Passage 2
For inexperienced speakers, the physicalact of being onstage can be the most difficult part of giving apresentation—but people tend to overestimate its importance. Getting the words,story, and substance right is a much bigger determinant of success or failurethan how you stand or whether you're visibly nervous. And when it comes tostage presence, a little coaching can go a long way.
The biggest mistake we see in early rehearsalsis that people move their bodies too much. They sway from side to side, orshift their weight from one leg to the other. People do this naturally whenthey're nervous, but it's distracting and makes the speaker seem weak. Simplygetting a person to keep his or her lower body motionless can dramaticallyimprove stage presence. There are some people who are able to walk around astage during a presentation, and that's fine if it comes naturally. But thevast majority are better off standing still and relying on hand gestures foremphasis.
Perhaps the most important physical actonstage is making eye contact. Find five or six friendly-looking people indifferent parts of the audience and look them in the eye as you speak. Think ofthem as friends you haven't seen in a year，whom you're bringing up to date on your work. That eye contact isincredibly powerful, and it will do more than anything else to help your talkland. Even if you don't have time to prepare fully and have to read from ascript, looking up and making eye contact will make a huge difference.
Another big hurdle for inexperiencedspeakers is nervousness—both in advance of the talk and while they're onstage.People deal with this in different ways. Many speakers stay in the audienceuntil the moment they go onstage; this can work well, because keeping your mindengaged in the earlier speakers can distract you and limit nervousness. AmyCuddy, a Harvard Business School professor who studies how certain body posescan affect power, utilized one of the more unusual preparation techniques I'veseen. She recommends that people spend time before a talk striding around,standing tall, and extending their bodies; these poses make you feel morepowerful. It's what she did before going onstage, and she delivered aphenomenal talk. But I think the single best advice is simply to breathe deeplybefore you go onstage. It works.
In general, people worry too much aboutnervousness. Nerves are not a disaster The audience expects you to be nervous.It's a natural body response that can actually improve your performance; Itgives you energy to perform and keeps your mind sharp. Just keep breathing, andyou'll be fine.
Acknowledging nervousness can also createengagement. Showing your vulnerability, whether through nerves or tone ofvoice, is one of the most powerful ways to win over an audience, provided it isauthentic. Susan Cain, who wrote a book about introverts (内向的人) and spoke at our2012 conference, was terrified about giving her talk. You could feel her fragilityonstage, and it created this dynamic where the audience was rooting forher——everybody wanted to hug her afterward. The fact that we knew she wasfighting to keep herself up there made it beautiful, and it was the mostpopular talk that year.
What is the writer's purpose of writing this passage?
A.To show how to overcome nervousness.
B.To illustrate how to develop stage presence.
C.To offer tips on using body language onstage.
D.To give suggestions on how to make eye contact.
正确答案是B