为什么老板喜欢讲重复的话

你不需要和高管们相处太久，就能听到反复出现的词语和短语。

双语精读

Over and over and over again

一遍一遍又一遍

You don't have to spend a lot of time with executives to hear repeated words and phrases. They might be drumming home the critical elements of their strategy to investors.

你不需要和高管们相处太久，就能听到反复出现的词语和短语。他们可能是在向投资者反复强调战略的关键要素。

They might be reciting talking-points with the media. They might be inculcating the company's culture at town halls with employees, or telling the firm's origin story for the thousandth time. What they are not doing is starting afresh every time.

他们可能是在媒体面前背诵谈话要点。他们可能是在大会上向员工灌输公司的文化，或者第一千次讲述公司的发家故事。他们没有做的是每次都讲新的开场白。

When Kevin Lobo first became the chief executive of Stryker, a medical-technology firm in Michigan, his team drew up a mission statement ("Together with our customers, we are driven to make health care better") that he used at the start of every presentation he gave.

当凯文·洛博首次成为位于密歇根的史赛克医疗科技公司的首席执行官时，他的团队起草了一份使命宣言（“我们与客户携手，致力于改善医疗保健”），从此他在每次演讲的开头都会说这句话。

He says that the combination of simplicity and repetition helped it to spread organically: presentations within Stryker now routinely start with its mission.

他说，简洁加上重复让这句话自然地传播开来：如今在史赛克公司内部，各种展示通常以这句使命宣言为开场白。

Repetition is partly a function of time constraints: in the same way that many politicians have a stump speech they can give at every rally, most bosses are too busy to craft their messages from scratch every time.

重复的部分原因是时间受限，就像许多政客在每场公众集会上都发表固定的巡回演讲一样，大多数老板太忙了，没有时间每次都从头构思演讲稿。

But mainly it's to do with the way that people remember things and absorb ideas. Repetition makes things stick, as every schoolchild knows. That's true in offices and beyond. David Gergen, a doyen of American political communications, advised candidates in debates to pick the three or four points they wanted to drive home.

但重复主要与人们记忆事物和吸收观点的方式有关。重复让事物深入人心，这是每个学生都知道的。在办公室和其他地方也是如此。美国政治沟通领域的元老级人物大卫·葛根建议候选人在辩论中挑出三到四个他们想让听众牢记的关键点。

Songwriters do something similar. One analysis, by Joseph Nunes of the University of Southern California and his co-authors, found that songs with more repetitive lyrics were more likely to make it into the top 40 singles chart in America.

词曲作者的做法也差不多。南加州大学的约瑟夫·努内斯及其合著者的一项分析发现，歌词重复性更高的歌曲更有可能进入美国单曲排行榜前40名。

Repetition helps persuade people that something is correct, a phenomenon known as the illusory truth effect.

重复有助于说服人们某件事是正确的，这种现象被称为“真相幻觉效应”。

In various studies, people have been given a list of plausible statements (the capybara is the largest of the marsupials, for example, or this column is the best one in The Economist), whose veracity they are asked to judge.

在各种研究中，人们被给予一系列看似合理的陈述（例如，水豚是最大的有袋动物，或者本专栏是《经济学人》中最好的栏目），然后他们被要求判断这些陈述的真实性。

They are then shown more statements, some new and some repeated. The more times someone is exposed to a statement (this column is the best one in The Economist), the more likely they are to say it is true.

然后他们会看到更多的陈述，有些是新的，有些是重复的。一个人听到某个陈述的次数越多（本专栏是《经济学人》中最好的栏目），他们就越有可能认为这个陈述是真的。

词汇预习

critical [高考]
美[ˈkrɪtɪkl] | 英[ˈkrɪtɪkl]
adj. 批评的；挑剔的；决定性的；危险的
adj. 临界的
executive [高考]
美[ɪɡˈzekjətɪv] | 英[ɪɡˈzekjətɪv]
adj. 行政的；决策的；经营的；[计算机]执行指令
n. 行政主管；行政部门；决策者
combination [高考]
美[ˌkɑːmbɪˈneɪʃn] | 英[ˌkɒmbɪˈneɪʃn]
n. 结合；结合到一起的事物或人；数码组合，字码组合
mission [高考]
美[ˈmɪʃn] | 英[ˈmɪʃn]
n. 使命；代表团；任务；布道
v. 派遣；向…传教; 把任务交给
simplicity [高考]
美[sɪmˈplɪsəti] | 英[sɪmˈplɪsəti]
n. 简单；单纯；简朴
column [高考]
美[ˈkɑːləm] | 英[ˈkɒləm]
n. 栏；专栏；列；圆柱；柱；柱形物
repetitive [高考]
美[ rɪˈpetətɪv] | 英[ rɪˈpetətɪv]
adj. 重复的；反复的
within [高考]
美[wɪˈðɪn] | 英[wɪˈðɪn]
prep. 在(某段时间、距离或范围)内；在…里面
adv. 在…里面
n. 内部
media [高考]
美[ˈmiːdiə] | 英[ˈmiːdiə]
n. 传播媒介；(medium的复数)媒体；新闻媒介
persuade [高考]
美[pərˈsweɪd] | 英[pəˈsweɪd]
vt. 说服；劝说
absorb [高考]
美[əbˈzɔːrb] | 英[əbˈzɔːb]
vt. 吸收；吸引 ... 的注意；吞并；承受
phenomenon [高考]
美[fəˈnɑːmɪnən] | 英[fəˈnɒmɪnən]
n. 现象；奇人；奇事
political [高考]
美[pəˈlɪtɪkl] | 英[pəˈlɪtɪkl]
adj. 政治的；政治上的；政党的；人事的；争权夺利的
analysis [高考]
美[əˈnæləsɪs] | 英[əˈnæləsɪs]
n. 分析；解析
chief [高考]
美[tʃiːf] | 英[tʃiːf]
adj. 主要的；首要的
n. 首领
presentation [高考]
美[ˌpriːzenˈteɪʃn] | 英[ˌpreznˈteɪʃn]
n. 介绍；陈述；赠送物；报告；[美]讲课
repetition [高考]
美[ˌrepəˈtɪʃn] | 英[ˌrepəˈtɪʃn]
n. 重复；反复
routinely [四级]
美[ruˈtinlɪ] | 英[ru:'ti:nlɪ]
adv. 日常地；通常地；例行公事地
thousandth [四级]
美[ˈθaʊzəndθ, -zənθ] | 英[ˈθaʊznθ]
adj. 第一千
n. 千分之一
make it [四级]
美[mek ɪt] | 英[meik it]
成功达到预定目标,性交易,幸存
do with [四级]
美[dʊ wɪð] | 英[duː wɪð]
处理；利用；忍受；需要；相处
drive home [四级]
美[draɪv hom] | 英[draiv həum]
开车送回家；传达；使人理解
plausible [六级]
美[ˈplɔːzəbl] | 英[ˈplɔːzəbl]
adj. 似真实合理的；动听的；看起来有道理的，貌似可信的
rally [六级]
美[ˈræli] | 英[ˈræli]
n. 集会；（价值等）回升；连续对打；赛车，汽车拉力赛
vt. 召集，集合；重整；重振，恢复
vi. 聚集；集合；反弹，反败为胜；恢复（元气等）
【名】 (Rally) （美）拉利（人名）
stump [六级]
美[stʌmp] | 英[stʌmp]
n. 残株；烟蒂；讲演台
v. 受窘；踏步；演说
telling [专八]
美[ˈtelɪŋ] | 英[ˈtelɪŋ]
adj. 有效的；显著的
illusory [考研]
美[ɪˈlusəri, -zəri] | 英[ɪˈlu:səri]
adj. 虚幻的；幻觉的
don [托福]
美[dɑn] | 英[dɒn]
n. 先生（西班牙用语）；(牛津、剑桥大学的)指导教师
v. 穿上

重点讲解

Over and over and over again

一遍一遍又一遍

drum/drive sth home 彻底说清楚某事

【例】You will really need to drive your point home.

你的确需要把你的观点阐释清楚。

【拓展】strike/hit home 正中要害

【例】Her face went pale as his words hit home.

他的话切中要害，她的脸变白了。

【拓展】home adv. 正确的地方

You don’t have to spend a lot of time with executives to hear repeated words and phrases. They might be drumming home the critical elements of their strategy to investors.

你不需要和高管们相处太久，就能听到反复出现的词语和短语。他们可能是在向投资者反复强调战略的关键要素。

drum/drive sth home 彻底说清楚某事

【例】You will really need to drive your point home.

你的确需要把你的观点阐释清楚。

【拓展】strike/hit home 正中要害

【例】Her face went pale as his words hit home.

他的话切中要害，她的脸变白了。

【拓展】home adv. 正确的地方

They might be reciting talking-points with the media. They might be inculcating the company’s culture at town halls with employees, or telling the firm’s origin story for the thousandth time. What they are not doing is starting afresh every time.

他们可能是在媒体面前背诵谈话要点。他们可能是在大会上向员工灌输公司的文化，或者第一千次讲述公司的发家故事。他们没有做的是每次都讲新的开场白。

start afresh 从头开始；重新开始

【例】It was a chance to start afresh.

这是个重新开始的机会。

【拓展】from scratch 从零开始

back to square one 回到起点；从头开始

When Kevin Lobo first became the chief executive of Stryker, a medical-technology firm in Michigan, his team drew up a mission statement (“Together with our customers, we are driven to make health care better”) that he used at the start of every presentation he gave.

当凯文·洛博首次成为位于密歇根的史赛克医疗科技公司的首席执行官时，他的团队起草了一份使命宣言（“我们与客户携手，致力于改善医疗保健”），从此他在每次演讲的开头都会说这句话。

draw up 起草；拟订

【例】to draw up a contract/list/an outline

起草合同/名单/大纲

【近义词】draft v. 起草；拟订

He says that the combination of simplicity and repetition helped it to spread organically: presentations within Stryker now routinely start with its mission.

他说，简洁加上重复让这句话自然地传播开来：如今在史赛克公司内部，各种展示通常以这句使命宣言为开场白。

draw up 起草；拟订

【例】to draw up a contract/list/an outline

起草合同/名单/大纲

【近义词】draft v. 起草；拟订

Repetition is partly a function of time constraints: in the same way that many politicians have a stump speech they can give at every rally, most bosses are too busy to craft their messages from scratch every time.

重复的部分原因是时间受限，就像许多政客在每场公众集会上都发表固定的巡回演讲一样，大多数老板太忙了，没有时间每次都从头构思演讲稿。

function n. 函数；（受某因素影响的）结果

【例】Salary is a function of age and experience.

工资视年龄和经验而定。

His success is a function of his having worked so hard.

他的成功是他努力工作的结果。

But mainly it’s to do with the way that people remember things and absorb ideas. Repetition makes things stick, as every schoolchild knows. That’s true in offices and beyond. David Gergen, a doyen of American political communications, advised candidates in debates to pick the three or four points they wanted to drive home.

但重复主要与人们记忆事物和吸收观点的方式有关。重复让事物深入人心，这是每个学生都知道的。在办公室和其他地方也是如此。美国政治沟通领域的元老级人物大卫·葛根建议候选人在辩论中挑出三到四个他们想让听众牢记的关键点。

stick v. 粘住；停留

【例】The label won’t stick.

这个标签粘不住。

His friends used to call him "Fatty" and the nickname has stuck.

他的朋友们过去一向叫他"胖子"，这个绰号就一直叫到现在。

【拓展】stick with 坚持；继续

【例】We will stick with the plan.

我们继续执行这个计划。

词曲作者的做法也差不多。南加州大学的约瑟夫·努内斯及其合著者的一项分析发现，歌词重复性更高的歌曲更有可能进入美国单曲排行榜前40名。

stick v. 粘住；停留

【例】The label won’t stick.

这个标签粘不住。

His friends used to call him "Fatty" and the nickname has stuck.

他的朋友们过去一向叫他"胖子"，这个绰号就一直叫到现在。

【拓展】stick with 坚持；继续

【例】We will stick with the plan.

我们继续执行这个计划。

Repetition helps persuade people that something is correct, a phenomenon known as the illusory truth effect.

重复有助于说服人们某件事是正确的，这种现象被称为“真相幻觉效应”。

illusory adj. 幻觉的；虚幻的

【例】an illusory sense of freedom 虚幻的自由感

【拓展】illusion n. 幻觉；错觉

【例】She is under the illusion that she is free.

她有一种她是自由的错觉。

【近义词】delusion n. 错觉；妄想

plausible adj. 看似合理的；看似真实的

【例】a plausible excuse 一个看似合理的借口

a plausible plot 一个看似合理的故事情节

【反义词】implausible adj. 不像真实的

In various studies, people have been given a list of plausible statements (the capybara is the largest of the marsupials, for example, or this column is the best one in The Economist), whose veracity they are asked to judge.

在各种研究中，人们被给予一系列看似合理的陈述（例如，水豚是最大的有袋动物，或者本专栏是《经济学人》中最好的栏目），然后他们被要求判断这些陈述的真实性。

illusory adj. 幻觉的；虚幻的

【例】an illusory sense of freedom 虚幻的自由感

【拓展】illusion n. 幻觉；错觉

【例】She is under the illusion that she is free.

她有一种她是自由的错觉。

【近义词】delusion n. 错觉；妄想

plausible adj. 看似合理的；看似真实的

【例】a plausible excuse 一个看似合理的借口

a plausible plot 一个看似合理的故事情节

【反义词】implausible adj. 不像真实的

They are then shown more statements, some new and some repeated. The more times someone is exposed to a statement (this column is the best one in The Economist), the more likely they are to say it is true.

然后他们会看到更多的陈述，有些是新的，有些是重复的。一个人听到某个陈述的次数越多（本专栏是《经济学人》中最好的栏目），他们就越有可能认为这个陈述是真的。

be exposed to sth 暴露于某事中；接触某事

【例】be exposed to sunlight 暴露于阳光下

be exposed to new ideas 接触新思想

be exposed to art 接受艺术的熏陶

课后练习

What are executives tend to do when making a speech?
A. They speak in a simple and direct manner.
B. They often repeat certain words and phrases.
C. They make preparations before every speech.
D. They always convey new and exciting messages.
Why does Lobo repeat the mission statement for every presentation?
A. Because the mission statement is well-written and impressive.
B. Because he wants to spread the mission statement in a natural way.
C. Because it is the rule to start a presentation with the mission statement.
D. Because he considers the mission statement as the most important message.
What is the main reason of repeating the same things?
A. It is time-saving and efficient.
B. It brings a feeling of familiarity.
C. It helps people remember things.
D. It shows consistency of the company.
What is the illusory truth effect?
A. People tend to believe the repeated information is true.
B. People get bored with hearing the same things repeatedly.
C. People prefer new and unique statements over repeated ones.
D. People rely on repeated and familiar information to make decisions.