Churchill—A Study in Oratory
丘吉尔——演讲的艺术
1.Endure your handicaps if they can't be cured and turn them to your advantage. Never give up！
He wasn't a natural orator， not at all. His voice was raspy. A stammer and a lisp often marred many of his speeches. Nor was his appearance attractive. A snub nose and a jutting lower lip made him look like a bulldog. Short and fat， he was also stoop-shouldered.
Yet this man—Sir Winston Churchill—became probably the greatest orator of our time and won the Nobel Prize for his writings and “brilliant oratory”. How did he do it？ And what lessons can all Toastmasters learn from him to help them make better speeches？
In school， Winston Churchill was a backward student. But he wasn't stupid. He later explained， “Where my reason， imagination or interest were not engaged， I would not or I could not learn.” But the English language fascinated him. He was the best in his class.
His English teacher once said， “I do not believe that I have ever seen in a boy of 14 such a veneration for the English language.” Churchill called the English sentence “a noble thing” and said， “The only thing I would whip boys for is not knowing English. I would whip them hard for that.” Lord Moran， his physician and intimate friend， wrote， “Without that feeling for words， he would have made little enough in life.”
2.Put forth your best efforts to prepare your speeches and seize every possible opportunity to practice them.
Failure in academic schooling， except for English， led young Churchill to a military academy. Enthusiastic about his military studies， he was highly successful at the academy. After graduating he took a commission as lieutenant in a cavalry regiment and began his army career.
Routine army life in India gave him free time between drills and polo. Deciding to make up for his lack of a university education， he spent his leisure hours reading. He asked his mother to send him certain books from England—by the box. For four to five hours each day he read more of Macaulay and Gibbon， as well as Shakespeare， Plato， Aristotle， Burke， Darwin， Maithus and Bartlett's Quotations.
He approached these books， as he once said， “with a hungry， empty mind， and with fairly strong jaws， and what I got I bit.” This reading gave him knowledge and opportunities for independent thinking. Nourished in the fertile soil of such excellent reading， ideas developed in his enriched mind. His interests widened and matured.
3. Let your feelings and personality show in your speeches.
Some 2，500 of Churchill's speeches were published in book form seventeen years ago. A critical review at the time of publication stated， “The speeches， of course， are pure gold interlarded now and then with just the least bit of dross.”
“The biggest nuggets—the 'Finest Hour'， for example—are beyond price.” Edward Heath， a former leader of Britain's Conservative Party， also commented on the speeches， saying that “Churchill's words will live on when the statues erected in his memory have crumbled.”
Nevertheless， Churchill's written words alone can't do what he did when he spoke them. Aneurin Bevan， the British socialist leader， said， “Nobody could have listened and not been moved....” Churchill's speeches， even if delivered verbatim by someone else， couldn't have had the same effect on audiences.
Always resolutely assured， Churchill felt with his whole being that he knew what he was talking about. He put the stamp of his personality on all his speeches， delivering them in his own distinct style.
“What kind of people do they think we are？” he asked of the enemy. The incisive， intense， affronted tone of his voice as he said those words told eloquently of his anger， disgust and determination to fight on. Didn't the enemy realize the English were a people who would never cease to persevere—who would rather see their country a shambles than give in to the enemy？ He transmitted that determination to his people through one stirring speech after another until they all caught his spirit.
Churchill's loathing for the enemy， especially Adolf Hitler， had him almost foaming at the mouth. He drove a truckload of sarcasm and scorn into his description of Hitler as “this bloodthirsty guttersnipe ...a monster of wickedness， insatiable in his lust for blood and plunder”.
All his life Winston Churchill aspired to the highest glory. That's why， in spite of or because of natural handicaps， he took infinite pains to develop himself into one of history's greatest orators. Even if you don't have his lofty aspirations， these three lessons from his life can help you make better speeches.
他并非天生就是个演说家，完全不是。他的嗓音有些刺耳，演讲时还不免会掺杂着结结巴巴和口齿不清；长相平平，塌鼻子，突出的下嘴唇，让他看上去就好像一只牛头犬；个子又矮又胖，还有点儿驼背。
这就是温斯顿·丘吉尔，我们这个时代最杰出的演说家。他曾因其著作以及其精彩绝伦的演说赢得了诺贝尔奖。他为何能取得如此卓越的成就？所有演讲之人又该从丘吉尔身上学到何种技巧来使自己臻于完美呢？上学时，温斯顿·丘吉尔可不是个优等生，但他并不笨。后来丘吉尔这样解释：“对一件毫无想像力又趣味全无的事物，我根本学不进去。”然而，英文却让他十分着迷，他在班里学得最好！
丘吉尔的英文老师曾回忆说：“我简直不敢相信一个只有十四岁的孩子竟然会对英文如此痴迷。”丘吉尔把英文句子称为“高贵之物”。他说，“我惟一用以打败其他男生的地方就是他们对英文如此无知，而我能远远胜于他们！”摩曼爵士不仅是丘吉尔的内科医生，还是他的知己，他写道，“若不是他对文字有那种近乎痴迷的感觉，丘吉尔的一生会一无所成。”
2、拿出百分之百的努力来准备演讲，抓住每一次机会来练习。
在校期间年轻的丘吉尔除了英文成绩优异之外，其他功课几乎一无所成。因此毕业后他只好进入一家军事院校。丘吉尔对军事研究极其痴迷，在学院中表现出类拔萃。军校毕业后，以少尉军衔加入皇家骑兵团，从此开始了丘吉尔的军事生涯。
在印度从军时，除了军事操练，打打马球，他的业余时间很充裕。为弥补没上过大学的缺憾，丘吉尔让母亲从英国寄来好几箱书。每天他都会花四五个小时来读麦考利、吉本、莎士比亚、柏拉图、亚里士多德、巴克、达尔文、马尔萨斯以及巴特莱特著名的《引言》。
丘吉尔对这些书籍爱不释手，就如他自己所说的：“我有一个空虚、饥渴的大脑，还有一张健壮的嘴巴，我惟一要做的就是狠狠的啃一啃这些书。”阅读赋予了丘吉尔丰富的知识，并给予他独立思考的机会。滋润在肥沃的知识土壤之中，思想的慧根也在他的头脑中悄悄发芽。这一切都为丘吉尔培养了广泛的兴趣和成熟的心境。
3、在讲演中要表达出你自己的感情，彰显出自己的个性。
十七年前，收集了丘吉尔的2500次演讲的书籍问世。当时出版界有这样一种评论，“无论是从当时还是现在来看，这些演讲，除其中仅有的些许瑕疵之外，几乎是由纯金打造出来的！”
英国保守党前主席爱德华·希斯也评论道，“就以‘美好时光’为例，那次演讲简直就如同一颗硕大的金块，价值连城！即使当丘吉尔记忆中所树立的那些形象都已经破灭，他的话语却能长存心间。”
丘吉尔自己写出的演讲词只有在作现场演讲时，才能尽显风采。英国社会党领导人安奈林·贝文说：“凡是听过丘吉尔演讲的人，没人能不受其感染的。”如果有人把丘吉尔的演讲稿逐字逐句读出来给观众听，绝不可能取得演说现场的轰动效果。
丘吉尔的演讲经常是斩钉截铁式的，他全身心投入，并且知道自己要表达什么样的感情。他把自己鲜明的个性渗入到演讲中，以其独特的方式陈述出来。
丘吉尔通常会这样责问敌人：“他们认为我们是什么样的人？”他话语中的那种尖刻、强烈、被侮辱的语气，表达出他雄辩、愤怒、对敌人憎恶的感情以及坚决奋战到底的决心。“难道敌人还没意识到英国人是绝不会坐以待毙的吗？不会眼睁睁地看着自己的国家对敌人俯首称臣的吗？”丘吉尔把这份坚定的信念通过鼓舞人心的演讲传达给了他的同胞，让所有英国人都感受到了这份意志！
丘吉尔对敌人憎恶——尤其是对阿道夫·希特勒痛恨至极，他经常会在演讲时泡沫横飞。他就像是开着一辆荷载着讥讽与轻视的卡车冲向打倒希特勒的战场。把希特勒形容成嗜血成性的地痞、无赖，一个骨子里充满了邪恶、血腥、杀戮、贪婪的怪物！
丘吉尔的一生一直渴望要赢得一份最高荣誉。这就是他为何天生口吃，经过一番卓绝的努力却能把自己锻造成世界上最伟大的演说家之一。即使你没有像丘吉尔那么高远的志向，这三条人生哲理也可以帮你把演讲做得臻于完美。
译者感言
他是著作等身的作家，辩才无碍的演说家，经邦治国的政治家，战争中的传奇英雄。他一生中写出了26部共45卷（本）专著，几乎每部著作出版后都在英国和世界上引起轰动，获得如潮好评，翻译成多国文字在世界各国发行。在议会的辩论中，尤其是在第二次世界大战中的重要时刻，他发表了许多富于技巧而且打动人心的演讲，给人们留下了极深的印象。
的确，是丘吉尔精彩绝伦的演讲为他最终树立了永垂不朽的丰碑；也为他作为一个反法西斯斗士做出了光辉的业绩。我们大多熟悉那张“愤怒中的丘吉尔”的面孔，熟悉他在英国出于历史危机的严峻关头成为众望所归的政治领袖。然而，儿时的丘吉尔竟然先天口吃，竟然只爱英文。除此之外，他一无所成。这位被斯大林称赞为“百年才出现一个的人物”，经历了人生的许多升沉起伏，每次都能以不屈不挠的信念、以不畏惧的斗志战胜艰难险阻，达到自己的目的，最终赢得了那份最高荣誉。
