THE VICE PRESIDENT: Question. Young man in the striped shirt here. Can you get him the microphone?

Q: Thank you, very much, Your Excellency Vice President. I see you not just as the Vice President but a veteran and accomplished public speaker.

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Do I look that old? (Laughter.)

Q: I mean being serious -- so as is known to all, public speaking, and English public speaking, in particular, is getting all the more popular in China. So my question is twofold: First of all, what role has public speaking played in your life? Because we say that public speaking is the language of leadership. And secondly, what role do you think public speaking will play among our youth of the two countries and to our bilateral relations? Thank you very much. (Applause.)

THE VICE PRESIDENT: That's a very good question. Let me order my thoughts here to make this as brief as I can. The commodity that is worth a lot more than public speaking is sincerity when one speaks. I mean this sincerely now. (Laughter.) There are great orators that have come along in the world history who have been charlatans. So the most important thing to look to in a leader’s speech is not the elegance or the rhetorical flourish of his or her comments, but the judgment of whether or not you believe they are sincere in what they're saying.
副總統：這個問題提得很好。我來整理一下思緒，以便盡量簡要地作出回答。對于演講者來說，遠比演講技巧有價值的一點是真誠。我說這句話的時候就是真誠的。（笑聲）在世界歷史上有一些享有盛名的演說家其實是江湖騙子。因此，在聽一位領導人演說時，最重要的不是看其能否侃侃而談或其言辭是否文采飛揚，而在于你是否認為演講人在講話時態度誠懇。

Secondly, you compliment me by saying I’m an accomplished public speaker. I don't know whether you’ve had an opportunity to see a movie that has gotten worldwide circulation called “The King’s Speech.” Well, but for the royal blood and the money, that could have been me. I was a serious stutterer when I was in school as a child, as a high school student, and even into college. And I practiced very, very hard by myself, standing in front of a mirror, trying to annunciate without contorting my face.
其次，你夸獎我是一位很有造詣的演說家。我不知道你是否有機會看過在世界各地廣泛放映的一個電影，叫做“國王的演說”。如果忽略王室出身和金錢，那個人可能就是我。我從小學到高中甚至大學一直有很嚴重的口吃。我刻苦練習，站在鏡子前面，努力在發音時不把臉扭歪。

When you think about it, whether it’s China or America, the only impediment people feel free to make fun of and humor of is a stutterer. If I had a deformed face, you would not make fun of my face. But if I stood before you and ta-ta-talked to-to-to you like that, you’d do what you’re now -- you’re smiling. And it’s offensive. It’s offensive. Because it is a serious impediment. When one stutters, people believe they are stupid. People believe they are not worth much. And there’s tens of millions of people around the world trapped with a keen mind and big heart, trapped inside of a body that cannot articulate what they feel.
我們可以想一想，無論是在中國還是美國，人們可以隨意開玩笑或取笑的唯一生理缺陷是口吃。如果我有一張殘缺變形的臉，你們不會取笑我的臉。但是，如果我站在你們面前，像這樣跟跟跟你們講講講話，你們可能會像現在這樣——在微笑。可這樣做是非常不禮貌的。這樣做是非常不禮貌的，因為這是一種嚴重的生理缺陷。人們往往認為口吃的人很笨，認為他們沒什么用處，然而世界上有千千萬萬聰明善良的人只是由于生理上的障礙不能表達他們的情感。

And the reason I bother to mention that to you is to get to the third and most important point. Speech, communication -- to state the obvious -- is the currency of understanding. It’s the currency with which we exchange ideas. It’s stuff from which flows the sense of whether one is being truthful or honest or sincere. We judge from the way people speak whether they’re being transparent and open, whether they're being cramped and cabined. And so the thing that I’m most embarrassed about in my career of 38 years of having an opportunity to literally meet every major world leader in the last 38 years. I was elected as a 30 -- 29-year-old, young man from modest means. And I’ve had that opportunity. The thing that always embarrasses me is -- and in the back of my head, I’m embarrassed in front of you -- I’m embarrassed I can’t speak to you in Chinese. I would -- seriously -- I would rather be able to honor you and show my respect for you by speaking your language, as you honor me by speaking mine.
我跟你們提到這件事是因為我要講的第三點也是最重要的一點。言語、交流——表達清楚明白的想法——是達到理解的途徑，是我們交換想法的途徑，也是我們借以判斷一個人是否真實、誠實或真誠的途徑。通過人們講話的方式，我們可以判斷他們是開誠布公還是居心叵測。在我38年的職業生涯中——我曾有機會在這38年中與世界各地的領導人會晤——有一點讓我感到羞愧。我家境貧寒，30歲——其實是29歲——贏得選舉擔任公職。我得到了這個機會。有一點總是讓我感到羞愧的是——此刻我站在你們面前，內心也感到同樣的羞愧——我為不能跟你們講中文而感到羞愧。我希望——這是真話——我能夠說你們的語言，以此向你們表示敬意，正如你們講我的母語是對我表示尊重。