的，因为所有的孩子都有影响他们的人。我们从那些人身上学到的东西定义了我们。
2 Connect.连接。
Your story needs to connect with your audience. I had a client talk about taking his driving test in a Porsche. My first car was a 100 Ford automobile with huge windows. I couldn’t relate to my client’s “Porsche pain,” but I found that many loved to hear about my “terrarium on wheels.” People relate to challenges and adversity—like not being able to buy a better car.
你的故事需要与你的观众产生共鸣。我有个客户说要开保时捷参加驾照考试。我的第一辆车是一辆福特100型号的大车窗汽车。我无法理解我的客户的“保时捷之痛”，但我发现很多人喜欢听我的“带轮子的玻璃箱”。人们会把挑战和逆境联系起来——比如买不起更好的车。
We have all seen odd things. People connect to those as well. What stories of the strange do you have? Live life, pay attention. In a grocery store once, a well-dressed man picked up a mini-watermelon and held it to his ear.
我们都见过奇怪的事情。人们也会与这些联系在一起。你有什么奇怪的故事?关注生活。有一次，在一家杂货店里，一个穿着考究的男人拿起一个迷你西瓜，把它举到耳边。
Who taught you the greatest lessons of your life? Share those.
是谁教会了你人生中最重要的一课?分享这些。
I asked my only possible question. “Are you a Watermelon Whisperer?”
我问了我唯一可能的问题。“你是西瓜语者吗?”
He stared down at me with an uppity raised nose, declaring, “If they speak to me, I take them home.”
他傲慢地抬起鼻子，低头盯着我，宣称:“如果他们跟我说话，我就把他们带回家。”
I turned this into a story about how leadership shouldn’t be difficult, because there are people waiting for watermelons to guide them. Strange is good when you can connect it to a life lesson.
我把这个故事变成了一个关于领导应该不难的故事，因为有很多人在等着西瓜来引导他们。当你能把它和人生课程联系起来时，奇怪是好的。
3 Resonate.产生共鸣。
The story or the message must resonate with your audience. Speeches work wonderfully when they include some combination of leadership, laughter, and influence.
故事或信息“必须”与你的观众产生共鸣。当演讲结合了领导力、笑声和影响力时，效果会很好。
What actions routinely make people laugh? When have you purposely, or not, led a group? When have you been talked into doing something? What unique things have you witnessed in your life? These are all stories! Who has taught you a lesson? That’s a story!
什么行为通常会让人发笑?你什么时候有意或无意地领导过一群人?你什么时候被说服做过什么事?在你的生活中，你目睹了什么独特的事情?这些都是故事!谁给了你一个教训?这是一个故事!
Mark Brown, the 1995 World Champion of Public Speaking, talked about creating characters out of inanimate objects. I presented that lesson to my club, and it turned into a District-winning humorous speech about my luggage (now named Jack) mistakenly being sent to Paris while my plane landed in Kentucky. Jack wound up explaining turbulence to me and having a fling with a French handbag named Chanel. He returned to America wearing a beret … and now wants to be called Jacques!
1995年的世界演讲冠军马克·布朗(Mark Brown)谈到了用无生命的物体创造人物。我把这一课讲给我的俱乐部，结果变成了一场赢得大区奖的幽默演讲，讲的是当我的飞机降落在肯塔基州时，我的行李(现在叫杰克)被误送到了巴黎。杰克最终向我解释了气流，还和一个名叫香奈儿的法国手提包发生了关系。他带着贝雷帽回到美国，现在他想被称为雅克!
What business mistakes have you lived through and how did you overcome them? That’s another topic.
你曾经经历过哪些业务上的错误，你又是如何克服它们的?这是另一个话题。
Your story can be lighthearted, and deliver a meaningful message. For example, what would it be like if people were as faithful as dogs? That might lead to an interesting speech on loyalty.
你的故事可以是轻松愉快的，传递有意义的信息。例如，如果人们像狗一样忠诚会是什么样子?这可能会引出一个有趣的关于忠诚的演讲。
Or this: The spider web you walk through outside every morning means there’s a spider unwilling to give up on catching you. A speech on persistence?
或者这个:你每天早上在外面走过的蜘蛛网意味着有一只蜘蛛不愿放弃抓住你。关于坚持的演讲?
Stories are everywhere. If you reflect, connect, and make your speech resonate, then the phrase “I live life, and I pay attention” won’t just be speaking champion Jim Key’s advice—it will be the key to let your stories flow.
到处都是故事。如果你思考，连接，并使你的演讲产生共鸣，那么“ 我生活，我关注 ” 这句话将不仅仅是演讲冠军吉姆·基的建议，它将是让你的故事流动起来的关键。
New Supplemental Reading Available! 新的补充阅读!
Looking for more reading to support your Toastmasters learning? You can now access curated Toastmaster magazine articles directly from Base Camp!
想要更多的阅读来支持你在演讲会的学习?您现在可以直接从Base Camp主页访问策划的Toastmaster杂志文章!
If you've started work in Level 1 of any path, check your Suggested Learning box on the Base Camp home page for a list of articles that complement topics covered in Level 1. Or, look for the Supplemental Reading subject on the Tutorials and Resources page. Be sure to check back regularly for more articles to enrich learning throughout your path.
如果您已经开始在任何路径的Level 1学习，请查看Base Camp主页上的“Suggested Learning （建议学习）”框，以获得补充Level 1所涵盖主题的文章列表。或者，在“Tutorials and Resources ”（教程和参考资料）页面中查找Supplemental Reading（补充阅读）主题。一定要定期查看更多的文章来丰富你的学习过程。
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