Tip of the Week

Picture this. You have done a great job of telling the setup part of your joke or humorous story. You have the audience in your hands; they are listening intently. Then as you finish the set up part, you blurt out the punch line without taking a breath, and move on to the next part of your speech. You wonder why there was so little laughter.

Tip: don't rush the punch line! Common mistakes are: saying the punch line really fast, saying it in such a low voice that no one can hear it or stepping on the laughter by moving too quickly to the next sentence in your speech.

Next time try this. Just before the punch line, pause. Let the audience anticipate. Then deliver the punch line clearly, emphasizing the most important words. When the audience laughs, don't step on it. Wait until the crest of the laughter begins to flatten before going on to the next sentence of your speech. Or if you are the humorist, enjoy the laughter and wait until it begins to wane before sitting down. Challenge yourself to take on the role of humorist at the next meeting. Have fun!

Tip of the Week

When you are the Toastmaster for a meeting, you will be called upon to introduce speakers in the prepared speech program. Your role is not only to welcome the speaker but to perk the audience's interest in the presentation and to help the audience relate to the speaker. Remember to focus on the speaker in your introduction. It is not about you.

When you introduce a speaker, answer the following questions:

• Why this speaker? 
• Why this topic?    
• Why this audience? 
• Why this time?      

Keep your introductions brief, interesting and relevant. A rule of thumb for length is about 10% of the prepared speech time. Your role is to set the stage for the speaker; establish a connection between speaker and audience; and provide a warm welcome. When you have finished the introduction, always end with the speaker's name and lead the applause. When are you doing your next introduction? Give it a try!

Tip of the Week

When you are the Toastmaster, do you ever find yourself in the position of wondering how to shake hands with the speaker and get out of the way gracefully? Here's a tip that was passed on to me by a seasoned Toastmaster: shake hands, step back and, still holding the person's hand, guide the speaker in front of you. Then return to your seat. That way you hand over the lectern gracefully and avoid walking in front of the speaker.

Tip of the Week

Here are some tips from some of the members who attended the Boot Camp on Feb 26:

Mary Jane
Attended the evaluation workshop and learned some ideas on how to evaluate an experienced speaker. I was told to ask the speaker what they are looking for in feedback. I believe that will help me and the speaker too!

Jean-Francois
I found out there was a crazy club that meets every week at 6:45 am!
I liked the handouts that explained the Communication and Leadership tracks. The Leadership track is very interesting. (Ed note: there are some leadership excellence manuals in our CTI library.)
The tips on evaluating were absolutely golden. The COD method (Content, Organization, Delivery) with all the ideas on what to look for will be helpful in the evaluation contest.
Val's tips on speechwriting were very helpful, eg to look for a title at the end after you have written the speech, and to brainstorm after you write your theme statement and then group the ideas.

Linda
TIP Speech Craft
Take a object/subject.
Think of all the different ways you can approach the subject and match it to the requirements for one of the 10 CC speeches.
Example: Cell phone - came up with 8 speech topics in 5 minutes

Darlene
Get ideas for speech topics from the newspaper, the TV, your children, your workplace, or from the hobbies you are interested in. Keep a speech topic file folder and stuff clippings, ideas, notes in it for future speeches.

CTI members were everywhere! Participating with enthusiasm, helping with moving chairs, registration, computers, copying, giving directions, SAA with the workshops and cracker barrels, facilitating…oh yes and organizing! What a great group of people! I am so proud to be a member of this club.

What Happens at the Evaluation Contest?

If you are interested in learning more about how to be a better evaluator, an evaluation contest is a very good source of information. You will see a number of contestants at various levels of experience evaluate the same speaker (the test speaker).

In the contest, contestants first listen to a test speaker (usually from outside the club), then leave the room to write their notes for 5 minutes. Their notes are taken away by the SAA, and then one by one the contestants return to compete, receive their notes back, and give their evaluations on the same test speaker's presentation. After a contestant completes the evaluation, he/she may stay in the room to hear the rest of the contestants.

Watch how each of the evaluation contestants identifies some of the same strengths and areas for improvement, observe the differences in their recommendations and how they comment about the speech. Analyze how you might have done the evaluation and compare with what you see in the contest. Did they offer examples of strengths and weaknesses and offer specific recommendations for how to improve?

The evaluator's main goal is to inspire and encourage the speaker to keep on speaking and to offer suggestions that will help the speaker improve in the next speech. If you were the test speaker, would you have been inspired and encouraged by the evaluator's comments and suggestions?

Tip of the Week

Why do we stand and applaud a Toastmaster who completes their Icebreaker speech? Everyone remembers their first speech! We understand the amount of courage it took to stand in front of an audience and speak for the first time. We stand and applaud to honour and encourage the speaker's effort and achievement.

Stoke Up the Fire

On Wed Jan 26, members of CTI Toastmasters attended a lively workshop on how to develop strong mentoring relationships. Val spoke about what she has enjoyed most about mentoring and Marc spoke about what a mentor can do to help a member improve his/her speaking skills. Darlene walked the group through some of the benefits of developing the BEST mentoring relationship. BEST = Build, Establish, Support, Transform.

Attendees at the workshop found out that the mentee is the person "driving the bus", the person that determines how fast to go, which direction to go and what success will look like. The mentor guides, supports, coaches and shares knowledge and experiences so that progress is faster and easier.

Darlene emphasized that the mentor doesn't have to know everything. We are experts in only 5 or 6 things at best. It is OK to call upon another seasoned Toastmaster for help.

Everyone agreed that CTI should have a Transformation Celebration in June to celebrate the end of the current partnership agreements, the successes and achievements and acknowledge all the volunteers. A party! Sounds great!

Quick Tips for Evaluating a Speech

Evaluating a speech is really about being a good audience member, about listening carefully and simply sharing what you have seen, heard and felt. Remember that you are sharing one person's viewpoint, one audience member's response to the speech, and you are offering honest, encouraging feedback to help the speaker recognize what he/she already does well and identify how to become an even better speaker.

Here are some quick tips to help you get started:

• When taking rough notes, some Toastmasters divide their page into 4 sections:
• upper left quadrant - list the objectives in short form
• upper right - jot down examples of where the speaker met the objectives, circle the objectives that the speaker didn't meet.
• lower left - jot down your notes about what worked for you, what you particularly liked
• lower right -jot down examples of what didn't work for you (poor gestures, flat voice, closing and opening didn't work together etc). Write down any suggestions you have to help them improve next time.
• When you write in the evaluation section of the speech manual, use your rough notes to guide your answers so that they are balanced, helpful and encouraging. 
• When you deliver the evaluation:
• start with something that you really enjoyed about the speech
• tell the speaker how you are going to evaluate.
• acknowledge the strengths the speaker already has from your perspective, give examples
• give feedback on how well they met the objectives of the project
• offer examples of one or two areas for improvement with specific suggestions about what could be done next time to improve
• end with what you liked best about the speech. 
• There are many ways to organize a speech evaluation but this method, called the sandwhich method, will help get you started on the path to being a good evaluator.

When you provide honest feedback from your personal experience of the speech, you help both new and seasoned speakers by reflecting back their speech from one audience member's viewpoint. That glimpse of how an audience member responded to the speech is a valuable gift, indeed!

The First 45 Seconds

First impressions are tough to overcome. Whether you are presenting a speech or going to a job interview, you need to capture your audience's attention in the first 45 seconds or they will go on to thinking about something else. If that happens, they might miss the very special gift that you are giving them - the key message of your speech.

The first contact that the audience has with you is the title. It is a great tool for generating interest and arousing curiosity. Titles should be short, intriguing or humorous, generate interest, and relevant to your audience and your speech.

From the moment your name is called, you have the opportunity to engage the audience, to perk their interest and show that you are confident and credible. Dress appropriately for the occasion. Remember that people want you to succeed. Shake hands firmly with the Toastmaster, make eye contact with the people in the room. When you scan the audience, remember that you are also being scanned. The audience is thinking, "Do I need to pay attention to you?"

Every word must count in your opening few sentences as if each was a piece of gold. Every movement must support your message.  A simple rule of thumb is to use the active voice whenever possible.  Don't say "At dawn, the crowing of a rooster could be heard", instead say "The rooster crowed proudly at dawn". Use vivid word pictures or interesting relevant facts to capture your audience's attention.

Avoid qualifiers like rather, very, little, pretty good, or maybe. They are leeches that suck the power out of your words. Say "We will do better" rather than "We will try to do a little better", or "He was impatient" rather than "He was rather impatient".

Walk to the front of the room confident that you have a message that the audience will want to hear and that they want you to succeed. Craft your title and your opening so that you grab the audience's attention and make them think "I want to hear what this speaker has to say!" You have 45 seconds. Use it well.

Tip of the Week: Finding a Topic

Speech topics are floating in the air like dandelion fluff in the spring. All you need to do is pay attention, grab a couple, and see where they lead you. Every contact you have at work, every experience that makes you laugh or cry, every action that inspires you contains the seed of a great speech.

It is said that every topic under the sun has already been explored so there is nothing new. The new element is YOU. You bring a new perspective to old ideas. You have a unique way of looking at ideas that others need to hear. We anticipate with great pleasure hearing what you will have to say.

Keep a small notebook of speech ideas with you at all times. Write a few words down when an idea sparks your imagination so you won't forget it. You can look at all the experiences, funny situations, inspiring ideas that you have jotted down later when you are ready to write your speech. Pick one. And sign up for a speech next week.

Be prepared to enjoy the experience of giving your speech. We will!

How to Succeed in a Table Topics Contest

You go to the front of the room during a table topics session excited and sure that you can dazzle the audience for 1-2 minutes. Then the Table Topics Master reads THE QUESTION- and your mind goes completely blank! Has this ever happened to you? Many of us have experienced that awful moment.

If you plan to enter the table topics contest this month, here are a few tips to make sure that you can present your best - even under the pressure of a contest.

1. Jetstart the brain.

• Read the newspaper or watch the news. Keep abreast of current events and think about the 2 or 3 things you might want to say on the topics that interest you.
• Listen to a child. My best ideas come from listening to my grandchildren and hearing what they have to say about school, parenting, the meaning of life.
• Think about one person that you have read about or met that is a role model (or has changed your life) and why.

2. Think about a reponse that you could make if the following values type questions were asked:

• What does friendship (love, faith, marriage, honour, loyalty etc) mean to you?
• What would you do if ...(you had a million dollars, you could vacation anywhere in the world all expenses paid, you could live anywhere in the world, etc)?
• If you could change anything in the past...(your past, world history, work etc), what would it be and why?
• What advice would you give to...(your 10 year old self, your child, your friend etc)?

3. Organize your thoughts:

• When you listen to the question, listen carefully. Before you speak, take a few seconds to think about your main points. If you don't feel you can answer the question exactly as it is presented, remember that it is OK to acknowledge the question and then segway into what you want to talk about.
• Take a slow breath in from the diaphragm for a count of 4 and let the breath out quietly for a count of 4.
• Look at the audience, smile and start.
• Make a strong opening statement, 2 or 3 main points, a story to illustrate your point, wrap your table topic up with a closing statement that pulls us back to the opening and the question.
• If you are one of those gifted people that can do humour on the spot - this is a huge bonus -- especially if it entertains and/or helps you to make a point.

You may find, as I did, that the exercise of thinking about your interests and values is stimulating and worthwhile in itself. Thinking ahead will help you answer any table topic question - even under pressure.

Can't wait to hear you in your next table topics session!

Tips for Table Topics

You know the situation. You are up at the front of the room trembling in front of the audience and you have 1-2 minutes to answer the Toastmaster's question coherently. Here are four tips to increase your success in table topics (impromptu speaking). 1) Take a few seconds before you start speaking to focus and decide what message you plan to share with the audience. 2) Open with a statement that succinctly describes your topic and where you plan to go. 3) In the body of the speech, make 2-3 clear points and support them with stories, examples or facts. 4) Wrap up the package by pulling all the pieces together with a clear concluding statement. Bonus tip: Have fun! Your fellow Toastmasters are cheering for you.