Advice, Expectations, Ideas and Plans
Preparing for Your First Speech
Preparing Your Delivery
Just a Few More Tips
Toastmasters is truly for everyone. It is for the person who would “rather die than stand up in front of a group to talk” and it is for people who are experienced speakers who want to improve.
The way to look at and evaluate Toastmasters is to attend a few meetings with a few different clubs. Get the “feel” of the group. Join and then “watch” other speakers (if you need the extra time); Then GET READY FOR YOUR FIRST SPEECH!
to the top Advice, Expectations, Ideas and Plans
The first speech is the “Ice Breaker”. It is “breaking the ice” for you as a new member and speaker. Through this first speech, the club will get to know you better. Your only goal is to do it and survive. I have yet to see anyone NOT survive. Even an experienced speaker can find him/herself with a few butterflies speaking in front a group s/he doesn’t know; particularly when you DO KNOW that some of the club members are experienced speakers.
SOME ADVICE and WISDOM
Expect to feel a little uncomfortable. If you want to feel very uncomfortable – that’s OK too.
You will not die.
You will be SO relieved when the first speech is done.
Remember that if this experience is so awful; you can leave and never come back. No one will know anything more about you (an escape clause is always good if your are going into a scary situation).
If you are an experienced speaker, include this information in your ice breaker. Tell the club why you are here and what you want to work on. You will get the most out of your evaluations by being clear on your goals. The intention of Toastmasters is to help us all become better speakers. Evaluators give positive comments and suggestions for improvement on your next speech.
Remember above all – people who belong to Toastmasters are giving up 1-2 hours every week for their meeting because they believe so firmly in the value of the leadership and public speaking skills they gain from this commitment. They have a lot of respect for others who have similar goals. You WILL be supported, whatever your objective.
Club Mentors, Materials and Schedule
When you first join, ask the club for a mentor. This person will help you understand how and why the meeting is run. Your mentor will help you understand how to get the most out of each meeting, speech and evaluation.
When you join our club, you will get a packet of materials. Included in this packageis the CTM manual. This manual outlines your first 10 speeches. Review the manual. Read through the speeches that you will be giving. Jot down ideas in passing –possible topics for upcoming speeches. Also read the BACK part of the CTM manual. It will explain the roles of the club members and how a meeting is run. You will get more out of your first few meetings if you have this background.
Then, the day comes – YOUR name will be on the scheduled – and you will be committed to giving your Ice Breaker! Go back and read points one through six of “advice”. Now it is time to prepare!
to the top
PREPARING FOR YOUR FIRST SPEECH
Re read the description of the Ice Breaker in the CTM manual.
Note the objectives
Note time limit you have to present (4-6 minutes). As you prepare, you will realize that this is NOT very much time, in spite of what it may feel like at first.
Think about ways to present yourself to the club. Some ideas,
You may take the approach of “history” of your life that has gotten you here today.
Maybe start with your profession and how you got to where you are.
You could address how more public speaking is going to help you in your personal/work life
You may take a “theme” that has been consistent throughout your life that gives a “summary” of who you are. Provide examples or stories.
- Perhaps a set of two to four events inyour life that influences who you are today.
The approaches are endless and individual. Choose something that feels right for you.
The Outline
Any speech, whether it is four minutes or one hour, should have a common set of “sections”, the:
Introduction/Opening(tell us what you are going to tell us about)
Middle or Body (tell us what you have to say about this topic – using examples and stories)
Summary/Closure (tell us what you’ve told us)
Introduction/opening
This can be a brief statement about the goal/content of what you are going to tell us. In an Ice Breaker, it should be at a maximum of 30 seconds long.
Middle/Body
This is the “content” of the speech. This is where you will make your key points. In a speech of 4-6 minutes, there is time for no more than 3 main points. While you prepare your speech, write down in a “brainstorming” way, all the ideas you have. Then gradually go back and weed out ideas until you have no more than three main points. It is always good to place your points into an outline format so that it has order and flows well.
The best way to “make” your points so they stand out in the audience’s mind are to use the PEP approach:
For instance, if you are telling the audience that the main point is your interest in environmental issues, you might say:
POINT: “One of my absolute passions is concern for the environment”.
EXAMPLE: “I first became aware of the importance when I was in 4th grade and our classroom was helping with a clean up project at a local river. We had been studying estuaries in school, so I was thinking it would be fun to possibly see some actual bird habitat. Instead I saw the other side – the part we had talked about in school about why some species are endangered. I saw a duck’s nest that should have hatched eggs. Instead, nearby we found the body of the mother mallard, who we found out later, had ingested some of the pesticide that had been used in a nearby farming area. The naturalist told us those eggs wouldn’t hatch, and if they did, the ducklings would have no chance of survival. I thought it was so sad since the pesticide used for the farms could have been a natural product instead.”
POINT: As a result, I pursued my concern for the environment in my high school years, and then later in my college major of environmental science.
This PEP approach allows you to make the statement you want the audience to hear, give a story, or an opportunity for humor that really stays with the audience, and then reinforces the importance of the point.
Conclusion
Summarize what you have said. This is a time to stress the most important points and reinforce your message to the audience. In a speech of 4-6 minutes, your conclusion should not exceed 30 seconds.
to the top
PREPARING YOUR DELIVERY
Once you have prepared your speech, and written it out, read it out loud while timing yourself. You will find that on your first try, the speech will be WAY too long. Then the editing begins.
Look at your points – did you have too many? Do you need to shorten your introduction? Do you need to shorten your “stories”? Is there a section you could summarize but still get across the point?
Once you have a speech that you can deliver out loud reading from your paper and stay within timing, make your “speaking cards”.
Use 5x7 index cards for Speaking Cards. (For those over 45 years and with questionable visual ability write your notes REALLY BIG) Don’t transfer the full written speech to cards. Instead, make your speech into “notes”.
NOW you start to practice. First practice using your note cards and timing yourself again. Use your notes as much as you need to for 4-6 trials. Once more, you may find you have extended your time. Keep reading your notes and timing until you are well within your time of 4-6 minutes. This is practice that is still timing and figuring out if you are using inflection, pauses and other techniques. This is not the time to focus on practicing eye contact with the audience. You need to first get familiar with your speech, the timing and the delivery. This is where you get the best handle on your “sound bites” and how to use them.
NOW you're REALLY going to start practicing your speech! Practice your speech (time it every time) out loud. This is the part where you practice eye contact. Gradually look less and less at your cards. They will become a reference point – NOT a speech you read. In your practice, increase the amount of time your eyes are up looking at the audience. Practice standing up.
Next practice this standing in front of the mirror. Make sure you are making contact with yourself in the mirror. You will notice then, did you smile? A smile does wonders for making contact with your audience.
You cannot practice your speech too much. It is wise to “rehearse” using eye contact at least 6 times before each speech. Twelve times is better. Don’t believe for a second that you will always do this much practice. (I don’t want to scare you away about time commitment) But as you become a better speaker, you will find that you WANT to practice that much, because that is what makes you improve the most rapidly.
Give your speech at your club meeting. Check your pulse. You didn’t die. Congratulations!
to the top
JUST A FEW MORE TIPS – for both new and experienced speakers.
A very effective way to practice your speech when you are running around like crazy with your life is to record it on an audiotape. Then listen to the tape over and over in the car, while doing dishes, while falling asleep. Hearing it in your own voice is amazingly effective for your memory. You will find you need to use your notes less and less.
Even better, videotape yourself giving the speech. There is absolutely nothing better than being your own critic before giving a speech. One review of you on videotape is worth hundreds of comments from others.
To really make maximum use of the video, watch yourself with the sound turned off – observe your movements –are they distracting? Do they help the audience “see” what you are talking about?
Then turn your back to the screen and turn the volume on and just listen to your speech. Listen to inflection, pauses, timing etc.
Give the speech to a family member, spouse or friend. Tell them you want feedback. If you want to practice with an audience but want no feedback, give your speech to your dog. You will get tail wagging and lots of good response.
