Toastmasters - Collected Wisdom

Things to avoid at a contest

2008-05-03T15:55:00.000-07:00

Reflecting on the contest season, Mark started a thread with this list of things to avoid if you are running a contest event. I have sorted contributions by Mark, Rich, Joy, Colin, Jim, Phyrne and Robert into sub headings to make it easier to find suggestions for your role, but harder to appreciate the individual contributors frustrations.

Presentation time
Please take the blanking award out of the blanking bag before you present it to the first and second place winner.

In a contest with three or fewer contestants, announce only the first place winner - then give the second place person a call afterwards, and perhaps mail the trophy or present it at a club instead of 'sneaking' it to them in the back of the room.

On announcing only first place: That would be a violation of the rules. I understand what you're trying to do, but let's go by the rules. To be honest, I would rather that the rank of ALL the contestants be announced. If you're in a contest, then you already know that there will be a first place ... and everyone else. Let's put on our big boy/big girl shorts and realize that being ranked last in a contest does not mean you are a bad person. However, that's not what the rules say, and we have to follow the rules.

Don't ever say - "the first place winner is, no surprise, ___________________"

Don't ever say, before awarding the winners, "Well, that's all folks. Oh, am I forgetting something?" or any other similar riff. It was never funny in the first place.

As contest Toastmaster, I do my own little spin on things. When I was interviewing the contestants, my opening question would be a variation of, "If it's Wednesday at 6:30 PM, where can we find you?" The answer, of course, is the contestant's club. It's a slight variation of, "What club do you belong to?"

As contest master, don't turn the "meet the contestants" interview portion into a session of "stump the chump". I've seen too many contest masters launch into Table Topics from Hell, just - it seemed - to demonstrate how clever/witty/smart they were. They seemed to delight in leaving the contestants scrambling for a response.

Tell the contestants during the briefing that you are not going to try to stump them with any interview questions. Tell them the requisite things you plan to ask (name, club, how long a TM, TM educational level), and if you know what follow- up question you're going to ask, give it to them in advance.

Find a creative/fun/CONCISE way to handle briefing the audience. I've seen too many belabor so many parts of the briefing, the thought crossed my mind to stand up and say "ENOUGH ALREADY!!! GET ON WITH THE CONTEST!!!" In some cases, it was the briefer (either the TM or the CJ) wanting to thoroughly explain all the rules. In others, it was about the briefer wanting to enjoy as much time in the spotlight as possible.

You may think this is unnecessary, but one contributor suggested: "Make sure that the person you are announcing in the winner's list actually competed."

It seems that third place in a nine person evaluation contest was awarded to a member who had dropped out at the last moment, but prior to the contest.

Scheduling
Please do not wait until the end of the month to schedule your area contests. We run short of judges when you have six contests on a Friday night.... and three of the contests are in different rooms in the same building.

If you get all of the clubs/areas participating, plan for the contest to run two-and-a-half hours. Don't try to say that it will run two hours. IT WON'T HAPPEN.

If the division A contest is in Lodi, CA and the division C contest is in Orland, CA they are 140 miles apart. If you want the district officers to attend both contests, please allow plenty of time for travel. Scheduling the Division C contest at 9 AM with six contestant per contest AND having a raffle to pay for the room does not provide enough time for officers and judges to make it down to the 1:30 Division A contest.

Venue
Please, if there is more than one entrance, post a Sgt at Arms committee member at EACH ONE, and train them properly.

Sound System

If there is a sound system, work out all the details of who will operate what and how the system works BEFORE the contest, not during the contest.

If there is a PA system in the building, see if the contest site can be omitted from announcements unless it is an emergency situation so as not to interrupt contest presentations

Timekeeping

The book says that you need two stopwatches. Four work better.... * Two for the timing table * One to act as backup and to time the one minute * One for the five minutes during the evaluation contests

Contest Chairman

The Contest Chairman should NEVER NEVER NEVER try to be the focus of attention. Your job is to facilitate the contest and keep the focus on the contestants. I absolutely detest the "warm up the audience" routines that I'm subjected to prior to humorous speech contests.

Save your best jokes for the spring contests and the bad jokes for the humorous speech contests. You don't want to upstage the humorous speech contestants.

If you're the contest toastmaster, save your jokes for your club when you give your manual speech.

Please discuss with Eval and TTopic contestants where they should stand when you will be asking them the question, or introducing them. I'm tired of guessing.

Please, please don't say "A drum roll please" before announcing each award recipient!

Develop an appropriate timing serum that will alert late night speakers (keynote, awards presenters, etc.) that it is late and perhaps they should curtail their prepared remarks.

Double check all equipment from the clocks and lights to sound system and the stage...t'aint nothing more detrimental to an effective presentation than a portion of the stage buckling.

Read the results correctly.

Table Topics contest
Make sure your table topic is vetted by the Chief Judge and contest chair. They should not hear the topic for the first time when you introduce the first contestant.

Let the district officer responsible for the contest (AG, Div Gov, etc.) vet the Table Topics question. It is their contest.

Evaluation Contests
When running an evaluation contest don't use a brand new never- been-to-a-contest rookie for your SAA.

Judges
Do not, repeat, DO NOT publish the judge's names in the contest program.

Contestants
If you want to intentionally lose a contest, come to the contest in casual clothing, have your checkbook in your shirt pocket, bring up your water bottle, and keep holding up that water bottle while answering the table topics question while never using it as a prop. It says to me as a judge, "I want to lose this contest intentionally." (And, yes, this happened at a division level contest)

Everybody
Your contest photographer is your friend. Please allow him to take the pictures of the contest.

Don't talk during the minute of silence, Mr./Madame TM - not "good job", "wow", "Does someone have a tissue", NOTHING - its called a minute of silence for a reason.

The contest should focus on the contestants, not the staff, contest master, chief judge, etc

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Making it easier for the visually impaired.

2007-05-25T16:21:00.000-07:00

Jen, who is deafblind, joined Toastmasters two weeks ago and found the newsgroup while looking for ideas for her first Table topics assignment. She is able to hear extremely well with hearing aids, and uses a guide dog, Nixon.

She uses JAWS for Windows which reads any and all information that is available on the screen via voice. She finds it confusing when people top post in reply to emails and newsgroup postings, because she has to wade through all of the earlier posts.

So if you are posting to newsgroups consider a possible 10 million other readers in the United states - that's 1 in 30 people - who will "see" your message a lot more clearly if you help them by placing your message at the top of the post, rather than underneath.

Jen's contribution to the newsgroup was posted on May 24 2007 under the thread New Member and expanded into a thread of its own O/T Using screen readers suggestions/recommendations

Jen also posted some examples of reading through a screen reader at
http://tinyurl.com/2ybwh3
This one is still in Mozilla reading a web page, I think.
http://tinyurl.com/2hv2gu
I am in my Outlook folder, flipping through mail, and I believe at this stage, I show how I access the Start menu to open a program.
http://tinyurl.com/25rn36
Here's JAWS reading one of my e-mail messages, that is very short. This is when you really get a chance to hear how fast he really reads!
http://tinyurl.com/2a8ktt

My stat of 10 million extra "readers" for your message is from http://www.afb.org/Section.asp?SectionID=15#num

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Gestures can become cliches, too!

2007-04-09T01:29:00.000-07:00

In March 2007, Info started the thread The phone & the hand with:
A speaker holding up his hand as if it were a telephone when he says something like, "I called him on the phone the other day ...."? aggravates me no end. It's unnecessary and diminishes the content of the speech. It's amateurish. We know you're on the phone; it needs no gesturing to make the point.

Nigel asked:
Isn't that like saying you don't need to gesture something is large if you say it is large. You don't need to show a finger for the first point, second point, third point, etc since you've probably already told them. You don't have to gesture steering the car because you've told someone you're driving...

Info replied:
I might hold out my palms to the audience in a prepared speech on the third if I were trying to convey that a person did or said the same thing ridiculous three times. I might do that - and not always - to emphasize how excessive that person's behavior was.

To Betsy:
gestures are like fashion accessories. They look great on some people, and completely unnecessary (thus stupid) on others. I think it all comes down to how natural; the gesture feels with the rest of the speaker's body language. I naturally make phone gestures (and all sorts of gestures) even when I'm just talking with my neighbors, so I can get away with it. If you get a sense that someone is doing it artificially (like kids acting out a jump-rope song) then it looks bad.
Also, speakers should probably limit expressive gestures like this--1 or 2 phone gestures looks OK, but if you're doing something every few seconds it starts to look affected.

Joy thought "It's like a lot of other things. Not everyone agrees. Another area where this applies is the movement of the speaker. I am constitutionally unable to move around when I'm speaking, unless it is for a specific purpose - showing that I walked somewhere, for instance.

When I'm watching a speaker who does move around, it seems natural with some, and forced with others. A speaker who paces back and forth while speaking drives me up the wall. It looks ever worse when you see the speech on videotape.

Since describing a phone conversation often involves quotes from both people speaking, and sometimes narration, I find the gesture helpful. When telling both sides of the conversation, the "phone" is held to one ear for one person, and the other ear for the other person. That way, it is clear who is speaking.

Rich wondered "If you are starting a speech out with picking up the phone - you need a gesture there to indicate what you are doing. If the phone then just disappears mid conversation, it looks out of place, assuming you are continuing dialogue via the phone.

I'd rather have the gesture than a real phone prop.

John added "I suspect that gestures like the hand on the phone not only benefit the hearing impaired, but also those who have a visual learning preference - particularly when the phone conversation is between two people - one in the left ear, the other in the right.

The phone gesture can be an irritant if handled badly, but an enhancement to the presentation if integrated seamlessly.

I suspect that the reason Info noticed it was that it was not seamless.

On the other hand I agree that we should avoid cliches - both verbal and visual, and perhaps that gesture has become a visual cliche.

Colin quipped "As a wise person once said, cliches should be avoided like the plague!"

Gene knows a joke that benefits from having such a gesture. If I tell it at a Toastmasters meeting, I will use the gesture. I would not need to use the gesture, but it would improve the delivery, so I would use the gesture.

Rod saw it as horses for courses. Any gesture needs to be appropriate. That means that it must be suitable for the speaker, the speech, and the audience.

Depending on the occasion, I would be unlikely to use such a gesture to accompany a statement such as 'I called him on the phone', but I would almost certainly use it to illustrate that I was having a telephone conversation.

If it doesn't suit your style - don't use it. If you see it as unnecessary and amateurish - you're entitled to your opinion. It might also be that you don't notice it when it's done smoothly, naturally, and appropriately, only when it is used amateurishly.

Even then, Toastmasters is a learning laboratory - where we learn what works for us rather than to become clones of some mythical 'perfect' speaker. As for it being used by public speakers (however you define that term) - there's at least one who uses it - me!

Generally, and when used appropriately, gestures add a visual dimension to the auditory message, reinforcing it and aiding recall.

On the other hand, we all have our dislikes that reduce our ability to listen to the message. Mine are excessive umms, aahs, hesitancies, and an inability to get to the point. Learning to put these aside and listen effectively is a skill in its own right, and one that we teach in Toastmasters (the How to Listen Effectively module).

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Confrontation - the adversary relationship

2007-03-03T22:59:00.000-08:00

In April 2003 when Ledeema needed help with Speeches by Management assignment 5 Confrontation: The Adversary Relationship, she started the thread Need help on a topic.

John F took a stand against expansion of Edmonton's Light Rail Transit (LRT) system, calling it a half billion dollar boondoggle. I looked at the large cost of the project, the expected ridership levels and a couple of weaknesses in the proposed project like lack of park-and-ride facilities at the proposed Southgate station.
So, if there is a civic issue in your community, particularly one where a city manager or a member of city council may be called on to speak, you might find a topic in that. It doesn't have to be as big as LRT expansion either.
By the way, in reality, I support expansion and believe it is long overdue. However, I took the con position because it would guarantee the majority of the audience would be on the opposite side of the issue.

Rod said there are many controversial issues related to the IT age, such as data mining, spam, privacy etc. that might touch you.

You will already be on familiar territory with issues such as plagiarism. Where should the line be drawn? What are the differences between plagiarism and copyright breach? Your focus might be literature, patents, Toastmasters, music, or any of many others.
Should RVs have unlimited access to wilderness areas? Pollution and erosion. Should conservation issues be subverted to the demands of business?

Rick used club management for my basis for several of the speeches in that manual. I spoke in favor allowing controversial speeches in the club. Speeches that were political or religious.

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Workshop: Preparing a manual speech

2007-03-02T22:28:00.000-08:00

In March 2007, Betsy was in a club where it is like pulling teeth to convince people to give speeches, but everyone likes to do table topics.

She has thought about holding a pizza party table topics meeting!people can opt to do a traditional table topic or a "long" table topic (must speak at least 4.5 minutes).

I thought I would list 5 fun questions for these longer table topics on the> agenda, so people would have a little bit of time to prepare, even though the speeches would still be impromptu.

At the end of the meeting, I would announce a big surprise--I had quietly evaluated all of the longer table topics, and would now be> giving the evaluations, so that the speeches could count toward manual credit.

I replied:

My concern with this is that it moves away from the intent of the CC manual - prepare the speech by addressing the content of the assignment.

I also believe strongly in discussing personal objectives with the evaluator in advance of giving the speech, although this is a personal preference rather than a program requirement.As an alternative, how about running a workshop on how to give a manual speech.

Nominate the five topics, as you intended, but then split the club into pairs - the evaluator and the speaker come up with ideas together. The evaluator acts as a mentor, in a way. You could have some resource articles associated with the topics to help them with content. Downloaded web pages would be good, because it introduces the concept of researching your content.Maybe program a few of the speakers on the night of the workshop, the rest at successive meetings. That way you have half of the members with prepared speeches, and hopefully have demonstrated that preparing speeches is a lot easier than they thought.

Focus the workshop on one of the more general assignments - Get organized or Apply your skills (I am looking at an old manual - the titles may have changed)Spend about 10 minutes taking the assignment apart - the objectives, the text, the evaluation guide then move into pairs for thirty minutes.You or a couple of workshop leaders could move around and offer assistance to people who seem to be getting stuck.This would take about an hour, including time for the speeches and evaluations.

Good luck. As always, I admire your enthusiasm and creativity.

I have posted a sample workshop outline below;

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Workshop: Preparing a Manual Speech

Do your club members have difficulty preparing manual speeches? Do you have a number of members working their way through the Competent Communicator manual? Do you have one or more members who are looking for something more from the program than just manual speeches – perhaps they would like to run a workshop?
In this article, John Sleigh outlines a one hour workshop that could help meet all of these needs.

Objectives

To provide Toastmasters members with guidance and assistance to gain full value from their manuals.
To encourage more experienced members to take on a mentoring role

Structure
The workshop starts with a five to seven minute outline of a typical manual assignment.

Then members pair off – one as speaker, the other as evaluator, mentor, sounding board. The speakers prepare a speech on one of the nominated topics by referring to the manual and the resource materials that are available.

To close the workshop, volunteers (as many as time allows) deliver their speeches and are evaluated by their workshop partner – mentor. Other speakers are programmed for subsequent meetings.

Open the seminar
10 minutes
Give a speech about how you have found the manual valuable as a way to prepare your speeches. Select a manual assignment to speak about and explain that they will be working on this assignment later. Any assignment in the CC manual is suitable, however in this sample workshop I have chosen Organize Your Speech. In preparation for speech contests, Research Your Topic, Persuade with Power or Inspire Your Audience may be more appropriate as they suit the speaker who has already completed 6 speeches.

Don’t read the assignment to the club, rather use statistics, testimony, examples, stories or anecdotes, Visual aids and Facts as Assignment 2, Organize Your Speech suggests. Yes, this is a manual speech that demonstrates that you can apply what you are asking others to do.
Start with an outline of the structure of all speeches in all of the manuals – objectives, executive summary, assignment content, “Your Assignment” summary and the evaluation guide.

Then outline the five topics that you have selected, using the guide in the assignment. For assignment 2, the manual recommends
· Discussions you've had with friends or coworkers
· Magazine or newspapers articles that attracted your interest
· Your expertise on certain topics - real estate, writing, personal computers, etc.
· Everyday experiences - shopping, commuting, family relationships.

For the purposes of the workshop, it will be better if the topics are well known to the members.

You might pick one or two current controversial local or national issues on which they may choose to present a speech in favor, one against or one showing both sides of the argument.

Add one or two generic topics – raising children, living with teenagers, work-life balance, commuting and transport, tourism or education are often subjects that it easy to find resources for and which most members will have something to say. You might suggest a past, present, future approach – either talk about the history of the topic, or what it was like in a particular era, for history. One aspect of the current status for the present and either one suggested strategy or vision for the future. Try not to be too specific with the topic, to allow the members to tailor it to their knowledge.

You may also pick one or two Toastmasters or communicators topics. Perhaps leadership falls in here too. What I hope to gain or what I have gained from Toastmasters could be options. What I like to hear in a speech, what makes me follow a leader or the most impressive speaker or leader I have seen, heard or met could be an interesting topic for many members.

Then point out the features of the assignment, without reading or explaining them. Show how Assignment 2 deals with topic selection, preparing an outline, opening body and conclusion, but don’t explain the content. This would be outside the scope of a five to seven minute speech

Assign workshop pairs
Members will work in a pair – speaker and evaluator-mentor. You may assign these based on experience or seek volunteers. The choice should be based on your knowledge of the club.

Members may work with their normal club mentor, particularly if you want to reinforce this aspect of the Toastmasters program. Alternatively you may assign other members to provide an alternative learning experience. Avoid assigning all of the more experienced members as mentor – evaluators. Mix them around a bit. Some of the newer members may learn more by watching the experienced members prepare, and all members will have valuable insights, irrespective of the lengthy of their membership.

Provide resource material
Normally members will have access to their own resource material to prepare their speeches. In the workshop setting they can still use their own knowledge and opinions, but these can be enhanced by resource material that you provide. Have a selection of relevant web page downloads or news articles that the pairs can use to add the statistics, testimony, examples, stories or anecdotes, visual aids and facts the assignment recommends. You don’t need a copy of each item for each member. Just have a selection available so that they can use them to research their topic.

Prepare the speech
30 – 45 minutes
In pairs, members prepare a speech on one of the topics using the guidelines provided in the assignment.
One member of the pair will be the speaker. The other will be the mentor –evaluator.

Deliver selected speeches
5 – 7 minutes each
A selected number of members deliver their newly prepared speeches, as ina normal club meeting.

Evaluations
Speakers are evaluated, as in a normal club meeting.

Workshop review
Members are asked to review the workshop. The form on the next page can be used for this. It may also be useful to evaluate the seminar using an assignment from an advanced manual.

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Feedback form

Preparing a Manual Speech

Presenter

1. Was the information valuable to you

Useful Usable Useless

2. Was the presenter clear, and effective communicator and easy to understand

Useful Usable Useless

3. Was the content relevant to the topic

Useful Usable Useless

4. Was the time allotted suitable for the subject covered

Useful Usable Useless

5. Was appropriate use made of presentation aids and techniques to promote understanding

Useful Usable Useless

6. What was your overall level of satisfaction with the workshop?

Useful Usable Useless

Which information will you use first? When? How?

How can we make this better?

Please write any additional comments on the back of this page.

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Role play topic ideas

2007-01-21T13:15:00.000-08:00

Several advanced assignments ask you to play a role. I have combined responses to several assignment requests, because there may be overlap.

There is also a great role playing activity on my web site at http://www.johnsleigh.com.au/Resources/Activities/lastcab.htm where participants negotiate to get a scarce resource - the last cab. It could be a parking spot or the last standby seat on a flight.

In November 2005, Ruth asked for ideas for the Role-playing project in the discussion leader.

JohnF role played a selling situation where one of my fellow club members was getting me involved with financial investments.

PC role played selling George Foreman's sandwich grill to my neighbor and in another project was hotel executive in Atlantic City selling conference accomodations to an H.R. executive.

Rod role-played evaluation techniques in the club. A speech was evaluated critically, whitewashed, and 'properly' evaluated. The differences were then discussed.

The second time I did this project was a training exercise that I ran for a local church. The church was having a fundraising mission and wanted volunteer visitors to call on members to encourage them to attend. I created scripts which covered introductions, invitations, handling likely objections, put-offs, etc. The volunteers role-played the scripts until they were both familiar and comfortable with the material and methodology.

Susan suggested inviting others to a Toastmasters meeting.

In May 2004 the thread was Role Play scenarios for negotiations and JohnF suggested
Buying or selling a car (used or new).
Booking an airline flight with your travel agent.
Arranging for lawn care services with a company that mows lawns
Arranging house painting services (Quite common around here during the summer when it is often done by student run companies.)

Rick suggested
You could be leading a project and you need to borrow someone from another project for a month to finish your project on time.
You could offer to give up a speaking spot so someone could finish their CTM by the end of the year if they would help you with a role play.

In July 2002, the thread was need suggestions for role play

For RP the obvious choice would be an employee or volunteer who reports to you. If you don't want to tie it to your work make yourself a member of the staff parish committee for example it's your job to coach the minister. Maybe his sermons aren't that hot; his visitation work could use some work or how he's motivating the volunteer group who helps with the maintenance or fund raising.

Your a parent and the head of the PTA and the PTA at your child's school has decided that the principal or some teacher needs coaching. That's a tough situation since most of the teachers are unionized and they don't report to you. This would be a very difficult coaching session.

If you want to use toastmasters as the vehicle then set up a mentoring session and show the other club members tips on ways they can work more effectively with new members. If your club doesn't have a mentoring program then you can use this as a vehicle to show the other members the value of starting a mentoring program.

In March 1997, the thread was Interpersonal Communications and JohnF had the pleasure the other day of seeing someone tackle this project (At least I think it was this project).
He used a scenario most people will likely tackle at some point in their career. He role played asking his boss for a raise! He started his negotiation by breaking the ice and then covering the ways his efforts were contributing to the company's bottom line. Then he asked for the increase and the fun began.

The thread was Role-playing in January 2007, and Betsy killed two birds with one stone by giving a speech encouraging people to become club officers, participate in a contest, or do some other club-related activity that needs some encouragement. Use the role playing to show how to handle situations or to show how much fun something can be.

Rich picked a famous person you admire and have them lead a discussion within their chosen realm.
Prosecute a famous case.
Find a fictional character you wish you could be and put them in a discussion situation.
Pretend you are someone else in Toastmasters easily recognizable - A DG, A TM vet, the typical 2 month TM dropout perhaps.
Be an alien on their first, or maybe 101st trip to earth.
Find a cause you believe in and take on the role of the leader of the movement.
Become an animal, fish or insect and lead an appropriate discussion: "How do we increase the success percentage of picnic infestation?"
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Toastmaster Burn out

2007-01-20T13:43:00.000-08:00

In November 1994 a 5 year member and current Area Governor was looking for suggestions on how to give me a new "Zing" about Toastmasters and help put the "Zing" back in the club. The thread was Toastmaster burnout.

David responded
Clubs have ups & downs as do members experiences. As the club goes up in the club life cycle, so will you. To get there focus on New members -- new blood always helps -- they are always full of enthusiasm!!! Build new clubs -- as an AG it is part of your role.

Also challenge yourself -- get that DTM or ATM bronze or silver -- Go for the gold or bronze!!! As Area Gov, you make visits -- make speeches for manual credit!!!!!

Also, for your own sanity, hang around an active healthy club -- be a dual member!!

It sounded to Alan like you've already done MORE than could be expected. Sure, you could continue beating on it, but a dead horse is not going to give you anything more than a twitch.

This may be heresy, but I think your time and effort are worth too much to waste it on people who don't care. I say, let the club die, and work with (or start) another one that includes people who actually WANT the club.

I've seen this work both ways (in clubs other than Toastmasters). In both cases, the leader of the club was doing all the work and everyone else just sat back and watched. In both cases, the leader said, "Look, I can't carry the club myself, and I'm tired. So I quit. If you want a club, you'll have to step up to the task." In one case, the club coughed, gagged, and died. In the other case, several folks said, "Yes, this is important to me -- I'll make it work!"

The point is, if you try to do everything yourself, you will indeed burn out, and others who might help will just sit back. If you get out of the way, you'll find out if there's any life there at all. And if there is, the new club will be stronger than anything you could have achieved on your own.

Carol said You need a club which will help boost your energy (we all do).

Step back before you truly burn out to assess what you want -- Figure out what it would take for you to be re-energized, then go out and get it, or do it.

And don't forget to ask for help if you need it. See what your Div. Gov says, and ask your LGM and LGE for ideas, too.

To Sylvie it sounded like what many go through after being SO INVOLVED - - - When you give give give, and somehow there seems to be brick walls everywhere, you need to turn and aim at something else, or somewhere else.

Have you sat down and thought about where YOU want to be? What YOU want to do? Have you taken your needs into consideration?

Can you sit down and list what keeps you in your club?
Can you list what brings you down and see if there is anything you can do about it, if not, then let it go - the responsibility of an entire club does not rest on one or two individuals, although it often seems that way.

Decide what YOUR goals are, and keep those in mind. Even on fringe of bankruptcy, they best planners will tell you to keep some for yourself, pay YOURSELF first... Well, pay yourself some Toastmaster pay - - - THEN you can spread the rest out to where it is needed.

I found myself in somewhat of a slump when a former club I was involved with kept throwing away most of my ideas. I realized that I was no longer lining myself up with their vision, so I left.

Had I stayed, I probably would have gotten fed up real fast. I started my own club - and its going well! As area Governor (which you are also) I visit the clubs that seems to WANT my support and help. I have one where I attend once or twice a month. THERE, my efforts to help seem to be welcomed, and I feel I am fulfilling my need to help out.

You say your club is in a slump, low attendance.

That cycle thing again..... ALL Clubs go through that... Sounds like the time for new membership drive, but first, the club HAS to WANT to do that otherwise, guests won't want to stay (You know all that already).

Have YOU considered dual membership in an advanced club (if you have that in your area?)

Talk about rekindling the commitment! That sure did it for me! (That and leaving the other club). I think you've been giving of yourself and not paying attention to YOUR needs. Concentrate on you for a while, perhaps find yourself a niche speech you can give outside your club and try to find back the excitement and the yearn you had when you first got into this! It can be done!

Let the other members of the club executive in on all this, let them know you are not happy, and take some time off for YOURSELF!

Rick asked: What do you want to get out of Toastmasters? Where do you want or need to grow? What still scares you about speaking before a group? Both goals and fear can push you out of the boredom. If taking on new manuals isn't what excites you, you could try putting together some programs based on the success/leadership modules with the goal of taking them to local service clubs in the area.

Michael said to get back to what makes Toastmasters fun. Give some interesting speeches maybe even at a new club. Do not take a role which requires work, or even work towards anything. Try some silly stuff. Join a club closer to you, and go on hiatus at the old one.
I think if you stop being "responsible" for a while, it will help.

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Rebuilding a club

2007-01-18T02:10:00.001-08:00

In February 1997, Stephanie proudly reported adding 10 new members in four months as a result of this ad in the club meeting section of a local newspaper:

Do you speak on your job? in community affairs? on social occasions? with your family? Toastmasters offers low-cost, high-value help as you learn to speak and listen more effectively. Visit Coffeemuggers Toastmasters Club at 7-8 am every Wednesday at Doctor’s Hospital Staff Conference Room, Manteca. Call 555-3762 for more info.

That thread was Phoenix award.

In October 2002, the thread was Club Building & Speechcraft and Tom said:

Speechcraft is THE best way to build membership. One tactic that is becoming common is to sign the Speechcrafters up as members immediately and give them a C&L manual instead of a Speechcraft book. The course is run as per usual format but at the conclusion of the course they continue on as normal members. The benefits are that they already feel part of the Club and they receive their "Toastmaster" magazine a lot earlier. The membership applications are usually sent off in April or October so they get more than 6 months membership for the one fee (eg. if the course started in July, then they would be inducted in July and receive July, August and September free. Their fees would cover the 6 months from October so they wouldn't have to pay again until the following April). It seems to work well. Regular educationals would benefit any new members joining after the course had started.

Susan reported: The latest information I've heard from WHQ on this topic is that Speechcraft remains ranked at #2 re effective methods / strategies for recruiting new members.
The #1 method / strategy also remains the same: individual members inviting individual guests.

One of the wonderful ways that Area Governors can contribute directly to the success of their Clubs ... which are, of course, responsible for attracting their own guests, recruiting their own new members, and retaining their existing members ... is to do a Speechcraft course for a group of people, such as employees at a business, members of an association like Soroptomists or Rotary or the Chamber of Commerce (for example) ... and to provide all the Speechrafters with a listing of all the local Clubs, encouraging them to visit one or two and join one of them!

John F urged us to remember one important detail:
Every club started out with one or two people who wanted to start a Toastmasters club. Somehow, they figured out how to attract another 18 to 20 warm bodies.
Seems to me that what a weak club needs to do is rediscover the methods that were used to attract 20 members in the first place.

Rick recalled one club that built up from 9 to 25. They did it by attracting other people from the companies where their members worked.

In October 2001, the thread was Club Maintenance Tips, and Dennis said:

The biggest issue in club survival is a key member. At least one member has to be committed to the club, want it to prosper and will do the work to keep things going - mo matter the office.
Much better if group, but one person can/will actually pull a group together. Sadly, I have no idea how you train or recruit this "key" I just see it happen!

We have heard from guests that supportive, positive evaluations are an issue. Friendly people/members greeting is also mentioned. The evals need to include suggestions as well and bar has to go up as members improve - but nicely.

As new people join and existing members renew, you need to balance needs of all the members.

Solid meetings, and manual speeches are a must.

Most experienced members must model the best behavior.

I think as an organization, if we could figure out how to mentor and train those key guys, we could improve club survival dramatically.

I agree with others, moving location and night is bad but I see some lousy locations really do just fine and some equally good locations where one makes it and one does not.

Rick said:
The week clubs I've seen often suffer from one or more of the following problems:
1. A week program in their club
2. Problems with club climate
3. An ineffective membership program
4. Loosing their meeting place and spending several months in temporary locations.

The problem with the club in temporary locations, is they don't want to attempt a membership program because they almost have a permanent meeting place.
I've met a lot of people who assume if the club is weak that it must be from #1 or #2. I've visited several clubs that suffer from #3. (Clubs with a membership in the 20's but high turnover probably suffer from #1 or #2.) The "Moments of Truth" module is a good starting point. The presentation describes the things the club needs to do right. There is a discussion of what are the clubs strong and weak points. From there, the club can construct a plan.

In January 2004, the thread was Rebuilding a club and Bill reported on maintaining the momrntum after a number of new members had joined:
Because we had so many new members, and they were somewhat reluctant to start, we held an Ice Breaker seminar. This generated enough interest that we had two meetings just for Ice Breakers, with one of these meetings being a First Timers meeting - every role, except evaluators, was done by someone for the first time. Last year we had 14 Ice Breakers in total delivered.

Mark suggested a series of monthly Open Houses (held on the first meeting of each month from March through June). These meetings would be publicized through electronic means (our club website), through the club newsletter, and by printed flyers placed in strategic areas (nearby library, local bulletin boards, city Chamber of Commerce, etc.). These advertisements would encourage invitees to bring their checkbooks, as we would offer a small discount for first-time guests joining our club.
The Open Houses would be informal meetings, with the members bringing refreshments. The core of each Open House would be a 8-10 minute keynote speech about the benefits of Toastmasters membership. Then two or three club members would give 2-3 minute testimonials of the benefits they received from Toastmasters membership. We would give guests time at the end of each Open House to ask questions. In short, the entire Open House would be a club promotional meeting.
Each visitor would receive a handout package containing partially filled-out membership forms, including pro-rated dues (a visitor would only need to add personal information to complete the form). The meeting would end 15-20 minutes early to allow for guests to complete the paperwork and join the club.
Those visitors who wouldn't join at their first meeting would get a follow-up note by regular mail. In this note, our club President would thank them for their attendance and would personally invite them to attend the next Open House.

Rick suggested The Moments of Truth module as a good start. It talks about making a good impression on guests and keeping new members. One of the most useful parts is the exercise at the end. It's a chance for your club to talk about which areas can be improved.
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Backwards meetings.

2007-01-02T21:38:00.000-08:00

In December 1999, Ledeema suggested backwards meeting or start in the middle and work both ways in response to a request for ideas on creative approaches to meetings in the thread First time toastmaster.

Rick defined it as
Start with awarding best speaker, then evaluations, ... finish with an overview of the meeting, but warned this tends to be a love it or hate it type of meeting. We had a backwards meeting in my past club. The toastmaster for the day just did it unannounced. Our VP-Ed loved it and she scheduled a backwards meeting a couple months later. The toastmaster for that day hated that format, and he did something different.

Joy had participated in two or three backwards meetings. I noticed that they work particularly well if the speakers are fairly experienced speakers, and the evaluators have evaluated these speakers previously. It is amazing how accurate an evaluation can be in this sort of case.

Les went to one of these backward meetings a couple of years back and it seemed like a 'jolly jape' for the first 5 minutes after which the joke started wearing a bit thin.
My main concern, however, was for the guests who were not really a party to this 'in' joke which does rather depend on the audience knowing how a normal meeting operates.

Eric had heard about backwards meetings for years, but it's only in the past month that I actually participated in one. I was an evaluator, so I had to give a speaker her evaluation before she gave her speech. I cheated a bit, I gave her oral evaluation on how I hoped she'd fare, but didn't write anything in her manual until she was giving her speech.

It did seem rather odd and contrived in a way. Not only did the evaluators come before the speakers, but so did the timers report. As well, when introductions were made, they were done after the part being introduced e.g. here's Joe to give his speech, and Jill gets up to evaluate Bob who hasn't spoken yet. It was at times very funny; I remember one of the evaluators (who didn't know what the speaker was going to be talking about) saying how enjoyed her unusual use of a chair as a prop, then when the speaker was up we were all watching to see if and how she would incorporate this into her presentation.

There were no guests that day, but one new member who was very confused as she didn't know how we did things normally.

In August 2001, Gern responded to the thread Backwards Meeting with the feeling this type of meeting has the potential to be great in the right circumstances. For example, if someone was giving the advanced manual 'impromptu speech', a "pre-"evaluation could set the stage for the topic. For more regular manual projects or beginning speakers, I believe we owe the speakers proper evaluations.

1. We did most of the meeting backwards. OK in concept.

2. The evaluators went before the speakers. Of course there was no relation between the evaluation and speech. Big drawback.

3. We didn't vote for speaker, evaluator, or table topics.

4. Table topic speakers spoke on any topic and the topic master would then develop the topic introduction. Worked pretty well.

5. We started promoting this backwards meeting about 5 weeks before the actual date. Everyone knew what would take place, and one of our most experienced members was the toastmaster. Doing portions of the meeting backwards or out of order will work if the major role players know what's going on. Doing a whole meeting should be known by everyone. Guests should also be informed this is not a regular meeting.

David was against the idea. It's a poor substitute for a well planned/organized meeting and should be avoided. This is especially true for a club that is new, small, and trying to build its membership. Every meeting should be a demonstration of what the club can do for any guest who chooses to become a member. It's unlikely that this will happen in a backwards meeting with inexperienced Toastmasters.

Ken thought that manual speeches should have shadow evaluators to give post speech evaluations at end of meeting.

Since the chair's concluding remarks will be at the beginning of the meeting the chair can enlighten the guests before they are left completely in the dark.

We even had one speaker turn their back on the audience while delivering their speech!

For Joy it works best if the evaluators have heard the speakers several times. For instance, say you are evaluating Joe, who has a tendency to put his hands in his pockets when he speaks. In your evaluation you could remark on the fact that he managed to keep his hands out of his pockets for most of the speech. It might help him remember to do just that.

Some people also have favorite phrases that they use repeatedly. An evaluator could mention that. Naturally, the speakers would be given true written evaluations as well.

The Table Topics Master could start by doing a "wrap-up", indicating the theme of the meeting. In fact, at some clubs the TT Master does this, mentioning briefly what each speaker talked about. If he/she does this, that would give the speakers an indication of which way to go, and make it fairly simple for the TT Master to give the "question" after the person has spoken.

I agree that this shouldn't be done very often, but it can make a fun change.

In October 2000, Ian had heard about a Back-to-Front Meeting and was horrified when my club decided to have one, but it was a lot of fun! The GE remarked how unusual it was that the TTE had been lying on the floor for part of his evaluation...so he did! He was disappointed by how boring my Table Topic had been...so I just droned on and on until I was heckled off.

The evaluations of the manual speeches were ingenious introductions; the introductions were ingenious evaluations!

At 8:15am our Chairman welcomed us to the meeting, and we all left.

Don't try it more than once a year.

Carmen had one, it was a hoot. Only caveat, we told the club members that this should not be a meeting to meet your speaking goals or anything. It was to be fun, plain and simple.

Sburgin had a GREAT meeting. To top it off, the Toastmaster of the Day had recorded several "golden oldies" backwards and there was a contest to see who identified the most correctly. The winner received a $20 gift certificate from a local music shop. BTW, we had one member who got 17 out of 20 (the next best was 9 out of 20).

Susan guesses they are OK once in a very long while, for the Clubs that want to do them. They are not my cup of tea. But that's my personal preference, and in my Club I get to voice it. In other peoples' Clubs, they get to voice theirs!

Moira personally loathes back-to-front meetings, but I don't think they negate visitors or prevent assignments from being done. The only clubs I have ever visited which have had them have been clubs with vibrant meeting programmes.

Ilena did a backwards meeting awhile ago at our club and had a wonderful time! While the individuals with assigned roles were left to their own as to just *how* backwards they wanted to get, the suggestions for possibilities put before our club ahead of time included:

As a GE you are to evaluate the meeting overall and the evaluators, so consider who the TM is and the evaluators and the speakers...and think of things that would be 'likely' to occur with those individuals. I would *also* recommend written comments that might be helpful for things that really did happen to share after the meeting really is over.
Evaluating the meeting/speech making particular points you thought might happen (or that *could* happen), after which the members doing the balance of the meeting might try to make those things happen. I.e., an evaluator evaluating a speech that hadn't happened might comment that the speaker had done a wonderful job using a particular gesture or phrase-the speaker could then try to include that in their speech. A lot of this was done with great success. If an evaluator commented that their target speaker had used three 'um's they would try to work them in.
Reversing the timing light sequence to go red first and then yellow and then green (I wanted to do this, and it would have involved just removing the cover of the electronic timer and turning it upside down, but it was deemed too confusing)
Speakers were allowed to present their conclusion first and then do the body and the intro last (but none actually did). They were also told they could do their entire speech backwards (by sentence) or even do the individual sentences backwards. No one did that either; personally I think that would have been too confusing to the audience and the point of the speech would have been lost.
People can wear clothing backwards (if they dare!) but facing with one's back to the audience is something to be discouraged IMO.
Speakers were 'called up' with 'please take a minute to write your comments for (speaker's name) and introduced after they were done speaking
The lexicographer noted who had used the word of the day at the beginning of the meeting (when normally they'd be introducing what the word *was*). I don't remember if they did anything odd with the word itself, but palindrome is a good word of the day for a backwards meeting. (Phrases like 'Madam I'm adam' are palindromes; they are the same backwards and forwards.)
People walked backwards to and from the front of the room.
The meeting was opened by 'closing' it; the normal 'closing remarks' about putting our chairs back were given at the beginning of the meeting; the president 'opened' the meeting with the business meeting at the end of the evening.

When you are the Toastmaster of the day

2007-01-02T21:03:00.000-08:00

In January 1998, Gloria was preparing an educational segment on the duties of The role of Toastmaster in the Meeting. Introducing speakers is not covered in this post, because it was dealt with in the previous one When you are the Toastmaster of the day.

The idea of a Backwards meeting came up, which is dealt with the the next post.

Her question: What is the MOST important duty of the Toastmaster during the meeting?

Joseph would have to vote for "starting and ending the meeting on time with a minimum of headache and heartache for the audience".

For Rick the goal of the toastmaster is to have a successful meeting. This means the speakers need to do well and the business meeting needs to go well. The business meeting is out of the toasmaster’s control, so that leaves the speakers. If the speakers are exciting, the members will forget other minor problems.

Does the speaker have everything the need set up? Make sure the room is setup and ready to go.

When they get to the front of the room, the audience wants them to start not fiddle with equipment or props. If they have problems, what can you do to solve them.

When I’ve been in the toastmaster position at conferences, I’ve had to have the conference center adjust the temperature below 83 F. I have also flipped overheads for a speaker who couldn’t wear a livelier mike. (She didn’t have a belt or pickets for the connector to clip to.)

For Owen, the most important role is to call the participants BEFORE the meeting and remind them to prepare! If everyone else is ready, anyone at a Toastmasters meeting can step in and wing it as emcee at the meeting, but if your speakers don't have speeches prepared, your TTM doesn't have any topics in mind, and your Wordmaster doesn't have a dictionary definition prepared to display at the front of the room, your meeting will fall into chaos even if the emcee shows up fully prepared for everything that SHOULD happen, but now won't.

Gretchen thinks of the word "TREAT".

The letters in the word treat stand for:

THEME Generally as Toastmaster, I select a theme for a meeting I'm chairing. I use a theme to provide a uniformed focus for the entire meeting.

ROLES AND AGENDA When I type agendas for meetings, I become aware of who has signed up for roles and what roles I will need to fill. Because one of the duties of the Toastmaster is to introduce the participants, I call each person on the program to verify their participation and to ask them to write out a short paragraph of introduction for me to use at the meeting.

EXPECTATIONS: Theings don't always work out as I plan. There often are last minute changes.

AUDIENCE KNOWLEGE If there are new members and/or guests, I will need to explain the what and whys of each part of the meeting.

TRANSITIONS Between different parts of the program, tranisitions are needed. I introduce my theme at the begainning of the meeting and then focus my transitional comments on the theme. I've found it is helpful to develop four or five. I use my tranisitions while members are filling out their ballots. They can also be used to refocus the group after break.

Being Toastmaster is no longer a chore for me. It is a TREAT and can be for you--JUST DO IT!"

In Bill's opinion, Creating and maintaining enthusiasm are very important.

I have attended some very poor meetings (form wise) that have been great because of the enthusiasm of the Toastmaster. On the other hand I have attended some very well run meetings (form wise) that have been a disaster because the Toastmaster had no enthusiasm for the job.

Of course if you can have a meeting with great form presented with enthusiasm that would be my choice :-)

For David, the role is to keep the program moving and upbeat.

Joy makes all participants feel welcome and appreciated. That includes good introductions for speakers.

It also includes leading the applause when appropriate - after introducing each speaker and after each speaker or other participant has concluded. In many clubs the applause is not uniform. Some people are applauded and some aren't. This doesn't help morale.

Also, it's very important that visitors and new members know what's going on. If participants don't fully explain their roles, expand on their explanations. Remember, visitors and new members probably don't understand the terms CTM, ATM, DTM, etc.. If you use them - or if someone else uses these terms, explain.

In December 1999, Steve was First Time Toastmaster and would like to do it a bit different that those who have before....variety, hopefully, is the spice of life. Is it OK to vary things like getting people , instead of clapping, after each speech to yell and cheer, or is that considering a bit out-of-line for a tm ask?

Unless you are following a theme where yelling and cheering would be appropriate (like a circus theme, etc), Ledeema wouldn't suggest that. There are a number of other things you might do though such as set a special theme as long as you do it enough ahead of time to let everyone know about it.

Dennis suggested thinking about the transitions and introductions and how they relate to your theme.
Talk to each person with a role and ask for a specific piece of information which relates to the theme and use it in the introduction. I like to use quotes as a device to introduce the different parts of the meeting, maybe that will lend focus.
I suggest that if you want cheering pick a sports theme and introduce the role-players as if they are members of the team:
An example from one of Gloria's agendas and football:
Timer = Running Back - "running the stopwatch"
Grammarian = Defensive Coordinator - watching our language
Toastmaster = Quarterback
Tipster = Color Commentator
Table topics = Safety - "safe from answering"
Speaker = center -"center stage"
General Evaluator = Offensive Coordinator
Evaluator = Coach

This list doesn't have to make overwhelming sense, it only has to provide a "jump-off" for you as Toastmaster! Be sure to warn people what's in store and ask them to design their TT questions or even speechs around your theme (if they can). Bring them to the lectern like introducing team at start of game and lead the cheer then!

Pull various parts together with sports quotes, and maybe have your members with roles wear the shirts and sweatshirts of their favorite teams. And your intros can involve the members involvement in a sport or their favorite fan moment.

Just remember as Toastmaster, if you are having fun and are showing lots of energy, your members will be having fun and showing lots of energy. And a sports theme can lend itself to a positive reinforcement and success message.

JohnF would feel uncomfortable speaking at a meeting where my speech were greeted with yells and cheers. That doesn't mean the idea might not work at an occasional meeting, but I'd check out the climate in your club and make sure the members are on side before proceeding with it.
That said, there are other ways to shift a bit out of the ordinary.

One I coordinated recently was a meeting with a panel discussion. I will admit, I was motivated less by a desire to be different and more by a desire for manual credit. Piloting a panel is a manual project in one of the advanced manuals. However, if there is a member in your club who is working on one of the more unusual projects in one of the advanced manuals, perhaps you could team up with this member to help him or her achieve the advanced manual credit while getting a meeting with a difference. For example, the advanced manual Communicating on Television has a couple of talk show projects that could create an interesting twist to a meeting.

In Terry's opinion, it is not out of line for the TM to request this. The TM establishes the ground rules for the meeting. Now, you may want to warm them up to the idea in some way, especially if the club is usually reserved. A warm up may be to have them cheer their favorite rugby team. As TM you can seek to get out of the box. The key will be to lead the others out of the box with you.

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Introducing the next speaker

2007-01-02T20:04:00.000-08:00

In January 2007, Mary asked How do Toastmaster members write effective introductions. The thread was Effective Introductions.

It is boring to hear that they live in a certain city with their wife, 2 kids and pet canary. They do not have the background or qualifications to speak about the subject for the introducer to list. They probably do not even have a title such as head of some department at a hospital for example. All they did was research a topic and are preparing to present it.

For Betsy, There had to have been a reason why that person chose that topic--tell the audience that reason.

Examples:
"Two years ago Joe Schmoe moved to our city. He realized that the drinking water tasted different and this sparked his interest in learning more about Water Pollution in the Potomac River..."

or
"Joe has always been interested in cars. Last year he went to the auto show, where he had the opportunity to test drive a Prius. Since the he has learned a great deal about hybrid cars, which he will share with us today..."

or
"Joe still remembers the first movie he ever saw, which was the Wizard of Oz. Ever since then Joe has been a fan of the silver screen, and tonight he will tell us about 3 of his favorite movies..."

To PC it depends on what you mean effective.
In the context of a regular Toastmasters meting,IMO an introduction is effective if it it includes the name of the speaker, the title of the speech, speech project # and manful, and project objectives. The extra fluff it's fine but irrelevant. Most members already know the speaker already.
In the context of an event (seminar, conference, etc.,), the effective introduction needs to include some brief info that points to the speaker's qualification or relevance to speak on the topic. However, it's not a recitation if his/her resume (CV).

John F's introductions for my speeches aren't a CV, but they do highlight something in my background appropriate to this particular speech. For example, when I do a talk on a technical topic, it doesn't hurt to remind the membership that I do have a background in engineering.

There is nothing wrong in Toastmaster in giving a talk where we don't have a lot of background and just did a bit of research on a topic that interests us.
Chances are, there is a reason why the topic interests us, and a reason why we want to share it with the rest of our audience. And that can help us build an appropriate introduction.

For Rick, people don't have to have a title to be an inexpert. The department head may know about a subject because s/he read the summary on the report prepared by a staff member.

Gene always writes his introduction.
The details that you call boring are irrelevant to most speeches. The details should be relevant.

The introduction sets the tone for the speech. It should be connected with it in some way. This might be why the speaker is qualified to speak on the subject or a statement of general philosophy that will be addressed.

For Rod, an effective introduction should build the speaker's credibility hand help him or him to get off to a good start. In particular, a good introduction should answer the questions:
Why this speaker?
Why this subject?
Why this audience?
Why this occasion or time?

It's all in the manual, but few bother to read it.

I
In May 1998, Podi asked As the Toastmaster of the Day I like to introduce the next speaker with a smooth transition , but more often than not, I scramble in my mind for words.
How do you folks handle this problem? The thread was How do you introduce speakers

For LG, each person that will be introduced supplies information to the person who will be introducing them. The information provided varies. It may include personal information (how long in TM, where they work and for how long) sometimes the information is a lead in for the speech they are about to give. This ensures that the introducer knows what they will be saying before beginning rather than scrambling in their mind for words.

Joy recalled an educational by heard a speech by Wendy Farrow (later an International Director, now deceased) in which she strongly recommended that speakers write their own introductions so they will be introduced the way they want. Ever since then I have tried to do that, and have encouraged others to do the same. I also encourage the Toastmaster to use the introduction provided by a speaker.

A few years ago after an 8-year-old girl was killed while trying to fly an airplane across the United States, I gave a speech on the subject. I prepared a carefully written introduction which included the facts that I have been a private pilot and that I have worked with gifted children. This was to establish my credibility to speak on the subject, without taking up my speech time.
The Toastmaster ignored the written introduction and gave a flowery paean saying how witty and humorous I am. Since this was one of the few speeches I have given which did not contain humor, and was about a very grave subject, his introduction was entirely inappropriate, and I had to begin my speech by saying, "Thank you for that flattering introduction. However, the introduction I provided said ..."

So, I encourage speakers to write their own intro, or at least provide the information they want included in it, and I urge the Toastmaster to use the introduction or information provided.

JohnF described a module from the Better Speaker Series "Creating an Introduction" (Cat. No. 277 which seems to be just what the Doctor ordered.
I was present when this module was presented as an educational to one of my clubs and the presenter gave some very good examples of what to do, and what not to do.
Her 'what not to do' example really sticks in my mind. "Ladies and gentlemen, John is an established trainer in both downhill skiing and water skiing. He holds a degree in Physical Education, and several years experience in the field of skiing. Ladies and Gentlemen, please help me welcome our speaker, John, with a speech entitled 'Proper Motorcycle Maintainance.'" She really drove home the need for a proper introduction.

When I write introductions, there are four questions I like to keep in the back of my mind-
Why this Speaker?
Why this Audience?
Why this Subject?
Why Now?

Carmen was amused by John's experience, but added it never happened to her because she writes her own introductions, although what it *did* do was remind me not to be too casual about the introduction I do write.

Joy added the introduction should include information that relates to the speech subject rather than something that does not. If the speech was to be about skiing, the information would be important for the audience to have. Since the speech was about motorcycle maintenance, it would have been logical to mention any training or experience the speaker had in this area. The purpose of an introduction is to prepare the audience to hear the speech. Giving them information not related to the speech can confuse them.

If our club speeches are preparing us to speak to outside groups the contest formula of Title, speaker, speaker, title, in an introduction would be inappropriate, and either frowned on or laughed at, in most situations outside the Toastmasters club.

I feel that the introduction should include any pertinent background to bolster the speaker's credibility about the subject, the objective of the speech in question, and any other information the speaker wants the group to know. At a club meeting, for instance, it is appropriate to mention how long the speaker has been a Toastmaster. In an outside group, this would not be of interest to the audience, unless the speaker is talking about Toastmasters or some aspect of public speaking. The speaker's name could be mentioned at the beginning of the introduction, and again at the end, along with the title.

Bill, a professional speaker, said at the top of my intro is a note to the Introducer that says in bold print.
**********
To the Introducer:
The introduction of a speaker is vital to setting the stage and tone for the presentation. To maximize Bill's contribution to the program:
1. Please review this introduction before the program. 2. Please read it slowly and clearly. 3. Please read it as written.
***********
I send two copies to the meeting planner, one to the introducer (if known) and I bring one with me to the event.
Please keep in mind that people are there to hear the speaker and not about him or her. Keep your intro down to about 30 seconds and certainly not more than one minute.

Review it for difficult words. I used to say in the intro,"Bill has spoken before personnel from some of the worlds most prestigious companies." It now says, "... for many of the Fortune 500's largest companies." Everyone stumbled over the word "Prestigious." Keep it simple.

Be sure that the info given is important to this audience. If you are speaking on achieving perfect attendance in Sunday school, the fact you have be able to do that counts. But if your topic is water polo the audience will not care about your Sunday school attendance.

Also keep in mind that something written to be read and not spoken is written differently from something to read aloud. Give your intro to several people to read aloud to test it for ease of speech.

Mike witnessed "An introduction from Hell" at a district convention. Our Communications and Leadership recipient was a close and personal friend of the introducer. The introduction droned on for 22 minutes (No Kidding, we timed it). The audience was bored, and the speaker visibly embarrassed and shaken. The C&L recipient only spoke 20 minutes. So.....I agree with Bill - write your own introduction, even if the introducer is your friend.

Podi emphasized the transition focus in his original question:
How about the lead-in itself? That is the bit that most people don't know how to handle in my opinion.
Let me be clear about what I'm saying here: the end of the previous speech doesn't and shouldn't take you directly to the introduction of the next speaker on the agenda now, right?
What do you do there?

Denis agreed: bridging and transition is not emphasized enough. The mood of two speeches can be very different and you should present each so that it gets proper focus without overlap.
I like short quotes which act to bridge and set the scene for the next speech. This requires at least some contact with speaker to scope out mood of speech and how it fits into theme or is opposite (both work)!

The intro can act as a bridge. Find out from speaker if there is a point or topic that needs emphasis before the speech, you or the evaluator should give notice before the speech i.e. is it a speech to be read or is it supposed to be extemporaneous or is it set in the Great Depresion, etc.

Lets face it, if my speech is a farce and yours is a eulogy, the bridge should be more than one minute to fill out eval card and a call to the lectern.

This is a skill which like speaking comes with practice, just try different stuff till you find your own NATURAL style.

In February 2000 the thread was Introduction of a speaker

Roy learned the following from a DTM friend in the area.

T I P S

INTRODUCTIONS
An Acronym; (To make the formula more memorable)

TOPIC What is it and Why this subject?

INTEREST Why this audience? And What is in it for them?

PERSPECTIVE Why this speaker?

SPEAKER
What information about the speaker?

In May 2002, David started the thread How To Introduce Someone with:

What is a good way to get information about a speaker? Are there any good questions to ask? I want to be able to do more then email these speakers and ask--How do you want me to introduce you? It never seems to illicite answers that make for good introductions.

These steps worked for PC:

1. Call or email (you need to communicate)

2. Say: For introductions I need,

The title of your speech, speech project number and manual, and project objectives (if making speech) and
a couple of sentences about you the way you want me to introduce you. Whatever you want is fine. (If you are on the phone give them an example.)
If I don't hear from you I will make up something based on what I know about you.

Another way to make special introductions ask every person to give you his or her answer to the same question and inlude that informaion wih the introdction. For example, favorite past time.
One thing to remember: if you decide to give special introductions, do the same for everyone. If you want to use the minimalistic introduction, also do the same for everyone.

Dennis asks the speaker if the speech needs any explanation or set-up. This might trigger an answer if they need something "special" in the intro.

Does your club usually call on the evaluator to explain the speech objectived and speaker goals? Our club has the evaluator do that just before each speech, then TM introduces speaker.

Will you have a meeting theme? Ask each person you will be introducing a question based on your theme - this can form a nice thread carried through the meeting.

Unless you can ask a specific question, folks do not usually have a good answer about how they want to be introduced. I think it is a fear of seeming to brag.

JohnS (your editor) added:

I would draw their attention to the section in the manual - How to introduce a speaker, and explain that you would like to do it according to the book.

Mention that you will only have thirty seconds, so could they choose one aspect that you could highlight - perhaps something about their family, perhaps something about their work, perhaps about their hobby.

Suggest an example introduction, and ask them for assistance in filling in the blanks.

A couple of other points, avoid a repetitive formula of Manual number, speakers name, title, assignment objective, personal note, time etc.

With respect to time, make an announcement at the beginning of the session that all speeches will be from 5 to 7 minutes, with the exception of our third Speaker who is speaking from the Advanced manual - Speeches by management - Geoff's speech will be 10 to 12 minutes.

he other items in the list should all be mentioned, but vary your approach.

Integrate them something like this:
Our first speaker, Rod Taylor is well known for his varied diet. An African resident, John is familiar with the taste of Alpaca and Llama, although we are not sure if he has tasted Springbok. Tonight, however as he takes up the challenge of Working With Words, Rod will answer that time honoured question "Which came first the chicken or the egg?"

Afterwards - thank you Rod. I am sure that we all love to see the photos of your trip.
John Fleming is another world traveller. Tonight, as he applies his skills John will relate a thrilling experience in a Canadian winter. Under The Northern Lights, John has experienced the chill of below freezing weathers and days with barely two hours of sunshine. Join me in encouraging John to share his tale of Life Under the Northern Lights.

Thank you John. Perhaps next time you could tell us how you spent the twenty two hour days in sub arctic summer.

The sort of night life that Dale Hartle specialises in is best conducted in a city not far from home. We know that Dale is the life of the party at our festival meetings, but did you know that Dale is also the heart and soul of another party? As campaign manager for the recent city elections, Dale spent her days and most of her nights stuffing envelopes and making placards. Fresh from the successful campaign for city council, Dale will Show What She Means when she says "You can't Beat City Hall."
and so on.

You should mention the title last, shortly after the speaker's name.

It is important that the speaker know what you are going to say about them, so your idea of an email questionnaire is good. Perhaps you might want to cut and paste some of this to give them an idea.

One other point - Start the applause and wait at the lectern until the speaker arrives. Shake hands and return to a seat close to the front so that there is no time lost between speakers.
Apologies to Dale, John and Rod. The above intros are not based on any real people, living or dead.

Dennis does the manual and timing information slightly differently:

First - the timer is introduced and announces timing for the speeches and goes over the lights for the newer folks.

Second - just before the speaker is introduced, the evaluator will announce the manual and project with objectives and then personal goals for the speaker.

The Meeting Toastmaster will then introduce speaker with personal informsation and title.
Afterwards the Toastmaster asks for a minute for audience to complete short evaluations for the speaker.

I find it easier for the evaluator to explain this stuff and it makes a cleaner introduction.

Rae had noticed noticed a trend in our club that I don't think is particularly effective and that is that the speaker is handing a written introduction to the Toastmaster at the last moment.

I feel that this is ineffective on several fronts. Firstly, it deprives the Toastmaster of the opportunity to interview the speaker in advance and learn a little more about them.

Writing effective introductions of other people is a valuable skill to practice.

Secondly, the introduction that you may be handed may be very poorly written. If you read it verbatum it will effect your credibility as well as that of your speaker.

Thirdly, I believe in being prepared for every role that I perform. This last minute receiving of an introduction doesn't allow me the time to practice my intro and build the proper excitement for the upcoming speaker.

One factor of an effective introduction that I haven't seen mentioned in previous posts is that your introduction is to build excitement or interest in the speaker but that focus should not be placed on yourself.

Introducing the prepared speakers by the Toastmaster is only one example of opportunities to introduce someone. There are many other examples througout the meeting. "Fellow Toastmasters our Table Topics Master this evening just won the Division xxx Table Topics Contest in xxx. Please join me in welcoming xxxx for an exciting session of Table Topics!"

Joy felt that times should be given to the timer, and possibly the evaluators. Nobody else really needs to know that. It is okay to include it in an introduction, but I don't feel it's necessary.

Dan has experienced a mixed format for introductions. Most often it is a reflection of the attendance record of the Chair/Toastmaster; they are not always there to see the diversity of the agenda formats.

Often the Toastmaster will simply introduce the speaker with a narrative about the speaker's resume with the Club. The minimum is how long with, some of their roles and the Title. For the more creative and regular attenders you find they ask first for the evaluator to highlight the project goals.

This highlight can be a real attention focus for the evaluator and voting audience as they view the presentation. Follow this with the Toastmaster presenting the speakers credentials and/or background in the topic of choice, the audience gains respect and anticipation for the speaker's presentation. Further this with a track plan that the speaker has followed in the manual you can appreciate the building nature of the speaker.

The real credit for the introduction can sit with the speaker if they offer a script for introduction. They provide the background of interest and expertise for the speech/speaker. If left to the Toastmaster then they may expect a whitewash. It is an opportunity to communicate that requires preparation. It should be done prior to the meeting since at the meeting the greeting and preparation actions do not blend easily. Even a brief phone call is better than trying get attention as members and guests may arrive only minutes before the thump of the gavel.

It is part of preparation. Do not put it off as an adjustment; make it part of the speech preparation.

For Gene sometimes it's very important to my speech how I am introduced. In that case, I am very careful to tell the Toastmaster that it is important.

In the thread The role of Toastmaster in the Meeting in January 1998

Rick added physical set up to the introducer's duties:

Does the speaker have everything they need set up?

Make sure the room is setup and ready to go. When they get to the front of the room, the audience wants them to start not fiddle with equipment or props. If they have problems, what can you do to solve them. When I’ve been in the toastmaster position at conferences, I’ve had to have the conference center adjust the temperature below 83 F. I have also flipped overheads for a speaker who couldn’t wear a livelier mike. (She didn’t have a belt or pickets for the connector to clip to.)

There is more on this in the next post: When you are the Toastmaster of the day

The Entertaining Speaker - The Dramatic Talk

2006-12-26T21:50:00.000-08:00

In September 1996, Clara was working through the advanced manual, The Entertaining Speaker. and asked for suggestions for speech #4, "A Dramatic Talk"? The thread was Dramatic Talk

JohnF replied
The project calls for a 10 - 12 minute dramatic speech including narration and dialogue among the characters. You can draw material from your own experience, from your imagination, or something you have read.

Dramatic experiences from your own life can include items along the line of 'I discovered my house was on fire,' to 'The boss called me into his office and gave me S***,' to 'I was invbolved in a bad traffic accident,' to . . . . Whatever you chose, pick something and bring out the dramatic aspects of the story.

Using your imagination means, to me, creating something quite new. In essence, writing your own piece of fiction and then telling it in a way that is dramatic.
If you use something that you've read, pick a story that you particularly enjoyed and that has dramatic effect. Edgar Allan Poe, for example, wrote a very chilling story about being buried alive. Talk about drama!!

I think with this one, it helps to keep in mind that the Entertaining Speaker is also a good storyteller.

Nosmith used material from these two books when I was working on the Storytelling and Interpretive Reading manuals:
The Actor's Scenebook. Scenes and Monologues from Contemporary Plays. Edited by Michael Schulmana and Eva Mekler. Published by Bantam Books.

The New Women's Theatre. Ten Plays by Contemporary American Women. Edited by Honor Moore. Published by Vintage Books.

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The names "Toastmasters International", "Toastmasters" and the Toastmasters International emblem are trademarks protected in the United States, Canada and other countries where Toastmasters Clubs exist. Unauthorized use is strictly prohibited.

Nervousness - it is all bad?

2006-12-26T13:46:00.000-08:00

When SkyEagle1 suggested never fear giving a bad performance or a good one for that matter. If you live in fear of blowing your speech, you will blow every speech you do, the difference between nervousness and fear was raised by Jacquilynne in the thread Repeating A CTM in December 2003.

Nervousness and fear are different words for a reason. There are lots of reasons why I might feel nervous before a speech - a desire to impress a specific audience, less than complete familiarity with the subject matter, etc. Some of those result from bad things. But some of them, like the desire to impress, are necessary to elevate a speech from the ordinary. If your speech matters so little to you that you aren't at least somewhat nervous about how it's going to go, why are you bothering to give it at all?

Joy tries to channel her nervousness into energy that makes her performance better.
The one time I competed and wasn't at all nervous, my performance was flat. The problem isn't with being nervous, but what you do with the nervousness. You can let it turn to fear that paralyzes you, or you can turn it into energy for a dynamic speech.

For JohnF a little bit of nervousness gets the adrenalin flowing. There are a whole bunch of physiological changes in our bodies as a result that help us perform just that little bit better.
What we want to get away from is the kind of fear that is debilitating, that causes us to freeze up and not perform at all.

Mark knows that when the stakes are higher, I dig deeper and I tend to do better. When I'm not nervous, it's too easy for me to slack off and do a mediocre job.
I need to get out of my comfort zone and put some terror back in my talk.

In April 2000 the thread was Public Speaking and Matt said when I'm giving a presentation or a speech, it goes fine for five or ten minutes, but then I get this scratchy tickle in the back of my throat and I end up in a coughing fit. Drinking water throughout the speech prolongs it a bit, but not long enough. Is there anything I can do to prevent this?

When Sally suggested if it's a problem of "nerves" getting to you, then practicing in a Toastmasters club would be the way to go. Or, perhaps a throat lozenge, if you could pull that off without looking silly.

Matt followed up with this explanation :
it's not really a matter of nerves. I'm completely comfortable speaking in public. I think it just has to do with my throat being dry. A lozenge might work, but it would kind of make it hard to talk. :-)

Jenny said
If it's not nerves, then perhaps it's one (or a combination) of these common speaking troubles: - you're breathing through your mouth, rather than your nose - you're trying to project your voice by "pushing" with your throat, rather than from your diaphragm - you're speaking in too high OR too low a pitch for you, instead of using your natural tone. - you're speaking too fast (you'll have been told this before, if this is the case) - you're holding your face/jaw/throat too tensely (check if your back molars touch when you think your face & jaw are at rest).
All of these will cause you to strain your voice and throat, and it will become more noticeable the longer you speak.

Careful NOT to drink very cold water (eg the ice water that seem to be ubiquitous at speaking functions!), because you'll make your vocal cords too cold to work well. That's why singers and speakers need to "warm up" their voices, after all.

I have found, too, that eating certain foods can cause a "lump" in my throat that causes me to cough or gag. For me, it's milk products, fruit juices and McDonald's milk shakes that seem to coat my throat and make my voice sound "phlegmy". Better to stick with plain, room-temperature water for the hour or two before you're scheduled to speak.

Frank thought it may also be your breathing method, while delivering your presentation. Which means that your are not including your entire breathing passageway. That includes your nose, throat and diaphragm. If you practice holding in your diaphragm and releasing it when your voice rises to deliver your message, your entire passageway will be filled with air. Thus keeping your throat moist.

This is the same technique practiced in martial arts and dance theory.

In May 2003 Eric had some serious issues with speaking. The main issues being my legs shaking and losing my train of thought. The thread was Speaking and looking people in the eyes

Rick advised in anything that you do, you can't fix everything at the same time.

To improve a process, you should hold a post project review. It's the same idea as the evaluation in Toastmasters. At the end of a 9 month project, with half a dozen people, you pick the 3 biggest issues to work on. For myself, I like to take the biggest problem and eliminate it. When it's gone, I find the new biggest problem.

From your description, I would start with nervousness. I might even avoid the eye contact issue by looking between the people instead of at them. (It's a little less obvious than looking above them.) As your comfort level increases, you could pick out friends. People who you are used to talking to and talk to them. Then you could look at the rest of the audience.

The key is practice. I didn't remember standing up in front of the club for the first three speeches I gave at Toastmasters. By #4, I had learned that I was going to survive. It's a matter of doing it until you are comfortable.

Toastmasters was suggested as a place to practice. Our club has one member for whom English is a second language. We also have one professional speaker. Everyone else is somewhere between those extremes. However, everyone is there to learn and to help the other learn whether they are ahead or behind us on the learning curve.

Hans felt almost exactly the same way when he started Toastmasters a year ago.

There are many, many suggestions and tips and techniques to resolve the sensations and problems you note. The reason for the large number is simple - every speaker has at least two in their pocket, and no two speakers have the same. (What I'm saying: you need to develop your own tricks and techniques and they must fit your needs, personality and the specific situation).

In my case - I've been in front of audiences for over 15 years presenting in the computer industry. I know my material. I know my audience. I am confident. I would get in front of the audience and present - knees shaking and eyes fleeting wandering to avoid fixed contact. I finally got so tired of it that I joined TM.

So here are some thoughts based on my case (and as we say on newsgroups and chat sessions - YMMV or Your Mileage May Vary):

1) The nervous knees now last about 15 seconds - until I have completed the opening grabber. I rehearse that opener until it's totally automatic. After that, I know things will flow.

2) I worked on the nervous knees situation by consciously trying to move the energy being expended to my vocal cords (and then I worked on keeping an even voice). Being in the non-threatening Toastmaster audience helped practise this.

3) My first 'in front of the podium' speech was nerve-wracking and the knees were worse than ever. At one point I simply stopped and took a drink of water just to let me get a deep breath. That helped.

4) The topic & situation you described is one of the more difficult ones to work. You are presenting yourself, not just your speech, for evaluation. This is different from an Ice Breaker, where everyone is simply evaluating your courage to stand in front of an audience, not the content or style.

A year ago I attended a course with a number of colleagues, peers and friends. We needed to do a similar presentation. The two most successful people in the group, and I (all of whom had made several presentations a week for years) fell apart during the presentation. One, who regularly presented multi-million dollar proposals to CIOs, CFOs and CEOs with complete confidence, started hyper-ventilating and had to cut short.

When we discussed this after we felt it was because our objectives were getting confused. We had a topic and should have presented on that topic's objective ... but our internal objective was to impress or realign the opinion of our peers.

5) Fixing on faces during that kind of speech makes me wonder why they have that expression on their face. My solution is to prepare a smile before looking at one - when I look, they acknowledge and very rarely can resist some sort of smile. I know they are responding to my smile and nothing else, which stops me from second guessing myself.

6) If the eyes make you lose it, concentrate on the pimple on the left side of their nostril. Or try to overlay some second vision. Or imagine them in their underwear or wearing clowns noses. There are many tricks you can play with yourself.

7) When I practise or rehearse, I do the first rehearsal in front of the mirror and the second in front of the TV. If you can learn to keep you concentration through that you should be able to hold it in front of an audience.

8) Do NOT let your nerves or shaky knees or your lost concentration discourage you.

9) If at first you don't succeed, try a different approach. If you do find a minor success, [briefly] analyze to see if there is something you can expand ... but don't over analyze.

In February 1996, John's throat tends to close up during public speaking. the thread was Nervous Public Speaker

Peanut suggested having a glass of warm water before you speak and during the speech. Drinking something cold freezes the throat muscles. A glass of warm water, or rather room temperture would relax the throat muscles

Rick D suggested when you feel this happening, take a deep, cleansing breath. Relax and continue.

Pat sings out loud in the car on the way to the meeting. It really helps me. And smile when you get to the lecturn. Someone will smile back, and that can help you to relax.

Joanne suggested the next time you are rehearsing a speech, pay close attention to how you breathe. As a matter of fact, take a deep breath right now. Does your chest stick out and do your shoulders rise? If so, it means that you are not breathing properly. When you do this, your breathing passages become tighter, rather than open up. Your shoulders go up to your neck, causing more tension instead of relaxing you. Too, when you stick out your chest to breathe in more deeply, you are in effect using what oxygen you have available to you in an inefficient manner.

I have been able to transfer some vocal training techniques to assist me with nerves when giving a speech.
First, when rehearsing your speech, take deep breaths, without moving your shoulders. Keep them relaxed. Your diaphragm should expand, allowing you to take in more oxygen. As you're breathing, put your hands on the upper part of your stomach. If, when taking deep breaths, you can feel that area expanding, you're on the right track. As an added bonus, it also goes a long way to getting rid of nerves and relaxing you.

Try this when rehearsing your next speech, and once you become comfortable with this technique, use it while giving a speech. With enough practice, it becomes second nature.

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The names "Toastmasters International", "Toastmasters" and the Toastmasters International emblem are trademarks protected in the United States, Canada and other countries where Toastmasters Clubs exist. Unauthorized use is strictly prohibited.

Things to avoid

2006-12-26T13:11:00.000-08:00

In May 2000, Rogermac advised Ktar to NEVER tell the audience you didn't have time to prepare. It reduces their expectations and a few of them will stop listening. Also, when you're an experienced TM, it implies to new members that it's OK to "wing it".
Even when you don't have as much time as you'd like, just go ahead and give the speech anyway. Most times no-one will know you didn't have time to prepare.

This led to a thread Turning off the audience which I started with:

One of the promises that Toastmasters makes is Better Listening, but obviously there are some things that cause us to turn off - for Roger, and I guess for many others is being told that the speaker is unprepared.
Are there other turn offs for you?
Perhaps we could generate a list of the top ten (or one hundred or seven thousand) things to NEVER do if you want to keep the audience on side.
Any thoughts?
Perhaps as a starting point, how do your turn offs rate against:

Over dressed
Under dressed
Holding notes
Hiding behind the lectern
Using false accents
Laughing at your own jokes

Anthony added:

Knowing this speaker is _going_ to go 8 minutes overtime.
Knowing I am going overtime :-)

For Joy it was

Saying, "I'm going to tell you a joke."
Taking the "Tell them what you're going to tell them; tell them; then tell them what you told them" rule too literally. When someone says, "I'm going to tell you ..." I feel they're saying I'm to stupid to figure it out, and that definitely turns me off.
Too many visual aids, or visual aids that are too small or too poorly placed for everyone to be able to see them.
Turning one's back on the audience to read an overhead.

Janis added:

Saying "Here's a good joke" or "Let me tell you a joke that shows what I mean"
Obviously "winging it" on a topic or speech that should have had preparation
Exceeding the time limit extensively
Commenting about another speech when it doesn't have anything to do with their own presentation "I'd just like to take a second and say something about Billy-Bob's speech..."
Apologizing for every "Um" or other audible pause: "Um -- oh, I"m sorry! Um -- sorry! Well -- oh, that's another one."
Rhythmic movement; swaying/rocking; hair twirling: understandable and fixable for new speakers but excruciating to watch for experienced (but unthinking) speakers
False enthusium in a presentation;
Inappropriate self-deprecating remarks: "I'm not an expert...", "I didn't think of this myself...", "I don't really understand, but...".
Nervous laughter at odd moments

JohnF evaluated a speaker once who was constantly tapping one foot beneath the table while he did his speech.

Denis tries to be a low maintenane audience, but does draw the line at

Jokes that are not at all related to the content don't do a thing for me.
But my big turn-off is any speaker apoligizing or "explaining".
Well, "mean" humor is not my favorite either.
Any speaker that has a power-point, overhead or other such presentation better be ready to rock and roll right off the bat or I am likely to be very impatient. No delays or glitches! I would rather the speech was without anything then to have an explanation of why "it's out of focus, etc"
All the awful things which accompany a microphone in the hands of the unprepared. "Is this on", feedback, juggling acts, "tapping" etc, etc.
One of the best conference sessions I have ever attended was one where there were several microphones set-up, and we all got to try-out the different styles. This was/is useful skill!

SciFiTwin added

"Reading an overhead" period. The purpose of an overhead or other textual visual aid is for the audience to "read" it themselves. The presenter should expand on what's written on the overhead or give examples, but not merely read it to us. I hated that tactic in 5th grade and I still hate it.
Failure to make or maintain some sort of eye contact with the group.
An evaluator who spends even one precious second of the evaluation telling the speaker about how something from the speech reminded him or her of something from the evaluator's life. ("I liked your choice of topic, Bill. I think we can all relate to a dog getting loose. When I was eight, our dog, Grover, ran away and ...")
People who believe that ALL forms of speaking must be done away from the lectern. I can't stand watching people move around aimlessly. There are valid and correct times when one should deliver a message from behind the lectern and it wouldn't be considered "hiding." (I personally think the lectern has ironically become an anathema of Toastmasters rather than the proper tool it is--the most closely guarded, though).
People who speak with a sort of waxy transparent sincerity that comes off as hucksterism. Eeew.
S--L--O--W, .... D--r--o--n--i--n--g, ... m--o--n--o--t--o--n--e voices.
Speeches on topics that are so obscure that no one except the speaker is interested in it, AND he or she fails to hook us into the topic sufficiently to arouse our interest.
"Recycled speeches" without some sort of additional value above what was given before.
Emcees who make jokes at the expense of others (outside of a roast situation).
General Evaluators who feel the need to re-evaluate individual speeches.
Table topics respondents who don't answer a question directly, but decide to go off on their own tangent that has nothing to do with the topic.

Carmen is annoyed by anyone who quotes anything, either when writing or orally, that is in another language, *and does not translate it*!!!!! This drives me nuts! I'm flattered that people would think I speak every language and dialect that exists, but I have some bad news for them: I don't.

I used to notice this is University research papers, where I could almost accept it from those cerebral types, but then someone actually gave a speech and did the same thing...

She told us she is bilingual and for her realizing that the so-called "bilingual presentation" is giving different content in both languages (ie. the speaker is assuming that the *entire* audience is bilingual).

JohnF expanded in Canada, the practice is fairly common in federal political circles, where the audience will often have people who speak on of our official languages--but not the other--and vice versa. In fact, it is quite common for the Prime Minister to deliver a speech, doing a paragraph in English, switching to French (presumable to repeat what he just said in English), then back to English for the next paragraph. Any politician addressing a national audience has to assume that not everyone speaks English and not everyone speaks French. In fact, it seems one of the unwritten qualifications for the position of Prime Minister is to be bilingual in both official languages.

That said, I can see where Carmen is coming from with her beef. By covering different material in the two languages, the speaker is leaving out a part of the audience, and possible for a significant portion of the speech.

For Regina, most of the so-called "turn-offs" have come from other distractions in the room. I won't go into them now, just let me say that they may be unique to certain clubs (food service, late arriving members [as Treasurer, I need to take their money], etc.)
As far as speech (or Table Topics) turn-offs go, I could only think of two things that tend to turn me off:
1. Financial services presentations, even when (maybe especially when) it's a member employed in that field who is giving a manual speech.
2. Religious testimonials, or speeches on the topic of religion, new age ideas, or philosophy.

Visuals - Flip Charts

2006-12-26T12:36:00.000-08:00

B.O.B. was looking for guidelines for how big visual aids should be for a small audience of about 20 - 25 people? I will be using several visual aids on a flip-chart and want to make sure the graphics and text is the appropriate size. The thread was Visual Aids and ran in December 2005

Rod advised:
It depends on distance rather than audience numbers, and it's not a matter of size alone - thickness, colour, contrast, and lighting intensity are also important factors. Not all members of your audience will have equal visual acuity.

Red/green colour blindness is the most common, so try to avoid combinations where confusion of these colours might cause problems.

Remember, you're presenting a speech and not administering an eyesight test!

With an audience of 25, the distance from your flipchart to the back of the audience is likely to be around eight metres (25 feet). For this arrangement, my recommendation is to use a character height of at least 40mm (an inch and a half). Avoid thin point markers. Make it easy for your audience to see and understand your visual aids.

For graphics, make sure that the important features are clearly illustrated and avoid non-essential detail. Visuals are support for your message - they're not the message itself. You can explain detail. For example, on a graph, label an axis with a large 'P' rather than the word 'Price'.

Keep each visual simple. Rather use a larger number of visuals with less information on each. Use different colours to differentiate ideas, items on lists, etc.

You can check the effect by looking at your flipchart under incandescent lighting from a distance of eight metres. Fluorescent lighting is closer to daylight and doesn't have the same effect on colours as incandescent lighting. Colours at the red end of the spectrum (reds, oranges, and yellows) sometimes become difficult to read. If you can't read your text easily and instantly, change size, boldness, and/or colour.

Once you've planned your size and chosen your markers, if you need to go 'live' on your visuals, set out your chart in feint pencil on the chart beforehand. It's then a simple matter to write boldly over the pencilled letters (which are invisible to your audience).

Rick added:
Standard fluorescent lights are just as different from sun light as incandescent. Incandescent lights are heavy in the red end of the spectrum and light on the blues. Fluorescent lights are the opposite. Warm fluorescent lights have more reds (but they aren't as energy efficient). Full spectrum fluorescent lights do a good job of imitating the sun.

I haven't seen any problem seeing reds and oranges if they are dark enough. (Dark yellow is brown.) Printed material under fluorescent lights could be had to read because they don't have a lot of red component. Actually, the human eye can see the least detail in the blue range because we have the fewest blue receptors in our eyes. However if this is causing a problem with your graphics, reread Rod's paragraph on simple and bold.

From the 1984 edition of the _Technical_Presentations_ manual, the Supplement says, text should be half (13 mm) and inch for every 10' (3 m) away the back row is. It also suggest no more than three colors except for pictures. It suggests limiting text to seven lines of seven words.

John F suggested if you have a marker that has a short edge and a long edge, use the long edge for writing as this will produce thicker lines that are easier to read.

Joy warned never, never use yellow or other pastel colors. They can't be read more than a few feet away.

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Project 8: Visual Aids - technology

2006-12-26T12:29:00.000-08:00

Visuals are more than gestures and PowerPoint.
To check out postings on either of these, use the labels below. You may also want to check out other references to Handouts and Flipcharts.

In July 2006 there was a discussion on vsual aids entitled Speech or Presentation.

Where technology is involved, Rod recalled one of the more valuable lessons concerning preparation. Ask yourself what are the things that can go wrong, and what will you do under each set of circumstances. Power failures, computer system failures, microphone failures, all kinds of equipment failure, noisy environments, minor flooding, contaminated food giving everyone 'the runs' during the afternoon sessions, VIPs arriving late or not showing up...

Many of these things may never happen, but knowing what you would do if they did provides a lot of confidence.

I didn't realise I was learning this lesson at the time (I was only 11 years old), but I was given a splendid example of this at a Scout camp. Patrick Moore, the astronomer, was coming to talk to us about the stars. Being in England, it was cloudy and wet and no stars were visible. We went into the barn, where Patrick told us that he's show us some slides of the stars. After the third slide, the projector lamp failed. Fifty years ago this entailed dismantling the projector to fit a new one, but Patrick had both a spare and the tools to change the lamp. About 10 minutes later, there was a huge lightning strike and all the power went off. Patrick produced a torch and a couple of candles. Our Scout leaders found some more candles, and Patrick held 30 small boys absolutely fascinated as he spoke to us about the stars. Even after all these years, I can still relive the experience. I thought I had only learnt something about the stars that evening. It took at least 20 years for me to realise that I'd learnt more than that.

The light output of the projector should be a function of image size (usually measured on the diagonal). It's also very strongly influenced by ambient light levels. If the lights can be dimmed in the conference room, well and good, but this often causes the speaker to disappear into the shadows if the projector lacks the necessary output illumination.

I remember one District conference held in the Grand Hall of a Golf Club. The room had a very high ceiling (about eleven feet at the sides, plus the apex) and was mostly glass facing the outdoors from floor to ceiling on two and a half sides. The thin vertical blinds only covered the bottom six feet to prevent outsiders from looking in. No problem at night, but during the day you might as well have been outside. The projectors and TV monitors that we planned to use couldn't be seen during the day, so we spent the entire previous night with ladders and trestles, taping black plastic sheeting over the glass.

The best option is to use a projector with a lot of illumination power so that it can project bright images above the ambient lighting in the room.

On the other side of the coin, too much power can wash out the projected images on a small screen. Modern projectors can adjust brightness and contrast within limits, but often this isn't enough and it may be necessary to adjust the original images in PowerPoint to suit the circumstances.

Whenever possible, check YOUR slides on the projector/screen combination in the room in which you will be presenting under the likely lighting conditions, and do this well ahead of your presentation so that you have time to make whatever changes are necessary to your slides or choice of equipment.

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Powerful PowerPoint

2006-12-25T20:49:00.000-08:00

In July 1998, Matt was looking for suggestions for using PowerPoint or other visual aids in a presentation. His concern was encapsulated in the thread title Slides inhibit presentation style - suggestions

Joy has seen and heard hundreds of speeches but only a very few where visual aids were really an asset as they often detract from the speech. If not all members of the audience can see them or read them those people lose part of the effect of the speech. They also cause the audience to look away from the speaker, thus destroying eye contact.

Murf raised doing a presentation on budget performance and explaining the 'figures' 'trends' etc. without the use of charts and graphs. Give them a test afterwards and see what the recall is.

For John F like any other kind of talk, we should be able to do our presentation without the visual. We never know when our projector is 'going to take early retirement' in the middle of a presentation.

The information on our visuals should give the salient points we want to cover and/or important supplementary information. A picture is worth a thousands words.

When we prepare our visuals, we do need to ask if the visual adds to our presentation, or just takes away. If it doesn't add, then we should just dispense with it.

In Mike's opinion many users of visual aids underestimate the intelligence of the audience and spend much too much time pointing at them rather than trusting the audience to realize that the number at the bottom, labelled "Total Expenditure" is, in fact, the total expenditure.

My other gripe is the use of visuals as a set of notes. I think that what put on the projector should reinforce by complimenting, not merely repeating, what you say. I see far to many overheads that are speaking notes rather than visual aids.

Eric recalled a presentation where he came to the room early, checked all the wiring connections etc. and did a dry run with no problems. When the real presentation began, they turned out the lights so that the audience could see the screen better. The room was pitch black - I couldn't see my fingers in front of me to type on the keyboard! I learned a lesson that day on what 'being prepared' meant.

Rick gives the audience a couple seconds to read the overhead before you start talking. So, I put the overhead up and skim it before going on. Then I go on looking at the audience instead of the overhead.

I have seen some visual aids which are useless. These are visual aids that have too much text or they are too small. That is one reason I like projected visual aids. If you have a well done slide, you can get a big enough projector for the size of the room you are using.

In May 2001 Denis posed a question about the number of slides to show in a 30 minute presentation. The thread was PowerPoint Question.

Rod suggested two very important things to bear in mind. The first is your message. If you succeed in getting that across, then the number of slides you used to achieve that goal is irrelevant. The other important thing to remember is that YOU are the presenter. The visual material is just support.

Fred doesn't think one can make a hard and fast rule. He has found that in sales training the number of slides varied widely from subject to subject. When the subject matter was technical more slides were required. When the subjects were things like the psychology of sales, or closing, the number of slides dropped dramatically and the explanations became longer.
A one hour session could vary from 20 to 40 slides.

If the slides "start to get in the way" and we seem to be changing them for the sake of changing them, then there are too many! They should facilitate and not hinder the communication of the message.

I always left lots of room on the page for the listener to make marginal notes to 'personalize' the message. This, also, tends to reduce the slide count.

I think that you must find a comfort level for yourself ensuring that the slides truly help rather than becoming an end in themselves.

Rick said not all slides will be displayed for the same amount of time. Some slides may simply indicate that you are moving to a different point and may be up for 10 seconds. Other slides, may be up for a while.

Jim's rule of thumb is that you should never put a slide on the screen for less 5 seconds. If the slide is shown for less then 5 seconds then it's not worth showing at all.

Ian said YOU are the presenter - use it to suit your style but be careful.
Use more of YOU, pictures and don't show slides with lots of points on them, if you do that the audience will read rather than listen to you.

In October 2003 Sky Eagle started a thread "Speaking Tips - Visual aids"

With visual aids it is necessary to be able to speak with them, but you need to be very careful with how you use them because they can detract from the speaker EASILY.

The general rule is to NEVER use any text smaller than 28 point.
Simple backgrounds are always best, rather than the loud ones. Personally I'd rather see something sedated that fits the topic and not a bunch of loud colors. Busyness is not a good thing either. When in doubt, just going with a simple color scheme and something like bars on the outside is best.

And on that topic of busyness, you only want your main points on your slides and not the whole speech. The slides (overheads or PowerPoint) are meant as a guide to the audience and not as a crutch so you don't have to remember your whole speech.

Make sure the slides can be read - that the text of the slides isn't similar to the color of the background.

Rick said don't just check the colors on your desktop monitor. It's best to check it on the projector as the display may vary significantly.

Rod added If a font you've chosen from the computer on which you created the slides isn't available on the one you're using to project them, the system will make a substitution, which may not be what you want.

I use a particular font to illustrate that some fonts are easier to read than others. If the font is substituted, the example becomes meaningless. Therefore I embed the font files in my presentation. This is an option on the Tools menu, under >Options >Save.

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Will Toastmasters help?

2006-12-21T22:34:00.000-08:00

In this blog so far I have dealt with tips and resources for members of Toastmasters. A common question to the group is from potential members who ask Will Toastmasters help me?

Here are some responses from members on the list that may help readers who are asking the same question or help focus Toastmasters when they are asked the question.

In July 1998 Victor found himself feeling choked up while I do public speaking. It is almost the same feeling when you are crying and have to speak at the same time. It sometimes happens also when I am not doing a speech. I like to help people with diseases, etc.; and, I voluntarily do this work. This speaking problem is preventing me from doing this.

The thread was choked up/public speaking problem; please help if you can

Carmen replied:
you are not alone. Stats have shown that many people would rather go to war than have to speak in public.
There are a few things you can do to help yourself:
- perhaps seeing your doctor about your symptoms when you speak is a good idea, if only to rule out a physiological problem.
- join a local Toastmasters club in your area. There, you'll meet all the right people who can help you with how you feel, simply because they've gone through it before themselves. One piece of advice: attend a few different club meetings before you decide, so you can pick the best club for you, as we're all different.
- one of the most important things you can do is *be prepared*. Often the anxiety we feel about speaking comes because of a feeling we'll make a fool of ourselves.
There are two ways around this:
a) convince yourself of this truth: your audience *wants you to succeed*. I don't know anyone who thinks to themselves "gee I hope this guy forgets his speech!" We're all on your side, and we *want* to hear your message;
b) by being prepared , I mean knowing your material *cold*: this means about 1 hour of preparation time per minute of speech, more if you need it. Say it over and over and over again until you don't *give* the speech, you *are* the speech!

There are probably some specific voice exercises you can do as well, but I don't have much knowledge about those and so I will bow to the greater knowledge of my colleagues...

of course, always keeping a glass of water on hand while you speak would probably help.

Congratulations on wanting to speak in spite of your fear, Victor! Very often that's the first step to overcoming it.

To Fsadamo Victor sounded like one person I know who attended a Toastmaster speechcraft. She had been involved with several community activities and spoke in front of people. Outwardly, she looked fine, but inside, she was always torn up.

The first speech a Toastmaster does is the Icebreaker speech. Basically talking about yourself. Usually the speech is 4 to 6 minutes. When she did her first icebreaker she simply said "My name is xxxxxxxx and I'm here to get help" and then she sat down. She talked for only about 20 seconds.

After about 2 years later and after being president of our club and Area Gov., she did a 2nd Icebreaker. She spoke for more than 12 minutes. Now we can't shut her up .

My very first experience in front of a group was teaching general chemistry lab as a teaching assistance. This was in Florida in September -- very warm day. My teeth were chattering as if I had been out in the freezing cold. I wish I had considered Toastmasters then, but, regretfully, it took me 30 years before I joined a TM club. Don't wait that long before you join a club.

Carmen gave some very good advise, particularly seeking out a Toastmaster club. I would also offer the following. First, as Carmen mentioned, be as prepared as possible, but for some people, like myself, I can't memorize a speech and then present it. I can practice a speech from an outline, but I have always messed up by trying to keep on track of the prepared speech. My wife, OTOH, is just the opposite. She needs to write the speech exactly as she will present it, but she doesn't necessarily memorize the speech. What she does is simply practice and practice and practice the speech until she becomes comfortable with herself. I'm amazed when she then gives her speech -- particularly when she is competing in speech contest.

I hear her practice the speech, I also know that she does make mistakes when she does deliver the speech to a group and therein lies the second bit of advice. As prepared as you can be, you may forget something or someone in the audience may throw you off. Just continue. Perhaps you may simply pause to regather your thoughts and then continue. You may also forget a whole complete section of a speech. That's okay. The audience doesn't know your exact speech (unless it is your spouse ) so, if you forget something or you simply mess up in your thoughts, simply pause for a moment, gather your thoughts and continue.

The audience will not know you messed up -- that's the beauty of speaking in public. You can mess up, but no one will ever know -- except if you apologize or otherwise let the audience know. You don't have to apologize for making mistakes since the audience won't know.
Also, don't memorize a speech exactly.

Just practice until you can "speak from the heart." When you speak with "passion" and you know your topic, you will be more comfortable, less nervous and make fewer mistakes -- but remember those are your mistakes, there is no need to let the audience know

For Joy the beauty of Toastmasters is that you have the opportunity to try at every meeting. Gradually it does get easier and you get more relaxed. Once that happens, the throat should stop closing up, and you can start to enjoy it. Almost all clubs are very understanding if you have a severe problem (for instance, if you can't talk a whole minute in Table Topics). If you happen to find a club that isn't, look for another club. The repeated practice, in a safe environment, really does help.

In March 1999 Isjay started the thread Will Toastmasters Help? He had a tremendous amount of difficulty in public speaking because of nervousness. My job requires a good amount of negotiating and some salesmanship and I do very well in small groups (2-5 people), but when I need to do any kind of formal presentation to a larger group I become overwhelmed by nervousness and anxiety. It's so bad that I become dizzy, my voice becomes very weak and shaky, my hands shake and I'm unable to think clearly. I often find myself going to significant lengths to avoid public speaking, and the problem has definitely impacted my career.

Will Toast Masters help with this kind of fear of public speaking, or do I require more help than TM can offer?

Joy reported that it has helped everyone I know of who has given it a try. As a visitor, you may be asked to introduce yourself and tell why you are there at the beginning of the meeting, and asked if you have any comments about the meeting at the end. Some people just say "No" or "I enjoyed it" as their comments at the end. That is perfectly acceptable. You will be able to observe what goes on in a meeting, and will probably be asked if you would like to participate in Table Topics (impromptu speaking). Many visitors just watch Table Topics, but others will participate. Either is acceptable.

Some people find Table Topics the most intimidating part of a meeting because you have to think on your feet. Ideally you are supposed to talk from one to two minutes on the subject you are given. However, it is permissible to change the subject. Many people speak for much less than one minute their first time. A woman in one of my clubs has belonged for three or four months now, and just managed to speak over a minute for the first time last week.

Prepared speeches are evaluated in a supportive, encouraging manner. The speaker is told what he or she is doing well, and is given some suggestions for improvement.

There are also techniques for controlling nervousness. We have a saying in Toastmasters that we may not get rid of the butterflies, but we can help you teach them to fly in formation. You will learn that some nervousness is a good thing that, properly controlled, can make you a more dynamic speaker than you would be if you weren't nervous.

If you join Toastmasters and take advantage of what is offered, you will always be glad you did.

Paul added Toastmaster's can definitely help you. You may think you are unique, but there are thousands of people just like you, in fact, the majority of successful Toastmasters had the same problem as you, to a greater or lesser degree.

The first thing to do is contact a Toastmaster's group in your area, tell them you would like to attend a meeting. There will be no pressure on you to participate, just get a feel for the meeting and what it offers. If there are several groups, visit several, since each TM group has it's own dynamic and "culture", but all are supportive. Just remember that everyone in the group had the same problem as you did. The TM website will help you find a group.

If you do decide to join, you've taken the hardest step: after that, you'll find that you will become more confidant, and improve at your own pace. Nobody is going to throw you to the wolves, you'll gradually build your confidence and ability, with a lot of positive support from others who have been in your shoes not so long ago. Check this bulletin board often. You'll see quality, committed people helping each other all over the world.

The hardest thing to do is to make the commitment, and that's the only thing you'll do completely alone. After that, everyone is here to help.

Mark always remember this when he gets up to speak:
The people who are listening to you WANT you to do well. Don't worry about pressure, just slow down and take a breather. If it is really bad (before you get into TM) warm up your audience with a good humorous story... I imagine you wouldn't mind sharing a joke with close friends or family, so create that atmosphere yourself!
GO TO THE MEETING....

When Rick first joined Toastmasters, I was told I did a good job on my first speech, but I don't remember any of it. I blocked out the time from the introduction until part way though the next speaker.

Toastmasters isn't a magic wand, but it will help. You will make improvements. You may not notice them until someone points them out, but the improvements will be there. Joy mentioned that table topics can be intimidating. It is the part that will help you with negotiating because it helps you to think on your feet. I can think of several people who could only make it to the 15 or 30 second mark for table topics when they joined. Six to nine months later, they would get a hard topic and handle it like a pro.

If there are several clubs in your area, visit several. Like people, each club has its own personality. Choose a club that will fit your needs and you feel comfortable with.

In March 1999 Ken had been in sales for the last twelve years, but still gets a little nervous in front of large groups. Can Toastmasters help me refine my group presentations? The thread was How can Toastmasters help me?

Terry had been a Toastmaster just over a year (brief membership in the past). Yes, Toastmasters has helped me sharpen my speaking skills and helping to build confidence before large groups. The largest group that I presented to was over 250 (a graduation speech). Toastmasters helped my face that kind of group.

John F joined Toastmasters,because I wanted to improve my speaking skills. Along the way, I got side-tracked into developing my leadership skills through Toastmasters instead, but that's a story in itself.
Remember, people join Toastmasters for a variety of reasons--ranging from learning to speak in public to developing self confidence.
There is a place in Toastmasters for you.

For Greg with ten years membership, mostly with my very familiar club setting, I find the "nervousness" an essential ingredient to the performance "sport" of public speaking. It's a matter of pumping up the natural hormones to a higher than normal level.

Joy agreed. At the one contest where I wasn't nervous, my performance wasn't my best. However, Toastmasters can do a lot to help a speaker control and channel that nervousness so it is an asset rather than a destructive force, which it can be to a beginner.

Paul agreed, too: "Nerves are your friend"; because that adrenaline rush is a natural reaction to any stressful, that is, "important" activity. In my former career as an actor, I learned that the only difference between a "pro" and an "amateur", in terms of effective performance, was in how they dealt with their nervousness. Everyone gets nervous, but "old pros" intuitively know how to channel that excess energy into their performance, making them seem dynamic and "larger than life", at ease and "in command" of their audience; while others diffuse that energy through nervous mannerisms and uncontrolled movement, gestures, etc. The key is practice and familiarity with the material and the situation.

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Things that make you go mmmm

2006-12-21T14:03:00.000-08:00

In January 2002 there was a discussion on umms and ahhs and more specifically the use of audible devices. the thread was Things that make you go ummm.
First, a disclosure. On many occasions I have opposed the use of audible devices in posts to the group. This summary should be a test of my ability to summarize impartially. I will try to put more emphasis on the benefits of using an audible device.

I started the post with a couple of hypotheses that may or may not be true:

Most people only ummm or err when they are nervous. The gradual reduction of this habit in a Toastmasters club before a friendly supportive audience will not be reflected in their speaking outside this comfort zone. True or false, from your experience?

Highlighting the umms and errs with bells, or even counts is more likely to stop the person speaking than cure the habit. True or false?

Joy responded:
As we eliminate these crutches, we gain confidence, so we are not as likely to resort to them in another setting. Also, as we eliminate them, we become more aware of them and work to avoid them. If we are speaking in another setting and let one slip in, we probably notice it, and make an effort not to repeat it.

As to losing the member rather than curing the habit, Joy thought this depends on the individual. For a new Toastmaster who is extremely nervous, it is probably true at first. However, after gaining some experience, and some confidence, most people learn to take the bell in stride.

Gene would hate to get belled as it would interrupt my speech. (The audience is also going to hear the bell.) I would be especially ticked off in those cases where I *deliberately* um-ah.

Evaluations and the Grammarian's report are the places to comment about um-ahs. "I noted that, in a few places where you had complex sentences, you um-ahed more than usual. Perhaps simpler sentences?"

If the speaker really has trouble with um-ahing, then maybe something special could be done, but it usually isn't necessary.

Rod had never been at a meeting where a bell or any form of audible device was used. Most clubs here have an 'Umm, aah counter'. I don't know the reason for this. It may be that most of the audience want to listen to the speaker without disruption or it may be simply tradition.

If what the speaker is saying is so interesting and they grab my attention to the extent that I don't notice the ums and ahs, then the count is of academic interest anyway and the hesitancy may as well not exist.

In one of the clubs I visit regularly there is a member who still uses many ums and ahs. He is now on the advanced programme, has plenty of experience, does not lack confidence and makes regular presentations to international conferences and committees in his line of work. For him, his use of these verbal crutches is similar to stuttering. Like stuttering, it's a dimension of the problem that is beyond the normal capability of Toastmasters to cure.

To which Dana replied Or maybe, he just hasn't had the benefit of the bell?!!!!!

Denis believes that verbal hesitancy is a manifestation of nervousness. I have seen many speakers reduce their UM's without anything more than practice speaking.
If speaker reaches certain point, comfort zone travels with them!

He absolutely detests AH bells and find AH counters to be unhelpful!! They would certainly cure my attendance at the club that employs them!

New members who have visited our club discuss visiting other clubs with bells and counters, they have trepidation about their speaking, their appearance, etc. - I know the bell exacerbates this anxiety.

Instead he has suggested to members that a second evaluator focus only on the AH's & UM's in the speech. Specifically the evaluator looks at WHEN the speaker commits the UM. Is there a pattern? Is it during bridges, transitions, etc? This report is delivered privately. Also this AH evaluator will talk about if the verbal hesitancy was a barrier to the message.

This has been well accepted by our members and also seems to be helping those folks who have more of a problem.

So in sum, don't count unless you are also ready to report on when.

Rae does not recall any advice being provided on how to avoid verbal fillers in seven+ years .

She has seen many "confident/experienced" speakers still use quite a bit of uhms and ahs. In fact, I have just finished a two day workshop lead be a very confident/competent speaker that had far too many uhms for my liking. I felt that they were distracting. Yet at the same time I felt the workshop was very effective and I doubt that anyone besides myself even noticed the uhms.

Re skill transfer, Rae believes that experience/skill/proficiency in one area will cross over to another area of a person's life. Working as a therapist we illustrate that factor frequently. You often have to illustrate the connection or the sameness to the person though. Personally, I have managed to almost extinguish ahs and ums at least from prepared presentations. The odd one slips through on Table Topics. They rarely pop up when I make a presentation at work at a staff meeting.

She only has club experience with counting the Ahs and receiving a report at the end of the meeting. This was helpful for me. It did not stop me from talking. Our club in recent years has changed the practice of presenting an award for the most Ahs, which reinforced negative behaviour, to that of presenting an award for the most improved. I believe that this has been helpful.

I have seen responses in this group in the past both supporting and against the use of bells, sounding devices, tapping a spoon on water glass and even clapping. From a Skinnerian behavior modification approach I believe that the best way to extinguish or remove a negative/distracting habit would be to reward the improvement and not to punish the lack of change or continuance in the habit. I have found it just as effective to actually count the ahs in another speaker. It forces you to listen and makes you more aware in your own speech.

Bob has visited a number of clubs that do the ah/um notations differently. At my home club, we drop marbles into a can. That will get your attention (personally I think it is too distracting, but I have virtually eliminated them from most of my prepared speeches).

Another uses a mechanical counter (you can hear the click if it is quiet enough) to a third that only counts the ahs/ums. What I find is that in the clubs where there is an acknowledgement at the time of the ah/um, there is a great reduction.

However, in the 3rd club where they only count, it seems as though they are more prevalent. I think that the mechanical counter is the least distracting, but still is audible enough to notice. I would prefer to go in that direction, where they are noticed, but not to the point that it takes away from the presenter.

Dana:
The whole theory behind why we um and ah is that supposedly it is an unconscious mechanism. Bringing our attention to it when we say um or ah (by bells, or clickers, etc.) takes the behavior out of the unconscious and into the conscious where we have more control. So theoretically, just bringing it to our attention is enough.

A bell or clacker can get us in the habit of being conscious when we say these fillers, at first usually right after we say it, then with practice before we say it. At that point, we can choose whether or not to use the ah or um. (that's the theory at least) The tough part, I think, is remaining diligent enough to spot the ums and ahs before they happen (like going on a diet, it's the discipline that kills you).

I think the major determinant of whether a person is comfortable with a bell or clicker is how well the person can resume a speech after being interrupted. Comfort with the audience, topic, etc. can play a part in this but some people are just better than others at handling interruptions.

Personally, if I trust my audience, and I'm highly motivated to improve my ability, I can take small interruptions like this in stride. But take away the trust (maybe someone has a hidden agenda) and suddenly my comfort level plummets to zero.

Rick found just counting and reporting number of Ahs of no value.
I belonged to my first club for almost a year in spite of the weekly embarrassment of having the most or second most ahs. Knowing that I could get 15-20 ahs into a 1 to 1:30 minute table topic did nothing to help me improve.
I then joined a club that used a clicker. The first meeting it was very distracting. Soon, I got used to it. In a couple months, my ahs were getting close to zero.
It was having the feedback right when the ahh or you know occurred that allowed me to eliminate them.

Rod:
In the majority of cases, ums and ahs can be dramatically reduced through awareness. This requires a level of confidence since when the mind is focused on feelings, the audience, words, gestures, facial expressions and a myriad other things, it's difficult to concentrate on everything at one time. Audible devices create this awareness but, in my opinion, the negative aspects of the interruption outweigh the benefit. Although I've never attended a meeting where such a device was used, I feel that it would focus attention on hesitancy that may be trivial and unnoticed by the audience as a whole. It is not necessary completely to eliminate ums and ahs.

Reducing them to non-noticeable and non-distracting levels is fine in most cases. I'm in full agreement that identifying the 'when' aspect is particularly valuable.
There are some pathologies where the syndrome is so deeply ingrained that a 'cure' is beyond bells, counters, video or the Toastmasters programme. These may require the attention of a psychiatrist or psychologist.

Kelly wouldn't recommend ringing a bell for novice speakers.

Umms can be caused by a multitude of reasons, nervousness, insufficient preparation and sometimes plain inexperience.

New speakers often have the impression that it is important to never stop speaking, so rather than take a few seconds to gather their thoughts they will try to fill up dead air with ums and ahhs. One exercise that I used while in speech and debate in High School, was to tell novice speakers to simply pause if they couldn't think of anything to say, sure at first there were a lot of pauses, but soon as they developed their skills to think on their feet, increased their vocabulary and learned how to prepare, the pauses would disappear.

Table topics is also a great way to help with the ums, since it improves your ability to think quickly on your feet, so that rather than having to fill dead air with filler words, you can quickly think about what you want to say next.

It's also important to emphasise that time seems to expand when you're giving a speech. What may seem like an incredibly long and noticeable pause to you is often unnoticeable by the audience, and if noticed usually quickly forgotten.

In her club they leave it up to the individual. In either case we count ums, but we will ring a bell if the speaker desires it. Some people like having the cue others find it distracting.

In April 1997, Sharon was looking for suggestions on what we could use in place of a little clicking device (in the shape of an alligator) that is quite loud. Members feel this can be embarrassing to the speaker (pointing out in front of everyone that they goofed) and they often lose their train of thought, so asked what other clubs use for a 'clicker.' The thread was Ah Counter

Dave would never draw attention to ahs and ums as the person is doing it. We have a fine system, whereby each member is charged 25 cents for each ah/um, up to a maximum of $1 per meeting. As President, since I need to speak at every meeting, I get to pay my share of money to the fund!

Mike uses a bell to call attention to ahs during all portions of the meeting except formal speeches and yes it does cause a few butterflies every time it is rung, but I would not do away with it or the clicker or what any other device a club might use to call attention to the ahs at the time that they happen.

The first 6 months of my membership it seemed as if the bell was going off constantly while I was speaking during my function or during my participation in table topics but it then it subsided and after a year in the club I rarely have to pay our fine of $0.05 per ah, this was true even during my stint as President.

I would suggest that your club needs to look at what works in helping people improve in their reduction of ahs and do what ever it is that furthers that end. We explain that this is the function of the bell and since people are there to improve their speaking skills they accept and even encourage it after they start seeing their own improvement.

Bill also felt the noise device was counter productive and did away with it some years ago. We also quit reporting huge amounts of Ahs on our speakers. What we do now is to report only the first 3 Ahs and if a person has three we say at the end of the meeting that they had their limit. There is no purpose in reporting 14 ahs and embarrassing someone. In our club the goal is to not be mentioned at all in the Ah masters report.

Jeanette lost potential members because they were afraid of or too intimidated by our AH bell. We know these because we asked them about their impressions of our meetings, and this is what they told us.

At the beginning of table topics, Rick announces that the are optional for guests. The same thing could be done for the clicker. When the grammarian describes the job, s/he could mention that it's a tool for the more advanced speakers that are working on their audible pauses.

For Alex, other than walking through the door the first time, the ah/um counting is the next scariest thing a guest encounters. Of course, we'd *never* ping a guest, even if they volunteered to speak.

But the benefits of this "tough-love" are clear. At our club we tend to be lenient to new members. A few pings early on (say up to a max of 5) and let the new member be self-policing. It's a little scary at first, but with the rest of us pulling for them, they pass through that period and become ah-less.

Once a Toastmaster become more experienced, the 'pinging' becomes more regular. It worried me as a guest, but I'm 99.9% um/ahless now even outside of the clubs I belong to.
Yet, we should make every effort to impress on the guests that whatever method we use (visual, audio, end-meeting-report) is all part in parcel of becoming a better speaker.

John F has seen a variety of ways that clubs handle the whole Ah counter business.

I visited one club that had a nice loud beeper. Every time you said 'Ah' the counter would hit the button and you'd hear a loud 'Beeeep.' Not much different from your clicker. The advantage to this method is 'immediate feedback.'

Other clubs handle it a bit differently. The Ah counter simply keeps track of the Ahs, Ums, Er's, etc. on a piece of paper. At the end of the meeting the Ah counter gives a report. For Example: The person with the most Ahs was Joe Bloggins with 46. Jane Doe had 15. And so on. This way, you don't lose your train of thought, but you lose the immediate feedback too.

Steve felt clickers, bells, buzzers, and other noisemakers for such purposes should be banned from all Toastmasters Clubs. I have been to Clubs where such devices are used, and (believe you me) if I never saw Toastmasters before in my life, I doubt that I would've become one.

Dara has a clicker and uses it during table topics, evals, and other speaking. But we do not use it during prepared speeches. I really like how we do it like this, but it doesn't distract the speakers or listeners, but when people are talking in general it helps.

Bill considers the bells, clickers and other devices not only to be rude but down right sadistic. After 17 years in this organization I can say that if that became a practice through out our organization I would be forced to leave and could no longer recommend it to potential members.
Sadomasochists derive great pleasure from watching others squirm when the bell rings or the clicker sounds and many even enjoy the pain themselves. Keep in mind that these are the same people that learned to quit smoking by putting a rubber band on their wrist and snapped themselves when they thought about smoking. They believe firmly in the "No Pain, No Gain" philosophy and I really doubt that any amount of reason will change their minds.

On the other hand it is imperative that positive people not fall into their negative trap and allow this rude teaching technique to infect other clubs. Positive reinforcement has always been the hallmark of our group, I hope it remains that way.

Mike thought it would be better to videotape (if possible) the speech for the speaker to review at his/her leisure, and also use the video tape for evaluation purposes at the request of the speaker.

Rob has never been a fan of the "ah" counter and our club has not done it at all. If individual speakers want to have their "ahs" counted, we leave it up to them and they can coordinate with their evaluator. It should suffice to have the evaluator simply point out to the speaker that he/she either had a lot of "ahs" or very few. The exact number is of no benefit in my opinion.
And a CLICKER?? I think that is COMPLETELY out of place. It's like ringing a bell every time you mess up. Is that what Toastmasters is about? Keeping track of how many times we screw up? I certainly would not go to a club that had that type of emphasis. If someone starting making loud clicking noises with every "ah," it would be the first and LAST time I ever went to that club.

The "ahs" and "ums" naturally reduce as the speaker gets more and more practice and more confidence. Let's encourage that. Let's lose the "ah" counter mentality.

Jeanette's club used a small bell and dropped that in favor of an AH Log book, in which we record the number of ahs and other verbal pauses for each speaker. At the end of the meeting our Ah counter announces the winners--the people who did not commit any verbal pauses.

Those who did can check the book privately afterwards, plus track their improvement over the course of time.

Gary uses a clicker and it work quite well. It if draws attention to the speaker that they are speaking incorrectly, then it is worth the annoyance, and if they can't keep their train of thought, then what are they going to do in a real speaking engagement where there will be a lot more interruptions than just the clicker.
Our purpose is to teach better speaking habits and prepare ourselves to speak properly in public, handling all interruptions and annoyances.

David believes Ah counting to be instrumental to the program. The bell (in our case) must be used constructively and never during prepared projects. I like to ding the first obvious ah and then ding intermittently when I think the speaker has settled down a little. We have many people with their pet filler those should be hit a little harder. Noise is immediate; actual counts after the fact are of questionable value. I like to say "Toastmasters with more than one ah are:...

Rick disagreed that the clicker shouldn't be used during prepared speeches. The clicker showed me that most of my speech was well rehearsed, but I got clicked during the transitions between points. I started to work on the transitions and the ahs when down there too.

For Kathie, the purpose of the clicker is not to embarrass the speaker. Many years ago, I learned to speak without my pronounced Texas drawl. This is done in a "start/stop" method, the purpose of which is to train your ear to hear yourself use phonetic substitutions.

The same principle applies to the ah horn/clicker/buzzer. It points out the infraction so the speaker can train his/her ear to hear the ah. When you're aware of them, you can eliminate them. I know most Toastmasters hate the Ah horn, but it does serve a very important purpose.

Cassandra described a series of different approaches.

In one (great) club they have a detailed grid system. There are spaces for each participants name and tally spaces under headings like uh, um, ya know, repeated words, elongated words (Sooooooooo, ) and several others. The challenge to the Ah counter is to listen carefully and, though they are not a stuffily serious group, everyone applaudes and admires the ah counter who really does the job.

In another (strong, vibrant) club they silently count ah's and report them at the end of the meeting without fines or outraged speakers claiming barbarism. This process has served them well for many years- though at one point in their 50 year history, they did have a huge (size of a freestanding lecturn) box that faced the speaker with a light shone whenever the speaker misspoke.

Another nearby favorite club does a (quiet) fining process and makes it clear that if you want to pay the fine, do. If you don't want to, you shouldn't reach for the quarters. And this hasn't scared off so many people that the club folded at any time in the past 45 years.

In my club we use a clicker. We don't click guests or icebreakers, but everyting else is clicked, unless the person requests that we refrain. We announce the scores at the end of the meeting and the "winner" gets to take home the ceramic "wide mouth frog" While we laugh, joke, and keep things "light," we agree that we are all there to improve our skills. Overlooking each others bad habits doesn't serve that goal. We are kind, suportive, and HONEST with each other. If someone hears the clicker as they speak, they can immediately put in the corrections.

We encourage each other to breath, or stop talking and collect thier thoughts, rather than continue to "verbally trip, stumble, or freefall." The positive reinforcement comes when we encourage people to continue doing EXACTLY what they are doing- showing up and practicing, becuase we know that WILL work. Also, we posiitvely reinforce improvement, which can only be measured by comparison.

George suggested using a small light to indicate Ahhs. This light would be situated so only the speaker could see it and would be as unobtrusive as possible. I'm thinking something like a night-light -- small enough to not cast a shadow on the wall behind the speaker, but bright enough to be seen by the speaker. This would also keep from distracting the audience with an audible click.

Don't use the light for the Toastmaster's first few speeches -- maybe the first 5 or so. This way, the beginning speaker can concentrate on those butterflies and not be distracted by an Ahh light. However, after a few speeches to "get into the swing of things," the light could be used as a subtle, and immediate, Skinner Training Device.

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The names "Toastmasters International", "Toastmasters" and the Toastmasters International emblem are trademarks protected in the United States, Canada and other countries where Toastmasters Clubs exist. Unauthorized use is strictly prohibited.

Evaluations

2006-12-20T12:21:00.000-08:00

In May 1999 Arif was preparing for an evaluation contest and sought ideas on what makes a good evaluation. The thread was Evaluation Contest. These tips can be used equally effectively in routine evaluations in the club.

Arif had already these factors in mind:

1. How well did the speech convey the message to the audience?
2. Did the speech have a good intro. , body, and a powerful conclusion?
3. Speaker's eye-contat?
4. Speaker's body-language?

Terry suggested when pointing out areas needing improvement, be sure to suggest ways to make those improvements.

Joe recalled his time as a target speakers in a contest when more important than anything else, a good evaluator builds the self-esteem of the speaker. Emphasize your feelings as well as mechanics. Were you inspired or motivated by the speech? Did the speech make you feel good or did it anger you? Avoid trite phrases such as, "I look forward to hearing your next speech.

Joy added Vocal variety is something to listen for, as well. Incidentally, regarding eye contact, I have noticed that most speakers favor one side of the room with eye contact. You might watch for that, especially if the speaker is especially good, and you're having trouble coming up with suggestions.

Denis suggested
Voice: vocal variety, projection, pace, pauses as being appropriate to subject and setting.
Movement and gestures: appropriate and again big enough for a bigger setting. think about stiffness or any sign of apparent nervousness. Did movement add or detract from presentation.
Eyes: Did speaker connect with all the parts of audience or did speaker lose part of room -- again based on size of audience.
Avoid any tendency to repeat the speech, and winning evals I have heard do find suggestions for even the best speech and speaker!

He also recalled the conflicting feedback he recieved as a rtarget speaker in a contest
The first evaluaor said; "I like your eye contact, you really connected" , second evaluator said: "try not to stare at people during your speech"

In another eval contest, one evaluator said of test speaker; "I loved how you worked the stage and involved whole audience, later evalator said, " you were all over the stage and made me lose track of message"

So, remember we all see different things differently.

In December 2004, Chris sought ideas for an Evaluation Workshop.

The most common mistake Mark sees is in thinking that the evaluation is about finding what's wrong with the speech. This leads very nice, but well meaning, members to say, "I can't find anything wrong." This is pleasant, but unhelpful. Other members, who are not afraid to point out flaws, wind up giving scorching evaluations. This is both unpleasant and unhelpful.

The evaluation is, in my opinion, about finding where the speech can be improved. For some speakers, there were be a struggle to decided which two or three points to raise. For other speakers, it will be a struggle to find two or three points. However, I firmly believe that all speeches can be improved.

Focusing on how the speech can be "better" also ties in to the incremental progress approach in Toastmasters. For someone who reads from a verbatim script, the "better" suggestion is to use notes. For someone who relies heavily on notes, the "better" suggestion is to memorize an outline. We wouldn't normally go from a person reading their Icebreaker speech to completely discarding the lectern in Speech #2. We usually ease members into more advanced concepts and techniqes.

For the very advanced speaker flying with notes, who suddenly goes blank and spends many painful seconds trying to get back on track, the "better" suggestion is to have the notes available. There's nothing in the slightest bit wrong in the occasional use of a well prepared note.

In April 1999 the thread was Effective Speech Evaluation, and the biggest mistake Denis sees is the evaluator repeating the speech. The evaluator should only repeat enough specific points to highlight a point of praise or a suggestion of improvement. This repetition should happen sparingly.

The club should get in the habit of always stating member goals and project objectives, just before speech. This will help focus the speaker and the evaluators and get everyone on the same page.

Jenny words all the positives in a way that gives the speaker the credit and makes it seem like this is a permanent, far-reaching trait. Conversely, the negatives should be worded in a way that doesn't assess blame and makes it seem like a temporary trait.

Examples:

Positive: You spoke so eloquently and gave us such wonderful word pictures, as you always do. Negative: This speech was not as well-organized as usual. (instead of "YOU were not organized", or worse, "YOU are NEVER very organized")

Positive: You have mastered the art of gesturing! (a very permanent thing)
Negative: Try (add your tip here), and the signs of nervousness will be invisible next time. (temporary, won't be there forever).

There's nothing wrong with saying "This was a good speech" - but why not give the speaker the pride of personal accomplishment by saying, "YOU gave a good speech".

At the same time, there's no white-washing the negatives; it's just a way of wording them so that the sharp sting is dulled and there's hope of improving the next time. After all, if you were told "You have a nervous mannerism", it would seem like a permanent, hopeless problem - why make the effort to change? Instead, by saying, "Ear-pulling happened during times of nervousness - here's my tip for controlling nerves...", you acknowledge the problem, indicate that it's temporary and offer some hope for fixing it in future speeches.

An added caution - don't lie or make up stuff! If you've never heard this speaker or if this speaker, in fact, ALWAYS makes the same mistake, you can hardly say "This is not your usual way". Use your best judgement, and try not to sound like you're using a "technique".

In July 2005, the heading was Evaluating.
Nigel suggested telling the speaker how you connected with the speech and how it connected with you, without having to give your own story. "I enjoyed your speech about car racing because that has been a life long ambition of mine". Point out some good points about the speech "You gestures were great, for example when you said "zoom" and used your hands to relate the speed of the car". Try and pick a point where the speaker improved from the previous speech. "I noticed you used notes on your last speech, but this was without notes and it seemed like it was more natual because of that".

Pick one or two points to improve on and why. "I would like you to use more pauses in your speech. "Rather than ready, set go, try ready........set........ GOOOOOOOOOO to give a more dramatic start to the race". I would also like to see you move from behind the podium so you can connect more with your audience".

Finally, give another good point, a reinforcement. "Your vocal variety has improved greaty over the last few speeches, and I'm really looking forward to your next one".

Try to avoid commenting on the content on the speech too much. Your job as an evaluator is to examine the delivery, but be sure to follow the guidelines in the manual to make sure the speech achives the goals that are set out. Basically, did the content fill the requirements.

A few days before the meeting, find out who you are supposed to evaluate and ask them what they would like you to look out for specifically. Find out which manual speech they're doing so you can check the requirements rather than have to do it during the meeting.

John S offered some ways that I am likely to start an evaluation, but in each case they are in response to the speech, not prepared before hand.
====== EXAMPLES
Your comments on yak racing took me back to a childhood visit to Mesopotamia, but I think that the way you brought the subject to life was more vivid than my memory of the actual trip. I liked .... (but only if the speech topic was about yak racing - or adapted to suit the actual speech and your actual experience - this is the only time your experience is mentioned. Too often I have heard evaluators expounding their greater knowledge)

I've often wondered where the quote of the week people get their pithy sayings from - nicely encapsulated phrases that say it all in 10 seconds. To me, your statement .... deserves to be on an http://www.quotations.com/. (which may or may not exist.)

I've never believed in evaluations where the expert (me) tells the student (you) what you did wrong. To me it is a chance to watch closely and decide which of your techniques I can incorporate in one of my future speeches. Well tonight I got three: the way that you ...., your use of ..... and .... (particularly useful when evaluating an experienced speaker - but all Toastmasters have experiences, just different ones. You can tell that to www.quotations.com)

Thank you for the inspiration. (or laughs, or information) What made it inspirational to me was .... And then end with something like: Again thank you. Tonight, I have decided to do something about it.
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In each case, I hope I would convey the impact that a speech had on me, an important part of evaluation.
But never try to upstage the speaker with your greater knowledge, even if it is valid.

Mark believes that a good evaluation is really a two to three minute motivational speech. You want the speaker to be deeply inspired to make changes and also to be eager to give their next speech. It is your time to shine, but not to outshine!

Use all the good speech techniques you've learned in Toastmasters and elsewhere. They say that in giving a powerful presentation it's all about the audience, that's every bit as true for an evaluation. Use the methods that will reach your audience.

Anthony rephrased that to "remember that a good evaluation is really about providing productive and useful feedback to the speaker.

As your evaluation skills develop, you will find that an evaluation also provides you with an opportunity to present a speech (the evaluation) that is good practice and a learning opportunity for future evaluations and speeches.

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The names "Toastmasters International", "Toastmasters" and the Toastmasters International emblem are trademarks protected in the United States, Canada and other countries where Toastmasters Clubs exist. Unauthorized use is strictly prohibited.

Finding new members

2006-12-19T15:28:00.000-08:00

In August 1999 Bear belonged to a club that is struggling to keep pace with the constant attrition of members lately. We have a wonderful core of highly motivated members, and four of our 17 members are DTMs.
One of our problems we have only a few newer members that are working on the basic manual. We need ideas to spark the club up. The thread was getting new members

John F suggested a mall display, which he described as a set up display a club can place in a mall or similar public location. Usually, a club will arrange to have a couple of members man it at times when traffic is a bit heavier (like lunch time or weekends) to answer questions.
Even when it is not manned, there is information on it about Toastmasters.
Clubs book it, usually quite a while in advance because it is fairly popular, from District Public Relations.

It comes as six panels, three on top and three on the bottom, and it's hinged so that it is free standing.

It's large enough that a table will fit nicely in front of it.

The panels themselves are designed to be more eye catching than informative. The purpose is to attract visitors, who will then talk to the Toastmasters manning the display. Also, additional information pamphlets can be kept on the table in front of the display, and handed out to interested visitors.

Joy is the club telephonbe contact and fields quite a few calls, as our club is listed in the white pages with my home-business phone for the only Toastmasters listing in the county. I am usually here to answer the calls, and return them as soon as I can if I'm not here.

I pass along information about other local clubs if our meeting is not convenient for local callers, and if they are from farther away, I refer them to the appropriate Area Governor.

One caller said he was in a city about 25 miles away, and by the time I finished telling him about our meetings and offered to give him an Area Governor's phone number, all he wanted was directions to our meetings. I think true enthusiasm is the best sales tool there is.

Craig is also a telephone contact and has a copy of our District's club directory and can usually provide direct contact with any number of clubs in the enquirer's chosen area. I also try to impart the personal achievements I have drawn from Toastmasters.

Eric's experience is that the best way to "hook" a prospective member is with a great meeting. All the PR work, the flyers and telephone contacts, will only serve to get the guest in the door, but if they don't like what they see then they're not coming back.

What makes a great meeting: good speeches and evaluations, people having fun, things running smoothly and on time, guests welcomed and included in the meeting. Advanced speeches and professional calibre speeches tend to intimidate guests; my experience is that they like to see speeches by people that are only a couple of speeches into their CTMs (these speakers are not too far ahead of the guests) and hear evaluations that say how these speakers have improved in just a few months.

In August 2001, the thread was Where do YOU find new Members

Four out of my five of Moira's contacts were people known to me that I spoke to about Toastmasters by word of mouth. I also joined because a friend invited me.

I place Toastmasters leaflets in every single public speaking book I can find at the library every time I visit - some of these books are seldom taken out. I also place leaflets in books on PR, business management etc. It only takes a few minutes, and it has paid dividends in terms of at least three new members over the years.

When I was building my club I spoke to the people whose numbers were listed, telling them that we were actively recruiting, what type of club, when and where we met and promised that we'd nurture all contacts. That assurance, together with the actual work, netted us several new members - people like to refer enquiries to clubs where there is an assurance that the potential members will be kindly treated.

My doctor is a personal friend who has rooms in the same area as the one in which our club met and I always gave him a current copy of the Toastmaster magazine with a pasted contact number sheet with five tear off strips. I popped into his rooms at least once a month and at that time belonged to four clubs, so it wasn't a big deal. The club got at least one new member from that effort.

By April 2002 the web was more popular, and Dale started the thread New members from web with this question:
How many visitors, who then become new members, are clubs receiving from people searching on the web for a club, and then turning up to meetings?

Eric asks guests how they found us; a couple of years ago the answer was typically that they saw our flyer in the local library, but now the answer is more likely that they found us through the World Wide Web. We tend to have guests at every meeting.

I think the best way for clubs to be found is through links to the Toastmasters International and District websites. Someone searching on "Toastmasters" will find the TI site pretty fast, and from there they can narrow down a search for a club by continent, country, and in North America by state or province.

When someone gets a barebones listing of clubs in a specific city or town they'll probably check out those with websites first since these have the promise of more information being available.

Jim's experience is that members usually find out about TM from someone they know, but they then use the web to learn more about TM, and to find a club near them.

The web in another tool we can use to promote TM, but it is only one tool. There are other tools that we can and should use, the most effective being tell our friends and coworkers about TM.

When people show up from the Interenet Renate actively encourages them to visist the other clubs in the area and find the right "fit".

Most of Dan's guests are drawn by our local PR. There are posters everywhere and weekly listing in local papers. We are planning a mall kiosk later in the month so there will be some face-to-face contacts. The greatest building tool still remains the meeting. We genuinely welcome guests and fill them in on what happens at the meeting. There is no push or shove towards membership. Extend the invite to the next meeting and let them open the door to talking about a membership. They are told of the benefits and the program. They buy versus us doing the sales pitch.

Regina is starting to see at least one guest per meeting who has found our club through www.toastmasters.org. And more of our guests are joining now, too. I think that people who find clubs through Toastmasters International's web site's club listings are ones who are really looking for Toastmasters. While the people who find us through announcements posted in public places and in newspapers are also legitmate prospects, those who have gone through the Toastmasters International web site have had the opportunity to get a thorough background on what Toastmasters is before coming to a meeting.

John K found the Web seems to work well as there is an element of anonymity involved at the initial contact stage. After a couple of e-mails back and forth, we are able to reassure the potential guests that we are not a bunch of cranks and that we always welcome visitors.

In January 2004, the thread was Rebuilding a club and Mark outlined his plan:

I suggested a series of monthly Open Houses (held on the first meeting of each month from March through June). These meetings would be publicized through electronic means (our club website), through the club newsletter, and by printed flyers placed in strategic areas (nearby library, local bulletin boards, city Chamber of Commerce, etc.). These advertisements would encourage invitees to bring their checkbooks, as we would offer a small discount for first-time guests joining our club.

The Open Houses would be informal meetings, with the members bringing refreshments. The core of each Open House would be a 8-10 minute keynote speech about the benefits of Toastmasters membership. Then two or three club members would give 2-3 minute testimonials of the benefits they received from Toastmasters membership. We would give guests time at the end of each Open House to ask questions. In short, the entire Open House would be a club promotional meeting.

Each visitor would receive a handout package containing partially filled-out membership forms, including pro-rated dues (a visitor would only need to add personal information to complete the form). The meeting would end 15-20 minutes early to allow for guests to complete the paperwork and join the club.

Those visitors who wouldn't join at their first meeting would get a follow-up note by regular mail. In this note, our club President would thank them for their attendance and would personally invite them to attend the next Open House.

Bill reported on his club, which is sponsored by a company.
Contact the Human Resources Dept. immediately. Let hem know there is Toastmaster training available for employees. Also suggest that managers specify Toastmasters training on annual goals for employees when it is relevant to their jobs. Also let the training folks know about the program.

To help sell these initiatives find out if competitor companies sponsor Toastmaster Clubs. I found out all of our major competitors and partners sponsored clubs, so it made it much easier to say "Toastmasters is a good thing to have here."

Have experienced Toastmasters come in and provide Testimonials on what Toastmasters has done for them. Contact your Area Governor or other District Officers to help out.

Consider running a SpeechCraft - we ran two last year and signed up 5 new members. We also hold "All About Toastmaster" info sessions twice a year. One of members was on vacation in Calgary last July - we are in Ottawa - and took the time to deliver this one-hour info session to our Calgary site. Within 2 months they chartered with 26 members. We also survey - and talk to - our members to find out what is working and what is not. For example new members were not getting any feedback for Table Topics, so we added a Table Topics Evaluator. This has led to the Table Topics Master mentioning tips prior the topics deliveries, and everyone has improved. I may never win Best Table Topics again :-).

Because we had so many new members, and they were somewhat reluctant to start, we held an Ice Breaker seminar. This generated enough interest that we had two meetings just for Ice Breakers, with one of these meetings being a First Timers meeting - every role, except evaluators, was done by someone for the first time. Last year we had 14 Ice Breakers in total delivered.

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The names "Toastmasters International", "Toastmasters" and the Toastmasters International emblem are trademarks protected in the United States, Canada and other countries where Toastmasters Clubs exist. Unauthorized use is strictly prohibited.

Going over time

2006-12-19T12:11:00.000-08:00

In April 2000, Steve was at a meeting where 3 of the 4 speakers went way over time. He asked what other clubs do about this. The thread was Timing Problems/Evaluation etiquette

In Robert's club Green, Orange and Red lights are shown as per agreement with the speaker. Bell at thirty seconds after the speaker should have completed, two bells after 1 minute. At two minutes the timer (who is always sitting to the left of the toastmaster) indicates the time to the Toastmaster who should then stand and lead applause for the speaker.

For Denis, the evaluator makes timing a part of the feedback. Over (or under) time speeches are not eligible for the "best" speaker award for the evening.

John F suggested that if the evaluator or the general evaluator haven't said anything, then, it is acceptable for a member to mention the over time problem to the speaker i private. Just confirm with the evaluator beforehand that she or he didn't mention it to the speaker privately at the end of the meeting.

When you do this, don't take a Bible thumping, thou shalt burn in Hell forever, type of approach, as this will probably not result in the desired outcome. Just mention that you are aware the speaker went overtime, mention the reasons why we need to stick within the time limite (you can include the reason above, or you can mention members needing to get to work or home (very effective if you have a member who relies on the bus) after the meeting. Then offer to help the member work on the problem.

In Vincent's club at 30 sec over time the timer leads the applause.

In one of Joy's clubs anyone who is not within 30 seconds of the specified times is not eligible for the best speaker ribbon. Ice Breakers are not subject to this limitation. All of my clubs allow speakers to designate adjusted times for their speeches if necessary. For instance, although the manual says this is a 5-7 minute speech, the person may ask for 8-10 minutes.

Rod reported on the practice in the clubs in South Africa, where at that time it was common to ask a member to repeat an assignment if objectives were not met.

In one club, if the speech is 5-7 minutes, then after 7mins and one second, you would be asked to repeat the speech project on another occasion. This particular club won't allow you extra time even if you request it beforehand. They consider it to be your responsibility to choose a topic that you can cover within the time limits stated in the manual. Perhaps this is a draconian way of doing things, but the club is an old one, has more than 30 members and is one of the strongest in its Division.

The most common timing 'rule' here is that used for contest timing, i.e. a 30 second leeway either side of the prescribed time limits, unless the manual prescribes still tighter limits. I can't think of any club in this District that would NOT ask a speaker to repeat the project after taking 14 minutes for a 5-7 minute speech.

Speakers would not be interrupted by ringing a bell or by any other means. To my mind, continually ringing a bell whilst a speaker is speaking, even if the speaker is well overtime, is an exhibition of bad manners on both sides.

Most evaluators in this District would comment on excessive time, simply to give the speaker important feedback that time limits are important.

In Bob's club, Speakers are also allowed to continue to the end of their speech, no matter how long they go on. They adjust later assignments to make up the time - e.g evaluators stand in their seats and give a briefer evaluation.

When the same members have repeatedly taken much more than their allotted amount of time we have had a reminder given that timeliness is one of the goals we try to achieve and since we run on a set schedule and our meetings are always pretty full, that when someone goes way over their time limit they are depriving other members of their chance to fill their roles.

Cheryl allows 30 secs past red then the speaker is disqualified from best speaker.

I think anyone not following the guidelines of a project should be spoken to during their evaluation - but don't dwell on it; and if it persists then discuss the issue with the member after a meeting.

Jennifer thought it was standard practice for the timer to begin to clap down the speech and those next to him join in.

In April 2002, James was Toastmaster when an elderly gentlemen had scheduled a speech for 8-10 minutes and spoke on his experiences during WWII for 19 minutes. The thread was What to do with a speaker that goes WAY over their time.

Rick uses twice the interval of the lights before the applause was started. So, on speeches, you would have 2 minutes after the red light. On table topics, which was timed 1 min, 1:15 and 1:30, you would have 30 seconds.
We felt that was a good solution. The two minutes didn't affect someone who was trying to stay in their time limit. The first time someone does a humorous speech, they may misjudge the amount of time for applause. Someone who's inexperienced handling Q&A or props may go over. The two minutes gave them a lot of time do something new and be off with out getting clapped down. However, the speaker who just ignored the timing would get cut off.

Susan offered three reasons for staying within the time limits:
1) To help each of us learn - by experience, successful and not so successful - to stay within our allotted times; and
2) To ensure that other participants on the agenda will have their full allotted time for various assignments; and
3) To ensure that our meetings end on time

She supported clapping down a speaker as long as everyone knows the process and the reasons for it, and as long as it is applied consistently ... it just isn't a problem.

The practice of "green, yellow, red, applause" is common in hundreds of clubs up here! And it just isn't a problem for anyone. Another note on that ... generally the "applause" does not apply to Icebreakers. One Club I know of has a trophy that is given to the person with the longest Icebreaker in the Club's history to date .. and the person keeps it til someone else goes longer! I think the current record is around 27 minutes or so !!!!

John F has to fit prepared speeches, table topics, evaluations and possibly a business meeting into a 55 minute period of time--after which everyone goes back to work. Having a speaker go ten minutes overtime is not fair to anybody else at the meeting. To date, we've never had to clap down a speaker. Perhaps because of the work commitments we are more acutely aware of the importance of keeping everything on time.

Tom sounds a bell at the expired time and a bell every minute thereafter. This "politely" informs the speaker that they have gone overtime. This would then be mentioned by their evaluator and the General Evaluator. If a particular member habitually went over time, then the VPE or Mentor would need to have a word with the speaker.

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I speak therefore I ummm

2006-12-18T12:42:00.000-08:00

The question of umm and ahh counter has raged since the early days of this list.

Here are some extracts from er-ah grammarian in March 1995

Clay usually listens for pauses, incorrect grammar, sentence re-starts and of course er/ahs.

Sylvia listens for repeat words or combinations of words. For example, one speaker would use the expression "You know" very often, and it was not known to him until it was brought to his attention. There is also the use of unlimited AND to merge together sentences. Many use this as they are thinking ahead, making ANDS as much a crutch word as ER or AH.

Barbara found a lot of problems with subject-predicate agreement. In other words, the subject of the sentence is singular, and the verb is plural, or the other way around. It's one of those things that bugs me. Often it's a problem with using the word "there" to begin a sentence. Many people start out with a singular noun in mind (which "there" is replacing), but switch mid-sentence into a plural verb, i.e, "There is, according to the latest polls, many things which people do not understand." Better to eliminate "there" completely and say "The latest polls say people do not understand many things."

In Janice's club one person assumes the function of ah counter, and a second person fills the function of grammarian. The grammarian comments on incorrect grammar, but also on good uses of the English language, good uses of vocabulary, good word pictures, etc.

CDayton usually will comment on verbal crutches -- Like, You Know, Stuff that certain people use over and over. Could be many different things, one speaker used to say "Each and Every One of " us, you, etc. at least 3 times per speech. Also the grammarian will sometimes comment on a particularly apt phrase or word use.

Andrew looks for repetitions like "and, and", "but then, but then"

Vince added there's always the "you know" and unnecessary "and"s before/between sentences.
You could also note where people are putting the "er-ah"s.

In October 2001 the thread was Ah Counter equals No Sale

When Moira does a grammarian's report she notes "the good, the bad and the ugly". One thing that was very beautiful, descriptive etc., one thing which was incorrect, and one thing that was not wrong, but either overused or just sloppy.

Sam: the grammarians in both of my clubs include an "ah" count, and do it in such a way that it is seen in the proper perspective...a habit that needs to be tamed, but not one that will destroy your public speaking career!
Neither club uses bells, whistles, fines, or other means to embarrass or pummel people over this matter. We simply mention it as part of the grammarians report. I find more often than not it serves as a humanizing factor, as even skilled speakers use "ahs", and noting their presence shows less experienced speakers that no one is perfect and that all speakers have room for improvement.

To Gene: By having an "Ah Counter" attention can be put on ums and ahs without the speakers having to worry about it. It's difficult to do something when you have to put your attention on exactly how you're doing it as you are doing it. This applies to public speaking, typing, playing piano, anything where there is a large element of automaticity.

Some of those who are umming and ahing may not even realize that they are doing so. Having an Ah Counter is a gentle way of bringing it to someones attention so that he can do something about it.

Jim's club includes the AH counter as part of the grammarian's role. They do give a count of AH's, UM's and "ands" for the entire meeting. They never single out individuals, unless it is a positive report where they can say that they didn't have any AH's or UM's. The "AH count" is a very small part of the grammarians report and no one feels that threatened by it.

Fred: It is difficult, if not impossible, to overcome the problem of 'word whiskers if the problem is not addressed. Unfortunately, the remedial side of the problem is rarely commented upon. People use word whiskers in different ways which call for different solutions. In many clubs that is not recognized.

I do not agree with a system of fines. I prefer the analysis of why the word whiskers occur: is it because one is speaking faster than one thinks? Is it because one did not listen to the question and is waffling? Whatever the reason there are remedies, and these cannot be suggested unless the problem is diagnosed.

The word whisker counter, in many clubs, has become a sort of 'gotcha game' rather than a valid evaluation tool. I used to use word whiskers when I first joined. I don't any longer (or at least, rarely). I credit my improvement to the 'ah counter' and some recommendations from senior Toastmasters of the day as to how to avoid them.

Please do not throw the baby out with the bath-water. Reform the manner in which the problem is addressed, but do not deprive the speaker of this valuable evaluation.

Susan is not in favor of the role of Ah Counter! but thinks that whenever we are assigned to evaluate a speech (not a speaker!), we would be well advised to include comments about EXCESSIVE use of fillers, of any nature, along with what type of situation it was that resulted in the speaker using a filler, and a couple of suggestions on how to avoid similar ones in the future.

Joy reported: Occasionally someone will mention that a particular member (always known to be someone with a good sense of humor and not easily hurt) was the "wizard of ah's" for the evening.

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Advanced clubs

2006-12-12T21:40:00.000-08:00

A regular question is how do advanced clubs work? In editing the posts I have steered clear of many of the comments, and instead searched for suggested formats. The comments about success and failure may be local and have changed over time. I have referenced the thread in alt.org.toastmasters and the date to help you see what members and others said about the value and merits of the clubs. Here is the format, only.

In May 2001, Robert started the thread Advanced Toastmasters Club with:
An Area Governor in my district is looking at starting a new advanced club. I was wondering about the focus of those advanced clubs you have seen and how advanced toastmasters clubs go about marketing themselves.

Rick:
An advanced manual club met before the district meeting and attracted members from all over the state.
They market themselves as a place people can give longer speeches. They require their members maintain membership in a home club. This prevents the perception that they are looking to steal experienced members from other clubs. The make announcements and/or had out flyers at district meetings, area & division contests and the district conference.

Eric:
One of the advanced clubs in our district is open to CTMs, and meets twice a month for 3 hours on a Saturday morning. They market to our existing members, and the focus is on the extra time for longer presentations and in-depth evaluations.

Our other advanced club is for "professional" speakers, those who are serious about making money as speakers. This club meets once a month on Sunday evenings, and you can't join unless you pass an audition.

Vincent:
In one of our advanced clubs a good number of members have been long time toastmasters, some only belong to it just to keep in touch with Toastmasters it seems. Structure relatively similar to a regular club meeting, varying meeting location and meets over dinner at some "exotic" places. Atmosphere somewhat more formal and professional.

Another has a focus on speeches and evaluations - 4 to 5 speeches, one main oral evaluation followed by group evaluation (up to 10 minutes). They present an education session at each meeting and is more or less a dinner meeting.

Ledema:
We do have time for longer speeches and more thoughtful evaluations. But one of the best advantages is getting to know TM from around the state. We have members covering an area of some 100 miles or more. When we need a TM for an area contest or some other event, I know I can call on someone from our Advanced TM club. They are always willing and able. We require that the member keep membership in a home club so there is no feeling of stealing members. We meet once a month and have a meal before the meeting so it is a great opportunity to get to know the members well.

JoeZ
We require that members have at least a CTM but we sometimes make an exception for an outstanding speaker. At this club, we use group evaluations, rather than the standard one evaluator per speaker. Each person in attendance at the meeting offers suggestions to the speaker to help facilitate rapid improvement.

Another club is geared toward leadership development. All speeches and table topics are based on some aspect of leadership. Also, members are encouraged to pursue Leadership designations and we work together to support the High Performance Leadership projects for our members. Requirements for membership in this club are to have completed at least 6 Basic Manual speeches and to have previously served as a club officer for at least 6 months.

Another club was to practice sharing technical information with other technical professionals. We did not have any requirements other than dual membership and a knowledge or desire to speak on technical subjects.

Kathy:
Our emphasis is on members interested in competition, and they have quite of few of the District's previous contest winners as members.

John L:
Our main selling point is the evaluations. We devote ten minutes to each speech evaluation. The speaker has a choice of formats. There can be a team evaluation where there is a lead evaluator that comments on the overall presentation. As well there will be two other evaluators that will watch specific aspects of the speech. This will be up to the speaker. It may be presentation material - slides -flip charts etc. It may be gestures, or whatever area the speaker wishes to work on.
Another format will be to have the lead evaluator speak for five minutes and then open the floor for comments from other club members.
We market ourselves as a way to continue the growth.

In September 2005, the thread was Advanced club agenda

Joy:
In our Storytelling club we begin each meeting by introducing ourselves, in a voice or character other than our own. Table Topics may incorporate singing, dancing, improv or mime. After one person gives the oral version of the written evaluation, all speakers receive a round robin evaluation.

Mark:
We have double evaluations. One for content and one for presentation. The dividing line is very fuzzy, so we don't fret about crossing over. It is good, nonetheless, to get two opinions.

We frequently have educational sessions on speaking topics.

In March 1999 the thread was Advanced Club
Jeff:
Our focus is "service" (our name is "Laulima" -literally "helping hands", or "people helping people".), and mission is to promote Toastmasters and its skills to the community, and to the District. Most of our members are past and/or present District Officers, although that's not a restriction. Our only real criteria for membership is the spirit of service. When we first formed, we toyed with the idea of limiting membership to CTMs, but we soon realized that there were newer members who were much more imbued with the spirit of our Club than some long-time members - you might want to consider that when setting up guidelines for your Club - there may be some non-CTMs who are more on the track of professional speaking than some CTMs and ATMs.

January 2006, the thread was Describre Advanced clubs (their spelling for search purposes)
George:
We have a Toastmasters TV show that is not a club, but is staffed by members from various clubs around district 57. The crew is pretty stable, and we offer speaking opportunities to members all around D57. Most other TMTV shows I have heard about are clubs, but this works well for us. We record a show once a month, also at the local cable company's studio. The typical format has a host, two speakers and an evaluator. We have the last two years of shows archived at http://www.toastmastertime.com/, if anyone is interested.

September 2000 the thread was Advanced CLUBS
JoeZ:
We have a gourmet Toastmasters club. For our gourmet meetings, we meet once a month in the home of one of our members. Each member prepares one menu item based on the theme (we've done Cajun, Indian, Mexican, French, Spanish and several other cuisines). We conduct the meeting around the meal. These meetings tend to be a little less formal but we still work on advanced speeches and evaluations.

John S:
Several gourmet clubs - at least one in each division I think - meet monthly. The club meets at a different restaurant each month. Generally we have a private room, or meet on a night that the restaurant would otherwise be closed.
I find it a great way to rehearse after dinner speeches - the audience is more demanding than a normal club meeting. Of course, I enjoy the meal too.
In addition to speeches and evaluations (about thirty minutes worth of speeches, which may mean two by fifteen, one by thirty or four by 7) we have table topics, and also critiques on the dishes or wines.

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Speaking without notes

2006-12-11T20:21:00.000-08:00

It is hard to imagine a speaking skills topic that has more air-time on the newsgroup than speaking without notes. The post title is included with the contributor so that you can follow the thread at http://groups.google.com/group/alt.org.toastmasters/.

Here are some of the suggestions that have been made over the years.
May 1998 - Speech without notes

Anthony
I don't find taping it much help. On the other hand, I find reading it out aloud as I type it and listening to its sound, I can find the right words and rhythms.

James
1. I don't write the speech out word for word. At most, I write a bare bones outline.
2. I flesh the speech out by talking to myself. My family thinks I'm crazy--so let them.
3. I don't memorize words so much as I memorize ideas.
4. I tape record myself and listen critically.
5. Most importantly, I practice, practice, and practice.

July 2002 Own Speaking Style = Own Speaking Voice - NOTES
Michael
I write out a draft, and then rehearse it, making sure I know what the structure is - i.e., the points I want to make and what follows what. if I have any particularly cute bits of language I want to use, I'll work on that a bit. But once I get up to give the speech, I don't worry about giving it verbatim - I hopefully am comfortable enough with the *flow* of what I want to say that the actual words come out fairly cleanly on their own.

In April 2001, Dennis was looking for ideas in the thread "How do you Memorize your talk?"

Frank uses memorization by association.
For instance let's say I am delivering a speech about "Life Lessons" I memorize the following
1. Book
2. On top of the Book is an ice cream cone
3. Over the ice cream cone is a TV
4. Sitting on the TV is a Cat

Book will remind me of a story regarding school and how learning is important.
Ice Cream Cone will remind me of a story that illustrates a young boy who after eating an ice cream sundae made sure that he had enough money to tip the waitress.
TV will remind me of the story of the widow of Nat King Cole, who sent a TV to a white man that picked her up; overcoming bigotry; in time for her husband's funeral
Cat will remind me to conclude.

Rod agreed but expanded:
All memory is associative in some or other way, so your statement is generally true, but memory techniques vary from individual to individual. What works for one may not work for another.
I've tried this 'stacking' technique many times over many years, and it just doesn't work well for me. Neither do mind maps, another very valuable technique.
One of those that works for me is numbers. Also an associative technique, but different to 'stacking'.
It's only necessary to remember one list and, based on 1-10, here's the way it works for me.

1 gun 2 shoe 3 tree 4 door 5 hive 6 sticks 7 heaven 8 gate 9 mine 10 hen

If these words don't 'fit', find substitutes that rhyme with the numbers. Then associate (preferably as wildly as possible) each heading with the appropriate number, in order.

I prefer direct associations with my rhyming master list:

1 gun (schools - learning is important) Think of the problems of guns in schools and the recent disasters.

2 shoe (money to tip the waitress) The money for the tip is kept in the boy's shoe, so that he won't spend it on anything else.

3 tree (story of Nat King Cole's widow and the TV) I see her waiting under a tree and being picked up by the white man.

4 door (conclusion) This door is at the END of a long passage.

We will all create different mental pictures and associations, so this technique is very flexible.

The more wild, detailed and colourful the images, the better. One of the nice things about this technique is that you can run through your list forwards, backwards, or pick individual items by number. If it works for you, that's great. If it doesn't, you haven't lost anything.

Mykill added:
I find that all I have to do is practice reading the speech about 4-5 times in advance and I get the speech pretty much bang on. I actually have a harder time remembering short things like the Toast or Thought of the Day. It also means everytime you do the speech, it's a little different and the audience can usually pick up on that.

Charles hasn't memorized a speech in years, but often speaks without notes.

It comes down to first knowing your topic very well, figuring out what you want to get across, and organizing it. What little I do memorize falls into the categories of openings, closings, quotations, and transitions.

If you use visual aids or handouts, these can substitute for notes. I like the PowerPoint program and use it to make overhead projection transparencies. However, it also lets you prepare note sheets for your audience. A chart or an overhead transparency or a slide can keep your speech on track.

Ledema finds rehearsing it in bed just before going to sleep helps me to learn it better than rehearsing it at any other time. Start with a portion of the speech and repeat that portion until you have it memorized, then add the next portion until you have the whole speech memorized. Doing this just before sleeping seems to plant it in my mind better than working on it at other times.

For James it's important to read it aloud and practice your gestures. You cannot memorize a spoken delivery by reading silently. Your entire series of movements, if consistent, will help you remember. I've had it happen where I thought "if I'm looking at the back left corner of the room, holding my prop, then I'm at this part in my speech". I've heard this called "muscle memory".

Next, I try to ignore the exact words and memorize only the key points and logical flow. Example: for a short joke, memorize the punchline and the question will take care of itself. For a longer joke, memorize the punchline and the basic logic (what is the difference between ministers, priests, and rabbis, and why is that difference funny when they walk in to a bar together?)

A speech is the same sort of animal. I spend the most time memorizing the start and finish, which are the key parts to getting attention when I begin and making it memorable when I'm done. Then, I just remember the logical flow that connect the two.

Sometimes I imagine a conversation, where my speech is the answers to a series of questions. What does my imaginary friend want to ask next, based on what I just said? I then give my answers to the imagined questions.

When you offer a quotation, I think it's okay to read it (demonstrating your attention to accuracy and the fact it isn't your words).

The problem with memorizing something word-for-word is that you might find yourself talking without thinking. This is essential to politics, but otherwise dangerous. Did you ever get stuck because you forgot what you just said?

Always have a few dramatic pauses...they let the audience absorb your information, and give you a chance to collect your thoughts.

For Rick, technical speeches almost always involve notes. Even presentations by professional speakers. The note are just very big and called visual aids.

For stories, I visualize a progression that I'm walking though. For example, I gave a speech about the summer I was a councilor at a Y camp. I visualize myself at the cabin. I talk about Brian (the subject of the speech - a boy who is at camp all summer not just one session) leading the other boys in pine cone soccer on the roof the the cabin. I visualize myself walking to the field. I talk about the importance of the day and why the whole camp is headed toward the field. I visualize the children heading toward the lake for dinner as their parents pick them up. I explain process of children and parents headed to dinner. I then explain how the last of the children are picked up. I visualize Brian and me headed down to dinner. I explain how Brian is sure his mother will show up and we decide to eat dinner while we wait for her then we spend the evening playing the games together. I never memorize the speech - just the flow.

In May 1998 when Mark suggested speaking without notes is like not wearing deodorant -- there is no excuse for it and folks can usually tell, the thread was Speech without Notes

Joy doesn't have any notes. I work my speech out in my head, the way I think I want it. Then I tape record it. I play back the tape, listening for rough spots, things that need clarification, or other changes I want to make, and at the same time I time it. Then I know if I need to add or delete material. I make the changes, practice a few more times, and tape it again. This way I learn it but I don't ever have any notes. This does not work for everyone, but I still feel that getting away from notes is a desirable goal.

I also find that taping makes me more aware of repetitions and other poor speech habits I may not have been told about by an "Ah" counter or Grammarian.

Mike reported that at the District Spring Conference, Marshall Gibson, a Toastmaster and professional storyteller, gave some advice about storytelling that applies to giving speeches. It should never be exactly the same twice.

Reasons for the speech to be different are:
(1) the audience - telling the story to children, and telling the same story to adults will be different due to the level of understanding.
(2) Lessons learned - Each time you tell a story or give a speech, you will learn what works, and what doesn't. You can then improve your story or speech.
(3) Staleness - If you give a memorized speech several times, you become burned out, and the speech loses its vitality, and
(4) Sometimes the audience knows of you, and will want to hear the speech again, and be pleasantly surprized with the newness of the speech or story.

Michael thought if you write and rewrite it as an essay it will be a nightmare to present without notes. If you prepare it using keywords and saying it out (not necessarily out loud!) then it will be much easier.

Organization is also very important. The first speech I tried without any notes was the number 3 where logical structure is emphasised. If your structure is logical enough, you CANT get lost.

To build up confidence try starting with a speech that you can't forget. A good choice, in my view, is a story, "what I did on my holiday", or some such.

Finally, impormptu practise at table topics will eventually give you the confidence that if you get a little lost, you can rewrite your speech on the fly. This is not meant to be an excuse---a real expert (not me!) will rewrite her speech as she goes to suit the audience reaction.

Of course, it will take lots of preparation. No question...

Professional speaking coach and seminar leader Bill disagreed with the no notes philosophy:

I NEVER suggest that my students go to the lectern without access to their notes. A five minute speech is one thing but a longer speech is an entirely different matter. Notes are the rails on which the train runs smoothly to the station. They should not be an excuse not to practice or know your material but they certainly should not be omitted. Always have them handy.

Even the most practiced professional can lose his or her place and notes can save the day.

When John F delivers a speech, if you follow with a print copy you will find that what I say and what is written are very close. But then, that is the musician in me who is trained to reproduce a piece of music exactly as it appears on the printed score.

The material I've read on public speaking encourages us as public speakers to get away from memorizing a speech word for word. Instead, what we should be working on is memorizing our outlines! Then, with the memorized outline, we add the words as we deliver the speech. On of the advantages of learning to do it this way is--we don't get thrown in the middle of the speech if we forget a line, and then wind up looking like dolts.

James finds the following helpful:
1. I don't write the speech out word for word. At most, I write a bare bones outline.
2. I flesh the speech out by talking to myself. My family thinks I'm crazy--so let them.
3. I don't memorize words so much as I memorize ideas.
3. I tape record myself and listen critically.
4. Most importantly, I practice, practice, and practice.

For Rick, the type of speech affects the approach:

For a story, I learn the flow of the story.

On a technical speech, visual aids like flip charts and overhead transparencies are good for you and the audience.

The outline and figures help to communicate the information to the audience. It also helps to keep you on track and reminds you of details.

===============
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Project 6: Vocal Variety

2006-12-11T16:00:00.000-08:00

When Lucy was having difficulty coming up with a Vocal Variety speech in June 1996,

Bill recalled a humorous speech using my voice to emphasize exaggerations, convey sarcasm, and draw the audience in for subtlety. A friend of mine gave an informational speech, using voice to liven up an otherwise dry topic and to highlight the important points that often go unnoticed in factual presentations.

John F suggested topics on subjects like interpersonal realations, customer service, etc can work well.

Stories about rasing your kids (assuming you have some) also work because kids have neat expressions that they can say in the most annoying ways. Like 'Moooom, are WE there yet?'

We can talk about the kinds of phone calls we don't like to get. like (say it with a very nasal kind of voice) 'Hello, this is Louise from Bury and Burnham Funeral Homes. Have you given any thought to what they're going to do with your wretched carcass the day you kick the bucket?'

Alternatively, you can talk about your favorite kinds of co-workers. Just don't mention any names and get yourself sued.

DTM Pat suggested the telephone! Calls I get from relatives, salesmen, neighbors, etc. Calls I wish would come. I brought in a phone to use as a prop, too.

Or... how a phrase, worded exactly the same, changes it's meaning depending on how it's delivered. Angry, surprised, romantic, secretive, etc. You could use Toastmasters educational material on duties for the phrases.

Robert's speech was called "People I Have Known" in which I described each of my elementary school teachers. I was able to evoke a strict teacher, a grouchy old woman, and the fun grade 3 teacher.

Stephen spoke about annoying TV commercials. We have a bunch of car dealers in town who love speaking loud and fast about their cars. I interlaced a nice quiet romantic movie with loud brash car commercials.

John did his talking about noises that I hear in the neighborhood:

The lawn mower
The jack hammer
Children playing

Doug's based on one particular street vendor of a newspaper for the homeless. The body of the speech was then demonstrations of various techniques

Project 10: Inspire Your Audience - topic ideas

2006-12-11T15:34:00.000-08:00

In May 1996 mgaudrea was at a loss for a good topic for an inspirational speech for assignment 10 - Inpire Your Audinence.

John F did a speech titled 'The Valleys of Life' where I talked about the really rough spots in life as opportunities to learn things about yourself, the people in your life, and life itself.

I provided three illustrations:
1. The story of a classmate's sister who suffered kidney failure inbher mid 20's.
2. My brother and sister in law's near fatal car accident.
3. The life of a well known American political figure who resigned from office rather than be impeached for wrongdoing.

Kathie, a 1995 finalist in the world championship of Public Speaking shared her number one rule of speechwriting is "A good speech is a bridge to the speaker's soul."

If the topic of your #10 doesn't inspire you, it won't inspire your audience.

What has inspired you in your life?
What topics do you feel strongly about?

That will point you toward a topic for the speech. What anyone else considers inspirational is really irrelevant here. Pick something *you* find inspirational and communicate that to your audience and the speech will succeed.

James used Douglas Adams' book "Life, the Universe, and Everything" and the story of my own near life-threatening experience as a teenager to encourage the club members to set goals for themselves for the coming year, to reach for the meaning in life.

I also used my experience as a symphonic percussionist and H D Thoreau's quotation about the "Different Drummer" as a basis for describing three keys for success in life: courage, concentration, and communication.

In May 2001, Past International Director, Susan, was looking for ideas to pass on to others. She reported that coming up with a topic can be a real challenge to members everywhere. In some countries, it is culturally sensitive as well ... in that it is not deemed appropriate for one person to encourage others to approach their lives in any particular way.

Frank suggested adopting the modlel of the Heroic Epic. This has the Hero leaving home, Hero encounters conflict, Hero Resolves Conflict and Hero Returns Home.

That would mean a speech about someone who leaves their comfort zone, encounters adversity, resolves the issues concerning the adversity and then teaches or mentors another person.

Stories meeting that model could be:
1. How you overcame your fear of public speaking and are now helping others to do the same.

2. How an impoverished youngster left public housing to become a teacher for high risk youths

3. A person who overcame prejudice to become a public servant and founder of a community outreach program.

Regina built her speech around times when I did not feel that something was possible, and therefore it was okay to say "I can't."

I worked in the example of a Democratic candidate whose campaign I had worked on who had faced an uphill battle for election. The district had gone Republican for generations, and the candidate had told the campaign workers that they couldn't win and to be prepared for a losing campaign. However, this candidate was a surprise winner so sometimes when someone says, "I can't", it turns out that they can.

James gave an icebreaker update...like a kind of sequel to my icebreaker, talking about my personal growth inside and outside the club. I tried to make it as indirectly about Toastmasters as possible.

To Rod inspiration does not have to be prescriptive. Encouraging others to adopt a particular behaviour or lifestyle is culturally unacceptable among some groups and all of us need to understand that this is a good and healthy sign of diversity, and not a 'problem'.

If 'prescriptive' is changed to 'descriptive', we can create a speech that will inspire through insight.

Typical of this is a story with an obvious moral. Jesus and many of the other great teachers of history taught through stories or parables. If a story or parable is well structured, the message can be obvious. I am far more likely to react to, and internalise, an insight that I've gained from reading or listening to such a story. This insight is now my property, because it's my original thought, not something that has been deliberately thrust upon me by someone else.

Parables or stories may be based on the experiences of the speaker, or of a third party. Again, the effectiveness of one or other may vary from culture to culture.

African tribal history and lore has, for centuries, been handed down through stories, as there was no written language or other means of communicating the norms, mores and values of the group to the following generations. Other cultures base their values on written prescriptives, such as the Ten Commandments.

Descriptive or prescriptive? There's no right or wrong, better or worse, they're just different approaches to achieving a result. One or other, or a mix, may be more appropriate to a particular culture or group.

Keith finds that local newspapers are filled with stories of local people doing wonderfully inspiring things. A person can study the newspaper and gain insight how to present a story that is acceptable to the culture.
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Project 4: How to say it - topic ideas

2006-12-11T15:23:00.000-08:00

In January 2001, TRH was looking for ideas to do "Work with Words" speech 6 in the C and L - this is project 4, "How to say it" in the 2003 manual.

Susan advised:
#1: Talk about somewhere you went on vacation ... that allows you to describe things and scenery and people, with vivid and descriptive words
#2: Talk about your career or occupation ... which would allow you to use the "jargon" of your industry.
#3: Talk about 2 or 3 "sayings" or "aphorisms" on a specific theme ... and do some analysis of what they mean, and how they came about. e.g. if the theme was time, you could use "a stitch in time saves nine", "the time of your life", "time waits for no man".

Moira added:

A speech describing a holiday/work trip to an exotic destination provides a good opportunity to introduce some new words.

I have spoken on specific words which I have found repulsive or attractive or particularly descriptive, together with a general treatise on the power of specific words. I have also done a speech on the joy of being in love with words.
This is your opportunity to use other people's words in support of points you are making.

From Gene: If your occupation is technical, you might try explaining it in layman's terms, REAL layman's terms.
Mine was entitled "What Computer People Do".
Take a field that uses lots of complicated or mysterious-sounding terms and explain it simply.

When Ed had the same problem in August 2002

Joy offered: Think of something to tell about where you can use a lot of descriptive terms.
For instance, I'm working on a speech called "A Fair for all Senses". It's about my recent visit to a county fair, and all the things there were to see, hear, smell, taste, and touch.

Ruth thought "You could do a speech focusing on words."
For example, one friend talked about grammar and it actually was interesting. I'm doing this speech on Faith Popcorn's Dictionary of the Future, describing words that Popcorn believes are in our future--like the job description of "web gardener")

You could do a speech about your job or hobby--all have their own sets of "jargon."

John contributed this thought:

Whatever speech you give for assignment 6 should build on the previous assignments and stretch the way you use words.

Go through it. Is the colour blue mentioned. Would azure be more relevant? Or is the blue you had in mind a more pastel variation? Is it azure or cobalt or navy. All shades of blue, each introducing a picture in the listeners mind that takes them far further in the direction you want to go than blue ever could.

Write your speech then when you reread it look for words that be upgraded to tell a story of their own.

Use a thesaurus - not to find bigger words, but more descriptive ones.

Ledema chose to do #6 on poetry. She explained how she became interested in it and then shared some lines from a number of different poems she had read.

In the conclusion, she suggested that they too might get "Hooked on Poetry" (her speech title) and then passed out a small book of poetry she had just finished.

In March 1995, when it was Alex that had the challenge, CJ replied:

There are a number of different ways you could interpret the objectives of this speech, Work with Words.

Three different ways it was done in our club were

1) talk about words which have different meanings,

2) give a sentence such as, "How long will it take you to complete the objectives?" Put the emphasis on a different word each time you say the sentence and see how the meaning changes,

3) explain how adjectives used to describe certain words change meanings such as adjectives for wine like "bouquet, oakey, heavy."

Oh yes, another one I remember is when a woman used words to describe different sneezes and how people sneeze.

Annette added: in a community club, my speech was around a holiday. I looked for phrases and other words related to the holiday. The second time around I was in a company club and worked on the topic of information science. That lent itself to several words which could be used.

Alice gave this one immediately after the 1991 Gulf War and spoke about about events in the Middle East.

I decided to give a Toastmasters speech about the country of Israel, what it's like, beyond what one reads in the newspaper.
My speech title was Behind the Headlines.

I gathered speech material, all sorts of information about Israeli everyday life, people's occupations, etc.

As I organized this information into a speech, I organized it into 5 categories, each of which could be summarized by one of my words, which were:

Education
Diversity
Innovation
Industry
Courage

These became the body of my speech.

As part of the introduction, I used a visual aid, a poster where I had written each of the 5 words I planned to use.

I had 5 more posters, each headed by one of the words, followed by my supporting points in "bullet-item" format.

For example, one of them was:

Innovation

Drip Irrigation
Solar Energy

This use of posters with the words served another purpose, besides helping to organize my speech.

Since I was still getting over my initial terror of public speaking at that point, the posters served as a handy cheat sheet for me to remember my speech, without my having to use notes.

Janice recalled a speech about the importance of gearing your message to be understandable to your audience.

One of the examples was replying to his boss about a question of the progress on the project he's in charge of. He's putting together a wide area network for his company.

If he had said "We've had problems with the token ring.. .." and proceeded to spiel off computer jargon that most of us at Toastmaster's didn't understand either, the boss would have said 'huh?'

So he gave an update on how his project was going for non computer literate people. He gave a medical example too.

One of the other #6 speeches at our club a few months ago, was about how men and women express similar things differently.

Project 7: Research a Topic

2006-12-10T02:21:00.000-08:00

in March 2006, MS was unable to find a topic that met the requirements of Project 7 - Research a Topic.

Nigel took a clever way out of this one by giving a speech on how to research a topic. Giving different hints on websites to use, making sure you verify your work, backing up your research and things like that. It was well received especially by my evaluator.
This really isn't a difficult project, it only has two objectives. First you need to collect information from your sources. What you want to speak about will be determined by your audience and what interests then.

Would they like to save money on their electric bill? You can talk about the different cost savings with deregulation (if it has happened) and how switching to 'green' energy can cut down on pollution, you can tell your audience how much is generated by coal and oil burning power generation as opposed to nuclear and 'reusable' energy such as using wind or hydroelectric generators.

Maybe you have a group of people who are mainly running their own business. Talk about the economy, what impact small business have in the local and global economy, talk about consumer trends and how it affects the stock market etc.

Maybe you have older people in your group towards retirement age, they would probably value information on how to keep active and healthy. Not only through proper eating and vitamins (you can mention calcium loss and the importance of strong bones) but also opportunities locally to keep the mind and body active.

Look at the people you're talking to, look at the speeches that you've heard, maybe take a speech and go into more depth, especially if it was one that was enjoyed by the group as a whole.

Colin would
just pick something that interests you. Favorite music, favorite sport, something you collect, an interesting moment from history, your favorite president.

Failing that, look around in the news, and see if a story grabs you, and learn everything there is to know about it.

TracyT had read two books by Richard Zacks titled "The Pirate Coast" and "The Pirate Hunter". I gave my speech about the pirates of the 1600s to 1700s and various bits of trivia about the pirates that I didn't know.

Also, to make it a little more fun, I dressed as a pirate, used a gravelly pirate-like voice and gave the speech as though I had actually been a pirate living in that time period.

Give it on any topic that you know about or are interested in knowing about. One guy in our club gave it on homebrewing. Another club member gave hers on how to research a subject and provide proper documentation of sources and such.

Maybe you could just goto Wikipedia.org and click the "random article" link until a subject popped up that interested you. Then begin researching it right there at Wikipedia.

John F explained
The purpose of the project is to learn to support the points made in your talk with something other than persona opinion and experience.

I recently did this project for fifth CTM, and talked about the increased energy efficiency in modern refrigerators when compared with ones manufactured 20 years ago. Among my sources of information were the Energuide labels on the insides of the refrigerators.

Suppose you are going on a Carribean cruise for a vacation. You could talk about that, and use material from the cruise line's brochure to talk about the trip, the ports of call, and some of the expected shipboard activities.

Suppose you have an interest in a topic like the American Civil War. You could draw an material from books and magazine articles on the topic.

Maybe you have a hobby like electronics. You could talk about the properties of an operational amplifier circuit or a transistor amplifier, or even how a transistor works. [You'd get extra points from me as an evaluator, of course, if you discussed the use of the Fleming valve in tube circuits ;) ]

While you could do research on the influence of JS Bach's use of C Minor triads in second inverson on the music of Ludwig van Beethoven, you don't need to do something worthy of a dissertaion for a Doctorate of Music degree to get credit for a Toastmasters manual project.

What you do need to do is pick a topic that interests you, and support your points with something taken from sources other than your own personal opinion. And as I've suggested above, the sources don't need to be dusty tomes borrowed from the local library or exotic websites found on the Internet.

Rod highlighted the importance of referencing the sources, whatever they may be.

This has something in common with dissertations and theses although, as you point out, the sources don't need the same degree of authority. Simply making a statement without a reference is little different from offering a personal opinion. Indeed, without a reference, that's all it is.

Rick found it hard to come up with meaningful topics without knowing you or even where you are.

In the US, congress has decided that everyone will switch to digital TV by just after the basketball playoffs in 2009. * How is DTV different than current analog TV? * What about people with analog TVs? * Why?

Toastmasters is in the process of rolling out a new educational system. How is it different and what happens to people working on the current program?

Tracy mentioned Wikipedia.org. * What are the pusses & minuses in using it for research? * What's a Wiki?

Many areas in the Northern US have legends about Paul Bunyan. (Other areas have other legends.) You could find and put together a set of tall tails about Paul Bunyan. You would rather have a more serious speech. I've researched Danial Boone, stories of ship wrecks in the Great Lakes and a haunted light house on the Oregon coast.

The US government has come out with a new food pyramid. Why is it better?

There has been article on search engines in China presenting different information than they present in the rest of the world. A related topic is the "Great Firewall of China".

Do you have children? Lead can have a tremendous affect on children. What are the biggest sources in your area? The library, books stores and Scout shop have many books on crafts and games for children.

Do you have any factual books on your book shelf that you have been meaning to read? Walk though the library or books store and find something that interests you.

In an earlier edition of the manual, project 9 was "Speak with Knowledge." These tips from November 1998 may also suit:

Rod:
Nutrition and health
AIDS
Distance education
Hypnotism
Differences in brain structure and function between men and women
Mushrooms - edible and poisonous
Sleep apnea (snoring)
Retirement planning, or anything related to recent changes in tax law
Sports psychology

Rudy:
...traits you have improved and how you use them
...how have used Toastmasters skills at work/at finding work/at landing a job
...how you time management skills have improved
...how your evaluation skills have improved
...how your leadership skills have improved
...how to run an effective meeting (if you do this one, don't be late for the meeting!)
...how to develop a successful speech
...what you know now that you wished you would have known as new member
...what you wanted to accomplish in Toastmasters and how you much you have accomplished toward that goal
...what you think your club can do to help new members

Ideas outside Toastmasters:
Why you like (food/game/drink/book)
What your goals in life are and how you are accomplishing them
Why you admire (person, living or dead)
Why you love your pet
Chris' Travel Guide of (your town, city, shire, UK)
Chris' Travel Guide of B&B in the Area
The History Shown on the back of Pound Notes (L5 and up)
How the Computer Has Helped/Hurt Me

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Speech Topic Ideas

2006-12-10T02:13:00.000-08:00

Alorac was scheduled to give my third speech in a week and I cannot find a suitable topic. Obviously, nobody can find a topic for me, but perhaps somebody can suggest some ways to go about finding a topic.

Janis suggested these things to think about when trying to find a topic:

What do you do for a living? Can it be explained to someone? Why is it interesting, important?

Can you prepare a status report on your latest project and give to the group?

Do you have a hobby? Can it be described/explained? What does it entail? Why is it interesting/important?

Do you ever eat? What is your favorite meal? How is it prepared?

Is there someone you admire? Why? How have they helped you?

Do you own a car? Does it need maintenance? How do you do that?

Have you ever made a home repair? How is that done? How do you make coffee?

How do you bathe a pet? How do you rake a yard? How do you wash a car? How...?

Have you recently read a book or article that you enjoyed/hated? Tell us about it. Are you interested in health? sports? art? technology? food? literature? mysteries? current events?

Eric attended a Workshop at a District Conference and the theme was that every day at least 5 things happened to you that you could turn into a 5-7 minute speech.

It might be something that happened at home, at work, on the way between home and work, maybe something on the radio caught your interest, or something you saw on TV or read in the newspaper.

John F added
Think of something that has a past, present, future approach. Say your community is paving the street in front of your home. You could talk about what the street was like before the work began, what it is like during construction, and what it will be like when the job is done. While it may not be street paving, maybe there is something else going on in your life that would fit this approach.
Another possibility is a three different locations approach. Perhaps you went to three different schools when you were growing up. You can talk about what it was like at each school. Same approach could be used to talk about three different places you worked.

Ledema recalled something she learned when first joined Toastmasters that has served her well.
I made a list of all the things that interest me including issues I would like to see changed. The list included drunk driving, cost of auto insurance, company greed, etc. and whenever I came across an article in the newspaper or magazine that provided good info on any of my topics I cut it out noted the source and date and filed it in my resource files.

At any time, I can go to these files and select a topic and have enough info for a speech. When I start a new manual, I sit down and read each project and some ideas will pop into my head and I write them down in the margin as I read.

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The names "Toastmasters International", "Toastmasters" and the Toastmasters International emblem are trademarks protected in the United States, Canada and other countries where Toastmasters Clubs exist. Unauthorized use is strictly prohibited.

Database of Speech ideas

2006-12-10T01:57:00.000-08:00

When EAgle was suffereing from writer's block in December 2003 he posted a thread "Writers Block.. CTM #8"

Jim Key, DTM 2003 World Champion of Public Speaking shared his secret:

I've had great success in coming up with speech ideas by building my own database of stories, rather than looking for an external source of speech ideas. I highly recommend it.
Here's how I went about it: Some time ago, I created a database in my computer for my stories.

The records contain two fields: Story, and Application. Both of them are free-form text fields. (If you don't want to be quite so "techie" about it, a simple notebook will suffice.) In "Story" I put enough of the details of something that I've experienced to bring it back to my memory, and in "Application" I the ways I think I can use that story, a truth it exemplifies, etc. I then began reviewing my memory for things that happened during my childhood, my youth, my years at university, etc. In all, I have a couple of hundred stories. (Each of us has more wonderful stories in us than we may initially realize.)

When it comes time for me to write a new speech, I open that database and begin reviewing those stories. I find that either one of them stands out as something I can use in the speech, or it "jump-starts" the creative thinking process in my mind, and I think of other ideas that I can use.

An additional benefit has been that I've found is that I have become much more sensitive to things I see/read/hear on TV/movies, in books, and through personal interactions and conversations that can be effective in conveying significant meaning in my speeches. Now that I document and catalog these things, my sensitivity and awareness of them has increased.

John F added:
I have a box of index cards. I use the top line for title and/or subject. Then I write a short description underneath.

The nice thing about index cards is you can carry a few with you (along with a pen), and when you get an idea you can quickly jot it down.

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The names "Toastmasters International", "Toastmasters" and the Toastmasters International emblem are trademarks protected in the United States, Canada and other countries where Toastmasters Clubs exist. Unauthorized use is strictly prohibited.

Project 5: Your body speaks

2006-12-10T01:20:00.000-08:00

When thsi thread "Ideas for 4th speech in basic manual" was posted (April 200) , the assignment was number 4 - Show what you mean. Many of the ideas could equally be applied to project 8: Get Comfortable with Visual Aids

Kim started the thread with the request:
I was hoping I could get some ideas on what to do my 4th speech on. I am having a time coming up with a topic and am scheduled to do the speech pretty soon. Any suggestions at all are appreciated.

Bruce suggested describing a sporting activity. Perhaps talk about a tennis game, or some other sport that you watched or participated in. Or some activity that you will watch or participate in. One can use hand gestures to show how you or the other person performed the act.
For an Advanced Entertaining Speech, I described an event that Lee Trevino wrote about in a book about winning. For example, I bent over and pretended to pick up the ball from the hole, then looked at the audience and continued to speak.
On my 4th speech, I described my duties as a dessert cutter as a plebe (freshman) at West Point. I held up a package of fig newtons, counted the cookies and acted as if I were performing duties at table.
This can really be a fun speech because you get the change to put some acting, along with gestures into your speech.

JG advised:
Almost any topic will do since you should use gestures properly in all presentations. Most "Show What You Mean" presentations I've seen have, however, chosen a gesture-heavy or show-and-tell topic like beekeeping or quilting. I did mine on reading a book.

John F recalled:
In one that sticks out in my mind, a member showed us how to set up beer making equipment.

For Terry it lends itself to storytelling with all the action in body and facial expressions. Can you think of a story on yourself (as a child or teenager) or something you saw someone else do?

Eric asked "are you involved with a hobby or craft which you could demonstrate to your club?" I've seen these speeches on photography, doll-making, Irish dancing, racquetball, golf, proper use of a chainsaw; when I did it years ago I talked about my single experience with skydiving.

You could pretend you're a salesperson, trying to sell a product by demonstrating its uses to the audience. Find some mundane object at home to use for this, and be creative. Tell a tall tale, and use elaborate gestures to make your points, as in "...the fish that got away was THIS big".
You don't need props, though they help you to focus on the theme.

Jenny recalled:
When I did my fourth speech, I did a demonstration of one of the warm-up exercises that I had learned in my tai chi class, and showed the various muscle groups that were being used.

Something else that worked well was an "audience participation" bit, in which I taught an elementary tai chi movement to everyone in the audience. Since this was just an arm movement, they didn't have to take up time standing up and moving around, and it really helped "show what I meant".

From Rick:
Another type of speech, that works well with gestures, is a story. Stories are often about people doing things. Gestures can be used to help convey what people are doing.

Les reported:
My 'show what you mean' speech was well 'over the top' - I did a talk on gliding complete with a winch launch down the centre aisle together with a circuit round the room, approach and landing.
Oh yes - and there was a demonstration of my childhood tendency to rip of my clothes and imagine that I was Superman (to cries of "what a load of old kryptonite" from the audience).

In August 2002, the thread title became "Speech 4 help" when Dave's idea for this speech was to take a section from a film I saw as a young kid condensing it down to the 6 minutes. I can then use gestures to act out bits from the film, conveying key plot points.

Richard advised to remember to key the sweep and scope of the gestures to the size of the room and audience size since those gestures and body language are carrying the bulk of the message content.

In general big room and big audience then big and broad gestures. Small room then much more intimate and subtle gestures. If they are over large/broad they will distract rather than add to your message in most cases.

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The names "Toastmasters International", "Toastmasters" and the Toastmasters International emblem are trademarks protected in the United States, Canada and other countries where Toastmasters Clubs exist. Unauthorized use is strictly prohibited.

Substantially original - a case study for a judging workshop

2006-12-09T00:47:00.000-08:00

In September 2002, I posted a speech and sought an opinion on whether it would pass the "substantially original" test for speech contests. The thread was entitled "An original bit of plagiarism and like all posts in this blog is based on responses through the newsgroup alt.org.toastmasters.

First the speech
An Internet Connection - the true story behind an urban myth

When I was a child, there was no internet.
But, I spent just as many hours on my precious bike.
There was no part of the district surrounding the village that I had not explored.
Except the cemetery near the church-yard.
There was something about that place with its giant chestnut tree that was spooky. Until that memorable day....
I don't know what drew me to the graveyard, I will never forget what happened there.
From behind the ivy covered fence, I distinctly heard:
. One for you, One for me, One for you, One for me ...
Now I didn't need anyone to explain to me what was happening.
St Peter and the devil were dividing the souls of the dear departed.
But who would believe me?
I needed a witness.
There was no one to turn to.
The only person I could see was grumpy old Mr Bright, trudging wearily towards the town.
And we children were all terrified of him and his walking stick.
But I was desperate.
"Mr Bright, Mr Bright, Come with me this is urgent," I pleaded
"Go away, urchin, or you shall feel the end of this stick," he replied
"Please Mr Bright, this is very important."
Eventually my persistence outlasted his resistance.
As a fearful child and a grumbling old man approached the graveyard, we could both hear:
One for me, One for you, One for me, One for you .
"We'll soon get to the bottom of this," the elderly gentleman assured me with a scowl.
I very tentatively followed behind him, as he approached the entrance to the graveyard.
It seemed to hold no dread for him.
As we came close to the gate, the counting seemed to stop, and then we heard:
Well that seems to be the lot now, except for those last couple of nuts over by the gate.
I'm not sure exactly what happened next, but Mr Bright's walking stick went flying through the air, and he kept pace with me no matter how fast I pedalled. But as fast as we were going, we were overtaken by the two European tourists who had been in town for the last few days.
They ran past us as though we were standing still, and I was amazed by their Olympic leap onto the second last wagon of a wheat train which was passing through town.

Now I know you are going to say that you have seen this story before; it is on the internet... it's an urban myth.
And you are partly right.

Last year, a respected German lawyer bought one million e-mail addresses and sent out spam seeking more details on an event which occurred in my home town about twenty years ago.
He and a friend had been back-packing around rural Australia.
They found their way to our town and were quite enjoying the stay.

One day they were collecting chestnuts from beneath a tree in the village graveyard.
They had shared the bounty evenly, and were about to pick up the last few which had rolled over towards the graveyard gate,

Suddenly one was struck on the head by a flying walking stick, which ricocheted and hit his companion in the chest.
The friend joined a contemplative convent and has not spoken since, but the lawyer was less convinced that it was an act of God.

However, until the spread of the internet, he did not know how to find out what really happened.
... without venturing back to our town... and he certainly was not ready to do that.

Because of the marvels of e-mail I was able to add my side to his story, and together we worked out what really happened.
We haven't yet told Mr. Bright yet, though.

Every evening he entertains the village children with stories from a full and exciting life before the internet.
He is 92 now, and since that day has walked upright-no cane in sight.
In fact, he jogs five kilometres every morning, but he has never told anyone why he speeds up to a very respectable sprint whenever he passes the village churchyard.

The responses
Joy pasted it into Word Perfect to get a word count. The speech is 692 words, and the joke is 353 of those words. That's about half, which would mean the speech is not substantially original.
However, you have given it a very clever treatment, which does seem original to me.

You might very well get away with it, but it is possible that if one contestant or judge protested that it wasn't original, you'd be disqualified. It's a good thing you said you weren't asking for advice, because I don't have any.

Rod saw the core story as an old chestnut dating back at least 50 years, while the rest of the speech may well be original. I certainly wouldn't lodge a protest on the basis of originality in this case. If a substantial portion of the script were alleged to come from the internet or any other source, it changes the perspective. One can only protest originality based on one's own knowledge.

To Phillip "As long as you identify the source of the story and give the appropriate credit then it would not plagiarism, which leaves the question of originality. We can give an 'original' pin to an old story making it 'original' but whether or not it would pass the test of substantially original would be uncertain. Does substantially original mean over 50%? 66%? or is it in the purview of the judges to decide what percentage counts for substantially original?

For Rick: If the story came off the Internet or was a 50 year old story (or both), the question is how much was copied and how much of a new spin was put on it.

Rod returned with: As for the interpretation of 'substantially', I think it's a good thing that it's undefined because it's almost impossible to quantify. I'm happy that it's left to the judges to decide, understanding that different groups of judges may come to different conclusions. Yet another good reason for having a large number of judges at any contest.

Tom contributed: "There are no new jokes, just old rehashed jokes." Similarly, I have heard many speeches that have put a "new spin" on an old story. My interpretation of the Rules is for the contestant to produce an original speech which may include a brief anecdote or quote to reinforce a point being made. The source of the anecdote or quote would need to be acknowledged to avoid plagiarism. Percentage wise, I believe "substantially original" would mean at least 85%. When speakers pad their speeches with unoriginal anecdotes to use up their allocated time, if I am judging I mark them down on originality. While plagiarism may disqualify a contestant, the use of unoriginal material will, at the most, cost the contestant 15 points in a contest.

This reminded Susan of a question she was asked a few years ago while conducting a communication (speaking) skills workshop - talking about the fact that ordinary words are often interpreted differently by different people. I asked the group, when you use the word "usually" what do you mean? What percentage of the time is "usually" to you? As in ... "I usually go to bed by 11 o'clock." or "I usually watch (name a TV show)." The participants wrote down their response and passed them to the front, and .... surprise, surprise ... their responses varied from 50% to 95%.
Having been involved in a few contest judges' meetings around the "substantially original" issue, my experience has shown a similar range of opinion. I suggest to the judges that the "intent" of the rule is to ensure that contestants are coming up with their own speech ideas and themes; but that we are probably best advised to be a bit reasonable about it ... i.e., as has been said in this thread before ... are there really ANY totally new ideas?!!!)
About 85% or 90% seems about right to me too.

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Sources of humorous material

2006-12-08T03:37:00.000-08:00

In November 2005, PC was lookking for suggested web sites with clean humorous stories or anectodes?

John F
nominated: http://humorvault.tripod.com/index.html
The site has oodles of jokes grouped by subject and also has a joke of the week on the home page.

Peter H offered hios club site http://www.shtm.org.au/ click on "Useful Links" and then under "Miscellaneous Information" click on "Clean Jokes".

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Technical Presentations - topic ideas

2006-12-08T03:22:00.000-08:00

In October 2005 the Technical Presentations manual was a challenge for Nigel. He had considered

Online security, firewalls, how to protect yourself.
Getting from A to B, how data moves along the information superhighway
Effective Powerpoint Presentations.

but sought non-technical input on what people might find interesting.

To take advantage of his IT extertise, I was more specific:

When to upgrade - both software and hardware, or
How to minimize spam, or
How to search more effectively, or
How to post your own web site

John F, another technical guru who contributes regularly to alt.org.toastmasters

saw the challenge for a technical person with a pretty heavy duty background speaking to Toastmasters club members are generally non-technical, so need to find a way to bridge the gap between my level of understanding and their level of understanding.

He suggested looking at some of the "Theodore Von Karman Lectures" archived at the NASA Jep Propulsion Laboratory.
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/events/lectures.cfm
These are geared to a more general audience, so even if you don't use any of the topics, viewing a couple of them might give you some ideas on how to package technical and scientific material for a non-technical audience. I particularly recommend the one from November 2004, titled "To See or Not To See."

Rod cautioned:

Eight to ten minutes doesn't allow you to cover much when you are, of necessity, explaining technical material to an audience that has different levels of knowledge of the subject. Project 3 deals with this issue specifically, but having a lay audience is common to all of the projects in this manual when presented to a typical Toastmasters club as opposed to 'real world' presentations.

and added:

As for what might be interesting, even the most mundane subject can be made interesting, given the right approach. Aside from your own skills in bringing life to a subject, thorough audience analysis will provide useful guidance.

To which Tony replied:

Likewise, we should remember that even the most interesting speech can be mundane and uninteresting.
I can demonstrate the latter. Can you demonstrate the former?

Gene remembered:

Piers Anthony wrote a series of science fiction short stories about a dentist.

Project 9 : Persuade with Power

2006-12-08T02:33:00.000-08:00

Brian sought ideas for a persuasive speech, after offering these two possibilities, himself.

I could pretend all the people are high school students and prepare a speech on why they need to learn math. Basically, these days, if they want a job that is very much more than pushing in carts at wal-mart, they need to have math skills.

Another I can think of is the importance of having anti-virus software on your computer, and keeping it updated. Maybe even a few ways to get a free one.

Rich attempted to persuade the "Salt Lake City Council" that a pro football team would be successful, despite the fact that they play Sunday games.

Fluidly Unsure was concerned about controversial topics like global warming or illegal immigration. In both cases any kind of fire you spark will soon get out of control.

There are some people out there that consider hacking their God given right. But I doubt if there are very many in my club.

Rod has 'persuaded' members to take part in speech contests.

Rick suggested convincing Windows users to get a Mac or run Linux on their PC

John F suggested it does not have to be a "you're either with us or agin' us" type of topic.
Consider the car buyer who walks into a dealership. He has already decided he needs a new car. His daddy drove a Ford, his grand daddy drove a Ford, his great grand daddy drove a Ford, and he doesn't really see any reason why he shouldn't buy a Ford. Unfortunately, your dealership sells Chryslers, and your job is to convince him it's OK to break with the family tradition and buy something you sell that better meets his needs. So pick something that won't have half your club membership planning to lynch you after the meeting is over, and have fun with it.

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Table Topics ideas

2006-12-07T13:31:00.000-08:00

Toastmasters often seek creative ideas for table topics sessions. This thread ran on the alt.org.toastmasters newsgroup in October 2005

Brian:
Use pictures as the prompts for the table topics. The speaker can either tell what the particular item is or bluff about it. http://puzzlephotos.blogspot.com/ was his source, but picture postcards work well too.

Print out a bunch of Nostradamus's quatrains. If you are clever enough, you can make one mean anything you want it to. Give one to whoever is chosen to speak, and have them be clever and thus tell us what the prophecy means.

Nigel:

Print out a country's flag, one that is probably not going to be known to the speakers. I'd use African or minor islands in the Pacific. Ask them to say which country the flag is from and then tell a little bit about the country.

Joy:
Use names of geographical features - mountains, lakes, rivers. Get some really obscure ones and have people tell which they are and discuss the location.

James:
We did a Round Robin type story last week. The story was of a round the world Journey in 1900. Each participant had to describe part of the journey and subsequent participants picked up where the last one left off. The final participant had to end up back home. In order for this to work it is important to state in advance how many participants there are.
Lack of geographical knowledge just makes this funnier.

From an August 2002 thread Re: Challenging Table Topics

Susan recalled:
the TT Master asked me to speak on any topic, for 2 minutes, without using the word "THE".

Renate:
I used a book called Is Your Bed Still There When You Close the Door
It's aimed at stimulating family conversation by asking provocative questions.

We had been having a heated social conversation about whether the world was getting better or worse. He brought the "debate" to table topics, split the room in two sections and all members without a major role (~20 people) had to speak on one side or the other, Guests and and people with major roles voted for the winning side. We have a large club and great diversity so we got amazingly different perspectives, lot of laughs and excellent.

Blake:
was asked to describe how to tie a tie without the use of hand gestures. Very challenging.
Next, the TTM brought in a bunch of props, and each person was to pick a prop and do something creative around/using that prop. Just common household items.

Michael:
"Yesterday's News" - the respondent is asked their sign, and then the topics master reads their horoscope from the previous day's (or the day before that) newspaper; they they were then to tell us if the horoscope proved out to be true or not.

Regina:
Ask all of the questions about various types of tables, including multiplication tables, tax tables, and kitchen/dining room tables.

Heather:
we were presenters at a photography contest. All we were given was a picture title and we had to describe the picture and our motivation for taking it.

Ken:

If your (blank) could speak, what would it say about (blank) ?
The first BLANK would be an object or a body part, and the second BLANK would be the context.

If your nose could talk, what would it say about your car?
If your hair could talk, what would it say about your last visit to the salon?
If your pen could talk, what would it say about your day at the office?

Richard:

Check http://www.sherrin.com/toastmasters.htm .

There are 2 helpful things for Table Topics.

These pdf downloads are

the "Variety In Table Topics Handout" and
"Fun Table Topics With A Courtroom Trial Flavor."

Give these a look and why not try them at your next club meeting??

In February 2006 the thread was Re: table topics: use spam subject lines
PC
Why let spam go to waste! Put all spam in its own folder, if not put there by your spam folder. Then view the folder contents by message subject and print the folder contents

Nigel:
I always try to either follow the theme of the day (if one is set) such as Valentine's Day or Pearl Harbor Day (I was TTM for both of those days of celebration) or I'll use Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.com for those who speak English!) and find events that happened today or something and tie all the questions in around that event.

From PC's Spam folder:

"Pro strength weight loss"
"Important News" (female enhancement)
Another mailing list offering to help me meet women
One "Please help" (from a poor widow wanting me to help get her money out of Nigeria)
One "WINNER" - I won the French lottery

From John's spam folder

Any man can be a stud in the bedroom
It's easy to add spice to your life
My waist is down four inches
Conquer your IBS and live again
Little stocks can mean dollars for you
Micro caps equal macro gains
Lose stomach bloating, lose kilos
Wheat, cancer and the dairy fairy

From February 2000, the thread was: Re: Looking for table topics ideas...HELP!

When I was Table Topics Master for a meeting with a politics theme, I picked some improbable celebrities (which is getting harder to do ), and the people I called on were supposed to give a campaign speech as that person, telling what office they were running for and why they should be elected. Alternatively, they could nominate the person. One person nominated Mike Tyson for Mayor of Bogotá, Columbia.

Clay:
You might type out a batch of political jobs such as dog catcher, seat warmer, etc that individuals will explain what they intend to accomplish if elected.

Dennis:
Campaign speeches or perhaps you introduce the person as the head of the campaign and they are giving a two-minute opening statement to assembled press conference(ie the club members)before introducing candidate. Works best if you have any idea of persons politics, you can go opposite - ask feminist to give opener for candidate who is not!

Boston:
You call two people up at at time. One person is the interviewer and the second person is someone famous. Maybe George Washington, JFK, FDR, and so on. Have the first person interview the other.

Steve:
Get some Chinese fortune cookies, have each participant pick one out of a bag, open it, and then elaborate on the fortune.

Dennis:
Try a session of personalized challenges:

Work in body shop > Why have comprehensive and collision insurance;
Financial planner > Why is an allowance important in youth learning;
Antique interest > A 'road show' appraisal;
Marketing agent > Brand name product vs store brand
Apartment super > Mortgage vs Lease; etc, etc.

Cut out cartoon strips, those with a message and have the member explain the message or idea.

Try interpretive reading from children's books/stories.

Sell a product, give a reason, provide an excuse, offer a remedy, explain the rules, explain the use of ... , a list of favorites, the worst ... , the best ... , or any combination of debate topics with opposite statements.

Take a notebook with you for the day. Note anything that could offer a challenge or require a response. In the run of the day you might fill the book and have topics for the rest of the year or more.

Bruce:
"Tabloid Table Topics." Get yourself a copy of the Weekly World Magazine or similar genre rag, and have your members comment on the articles.

Kathy:
Get a box of 8 crayons. Have members blindly draw one from box and describe -- how that color describes their life, what the color represents, or etc. etc.

In April 1998, the thread was Re: Table Topics

Larry:

There's a saying that the difference between involvement and commitment is like that of a chicken or a pig to breakfast. The chicken is involved, and the pig is committed. When it comes to life, which are you, a chicken or a pig?
Sometimes when you look at a big task, it's important to approach it just like you would eating an elephant: one bite at a time. Which end would you start at?
Sometimes making change is like teaching a pig how to sing, it only frustrates you and annoys the pig. When was the last time you taught a pig how to sing?
This one is requires a bit of research. If you have the game Balderdash or access to a dictionary, look up 4 or 5 (depending on how many Table Topics you have time for that night, better have extras) unusual words. Give each speaker one word, and ask them to tell about their word. It really works well, and it's amazing how creative people can get.
This is a table topic I like to call making bad news good. Think of 4 or 5 unusual situations that would normally be considered bad news. Challenge your speakers to make them good news instead.
You're the mayor of New York. Godzilla just trashed the downtown area. Explain why that's good for New Yorkers.
The aliens just vaporized the White House. You're the Vice President. Make the first speech afterwards.
You just put your car through the garage door. Tell your spouse or significant other.

Joy:

Improv theatre idea
Call two people up in front, but give the written explanation of the situation to only one of them. The person given the explanation must let the other (and the audience) know what is going on, without saying exactly what is written on the slip. The other person must respond, asking whatever questions are necessary to help elicit the information. This is the type of thing some people love and others hate, but it is a good way to stretch the minds of the participants.

You are a grocery clerk explaining why a customer can't use a coupon.
You are a child trying to get a friend to give you a taste of his/her candy.
You are a teacher reprimanding a child for inappropriate behavior.
You are giving someone complicated directions.
You are calling a computer help line with a problem.
You are trying to convince a receptionist to let you see his/her boss.
You are a driving instructor dealing with a new student.
You are trying to talk your way out of a traffic ticket.
You are asking someone out on a date.
You are making a 911 call.
You are a manager conducting an employee performance review.
You are presenting an award to someone who isn't expecting it.

Names of geographic features. I simply gave the name, without telling whether it was a volcano, lake, or whatever. The participants had their choice of being a travel agent selling someone on visiting the place, a traveler telling about his or her experiences during a visit, or a tour guide.

Asama (volcano, Japan)
Wrangell (volcano, Alaska)
Akosombo (lake - manmade, Ghana)
Jenpeg (lake - manmade, Canada)
Ladoga (lake - natural, U.S.S.R.)
Rudolph (lake - natural, Kenya)
Reindeer (lake - natural, Canada)
Ob (river, U.S.S.R.) Lena (river, U.S.S.R.)
Darling (river, Australia)
Vettisfoss (waterfall, Norway)
Marina (waterfall, Guyana)

The trial of Goldilocks.

We heard testimony from each of the bears and from Goldi herself, statements from both prosecuting and defense attorneys, the judge's instructions to the jury, and the jury foreman's explanation of the verdict. It went so well in that club, I tried it in the other two - and everybody loved it.

John F

We did a variant on this one. We put Peter Rabbit. This idea can be extended to cover a whole meeting, with the prepared speeches being worked into the theme as well, perhaps as extended closing arguments for both the prosecution and the defense, or alternatively, some form of expert testimony.

Paul:

Ask for new meanings for acronyms USDA, IRS, NBC, NASA etc..

Everyone has a bumper sticker on their car. I made a list on the way into the meeting. Tell us about your sticker. They can include "Sky diving - A Natural High" and "Protected by Smith & Wesson" and many others.

A courtroom scene

Member "A" has been accused of stealing a pig from Member "B's" front yard.

Member "C" acts as a character witness for "A."

Member "D" had pork chops at A's home what can you add to the evidence.

In January 2007, JohnF posted to the thread Effective introductions:

The rationale for many clubs to use 1:00, 1:30, and 2:00 for Table Topics is that it is the contest timing.
That said, the topic master is quite free to use whatever timings he or she wants.
From time to time, I do what I call "sound bite" table topics, where the idea is to get your main idea into a short sound bite similar to a radio or TV ad. For these, the timings are green at 0:20, yellow at 0:25 and we clap you down at 0:30.

Ice breaker ideas

2006-12-07T13:19:00.000-08:00

In July 2004 there was one of the many threads where group members sought and offered ideas for ice breaker speeches. The focus here was members repeating their CTM, but it will also have value for new members.

Re: Icebreaker ideas

Joy recalled:
My first Icebreaker was called "Petrified Ham", and explained that I joined Toastmasters because of a split personality - part introvert, part ham. I gave examples in my life where one or the other personality won out. One of my Icebreakers was given at a meeting with a theme of History, so I talked about being a child during World War II. In my last one, I talked about the cars in my life.

Joe
talked about personal experiences as a member or leader of various teams.

Rick:
I've done my life in Toastmasters. I had been in Toastmasters for about 15 years. I talked about my different goals, why I set the goals and how Toastmasters helped me reach them.
I took the approach "you are what you do". I talked about the different activities I participated in and why they were important to me.

For one Ice Breaker, I talked about being laid off, and how my family and I handled that.
I talked about the trials of raising a teenage daughter. (Much more of a challenge than raising a teenage boy, but maybe that was because he saw all of the trouble she generated for herself.)
Several of them were your garden variety Ice Breaker that picked different parts of my life to talk about.

I need to do another Ice Breaker, maybe I can do something with my cars or computers. I was just young enough to miss Vietnam and the protests. I can remember the 60's, so I wasn't part of them. But, maybe I can find one or more historic events to related to an Ice Breaker.
What about your life though songs, movies or books of the period? Why would each song, movie or book represent that part of your life.

John suggested:
How about tying your previous ice breakers together - brief snippets of each of the previous themes and then present yourself as a composite human being. We all are, but often others only see us in one role - a worker or a speaker or a parent or an activist - whatever. Perhaps the brief snippets in the ice breaker could lead into assignment two - being passionate about complex beings.

For a title, how about Song of Joy, and then take up Rick's suggestion of music which has meant something to you. Most of us have songs that we associate with certain feelings. Would you be willing to share yours.

What about a segment of your life - childhood, compared to a child today, your work, your travels, your retirement. The difference between your life and your recollections of your mother's life.

I guess these are straying a bit from the precise format of the Ice breaker - but are they? If you tell about what life was like for you after the children left home compared to what it was like for your mother after you and the family left home then you are introducing an unknown you to the audience.

Rod:
A Chronicle of Cycles: An allegorical icebreaker, telling my story through my search for the Secret Society of Sorcerers who had magic so powerful that even the very stones would give forth speech in their presence. The story was cyclic.

The Other Rod Taylors: A series of cameos of my different personae - Rod Taylor the Toastmaster, Rod Taylor the professional, the father, the friend, the adventurer, etc. This one was timed precisely so that the red light came on as I reached 'the lover', so that would have to wait for another time.

Lights, Camera, Action!: Treating my life story as a movie. The scenes shifting from episode to episode.

Gene:
My first icebreaker was on three basic principles of mine:
1) "Quiet and boring": I like having a peaceful environment.
2) "Data is data.": I like to learn.
3) "I love cats.": illustrated by my second speech ("Oooh, Kitties! Why You Might Like to Have a Cat or Two").

My second ("How I Got Here") was on how I came to be living where I was living.

My third was entitled "Excitement: It's Overrated If You Ask Me". I spoke about not being a drama queen. "Quiet and boring" got centre stage.

I should do something about the Sinister Brotherhood of Lefthanders whose motto is "Right is wrong, and left is right, ah, correct."

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Correcting an urban myth in a speech

2006-12-07T11:57:00.000-08:00

In December 2006, when a member gave a speech based on an urban myth, Synapse sought group advice on how to handle it. The Area Governor, who was at the meeting, checked Snopes.com and found a page which refuted the claims. This split the comments into two parts, the role of the Area Governor and the way to correct misinformation. In this post, I will focus on dealing with the misinformation.

Re: "Snopes Speech" what to do as AG with inaccurate content?

Synapse summarized the dilemma with:
It is not our role to "police" content, but with egregious examples - what is our role as a leader, an audience member, or just an intelligent human being, to correct misinformation?

Betsy:
Unless the speaker is intimidating people from the club, my opinion would be that commenting about the content of a speech is the realm of the evaluator, or possibly the club president, but definitely not the AG.

PC:
My suggestion is either leave it alone or if you want to bring it up, speak to that person privately and in a "diplomatic way". If you do that, do it in person or by phone--not by email. Regardless of your tactful approach, the person may get defensive anyway. So my advice, before you decide to talk, decide on your purpose why you want to bring it up. And make sure that you are expressing your own personal opinion.

Rich:
I approach speeches like this by giving an alternate view, either in the table topic that night, or in a speech the next week or so, making sure it is not an attack on the view, but an "alternate perspective".

Synapse, the original poster, returned with:
If we say nothing about content when it can be proven to be a farce, what does that teach our members? It teaches them it is okay to be liars and cheats. It's okay to be intellectually dishonest, because no one will have the guts to call you on it. It's okay to mislead people into foolhardy and harmful actions. I won't sit by and do nothing. We owe it to our members to be willing to alienate people who are not willing to exercise the power of the podium with the respect it deserves. We can't sell out everything in the name of "preserving membership" and keeping everybody happy. I'm not saying we have to completely fact-check every speech, but we have to draw the line somewhere.

Rod:
Many things taken as factual are debatable. At one extreme, there are the facts' accepted by different religions and doubted by others. Many millions of people accept as a fact that Christ rose from the dead and it would be difficult to 'prove' otherwise. Even within the Christian community, the creationists have one view, based on 'facts', and the evolutionists have a different view, also based on 'facts'.
Scare stories about butter, red meat, GM foods, cellphone radiation - you name it - all have their devotees.
Many new-age healing technologies are supposedly based on 'facts' and 'scientific research'. Even accredited scientific research is based on a 95% probability that the results were not purely chance (which means a 1 in 20 probability that they may be invalid).
Louis Pasteur was laughed at and ridiculed by the medical fraternity for saying that many diseases resulted from the action of microbes.
Semmelweis struggled to have is views accepted. The concept of 'iron ships' was considered ridiculous, notwithstanding that Archimedes' principle was well known at the time.

If someone chooses to propound a viewpoint in Toastmasters that clashes with the beliefs of others, I believe that is their right. If another member chooses to refute that view, that, too, is their right. Robust debate and the challenging of 'established facts' is, in my opinion, a very healthy state of affairs.

Kyle:
This is a "slippery slope" situation. The number of topics and opinions are too great for us to address each one. What if the topic had been global warming? What if it dealt with recent US presidential elections? Opinions, "facts" and emotions run high on both (or all) sides. Where do we begin or stop "corrections?" We should evaluate the speaker based on project objectives. If I felt a speaker had presented incorrect information in a speech, I would address it in a human manner at an appropriate time, either during or after the meeting.

Rick:
it needs to be handled in a way that fits with the club culture. You could ask to be booked as a speaker to present the other side.

Colin:
I'd handle this personally, one-on-one. You can present it in a friendly way. If you want to point it out in a soft-pedal kind of way, go along the lines of "Hey, I was trying to find out more about your speech and came across this at Snopes. Well golly-gee!"

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How do potential members find your club?

2006-12-06T21:45:00.000-08:00

In November 2006, Terry asked

How do most of your club's guests learn about your club? We find that many of the guests who turn up at our meetings, have found us via the TM International's locator web pages.
They often say that they had heard about TM a while ago, and finally decided to try it out.

Re: How do most of your club's guests learn about your club?

Betsy reported:
By far, the greatest number of people find out about our club through the Internet.

Personal contacts (found out about it from a neighbor, etc.) accounts for many new members, and probably the highest percentage of guests who stick.

We also get at least 6-7 guests each year who are referred by the local community college. Some come from a speaking class, but most come from an ESL class. However, very few of these people join.

We have had 2-3 people who were active in other clubs, visited, and then transferred or became dual members. One person joined after seeing a flyer in the workout room in the local community association building.

We get almost nobody who mentions articles in the local paper, magazines in waiting rooms, etc.

PC offered:
#1 reason. Learned about Toastmasters in some way (e.g., someone recommended Toastmasters, attended an event, etc) and then went to the internet to search to find a club. Most sear hes bring up the TI site first. Then sometimes that club they decide to visit is our club.

#2 Reason. A current member, former member or guest recommended our club to them.

Allen said:
Almost all of our guests find our club by doing a Google search for 'toastmasters' in our city. We have an attractive, award-winning site that seems to tip people towards us instead of the other clubs around.

The single best feature people mention is a simple form on the website that says "Need more encouragement? Fill out your name and phone number and we'll contact you!".

Joy said:
My club has a listing in the phone book. Not all clubs can afford to do this, because the phone company requires that you have a business line, which isn't cheap. However, it is quite inexpensive to add a listing for your club to an existing business line. One tip - use the word "Toastmasters" as the first word of your listing.

We also get guests who are college students. One of the speech teachers at our local community college requires his students to listen to one or more speeches, and suggests Toastmasters as a source. I don't think any of those have ever returned.

We haven't had anybody from the newspaper or magazines either.

Eric:
currently belongs to a corporate club at work and an advanced club. At both of those the guests are typically invited by existing members.

Kyle was surprised at the number who came through the net:
Probably 90% of the guests at our club are from personal contact of some kind. They know someone, who knows someone, who knows someone, etc. who knew about our club.

Rick, who lives in a "technical area" said:
We get about half of our guests from the Internet. More of the guests who find us join than the guests that someone brings. I attribute that to the people from the Internet want to be there. A percentage that came with someone came just to appease their friend and didn't have any intention of joining.
We has a special ESL (English as a Second Language) meeting in August. We had five guests for it. (They were from fliers.)

Rod confessed:
Something that is known to be effective hardly gets a mention, and that's invitations from existing members. If we're enthusiastic about our clubs, we should be telling everyone AND inviting them regularly.
I guess I'm also guilty of assuming that, since most people know I'm a Toastmaster, that they will come and ask me if they're interested. Invitations to a an individual to attend a particular meeting works.

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The names "Toastmasters International", "Toastmasters" and the Toastmasters International emblem are trademarks protected in the United States, Canada and other countries where Toastmasters Clubs exist. Unauthorized use is strictly prohibited.

About this blog, and about the host

2006-12-06T21:06:00.000-08:00

Since the very early days of use net groups there has been a newsgroup for Toastmasters that can be a valuable source of information and a forum to exchange opinions on changes and challenges facing Toastmasters members and club executives.

An archive of the postings is available at http://groups.google.com/group/alt.org.toastmasters

The one problem that I have is that searching for a gem may mean wading through thousands of posts.

After a particularly valuable exchange on Grab Bag meetings in December 2006 I suggested to the group that it was a shame that the ideas were not readily available for someone searching for an innovative way to liven up a meeting. Long time contributor, Joy, suggested a blog and I took up the challenge.

It is my intention to summarize useful exchanges which a long shelf life and post them in this location. I will credit the original contributor and post the date that thread started.

To get things moving, I have summarized a couple of threads on different club activities. This will form a template for the postings. It is my intention to avoid debates on fee rises or district management, but rather to confine posts to tricks of the trade that are useful to members and club executives.

For some of the posts I will mine the archives of the newsgroups. Others will be made once discussion on a current topic has slowed down. They will be my precis of the content, with a reference to the date of the opening post so that you can research further if you choose.

Who is I?

My name is John Sleigh and I am a member of Toastmasters in District 70, from Sydney Australia. I am a speaker and trainer. You can find out more about me at my web site, Learning from Experience. Because I am Australian, all of the spelling errors are either deliberate, to provoke feedback, Australian spelling or indicative of the time that I put into composing the post. You choose.

How can you contribute?
Because these posts are a precis of the newsgroup postings, the easiest way to contribute is through a posting to the newsgroup. Posts about older threads can still be made and will appear in the current postings.

Short comments about the precis or about this blog can also be made through the comments feature of the blog, but to avoid spam, I have confined this to people who are registered with BlogSpot and even then I must approve the post before it appears. It may be practical to loosen up these conditions as the blog becomes established.

John

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The names "Toastmasters International", "Toastmasters" and the Toastmasters International emblem are trademarks protected in the United States, Canada and other countries where Toastmasters Clubs exist. Unauthorized use is strictly prohibited.

Additional meeting roles

2006-12-06T20:05:00.000-08:00

In October 2006, Mark asked:
What are some of the unusual meeting roles or titles
to roles that are performed in a Toastmasters meeting. Some that I've
encountered:

Listener - Someone who listens to the meeting, and then asks
questions to the members to see if they were paying attention. This
was something that was used in a specialized club. I took it to
another club and used it when there was two speakers, and I was one of
the three evaluators. I popped the pop quiz, and it was enjoyed by
all.

Snackmaster - The person who is responsible for snacks at the
meeting.

It opened the flood gates.

Eric was the first to mention Table Topics Evaluator. Joy added: A couple of the Australian clubs I visited had Table Topics Evaluators. One of them had two evaluators, which made the job easier, as they alternated speakers to evaluate.

Joy told us that in one of her clubs the listener is called the Radarperson, and said she had picked up the idea from an Australian club she had visited where it was called Critical Listener. She also said that at another of her clubs there is an unnamed assignment where someone at the start of the meeting tells a Mini-story.

John (your blog host) contributed:

Most of our (District 70, Australia) clubs have a Chairman who presides over the bulk of the meeting, with the Toastmaster only covering the prepared (manual) speeches and their evaluation.

At some clubs, there is also the Thought Judge, who chooses the best "thought for the day" which is offered as each of the members introduced themelves.

We have a number of gourmet (advanced) clubs where each of the courses is evaluated and a masked wine tasting is conducted. These clubs meet in a different restaurant each month.

If the club has a full business meeting (rare these days) a Parliamentarian comments on the business procedure.

From time to time these assignments are also offered at the Professional Speakers club I belong to:

Reading - 2 to 3 minutes from a book or article;

Jokemaster - prepares and tells a joke - usually one or two minutes long.

Point of view - a member presents a statement on a controversial topic. In a club I was in years ago, the point was presented for a minute then others could question or oppose for a total of two minutes.

Betsy remembered: We used to have a chiropractor in our club, and he informally watched everyone's posture and often commented on it as a part of his evaluations (or privately after a meeting). I thought it was really helpful... I'm a bit of a sloucher and always thought it gave me a"relaxed" look... It wasn't until I saw some videos that I realized how changing my posture really made a difference in my speeches.

Iona said: The Wizard of Ahs counts the ums and Ahs in speeches.

Regina told us about the Word Master who provides the word of the day and counts the number of times it is used. The Tip Master gives a tip on speaking, leadership, or performing a meeting role. The Video Operator captures assignments on the club's camera. The position rotates, so all can pick up some skills using the camera.

Alison mentioned the Hot Seat Speaker. If four speakers are on the program, and one can't make it for some reason or other, then the hot seat speaker jumps in. The speaker is usually one who will be speaking at the next meeting.

Do you have unusual roles at your club? Post a comment to share them.

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The names "Toastmasters International", "Toastmasters" and the Toastmasters International emblem are trademarks protected in the United States, Canada and other countries where Toastmasters Clubs exist. Unauthorized use is strictly prohibited.

Grab Bag meetings

2006-12-06T13:34:00.000-08:00

In December 2006, Betsy expressed concern about a grab bag meeting - as she explained:
This is when all the roles are drawn from a hat at the beginning of the meeting; everyone theoretically comes prepared with a speech

The collective wisdom of alt.org.toastmasters came up with these modifications:

Wordkyle reported:
We assign the speakers in advance so they have time to prepare. The rest of the roles are then randomly assigned.

Joy added:
I put the assignments into two envelopes. Envelope A is for speakers, Table Topics Master and Toastmaster. Envelope B is for the easier roles.
Experienced Toastmasters draw from Envelope A, while newbies and guests (if they wish) draw from Envelope B. We have a list of duties and what is involved, so taking an unfamiliar role shouldn't be much of a problem.
For speakers and Table Topics, I list a few suggestions for topics. I also provide blank agendas to be filled in as the roles are determined.

Tracy said:
We have a couple of "opt out" rules, though, that members can use. If you haven't given 3 speeches, you can draw again if you get a Speaker or Evaluator job. We use cheap poker chips with the jobs written on them.

Eric offered:

We allow participants a few minutes to trade their roles with someone who agrees to a trade.
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The names "Toastmasters International", "Toastmasters" and the Toastmasters International emblem are trademarks protected in the United States, Canada and other countries where Toastmasters Clubs exist. Unauthorized use is strictly prohibited.