Opt to Be an Outstanding Orator

Article from the Toastmasters magazine
http://www.toastmasters.org/ToastmastersMagazine/ToastmasterArchive/2008/September2008/Articles/OutstandingOrator.aspx

Opt to Be an Outstanding Orator

Is your focus on not looking really bad or on looking really good?

By Richard R. Bonner, CC


Many of us joined Toastmasters with the expectation, or at least the hope, that it would better our job and career prospects.

We probably thought in terms of improving our communication skills in staff meetings, thinking more quickly on our feet when questioned by the boss or customers, making creditable presentations both to staff and clients, and, if called upon – God forbid – giving bona fide speeches before live audiences.

In all those endeavors, we likely cared more about being competent for our job performance than about being excellent for its own sake. We had neither the time nor the inclination to try to be outstanding speakers and communicators; we simply wanted to be good enough to get what we needed. We didn’t care so much about looking really good as not looking really bad. In essence, it came down to wanting a quick fix for promotions and raises. Show us the money!

But if truth be told, that kind of thinking grievously shortchanges us, denying us the brawny passion and satisfaction that comes from becoming a standout speaker.


Woodrow Wilson’s Inspiration
Consider the case of U.S. President Woodrow Wilson, as related by his official biographer, Ray Stannard Baker. While a student at Princeton University, Wilson read a magazine article about great orators, which included his hero, British Prime Minister William Gladstone. The article so excited and inspired him that he vowed he, too, would become a great speaker and statesman. He practiced aloud in the woods near campus and, when on vacation, in his father’s church on weekdays. The young Wilson soon gained a reputation as a fine speaker and debater, which eventually brought him back to the school as a professor, despite an indifferent academic record.

In no time Professor Wilson’s lectures drew some of the most enthusiastic audiences on campus. By continuing to feed his fire and passion for public speaking, he began to draw even more notice, and it wasn’t long before he became the highest-paid member of the faculty; from there he became president of the school. Next, he drew upon his speaking skills to help himself win the governorship of New Jersey and finally the presidency of the United States.

All the while he felt buoyed by the sheer exhilaration of public speaking, “because it sets my mind – all my faculties – aglow...I feel a sort of transformation – and it’s hard to go to sleep afterwards” (from Baker’s Woodrow Wilson: Life and Letters, published in 1927).


Making the Commitment
Let’s say that some of us wanted to become outstanding speakers. What might be our first step? Simply deciding to make the commitment, as Wilson did.

We could make the commitment privately to ourselves or, if we need to feel the spur and the lash to keep from backsliding, we could announce our decision at a Toastmasters meeting. Making the commitment sets the fire, and to keep it stoked and fueled, to keep the interest and passion up, we could immerse ourselves in the study of public speaking through books, CDs, DVDs, lectures, seminars, the Internet and classroom courses. Such sources could include rhetoric, great speeches of history, grammar and usage, diction, voice improvement, gesturing and body language, the lives of history’s famous orators, and other topics.

Perhaps we, too, could feel inspired – transformed – by the words of, say, Queen Elizabeth I addressing her troops at the approach of the Spanish Armada: “I know I have the body of a weak and feeble woman, but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and a king of England too.”

Or a poignantly anguished Nehru eulogizing the assassinated Mahatma Gandhi: “All we know is that there was a glory and that it is no more; all we know is that for the moment there is darkness, not so dark certainly, because when we look into our hearts we still find the living flame which he lighted there.”

Or the thrilling hope of playwright Vaclav Havel upon assuming the presidency of the newly liberated Czechoslovakia after decades of communist rule: “Let us teach ourselves and others that politics can be not only the art of the possible – especially if this means the art of speculation, calculation, intrigue, secret deals and pragmatic maneuvering – but that it can even be the art of the impossible, namely, the art of improving ourselves and the world.”


From the Page to the Podium
Of course, “doing” is usually the most effective way of learning, but don’t scant the study and book learning here. It’s invaluable. It gives us the substance and direction needed. It provides the theory for the practice – the theory we take from the page to the podium.

Besides, we’re already doing “the doing” in Toastmasters! And that doing should include entering speech contests. (Granted, somebody’s got to lose in a contest, but everyone who learns something – who improves from the experience – wins.)

Aside from the book learning, we have ourselves as resources to draw upon.

In 1830 U.S. Senator Daniel Webster responded to a speech from a political opponent by quickly preparing and delivering one of the great orations of history. When asked how long it had taken him to prepare, he replied: “20 years.”

For 20 years Webster had thought hard about, and agonized, over the sentiments that had led to his opponent’s position, drawing heavily upon the resources of his own life, according to the book Discussion and Debate: Tools of Democracy by Henry Lee Ewbank and J. Jeffery Auer.

Virtually all of us in Toastmasters have at least 20 years of life to draw upon: our education (formal and informal), our hopes and fears, our triumphs and tears. In looking over our life journeys, many of us might see only vast unremarkable stretches, but they’re not wastelands. They’re fallow fields whose rich potential awaits the skilled orator to unearth.


The Incremental Approach
“Enough,” says a show-me-the-money type. “Spare me the poetry. Who needs, and who can take, all the effort required to become an outstanding speaker? Being a decent speaker is all you need to be.”

That’s possible, but first let’s realize that the commitment and effort needed to excel in speaking seem far less unnerving if we demand only small but continuous steps of improvement from ourselves. This incremental approach takes major pressure off us yet puts improvement on a comfortable auto-pilot. Then one day, without our feeling the pain of the process, it just dawns on us that we’ve become darned good speakers.

Second, if competent speaking ability will likely help us on the job, what might outstanding speaking ability do?

Certainly we can at least consider making the extra effort, feeling a soul’s awakening as we uncage the oratory beast within ourselves. Maybe we’ll lie awake some nights, not in dread of a speech to be given but from a lingering high we’ve gotten from a speech just given, and given well. Put a dollar figure on that!


Richard R. Bonner, CC, a former writer for several daily newspapers, is a member of the Jewel City Toastmasters club in Glendale, California. You can reach him at Bonner1301@yahoo.com.

Know Thy Culture

Article from the Toastmaster magazine
http://www.toastmasters.org/ToastmastersMagazine/ToastmasterArchive/2009/October/KnowThyCulture.aspx

In our era of globalization, few professionals still make the mistake of speaking abroad without researching the basic protocols and no-nos of their host culture – handing an object to someone with the left hand in a Muslim country, practicing intense eye contact with Easterners or using the thumbs-up “Okay” gesture in most parts of the world. But stories abound of accomplished speakers who, even after performing this pre-departure homework, have encountered unexpected resistance when addressing a foreign or multicultural audience, ultimately failing at their intended mission. Skills, experience and success with home nationals often fail to reach their new audience, achieve persuasion and meet the objectives. Even worse, presenters often suffer a loss of confidence that took years to develop.

All intercultural experts agree that the observable and explicit cultural differences are just the tip of the iceberg. What contribute to most fruitless international/intercultural presentations are subtle clashes that take their roots in the deepest layers of culture and are often imperceptible to either side. As anthropologist Edward T. Hall states, “Culture hides much more than it reveals and, strangely enough, what it hides, it hides most effectively from its own participants.”

To become successful global speakers, we need to acquire sensitivity toward these hidden dimensions of culture – values, beliefs and assumptions – starting with our own. And we must design and perform our deliveries accordingly. The only way to be aware of our own cultural patterns is to gain perspective, to see them from an outsider’s eyes. In Riding the Waves of Culture, Fons Trompenaars and Charles Hampden-Turner write, “Culture is like gravity: you do not experience it until you jump six feet into the air.”

Six feet into the air is the lowest I jumped, 13 years ago, when I attended my first professional presentation in the United States. Everything was so uniquely American that it made an indelible impression in my newcomer’s mind. Originally from France and raised in France, Peru and Venezuela, I had not been in the country six months when I found myself sitting in this large and crowded hotel auditorium at a business convention in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The keynote address was going to be a motivational speech, I was told, which already was an intriguing concept to me.


Building Credibility with Foreign Audiences
The speaker’s entrance would not have been different if he had just won the lottery. I was captivated by his boisterous appearance on the stage, his excitement and his self-confidence. And without warning, he shouted in my ears, “So, are you having fun?”

Having fun?! Where are we, at Disney World?, I wondered, feeling infantilized by his question and tone. But as if my fellow audience members also had won the lottery, they all rejoined with a roaring “Yes!” It was not loud enough, to all appearances, so the speaker uttered the question again with reinforced decibels. I just hoped the second time would do it, because this annoying hullabaloo made me want to leave the room.

Thirteen years later, I continue to marvel at the distinctively American contagious stage enthusiasm and poise, but I still feel bullied and irritated when a presenter tries to establish a connection by acting like a puppeteer in an auditorium of third-graders. I also have come to understand that this perception is profoundly influenced by the deep layers of my French culture.

The French tend to be a very independent-minded people and have an aversion to being patronized, especially by a stranger whose authority is not evident in their eyes. Authority, they believe, is first set by the speaker’s credits, and then develops gradually and primarily by intellectual rather than emotional means – from possessing knowledge and skill in the subject matter, essentially.

The French also make a clear distinction between work and “fun” – attending a presentation being considered work – and are used to being a rather passive audience, not expected to participate, even if by an approving smile. On the other hand, American speakers seek to establish rapport with audience members immediately and actively, much like members of an orchestra harmonizing their instruments with a tuning fork before the concert; let’s laugh together, weep about this touching story and feel inspired by those words of wisdom.

It is a powerful technique, but only if used with intercultural sensitivity when addressing a foreign audience. Keep in mind that American culture is a distinctively time- and action-oriented one. It’s also informal. Speakers need to inquire about the usual rapport-building techniques of the host culture, which, like those of the French, may be more gradual, more on the intellectual or status level and less interactive with the audience.

As a general rule, it is wise to initially tune one’s energy level to that of the audience members rather than pushing them to abruptly switch to ours, and then to build momentum as one’s credibility develops.


The Dangers of Self-Disclosure in International Settings
That morning in Fort Lauderdale, after the initial culture shock, I soon was beguiled again by the speaker’s ease, by his polished movements and by his simplicity of expression. As a former educator, I appreciated how he appealed to all our senses and learning styles, and I rejoiced at his humor and vivid illustrations. I felt I was in just the right country to learn skills from the masters, and one day, I dreamed, I would be the speaker on that stage.

But as I was building castles in my head, a new wave of discomfort knocked me over. To illustrate his self-made manhood, the motivational speaker engaged in generously detailed stories about his alcoholic mother, his violent father and his own inglorious beginnings. My French acute sense of privacy and my Latino-borrowed reverence of family fused with his depictions like a Molotov cocktail in my stomach. I glanced around to check if my fellow listeners were as embarrassed for him as I was, but all I could see in people’s faces were admiration, sympathy and even teary eyes. Culture shock was striking again. (After hearing many other motivational speeches in the years to follow, I actually began to believe that I could never succeed as a speaker in the United States unless I could dig out some sordid personal or family story.)

In their book, American Cultural Patterns, authors Edward Stewart and Milton Bennett explain that the American emphasis on the individual self, in combination with direct and explicit styles of communication, “leads Americans to be extremely free in revealing much about themselves in virtually any situation... The American ease of self-revelation is shared by people of few, if any, other cultures.” I could not help but imagine the stupefaction, the loss of face and the speaker discredit that these accounts would have engendered in Asia or Latin America, for example, where family honor is so protected and respectability so intertwined with a person’s background. It is advisable to stay away from such personal disclosure when performing abroad. If the stories are too meaningful to be removed, the alternative is to credit them to a fictitious subject other than the speaker.


Cultural Meaning of Words
By the end of the Fort Lauderdale session, the presenter caught me off guard for the last time when he said, “Let me ask you a question. If I told you that I developed this fantastic program that will transform your life, that will change you! It’s completely free; all I ask is a daily 15-minute commitment... how many of you are willing to sign up and start changing now?” And while I still tried to figure out what he meant by “change,” I was taken aback by the large and vigorous show of hands. Did I miss something? Why would I want to change? Change into what? (A pumpkin?) I held my breath for further clues, but he proceeded by promoting additional materials – books, tapes, etc. – that guaranteed redoubled success in the promised change as it added significant costs to the initially free program. Those costs, however, did nothing to dissuade the increasing number of enthusiasts who rushed to the counters, credit cards in hand.

As soon as I got home, I looked up the word “change” in the dictionary, assuming it carried a second, unfamiliar meaning. But I found no other than the one I knew, mainly “to make different,” a neutral concept such as “changing channels.” It took me a few years of living in the country, of actively immersing myself in the culture and in my intercultural studies, to be able to grasp the hidden connotation of the word.

There is, indeed, in the American culture, a second meaning to the word “change,” or I should say, a generalized cultural assumption. In this achievement – risk –and future-oriented culture, “change,” I discovered, is automatically associated with “positive move” and “successful outcome,” which explains its choice as a powerful campaign slogan in the 2008 race for the U.S. presidency. If we add to the mix the value of individualism and the belief that our environment is under our control – in opposition to tenets of fate in other cultures – we find that the stumbling block to success is rooted in our own selves. The solution, then, is to change our selves. Elementary, my dear Watson!

As with “change,” other common terms may lose their intended meaning when the receiver is from a different culture. The word “respect” is one of those. In the United States, addressing everyone in the same way, for example on a first-name basis, is in most situations a mark of “respect,” an expression of the American values of informality, spontaneity and equality in social relations. The problem is that these values are not shared by every culture, and if they are, they are not manifested in the same way. What is intended to be respectful here might be perceived as extremely disrespectful elsewhere. The same goes for “common sense”– which should be reframed as “cultural sense”– or “responsibility.”

In the pragmatic American culture, where self-pride is largely connected with personal achievements, “responsibility” is more often associated with work than with family and friends. Finishing a project on time or honoring an appointment against all odds is regarded as being “responsible.” In the Latino culture, where people take pride mostly in the quality of their relationships, if one’s childhood friend’s grandmother died, the “responsibility” to attend the funeral and be there for the family may take priority over a previous commitment, even work related.

These words are what Edward Hall, the anthropologist, defined as “high context.” The cultural content is taken for granted by the members of the shared culture, and strangers must be “filled-in” to properly understand the intended meaning. Global presenters need to screen their words, and practice paraphrasing to ensure clarity. Otherwise, they’ll fall into author Robert McCloskey’s predicament: “I know that you believe that you understood what you think I said, but I am not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.”

Since our cultural assumptions are embedded in us – like a fish who doesn’t realize it lives in water until it is removed from it – it is only when we gain awareness of our own deep cultural patterns that we can succeed as international/intercultural presenters. Only by realizing what our deepest cultural motivations are in contrast with others’ will we be able to adjust our communication to build more persuasive and impactful presentations.

Thirteen years after my Fort Lauderdale experience, I decided to share one of my latest speeches – a motivational one – with my brother in Paris. His first remark was: “I’m not surprised it was successful. It is so American!”

Those French!


Florence Ferreira, ACB, CL, is a member of Boca Raton Toastmasters in Boca Raton, Florida. She is a trilingual (English/Spanish/French) intercultural-communication consultant, the founder of SpeakGlobal.net, and an inspirational speaker and writer. Reach her at f.ferreira@speakglobal.net.

Toastmasters...Then and Now

Article from the Toastmaster magazine
http://www.toastmasters.org/ToastmastersMagazine/ToastmasterArchive/2009/October/ThenandNow.aspx

Then…
When people hear the word “basement,” they’re not likely to picture the home of a global communication and leadership development organization. But a basement in the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) in Santa Ana, California, is exactly where Ralph C. Smedley held the first meeting of what would eventually become Toastmasters International. The date was October 22, 1924.

Smedley began working as director of education for the YMCA after he graduated from college. He observed that many of the young patrons needed “training in the art of public speaking and in presiding over meetings,” and decided to help them with a training format that was similar to a social club. During the early 1900s, the word “toastmaster” referred to a person who proposed the toasts and introduced the speakers at a banquet. Smedley named his group “The Toastmasters Club” because he thought it suggested a pleasant, social atmosphere that would appeal to young men.

At that first Toastmasters meeting, members practiced speaking skills in a supportive, informal atmosphere. The seedling club blossomed. Then another sprung up in nearby Anaheim. Word spread about Smedley’s experiment and soon people in other communities, and even other states, began to request permission and help to start their own Toastmasters meetings.

As more clubs emerged, it was a time of firsts: Smedley created the first Toastmasters manual, and publication of The Gavel – the first Toastmasters newsletter – began in 1930. (The Toastmaster magazine made its debut three years later.)

In the 1930s, the organization grew to an international level by incorporating and chartering its first club outside the United States, in British Columbia, Canada.

Over the ensuing years, Toastmasters International laid the foundation for many of the activities and philosophies we know today: The first Inter-Club Speech Contest was held in 1938; District 18 of Scotland became the first district outside the United States in 1946; and in 1968, the first Competent Toastmaster (CTM) awards were issued for completing the manual, Basic Training for Toastmasters. Two years later, the first Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM) awards were handed out.

Until 1962, a series of rented office spaces in Southern California served as Toastmasters International’s “home office.” That year, the staff moved into its first World Headquarters building. The Santa Ana facility wasn’t far from the YMCA where the first Toastmasters club met.

In 1973, Toastmasters met an important milestone by opening membership to women. Twelve years later, Helen Blanchard became the organization’s first female president.

By 1982, membership reached 100,000. To better serve its growing worldwide membership, World Headquarters relocated in 1990 to its current building in Rancho Santa Margarita, California, 20 miles south of Santa Ana.

In July 1997, a bold new offering was developed for the educational program: An improved two-track educational recognition system that allowed members to pursue awards in both leadership and communication. In 1999, the 10-goal Distinguished Club Program was introduced.



… And Now
As Toastmasters International celebrates its 85th anniversary, the organization stands at a historic high point. Program offerings have never been more expansive. Toastmasters leaders have developed innovative strategies to keep up with advances and shifting cultural dynamics of the global age. Indeed, while many organizations around the world are downsizing because of the economic climate, Toastmasters International is growing with thousands of people taking advantage of the organization’s programs to enhance their communication skills. Membership is at an all-time high, with more than 250,000 members in 12,000 clubs in 106 countries. As of June 30, a record 1,073 new clubs were chartered, and 56 districts were recognized as Distinguished or better, a number surpassing all previous years.

“Toastmasters grew by nearly five percent in 2009,” says Toastmasters Executive Director Daniel Rex. “Tens of thousands of people have seen the value of the Toastmasters training in their personal lives and careers. They know the program can see them through a lot of challenges.”

As Rex sees it, there is no limit to the growth potential of Toastmasters International, and he is making sure the World Headquarters staff is well positioned to serve its members as their needs change and the organization grows in existing and emerging markets.

“Our renewed emphasis is to provide optimal service and resources at each member development stage, beginning with the prospective member who is looking for a club on the Web site, applying for membership in the club, receiving a New Member Kit, and talking with a staff member on the phone,” Rex explains.

One way to meet members’ needs is through the Toastmasters Web site which is continually expanded through new product and service offerings. An exciting and recent addition to the Web site is the organization’s first e-learning tool, Toastmasters Learning Connection (TLC) for district officers. Blending education with the power of the Internet, TLC provides access to Toastmasters’ officer training in a virtual learning environment. The distance-learning program is designed to complement face-to-face training and is not intended to replace it. This program still is in its infancy, but is expected to encompass training for a variety of officers.

Another recent change voted in by members at the annual International Convention on Aug. 14, 2009, is Global Representation and Support. It improves the organization’s structure by enhancing global representation with 14 regions and directors, and replaces The Nominating Committee with the International Leadership Committee (ILC). More information on the implementation of this proposal will be shared on the Toastmasters Web site and in the November issue of this magazine.

The organization’s profile is about to grow even higher: A new film about Toastmasters is scheduled for release this fall. SpeakEasy, a feature-length documentary produced by Tumbleweed Entertainment, explores the 2008 World Championship of Public Speaking and the larger Toastmasters world.

From a gathering in a YMCA basement in 1924 to the 12,000-plus clubs that meet in 106 countries today, the Toastmasters story is one of dramatic growth and success. And with accomplishments come opportunities. “As we meet our members’ needs and greet thousands of club visitors, we offer the most valuable service imaginable: We help people improve their lives,” says Rex. “That’s what the Toastmasters mission is all about.”


Editor’s Note: For detailed information about Toastmasters’ history, visit toastmasters.org and type “timeline” into the search box.

Story Telling

Article from the Toastmaster magazine
http://www.toastmasters.org

One of the late President Ronald Reagan’s favorite stories concerned the meeting of two men, one from the USA, the other a Soviet citizen.

“In my country,” said the American, “I can walk right into the Oval Office and say that I don’t like the way Ronald Reagan is running the United States.”

“I can do that with Gorbachev, too,” replied the Soviet.

Having heard about Soviet repression, the American was incredulous. “You’ve got to be kidding!” he said.

“Not at all,” replied the Soviet. “I can walk right into Gorbachev’s office and say, ‘I don’t like the way Ronald Reagan is running the United States!’”

In our cynical age, you might readily agree that politicians make great storytellers. After all, a common definition of “storyteller” is liar. But even the most jaded observers of politicians know that storytelling has long been a powerful tool for persuasion.

The classical rhetoricians of ancient Greece used both the introduction narrative and the parable to pump up their speeches in the first democracy. You saw the introduction narrative – an anecdotal lead-in at the beginning of a speech to rouse interest – in the example above. In contrast, parables are anecdotal narratives that appear anywhere within a speech in order to teach a moral lesson.

In both cases, stories are used to connect with the audience, engage the emotions, and provide a concrete example of the abstract ideas the speaker wishes to put forth. What’s more, studies show that people remember, and may therefore share, information more effectively when it is presented through story. Compare the impersonal use of numbers and statistics with the specificity of people and experiences, and you can see why stories are so effective.


The Great Communicator
Ronald Reagan was known as the Great Communicator, in large part because of his stories. Reagan’s storytelling talent is legendary, writes former U.S. Secretary of State George P. Shultz in the foreword to Stories in His Own Hand: The Everyday Wisdom of Ronald Reagan.

“He peppered his conversations with stories,” Shultz writes. “Stories lent a certain informality and ease to his speeches. He used stories to increase his rapport with the people in front of him or on the other end of the television camera…. The stories always made a point and gave drama and emphasis to the content of his speeches. He reached for stories that people could comprehend because they could imagine themselves being in the same position.”

The book’s editors go on to note that when Reagan would say, “Well, that reminds me of…,” listeners were wise to pay close attention rather than to dismiss the story as a way of avoiding or changing the subject. Reagan referred to actual occurrences, folklore and jokes to make serious points. By causing us to laugh at the very serious limitations on free speech in the former Soviet Union, for example, Reagan sought to underscore the differences between the U.S. system and theirs in a memorable way.


Storylines
Along with sharing brief anecdotes, there is another, more indirect way in which politicians use stories. In Tales of a New America, former U.S. Treasury Secretary Robert B. Reich identified four main storylines reflected in political discourse. Unlike distinct stories, you can’t necessarily identify one of these intact in the middle of a speech. Rather, they are the underlying, implied stories by which politicians operate. Writing in the mid-1980s, Reich identified the basic American storylines as:

1. The Benevolent Community: We take care of our own.
2. Mob at the Gates: We must protect ourselves against outside enemies.
3. Rot at the Top: We can’t trust the political and business elite.
4. Triumph of the Individual: Each of us can do anything we put our minds to.

We can still see the outlines of these stories in the rhetoric of American politicians as they discuss such issues as education, immigration, big government and affirmative action.

Why is it so important to recognize storytelling in politics? Once we understand how political storytelling works, we can be on the lookout for it – both in the words of others and in our own. We can ask ourselves, How does the story affect the message of the speech, as well as the credibility of the speaker? Does the listener feel manipulated or enlightened?

Following are a few classic examples of political storytelling, in speeches given by politicians the world over during the last century:


Winston Churchill, Great Britain
On May 13, 1901, Winston Churchill, who went on to become Prime Minister, gave a speech to the British House of Commons in which he argued against increased government funding for the British Army. To reinforce his point, he told a story about the time when his father, Lord Randolph Churchill, then Secretary of the Treasury, was locked in political battle with the government – also over an issue of funding.

The language is a bit flowery, but the story stands out loud and clear:

The Government of the day threw their weight on the side of the great spending Departments, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer [Churchill’s father] resigned. The controversy was bitter, the struggle uncertain, but in the end the Government triumphed, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer went down for ever, and with him, as it now seems, there fell also the cause of retrenchment and economy, so that the very memory thereof seems to have perished, and the words themselves have a curiously old-fashioned ring about them.

Churchill uses a historical anecdote about his father to contribute to his own credibility and to make a comparison between the situation then and what was happening at the time of his speech.


Mahatma Gandhi, India
Gandhi, a lawyer, became a famous proponent of non-violence as he led the successful Indian protest against the British occupation, or Raj. In a 1916 speech he said:

I was talking the other day to a member of the much-abused Civil Service. I have not very much in common with the members of that Service, but I could not help admiring the manner in which he was speaking to me. He said: “Mr. Gandhi, do you for one moment suppose that all we Civil Servants are a bad lot, that we want to oppress the people whom we have come to govern?” “No,” I said. “Then if you get an opportunity, put in a word for the much-abused Civil Service.”

The recital of a conversation with an anonymous representative – whether real or imagined – of a group is a common technique of politicians. Interestingly, Gandhi followed up this story without fulfilling the request to put in a good word for the Civil Service!


Anwar Sadat, Egypt
On May 16, 1971, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat gave a speech to a delegation of police officers, and he told a story about a time he and his predecessor, the late President Gamal Abdel Nasser, had met at Sadat’s home. Nasser was still the president then:

President Nasser intended to ask the people’s permission to retire, and allow new leaders to take over in his [lifetime]...We all laughed and wondered who that successor would be and how the people would start comparing him to Nasser... I convey to the people the anxious words which Gamal Abdel Nasser said on that day: “I do not want my successor to humiliate the people.” He said this with emotion: “No one will humiliate the people after me.”

Here President Sadat used the popular technique of having a statesman “speak from the grave” on his behalf in order to make the point that Sadat’s first priority was to protect his people, even when he is no longer in power.


Hillary Clinton, United States
On October 11, 2007, during Clinton’s campaign for the presidential nomination, the New York senator told the following story in a speech about the affordability of education:

Back when I went to college, my late father said to me that he’d saved enough money – he was a small-business man – to pay for room, board and tuition, but if I wanted to buy a book or anything else, I had to earn the money. That was our deal. That was fine with me.

Then I graduated from college, and I decided I wanted to go to law school. So I told my father, and he said, “That’s not part of the deal.”

So I had to get a little scholarship, and I had to keep working. But then I borrowed money. And I borrowed money from the federal government. I borrowed it, as I recall, at something like two percent interest. It did not bankrupt me. It did not cause me to have to take a job on Wall Street. Instead, I got to do what I wanted to do.

This is an example, used as well by former U.S. President Bill Clinton, of reaching back to a youthful experience to demonstrate personal knowledge of a given topic.


Storytelling as Political Propaganda
While these techniques of persuasion may seem relatively benign, there are numerous ways in which political storytelling can seriously mislead and manipulate listeners, with often horrific results. Both Adolf Hitler’s Third Reich and its predecessor, the Weimar Republic, reworked old German fairy tales such as “Sleeping Beauty” to reflect their anti-Semitic agenda. In many countries, women’s rights are curtailed due to cultural beliefs and local folklore saying a woman’s place is in the home. And because the prevailing storyline of the American South for 350 years was that Africans were less than human, slavery was considered perfectly moral.

So try to learn from history. Storytelling, like any other powerful tool, can be used both by the power elite and the opposition – for good or evil. It is our obligation, both as speakers and as voters, to recognize when it’s being used, and to use it responsibly in our own speeches.


Caren S. Neile, Ph.D., CL, directs the South Florida Storytelling Project at Florida Atlantic University, where she teaches storytelling. A member of West Boca Toastmasters, she has presented at two Toastmasters International Conventions. She can be reached at cneile@fau.edu.

Ireka / Metro Toastmasters Club Joint Meeting on 25th March 2010

Area P3 International Speech and Table Topic Contest

Congratulations to CC Helen Quat and TM Subramaniam who have won the 2nd runner-up placing in the Area P3 International Speech and Table Topic contest respectively on Sat 20 March 2010.

Say It with Meaning

Article from the Toastmaster magazine
http://www.toastmasters.org

“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.
Thank you for inviting me to share my topic with you.
I look forward to our time together.”

If you read this sentence aloud, you can hear that it sounds like it is spoken in monotone. In fact, the words tend to flow into one another without particular meaning. But with a few tweaks, any speaker can offer a thoughtful, attention-grabbing presentation that the audience will remember long afterward.

Verbal nuances, pauses and accented syllables can make your utterances more sonorous and meaningful. Like an actor rehearsing lines, a speaker should rehearse words before speaking to a group. With practice, everyday language can be enhanced to invigorate listeners and ease their grasp and appreciation of the message you want to share.

The way we say it is as important, or more so, as what we say.

The most inspiring words in a message can lose their effect if the speaker fails to ignite the audience’s passion. A speaker should handle words with the same care that a carpenter handles tools. Both professions construct meaning through capable application of tools to relevant material. Speakers should consider adding to their presenter’s “tool kit” a variety of strategies for making the most of the words they will use to share a meaningful message.

Although many verbal tools can be employed in the public speaking profession, those outlined below show you how to vocalize a presentation to optimum advantage.


Accented Words
Here is another way to recite the opening statement in the beginning of this article. Consider the words in all bold letters to be stated more emphatically:

“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for inviting me to share my topic with you. I look forward to our time together.”

Obviously, the emphasized words should not be yelled at the audience, but rather slightly accented to vary the monotone and offer interesting nuances that will catch your readers’ attention.

The next time you prepare a speech, look it over and highlight any special words that should be accented more strongly than the rest. Accents can focus the listeners’ attention on key ideas or elements of your presentation.


Pitch
We often think of music when hearing the word “pitch,” but it actually has to do with the sound of a voice that conveys emotion, as indicated in this early 20th Century explanation from OldandSold.com: “Remember that voice control is dependent largely upon emotional control. When you are excited or frightened, unconsciously the muscles around your voice box or larynx are tightened.”

While it is unnecessary (and unwise) to make a speech at a consistently high pitch, it can be helpful to moderate vocal pitch by pronouncing some words or phrases within an emotional context. Consider the following examples:

• "Be silent!" the tribal chief grunted to the missionary, trying to interject logic to the ritual.

Given the context of this statement, it appears the word “silent” could be spoken angrily or as an exclamation of authority.

• The police officer’s expression showed that he believed me guilty of speeding.

In this example, the word “speeding” receives emphasis if that is what the speaker wants listeners to notice or question. Choosing to pronounce a strategic word in a clear, emphatic way will help the audience to grasp its intended meaning and the speaker’s associated emotional response.


Intonation
Intonation is an extension of pitch. A person’s voice can change pitch and thereby reveal inflection through contrasts in vocal tone. A voice moves up and down the scale of sounds to express various thoughts and emotions. Upward movement tends to reflect a question or incomplete thought, while downward inflection represents a whole or complete idea.

Thus, intonation provides the opportunity for shifting voice pitch to contrast emotions or thought patterns. Here are a couple of examples:

“Should we then surrender our voting rights as a gesture of support for the minority? No, we should not.”

The first sentence can be read in rising intonation (a question), while the responsive statement can spiral downward to provide an answer and close the issue on that point.

Of course, words like surrender, voting rights, minority, no and not can be accented as focal ideas.

“She led me to believe I would be promoted within a week. But my expectation proved wrong.”

(Or: “She led me to believe I would be promoted within a week. But my expectation proved wrong.”)

Intonation would rise on the first sentence, and then fall with the second. If you practice this in front of a mirror or by recording it a few times, you will see how much more engaging your speech can be with emotional ups and downs as well as accented words.


Silence
Now that we have discussed what can be said loudly or differently, let’s look at what not to say and possible effects of keeping quiet at certain points of your speech.

Some speakers view silence as uncomfortable gaps in their presentations. But brief silences can help to drive home an issue, allow audiences to ponder a point, or prepare listeners for what’s coming. Professional speakers should add deliberate silence, or pauses, to their repertoire of speaking strategies to enhance a message.


“Verbal nuances, pauses and accented syllables can make
your utterances more sonorous and meaningful.”


A Web article titled “Body Language: The Language Everybody Speaks” at lichaamstaal.com suggests that silence plays a strategic role in interpersonal communication: “When we are silent we are also communicating! What we communicate depends on what kind of silence it is. …Again, the time in between words provide feeling and thinking space for people. Generally, the more emotionally loaded the subject is, the more silences we need.”

Let’s say that you are delivering three main points during your talk to a local civic group. In addition to numbering or sequencing the points, pause briefly as you conclude one before beginning the next. This demonstrates to your audience that you are about to transition to the next part of your speech.

In addition, when you make a suspenseful or important statement, pause a moment or two to let the audience grasp its full significance. Moving on too quickly can diminish the forceful effect of a strong statement.


Pronunciation
Be sure to correctly pronounce the words you will be using in your speech. Mispronunciation can leave the audience with a negative impression of your professionalism and be confusing when audience members fail to grasp the actual word you are trying to say. Here are a few examples:

• Counselor (wrongly pronounced “consaler”)
• Misled (wrongly pronounced “mizled” with a long ‘i’)
• Wolves (wrongly pronounced “wolfs”)

Look up the correct pronunciation and enunciation of any words with which you are unfamiliar and note them in your speech so you will remember how to say the words correctly.


Repetition
You probably learned in English class not to repeat the same word in a sentence or paragraph, but rather to try and find a fresh word or phrase so you don’t sound repetitive. That is a good principle – to a point. Sometimes repetition can help to underscore a point when used strategically and appropriately.

Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech is a rousing example of the dynamic use of his key phrase, which is used nine times, as well as his repetitive use of “Let freedom ring,” also nine times, in the closing lines of his speech. Dr. King did not repeat these phrases because he could think of no others, but because they are important to the message and he wanted to give the audience a valuable concept, beautiful in simplicity, remarkable in meaning.

When repeating key words or phrases, do so with a plan in mind. Don’t let repetitions randomly occur.


Say It and Mean It
With these exciting verbal tools you can craft an even more impressive speech the next time you face an audience. While it is important to choose the best words for your topic and arrange them in a meaningful sequence, remember that how you say them can go a long way to underscore or derail their impact. If you feel awkward trying to incorporate all these changes at once in your presentation style, begin by changing just one thing. When you feel comfortable with that strategy and begin noticing positive results, add another one. Soon your speeches will be receiving enthusiastic responses as you engage your audience in a purposeful way.

Don’t let language do all the work of conveying a message to your listeners. Start practicing your new presentation skills to prepare your most dynamic speech yet!


Debra Johanyak is a professor of English at the University of Akron Wayne College in Orrville, Ohio.

Humour Can Help You Through

Article from Toastmaster magazine
http://www.toastmasters.org/ToastmastersMagazine/ToastmasterArchive/2009/January/Humor-Can-Help.aspx

There will come a time in your career when a personal challenge will daunt you and you will have to muster all your professionalism to perform – even on days when you are emotionally exhausted and just want to cry. In my case, since I’m a motivational speaker and comedian, that means having to not only perform, but make people laugh, motivate them and move them.

Stress happens all the time, whether it’s due to medical issues, financial pressures, an ongoing family situation such as a nasty divorce, or circumstantial events such as your flight being delayed on the way to the biggest gig of your life. The key is, you need to be armed with information on how to handle it.

Last year I was faced with just such an agonizingly stressful situation when the two most important people in my life – my son, Spencer, and my mom, Rose – went into separate New York hospitals with life-threatening illnesses. Spencer went in at 5 a.m. grappling with pericarditis (an inflammation of the membrane surrounding the heart that can lead to the heart enlarging), and my mom was hospitalized at 8 o’clock that same evening with an incarcerated hernia that could have caused her death in a matter of hours if doctors didn’t remove two feet of her gangrenous intestines.

My son’s hospital was in upstate New York; my mom’s was in Queens, New York – about a two-hour drive away. I kept driving back and forth between the two hospitals. In addition, I didn’t tell my mom or son that the other was in the hospital. Keeping that secret added to the stress.

Two days after Spencer was hospitalized, he was home, facing 10 days of required bed rest. I joked to him, “Spence, I always knew you had a big heart, but please don’t go overboard to prove it.” He smiled.

The following day, my mom came out of intensive care. While visiting her hospital room I joked with her, as well. “Jeez, Mom, I know you’ve been telling me that you wanted to lose weight and stop working...but this was one heck of a way to do it!” She smiled.

Humor has always been a great survival mechanism for people. On both the personal and professional levels, it helps reduce stressful situations.

On the same night my mom came out of intensive care, I was booked for a one-hour speaking engagement – ironically, for a “Social Workers Appreciation Day” at an assisted living home. I was physically drained from three days of non-stop driving to these two hospitals. In addition, I was emotionally drained from all the worry. (Yes, even positive-thinking comedians worry.)

I asked myself one key question: Can I get in the right frame of mind to perform, do a great job and not be on auto pilot? I decided I had two hours until I performed and I could do it.

Drawing from my experience, I offer seven strategies for performing during personally difficult times:


1. Stop and Breathe. That’s basic enough, but many forget to do it properly. (Of course, if you forget to do it altogether this would be a moot point.) I’m talking about taking a few deep, meditation-like breaths to relax yourself. Take a breath, close your eyes and hold it for a count of eight. Then slowly exhale for a count of four. Do this until you feel yourself in a better place physically.

The powers of deep breathing have been known for centuries. You just have to remember to do it. It can stop you from panicking and give your body and mind the time needed to refocus.


2. Look at your situation realistically by asking the right questions. Everything in life depends on your attitude. And that starts with asking yourself the right questions. When you’re scared and stressed out, give yourself a reality check. The answers can be empowering.

In my case, I asked myself, “Are my loved ones out of immediate danger?” Yes. “Do I need to be there with them all night?” No. “Would it benefit me mentally to be on stage, doing something I love, to get me in a different frame of mind?” Yes. “Do I have the energy?” Yes. (We all have sources of stored energy.)

I asked more questions: “How can I make this a win-win situation?” By finding the humor in it. “Can I find humor in something so soon?” Yes, if I refocus my thoughts – not on the victim, but on the situation. “Would it be the professional thing to do?” Yes. “Is there a profound message I can share with my audience about this situation?” I knew there was, but I just wasn’t sure what it was yet. I had at least two hours to figure it out.


"The truth is funny if you just look at it in the wrong light."


Now, I could have asked myself the “wrong” questions: “Shouldn’t I be with my loved ones now?” Yes. “Will the place forgive me if I don’t perform under the circumstances?” Yes. “Will I be too tired to drive home?” Probably.

The key is all in what you ask yourself.


3. Learn to compartmentalize your feelings. There is a time to break down, and a time not to hang tough. At the moment of crisis you need to be strong. I learned to be my own cheerleader. “OK, Capo, you can get this done now…you can cry later.” Always allow yourself the release …just do it when it benefits you. Being strong doesn’t mean you’ll never cry, it means knowing when to cry.


4. Refocus through gratitude and prayer. One of the easiest ways to refocus your mind is by going over a list of things you are grateful for, especially at a time of crisis. My list went like this: I am grateful that my son and mom are both alive. I am grateful that I have a speaking engagement and a chance to change people’s lives. I am grateful that I’ve been given the gift of humor – now let me use it!

Also, it helps to turn to a higher source. I remember sending out e-mail messages during those few days, asking everyone to pray for my loved ones. I personally prayed to God, Mother Mary and Jesus, then I spoke to a few loved ones who had already passed on. I also wrote to a priest, a rabbi and a Buddhist monk. I wanted no stone unturned! (Besides, I wasn’t sure who had the quickest connection.)


5. Find the humor and trust yourself. Now refocused, I stayed in the parking lot for 45 minutes before my speech and wrote jokes. I was a tad nervous. OK, who am I kidding? I was extremely nervous about whether the jokes would go over. I had to detach myself and think of the funny aspects common to all who have been in this situation. The truth is funny if you just look at it in the right light.

To verify the funny factor of my material, I called a comedian friend of mine, Janette Barber. She said, “Fran, trust me and trust yourself. It’s funny. Do as you always do. Make fun of the situation at hand, not the victim. Trust your heart – you’ll be fine.” She was right. Humor is a gift, and the best time to give a gift – whether to yourself or an audience – is when you truly need it. As long as it’s in good taste, people will laugh. People want to see the human element in a speaker, not just the polished speech.


6. Visualize using your previous successes. It was now 10 minutes until show time. I took some deep breaths, reminding myself that I had done this a million times before, and I visualized being fantastic onstage.


7. Once you are empowered, go onstage. I was as confident as I could be in the situation. As long as no one asked me about my mom and son, I knew I wouldn’t cry. I had one last decision to make: Should I be honest with the audience upfront?

I decided to begin with the truth. So I said, “You know, I sat in the parking lot for a few minutes – OK, 45 minutes – before I came in, writing some jokes for you people. You think I’m kidding…Nothing like a lot of preparation for a gig. But really, the reason I did that was that because my mom, as we speak, is in the hospital; she was just released from intensive care. I’d show you pictures but I know she’d get mad, because she doesn’t have any makeup on.

“But, really, she is in the hospital. Apparently, she had an incarcerated hernia, and, like all mothers, she was stubborn about going to the hospital:

‘Frannie, I’m too sick to go the hospital!’

‘Mom, do you hear yourself? That doesn’t make sense.’

‘Listen to me, the worst thing in the world is to go to bed sick and wake up dead.’

‘Wake up dead! Mom, people don’t wake up dead.’

‘Don’t correct me – I’m sick.’

“Anyway, she wound up going into emergency surgery. As she was lying there on the gurney, she held my hand and whispered, ‘Frannie, remember I love you all, and just in case anything happens, please get an autopsy, and don’t forget to turn off the hallways lights.’

‘Mom, I don’t think we should be worried about the electric bill at the moment.’

‘I don’t want to have to worry about it if I’m in heaven.’

‘I think God will give you a pass on that one.’

“The surgery took eight hours, but I knew she was better today because of two things: One, she told me her doctor was cute – he looked like Doctor Kildare, the TV hero from the ‘60s – and two, she complained that the nurses woke her up to give her a sleeping pill.”

I continued joking. The audience knew I was telling the truth and they were literally laughing ’til they cried. This material turned out to be perfect for my audience at the assisted living home.


Life Is Precious
I teased the one male doctor in the room. I teased the social workers and I teased the director of the facility. I asked them, “Come on, tell me the truth, aren’t there some patients you’d just like to smack?” They all smiled, but no one gave names. I talked about my son, and how I was playing race car driver going back and forth from hospital to hospital…Then I talked about how precious life was, how important their jobs were to the patients lying in those beds, and how important it is to put our hearts and souls into the careers we choose.

I ended my talk the way I always do – telling people to live with passion and laughter, and to go after their dreams.

Then I left them with one of my favorite sayings: “Remember to live every day as if it’s your last…and one day you’ll be right.” I paused and added, “And I’m lucky that today wasn’t that day for my mom or my son.” I got a standing ovation and lots of hugs.

People came up to me and said, “You did a brave thing telling jokes about your mom and son. You were emotionally drained but you gave us your full self (or “Full Fran” as Janette calls it) in your performance.”

I smiled. “I just did what I believe God put me on this Earth to do – motivate people and make them laugh. It’s easy to laugh when things are good; it’s hard to dig down inside yourself and find laughter when all you want to do is cry. But if you can find the power to laugh, you can find the power to heal…because in the end…laughter truly is the best medicine.”

May all your sorrows be framed in laughter and may you always find a way to give it to your audience.

Postscript:
My mom, Rose Capo, died February 6, 2008 – and, yes, I told funny stories of my mom’s life at the funeral. This article is in honor of her memory. Now, less than a year later, my sister has breast cancer. I continue to share the laughter with her.


Fran Capo is a New York-based comedian, professional speaker, actress, author, adventurer and four-time world record holder. Read more about her at www.justlaugh.org.

Step away from Self-Sabotage

Article from the Toastmaster magazine
http://www.toastmasters.org/ToastmastersMagazine/ToastmasterArchive/2009/January/Self-Sabotage.aspx

Do you ever want to start a project, then don’t? Have you ever said yes to a speaking engagement only to cancel later? Have you ever promised yourself that you wouldn’t engage in a bad habit and then found yourself doing it even more?

People who become involved in speechmaking often find themselves sabotaging their presentations. Whether it’s forgetting the name of the couple you are toasting, arriving late for a talk or accidentally leaving your PowerPoint file at home – you might be surprised to find that you are at the core of your own undoing.

It’s not only neophytes who encounter this problem; experienced speakers find themselves blocking potential victories as well.

“Essentially, self-sabotage is consciously or unconsciously blocking yourself from succeeding or accomplishing some task or project,” says Kevin Hogan, a psychologist and international speaker.

It’s a process that happens to everyone, he notes, but some have a more ingrained habit than others. Hogan has an audio program called “Lifestorms: Blasting through Self-Sabotage for Breakthrough Results” that addresses the issue in detail.

Much of our “mental programming” has to do with expectations that start early in life. What was expected of you as a child? As a teenager? As an adult? For example, Toastmaster Steph Scott, a young woman in her 30s, received a number of powerful messages from her parents. Her mother exerted pressure on her to be perfect, saying things like, “You brought up your C grades to B grades, which means you can then bring up your Bs to As.” Her mother also pushed her to become more popular.

Scott’s father, meanwhile, taught her to stifle emotions by shutting her down with statements like, “Was it that good?” or “It couldn’t be that bad.”

Imagine how hard it was for Scott to give her first Table Topics presentation when voices in the back of her head said “Get it right” but “Don’t be passionate about it.”

Hogan, the psychologist, says kids who have been driven too hard to excel are particularly vulnerable to undermining themselves as adults.

“Children who had demands of being perfect,” he says, “develop a perfectionism mindset where they never do anything in life, because they can’t be perfect at its accomplishment.”


Confidence Issues
Susan Guild, an experienced Toastmaster, grew up in an intellectual family. Her father and brother are lawyers. Advanced degrees were expected. She says her family and friends deeply affected her confidence.

“People frequently ask me about my education with questions like, ‘Are you working on your master’s or doctorate degree?’ My parents always valued intelligence backed up by scientific proof,” says Guild, a member of the Lexington Toastmasters in Lexington, Massachusetts.

As a result of these messages, it’s been difficult for her to trust her own intuition. “I see those old patterns as lint that is deeply matted through us,” she says.

Guild says one of the most common ways speakers sabotage their talks is when negative self-esteem gets the better of them. They believe others see them in the same light as they see themselves – and if that light is dim, it will be difficult to shine in front of a group.

At times she has tried too hard to win her listeners’ approval, Guild says. “The last speech I made, I decided to use lots of facts, because my Toastmasters group likes facts and numbers. But I lost my own individuality by attempting to do what I thought they liked. I realized that I was sabotaging myself by trying to please the club. It was like seeking others’ approval rather than giving respect to myself.”

Susan Coates, a Distinguished Toastmaster, says when she tries to copy someone else’s style, it gets in the way of her presentation. “Everyone has a different style and when they try to be someone else, it makes for a less effective presentation.”


Ways We Impede Our Success
Some people block their own success by putting off their preparation until the last minute. “I’ve been procrastinating to deliver my second speech,” says Manjunath Mavinakere, a member of Break Time Toastmasters in Houston, Texas. “It’s been a few months since I’ve given my Ice Breaker, and I have a lack of knowledge on the subject I want to speak about. Many times I feel I know the topic, but when I try to expand on it, it just goes way off board.”

Mavinakere feels that his procrastination stops him from succeeding at work as well. “The opportunities I miss to show my communication skills in front of people who are from different departments of the company stop me from moving ahead in my work.”

These are a few other ways that people undermine their own effectiveness:

• Not being willing to take risks
• Speaking too softly to be heard
• Doing just enough to get by
• Making excuses for poor performance by blaming things like illness or not having enough time to prepare adequately
• Allowing fears (like speech anxiety) to call the shots

The concept of self-fulfilling prophecy implies that if we expect something to happen in the future, then it will happen. For example, if you think you’re a lousy speaker or will do a poor job, you will find ways to bring those expectations to fruition. You’ll sabotage that speech. Perhaps you’ll keep dropping your materials and look foolish and disorganized, or you will find that your equipment isn’t working and that you could have prevented this situation if you had checked on the equipment earlier.

The opposite is true as well. If you expect to put on a dynamic presentation, you’ll achieve that outcome through positive actions, such as remembering to wear your power suit or doing vocal exercises the day of the talk.

This mirrors the “law of attraction” philosophy: that what we think about the most often, with the greatest intensity, will then take place. So if you focus on an appreciative audience or a standing ovation, you will have a more effective presentation than if you concentrate on sweaty palms or a sleepy audience. Speakers who focus on successful productions project more energy, confidence and enthusiasm.


Step Away From Sabotage
Many of us have approached speaking engagements as drudgery, as a serious and sobering business, a dreaded task. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Guild suggests you start picturing your presentations in a new light by asking yourself what could be fun or fulfilling about this project. She calls the process “going from the musts to the magic.”

She recommends changing focus from the risk of the task to its possible rewards, whether that involves gaining new clients, spreading the word about “going green” or receiving a burst of applause at the end of the speech.

“Still, the most important thing,” Guild says, “is to capture the essence of your message. Look in your heart to see why you want to give this speech. There you’ll find your magic.”


Judi Bailey is a writer in Lakewood, Ohio, and a frequent contributor to the Toastmaster. Reach her at author48@cox.net.




Block Out Damaging Behavior

Here are some helpful steps to avoid sabotaging yourself as a speaker:

• Develop awareness of how you sabotage yourself, especially in regards to giving talks. “Because self-sabotage is unconscious,” Dr. Hogan says, “no one is aware of it when they are actually engaging it. The benefit of being able to be in check is being in charge. When the unconscious mind is quelled, then the conscious mind can move forward and achieve.”
• Dig in Deeper. Og Mandino espoused this philosophy in his book The Greatest Salesman in the World. Allow your passion about the topic of your talk to drown out any attempts at self-sabotage.
• Accept your own style. Don’t try to be a Martin Luther King Jr. sound-alike or pattern your mannerisms after your favorite TV journalist. Be the best you that’s possible.
• Use affirmations. “Affirmations,” says Susan Guild, “have to be coupled with an inner belief.” In other words, you really have to believe what you’re saying. So if you don’t believe it when you say, “I’m a terrific speaker,” then find some other aspect of yourself that you can more realistically compliment, such as the sound of your voice or the ability to do excellent research. Then create a believable statement like “I do a terrific job researching material for my speeches.”
• Commit the benefits of public speaking to memory. This is a good principle to practice on the day of your speech. You can even write them down and keep the list in your pocket or purse as a reminder. They can include a greater sense of confidence, more career contacts and a chance to meet interesting people.
• Monitor your progress. Most behavioral experts agree that keeping track of your actions not only keeps you accountable to yourself, but gives you a running record of your progress. Pick up a notebook and begin to jot down the incidents of self-sabotage and the times you haven’t given in to the urge to jeopardize yourself.
• Create a personal reminder. Guild found a clever way to keep awareness alive: She bought a charm bracelet and two charms. One charm had “best” written on it; “friend” was inscribed on the other. “I also wear it to honor myself while I’m doing presentations. The bracelet is especially valuable whenever anyone in the audience has pushed my buttons.”
• Stick close to Toastmasters. Undoubtedly you have found that there’s no better place to obtain support than from other members. Don’t sell this short. Your club can help you to enjoy the process of becoming a better speaker.
  

Judi Bailey is a writer in Lakewood, Ohio, and a frequent contributor to this magazine. Reach her at author48@cox.net.

Manner of Speaking: That's Not My Voice – Is It?

Article from the Toastmaster magazine
http://www.toastmasters.org/ToastmastersMagazine/ToastmasterArchive/2009/February/Departments/Manner-of-Speaking.aspx

Manner of Speaking: That's Not My Voice – Is It?

The voice you hear is different from the one the audience hears.

By Nancy Sebastian Meyer, ATMB, CL


As a speaker, you need the best voice quality possible. But to get your voice sounding the best it can, first you have to know what it actually sounds like, right? And that can be difficult – because the voice you hear is different from the one the audience hears.

Just think about the first time you heard your voice captured on a tape recorder, computer or other electronic device. You shook your head in amazement and said to your friends, “You’re joking. That’s not my voice – is it?”

“Sure,” they replied. But you still could hardly believe the two sounds were one and the same.

Pretend to be one of my voice students for a moment and I will explain this simple, yet profound concept of listening to your voice. As a speaker (or singer), you hear something different from your listeners because of three basic factors that work together: Your inner ear hears your inner voice; your outer ear receives a distorted outer voice; and your sound waves vibrate the whole ear mechanism. The end result is that you hear a different voice than other people do.

Let’s break down this process, so that you’ll better understand how to make vocal adjustments as a speaker.


Factor One: Your inner ear hears your inner voice.
“It’s a surprise! Don’t listen,” Chris instructed Kelly as he began whispering birthday plans to her friend. Kelly put her fingers in her ears and made nonsensical sounds to keep from overhearing their conversation. In the process, she noticed that with her fingers in her ears, her voice sounded so much louder than usual. Why?

Your voice originates in about the middle of your neck. Initial sound waves are created as air passes through your vocal folds (cords) drawn tight across the trachea (windpipe). You can feel the flutter with your fingertips if they lightly rest on the “adam’s apple” area of your throat while you speak or sing.

This tiny vibration is then magnified in the voice box (upper throat). The waves continue to grow in magnitude as they resonate in the cavities of your head before coming out your nose and/or throat.

Thus, your internal voice is created and grows from inside your neck up through the nasal cavities where it reverberates. And because your inner ear – which contains the actual organ of hearing – is located so closely to your inner voice, only you can hear your internal voice. This is a unique sound your listeners will never experience. Now, let’s add the next factor.


Factor Two: Your outer ear catches the distorted outer voice.
The other day my husband and I took a short hike. Several times I had difficulty catching everything he said when he was ahead of me on a narrow, single-file section of the trail. Likewise, he would ask me to repeat things when I was in the lead. The leader’s voice projected forward, in the opposite direction of the follower. Listening was much easier when we stopped, turned toward each other and spoke face to face.

Our listeners’ ears catch and pull in the sound waves, channeling them into the inner ear canal. But you cannot directly hear your own voice. Your ears are behind your mouth, like I was behind my husband on the hike. You hear the result of your vocal sound waves traveling forward, hitting surfaces and bouncing back to you. On this return trip, these somewhat distorted waves are caught by your outer ear and moved along inside to your ear drum.

So your inner ear not only hears the initial interior voice but also the distorted, round-about exterior voice coming in through the outer ear passage. Michael Kelly, author of Understanding the Power of Your Voice, says: “You hear your voice in stereo (air and bone conduction) while other people just hear it in mono (air conduction).”


Factor Three: Your sound waves vibrate the whole ear mechanism.
The sum of the first two factors – inner voice and indirect outer voice – would be enough to explain why speaker and listener hear two different things. But this third factor, vibration, plays an even more significant role:

When I’m a guest teacher in a junior or senior high school music class, I love to ask the students to experiment with vibration: “Try shaking your head from side to side as rapidly as possible while you say ‘peanut butter and jelly.’” The students have fun – the resulting words feel silly and sound ridiculous! And this crazy illustration demonstrates what is going on inside your head. Sound waves being created in the neck and head of the speaker or singer are vibrations that literally shake up everything inside, including your inner ear mechanism.

Therefore, the inner voice and around-the-corner outer voice are further distorted because your head is vibrating.


Help! How Can I Hear My Real Voice?
So that explains the process of why you hear your own voice differently from your listeners. When you are trying to develop the best voice quality you can, I encourage you to observe and play with all three factors outlined above. You can experiment with listening to your inner voice. You can take under consideration the additional vibrations in your head. But most importantly, you want to tune your outer voice to an audience-friendly sound.

You can hear more of what everyone else hears by amplifying your real voice with one of the following methods.

• Record a short speech or piece of prose on an electronic device and play it back. The higher quality the microphone, the more accurate your recording will be.
• Extend your sound catchers – your ears! Cup a hand around each ear and draw your elbows together. As you speak, channel the sound up your arms and into your ears.
• Purchase two PVC elbows that fit together like a phone. Speak into one end while the other end is positioned around your ear. (Caution: The smooth, hard plastic conducts sounds so well, you can damage your ear drum by speaking or singing too loudly.)

With each of these methods, your initial goal is hearing the voice your listeners hear. Do you like it? First, get past the fact that it sounds different from what you normally hear. Then, ask yourself if this is how you wish to sound to other people. If you don’t like what you hear, you do have the power to change it with awareness, practice and time.


Get Used to Your Voice – or Change It
Should you decide you wish to modify your voice, the next step is playing with your sound. Re-record or use your sound catchers or PVC “phone” to help you listen to the changes until you have something you like. Then practice this new way of speaking until it becomes second nature. Another helpful option is hiring a trusted vocal coach who can give you professional feedback on your real voice.

Seldom should a voice be changed drastically. Often the speaker just needs time to get used to the idea that the listener hears something different. Remember, different can be Okay.

Is it important to know what your listeners hear? Think about your old high school teacher with the nasally voice or your hair stylist who sounds so breathy. These people probably give no thought to their sound. However, the speaker’s voice makes an impression on the listener.

Ask yourself these questions. Is what I have to tell people important enough to present it in the most appealing manner? Does my voice complement or distract from my message? How much am I willing to work on my voice to make it work for me?

Some day you might be a Toastmasters speech finalist whose recording gets passed around clubs all over the world. I say, “Go for it!” Maximize the impact of your unique voice.

Guitar

I learned to play the guitar when I was 19 years old. That was the time when I started courting my girlfriend, who is now my wife. The first song I learned to play is a classical song called Romance de Amore. It is a nice song and I mastered it in just a few days. It was not perfect but just enough to impress my wife.

But I am not writing this to boast about my guitar skills as there is nothing to boast anyway because I have forgotten everything I learned. What I want to share is what I learn from the guitar. It’s the concept of teamwork.

The sound we hear from the guitar actually comes from the vibration of the guitar strings. Most guitars have six strings, and each of the guitar strings must be at very precise frequency in order to produce a nice and harmony music. When someone plucking guitar strings, what happens is that the strings vibrate and that vibration creates energy. The energy vibrates the air inside the body of the guitar, which in turn produces sound. The sound is projected out of the guitar through a sound hole of the guitar. The quality of the sound is determined by the type of wood and the shape of the guitar body. What really controls the tension of the strings is the heads called the Headstock. It adjusts the tension of the strings, which in turn affects the frequency and pitch.

In summary, a guitar consists of three main components: (1) Body of the guitar that projects the sound, (2) Headstock that controls the strings, and (3) Neck of the guitar that support the strings which must be at very precise frequency and pitch.

The concept of teamwork is like the guitar. It is about a group of people working together

First, a team must have a body that is the people that constitute members of a team. Without the body, without the people, without members of the team, there is nothing to produce, there is no outcome to show, and there is no result to impress. It is like a guitar without the body.

Secondly, a team must have a leader who sets direction and makes sure everybody in the team are in the same tune. It is like the Headstock.

Finally, and most importantly, it is the people that make a difference. In order for a team to be effective, everybody in the team has important role to play no matter who they are, how junior or how senior they are, what role they have in the team, and what position they are holding in the team.Everybody is equally important and they must be in the same tune and play the same tune. To demonstrate this, If I play a melody with all the strings in the same tune, it will produce a nice and harmony music. If I tweak one of the strings a little so that the third string is out of tune from the rest of the strings, I will not get the same nice and harmony music.

The take away is that team work is like the guitar - a team must have a body, must have a leader but most importantly, it is the people that make a difference. Everybody has an important role to play, no matter who they are. For a team to be effective, everybody must be in the same frequency, same pitch and play the same tune. Nobody can be left behind and nobody can be left out.

To understand teamwork, just remember the Guitar!

~ Victor ~

Speech presented on Thurs 25 Feb