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Here’s a technique I recommend people use when they have a long commute or quiet time away from others (I suggest away from others since you may feel a little silly doing it around other people.) Turn on your radio and turn to a talk or news program. Find a story or topic and listen to about five minutes on that topic. Now turn off the radio. For the next minute (you can time yourself using the car clock) talk out loud on the topic. Try to recall as many facts and details as you can while weaving your words into a cohesive and coherent oratory.

This exercise will:

• Challenge your listening skills
• Test your recall
• Force you to think dynamically
• Practice “buying yourself time” when speaking to link your thoughts together
• Encourage thinking “one sentence ahead”

Taking advantage of opportunities to push yourself out of your comfort zone as a speaker is the only true way to grow and develop. Give it a try…you may surprise yourself.

Writing speeches for presentations during club meetings always begins with the challenge…what to write? Occasionally the mind will wander to topics that broach on the potential controversy, i.e. religion, social norms, politics, etc. As club members should we speak on these types of topics? As club officers should we allow these types of topics to be presented?

As a firm believer in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution a member should be able to address whatever topic they wish as part of their presentation. The key is to use this as a learning opportunity in how to approach such a topic in an intelligent and competent manner without alienating your audience. There is no specific lesson in any of the Toastmasters’ manuals that address delivering a controversial topic so I thought I’d provide some suggestions.

Prepare

Before you walk into a room to present on a controversial topic, prepare carefully. Make sure you have your facts straight and can reference your sources if necessary. Controversial topics are emotion laden time bombs that can go off at any time. Being prepared to deal with this in a controlled, logical manner will help you complete your presentation with your audience still in tow.

No Bias

Unless you’re trying to persuade your audience to your side of the controversy, do not show any bias to one side or the other. Present the arguments equally with a balanced, even approach. You may favor one position over another, but again, unless you’re trying to convince your audience you need to rehearse even more than normal to make sure you’re not accidentally coming across as biased.

Caution: Humor

You can use humor in your presentation to offset a particularly tense moment or topic but do so with caution. Don’t make light of one side of the topic over the other. Find areas that cross both sides or have nothing to do with the topic at all. This again comes back to rehearsal as a critical piece of the presentation. The “off the cuff” joke has destroyed many a career and you don’t want to go down that path as well.

Accept the challenge

If you want to accept the challenge of presenting a controversial topic at your club meeting, talk to your VP of Education in advance so they can make sure the club is properly prepared and they take the presentation in the spirit it is intended…as a learning experience for a growing speaker. Good luck!

As a member of the Lancaster, PA Conestoga Toastmasters Club I was proud to participate in their 1,000 th meeting on Wednesday of this week. Instead of a traditional meeting format we had eight speakers present what Toastmasters means to them.

I can honestly say that this was one of the best collections of speeches I’ve seen in quite a long time. The variety, quality, humor, and passion were engaging and affirming to the value Toastmasters brings to everyone who participates.

I’m hoping to post the text of my speech later this week.

There comes a time for every presenter when they start to develop their own personal style of presentation. Some adopt the even-keel authority on the topic at hand, some the soft-spoken sensitive, and some (like me) the energetic, passion filled presentation. Now, before I start into this I’m not advocating one style over the others. There are dozens of styles and all have their place. I myself find switching between then based on the speech and topic is very useful in driving my message home. For this post I do want to focus on the high energy presentation.

Standing on chairs

Recently I gave a speech about “Be Passionate” in which at one point I pulled out a chair in the first row of the audience and stood on it, proclaiming my point loudly and forcefully. This topic lent it to this action naturally, but I could have used the same “shock tactic” with other topics had I felt the need to reinforce the point. The key with this is the old adage, “less is more.” You are creating a physical exclamation point in your presentation and it can be very powerful. But with each use, it’s strength weakens and diminshes. Wield this weapon in your arsenal carefully. It’s much more a bazooka than a sniper rifle.

Motion can reinforce or distract

Toastmasters, as with any good speaking organization, encourages it’s members to not lock themselves to the podium but rather to move about and use their motion as part of their presentation. Again, I must stress moderation in this. Highly animated motion can be a distraction from a powerful emotional message if it’s not timed carefully. When you rehearse your speech (and I highly recommend you do, numerous times) make a point of identifying when you will use “physical illustrations” to reinforce your words and thoughts.

Keep your shoes on

Avoid the inclination to get carried away with the physicality of your speech. A speech that is in constant motion with dramatic physical illustrations and jarring actions can be exhausting for you as the presenter as well as your audience. You want to end strongly and sprinting the entire time leaves nothing for the final push.

Conclusion

Never be afraid to pull out the stops and shock your audience a bit. Wake them up when you need to and draw them back into the presentation. Just don’t overdo it. Make sure it’s a good and steady chair too.

As a member of Toastmasters International you will be called on occasionally to participate in a “Table Topic.” This is when a member of the club choose a topic and calls on one or more other members to speak on that topic, on demand, with no advance knowledge of the topic. For many people this is one of the most difficult types of speaking, that is speaking on your feet.

Here’s a recommendation for practicing your ability to speak on demand:

If you’re somewhere where there’s a radio turn it to a talk radio show. I like NPR for this since it usually covers topics I may not be completely familiar with. Listen to the show for five minutes and then turn the radio off. Now force your self to talk out loud on the topic you were just listening to for one minute. This accomplishes a couple of things:

1. You get a chance to practice your speaking again in the safety and seclusion of being by yourself.
2. You have to process the information you heard quickly and formulate a logical train of thought from the topic.
3. It is a quick and easy exercise that helps you practice the introduction phrases and timing necessary to give yourself time to think and talk at the same time.

Give it a try. You’ll be surprised how you struggle in the beginning and how quickly your skills improve. Then the next time you’re called on to give a Table Topic speech, you’ll stroll right up to the Toastmaster ready and willing.