Great Chinese Orators and Public Speaking Skills

[kdavid]

I'm working on a project about presentation skills and public speaking. I have read this post on giving a presentation on presentation skills, but more specifically I've curious to determine what others feel/think about:

1. Who are China's best orators/public speakers (living or dead)? For this, if you could provide a video clip and/or a transcript of some of their speeches it would help a lot.

2. For the Chinese, what makes someone a good speaker?

3. What are some common phrases and cultural practices used when speaking in public and giving presentations?

4. What are some major cultural differences between East and West regarding tone, vocabulary, delivery, etc?

Thanks in advance for everyone's help!

[aristotle1990]

?

? Seriously, though, maybe

?

[gato]

The questions come across a little like asking people to do your homework. Hehe.

Anyway, I think the following people are pretty impressive speakers. All of them have a teaching background. Ma Yun used to be a high school teacher.

http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMTg2Nzc4MTQ4.html

贺卫方 (PKU Law professor)

http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMTYyMjk2NTU2.html

马云 （CEO of Alibaba)

http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMjA0MDA2Njky.html

易中天 (Xiamen University professor, TV lecturer)

[abcdefg]

I like Premier Wen Jiabao. This clip shows him still doing good oratory even though under very difficult circumstances. A large formal gathering like this could turn most public speakers into boring blocks of wood.

http://video.sina.com.cn/p/news/c/v/2009-03-05/112960266068.html

[kdavid]

Thanks to everyone who has contributed thus far.

I've compiled some typical(?) phrases which I've found both around here (thanks to Scoobyqueen for keeping that thread updated!) and on the net. As you can see, I've got a good amount for beginning and ending a speech/presentation, but not much for the middle bits.

Any suggestions on phrases to emphasize points, link arguments, etc? Also, can you think of anything more eloquent for stating / transitioning points aside from 首先，其次，再次，最后, or are these commonly used in formal presentations?

Beginning

尊敬的 + surname + title for distinguished guests; followed by 各位老师/同事们/女士们/先生们/同学们 早晨/上午/下午/晚上好！

[To the] distinguished guests…teachers/colleagues/ladies/gentlemen, good morning/afternoon/evening.

我是….

I am…

我代表我公司对各位的光临表示感谢！

On behalf of my company, I express my thanks for everyone being in attendance.

本次会议的目的是…

The objective of today’s meeting is to….

今天我想讲的是……

What I am going to talk about today is…

今天我想讲的是节能问题。

What I am going to talk about today is the energy conservation issue.

请让我趁此机会讲几句话

I would like to take this opportunity to say a few words.

Stating / Transitioning Points

首先….

Firstly….

其次….

Secondly….

再次….

Also….

最后….

Lastly….

Phrases/word to emphasize points

只要……

So long as…

只要我们一起努力，我们就能取得巨大的成就

So long as we work together we can achieve great results.

一起努力…

Let’s work together to…

我们大家一起努力实现共同的梦想。

Let’s work together to realize our common dreams.

Ending

希望我们能够趁此机会交换了意见

I hope we can use this opportunity to exchange ideas.

感谢 [company/organization] 以及 [particular individual] 先生/女士对于本次会议的大力支持。

Thank you to [company/organization] and [Mr./Ms. particular individual] for your extraordinary support for today’s meeting.

我希望而且相信在今天在我们会议上大家都不虚此行。

I hope/believe that today I haven’t wasted your time.

Miscellaneous

我感谢……

I appreciate…

我非常感谢你们今天抽空来参加这个会议。

I really appreciate your making time in your schedules to attend today.

我很荣幸……

It is my honor…

我很荣幸介绍我们公司总裁琼斯先生。

It is my honor to introduce the president of our company, Mr. Jones.

我期待……

I look forward to…

我期待着再次见到你们。

I look forward to seeing you again.