A TYPICAL MEETING
There are several other roles necessary for a
successful meeting. A toastmaster is needed to chair the evening, a
timekeeper helps to make sure we don’t over run, Evaluators help us to
improve.
Each meeting consists of two core focusses:
- The Speech Section comprising Table Topics and Prepared Speeches:
Table Topics
is where people learn to speak “Off the Cuff” Speakers are chosen at
random and given a subject to discuss for around 2 minutes, with no
prior notice. This tends to be a fun and light hearted session. It is
also very valuable for people who are called upon to give an opinion at
meetings or social gatherings.
Prepared Speeches, where people give speeches on a topic of their own choosing. Each speech addresses a specific aspect of “speechcraft”.
Speech construction, gestures, eye contact, props, use of the voice and many other items are covered.
- The Evaluation Section comprising:
Evaluation, Timing and Meeting Reports which is run by the General Evaluator of the meeting.
TABLE TOPICS
If someone
suddenly asks you to give an opinion during a discussion at work or in
a social setting, it can be very difficult to sound confident and
knowledgeable with no preparation time.
Table topics are designed to help you overcome this.
The
session leader picks a topic at random, although there is often an
underlying theme, and nominates a person to speak for 2 minutes on the
subject.
The
idea is to produce a mini speech which looks and sounds as if it had
been prepared in advance. The speech should be on topic, not be just an
anecdote, and have a clear structure and progression of ideas.
This
may sound almost impossible to achieve but almost everyone who has been
a member of toastmasters for a short while can achieve some of those
goals.
Long
standing members often achieve all of the goals and others learn by
watching them and listening carefully to the feedback given at the end
of the session.
Attending
a toastmasters club is great way to hone your public speaking skills in
a safe and supportive environment. Believe or or not after a few
meetings you will be eager to jump up and participate in the table
topics session.
PREPARED SPEECHES
To
become a competent and confident speaker you need a particular set of
skills. The Toastmasters “Competent Communicator” manual delivers these
skills in a set of 10 Speeches. These speeches can be on any subject
that the speaker chooses, but the material should be chosen to support
the objective of the exercise.
A brief synopsis of each speech project is given below.
1 The Ice Breaker
The
purpose of this exercise is to help other members get to know you and
for you to discover what skills you already have and how to begin
improving.
2 Organize Your Speech
All
Good speeches have a captivating beginning and end. Couple this with a
clear flow of ideas and good transitions from one idea to the next and
you are on your way to creating great speeches.
3 Get To The Point
In
order to hold an audience a speech must be informative and
entertaining. It must also have a point to it in this project you learn
how to construct a speech with a specific idea in mind and to build a
speech that supports the purpose at hand.
4 How To Say It
Here
you learn how to make the language more interesting and to paint word
pictures. Think how much better it is to say, “Samantha reclined on the
lush emerald meadow and gazed vacantly at the cloudless azure sky”
rather than “Samantha lay down and stared into space”
5 Your Body Speaks
The
use of gestures and facial expressions enhances what you say and
assists the audience to understand. Making eye contact with the
audience makes them feel included. Learning how to make all of this
appear natural is another key to quality speaking.
6 Vocal Variety
Speaking
is not just about what we say, it is very much about how we say
it. Project 6 helps us to understand the usefulness of changing volume,
pitch and pace to enhance the message. You will also learn the use of
the pause to add drama to your message.
7 Research Your Topic
Facts
and anecdotal evidence give the speaker a degree of authority and lead
the audience to trust the presenter and therefore feel more
comfortable. This exercise is all about gathering those facts and
putting them together in an interesting manner so that the audience are
entertained as well as educated.
8 Get Comfortable With Visual Aids
“
A picture paints a thousand words” Visual aids such as charts and
graphs can get figures across in a fraction of the time explaining them
takes. How much easier is it to understand a product when you are
looking at it rather than listening to its description? When you tackle
this exercise you will use at least 2 different visual aids to enhance
your speech.
9 Persuade With Power
Learning
the techniques of using logic and emotion to convince people that your
view point is the correct one can be a very rewarding experience. On
completion of your 9th project you will have had the opportunity to get
people to listen to your view on a topic and influence their opinion.
10 Inspire Your Audience
The
final step on the journey to the Competent Communicator award. Use all
the skills you have learned in earlier projects to deliver a powerful
speech which captivates an audience and inspires them to a course of
action. This may seem like a distant dream before you join
toastmasters, but thousands of people achieve this goal every year.
