Maidenhead Speakers

Toastmaster Mireia Fontbernat offers some tips for making better use of G&T

No, it’s not the drink you should reach out for before an important speech. It stands for “Gadgets and Toastmasters”.

Technology is everywhere. And, all too often, we think that it has nothing to do with us and speaking. Many a presenter has been known to use gadgets as a distraction.

Propping it up
Granted, we need to get the basics right: we need to be able to provide a structure talk, with interesting content for the specific audience, and with the appropriate delivery techniques, such as body language, voice variation… Then we can include props.

Props must add value to our speech; they should act as prompts for us, reminders for the audience and support the structure of the presentation.

The next stage is technology. Gadgets are very tempting – from PowerPoint® to video, from bullet points to animations with sound – we should be able to enhance our presentations with these.

When all else fails
In addition to enhancing speeches, technology has another characteristic: it fails. Badly.

You should at least prepare three different speeches when you use gadgets or technology: one version with all technical aspects working fine, a second one for technology failing – at any point – mid-way (you may even have your own joke about it, but do not imply you cannot do the presentation without it), and a third one for those unfortunately not-so-rare cases when technology refuses to work before you even go on stage.

It is additional work, but if you have been through the experience just once, you will agree it is well worth the extra effort.

And unless it is very obvious, you don’t even need to tell your audience that your speech was intended to be different!

The sky’s the limit
There are enough guidelines and books about how to use technology in speeches, and we all need to find our own way to use them.

But – how about extending our reach? Why should we limit ourselves to using gadgets in our club speeches?

You can visit and participate in other clubs’ meetings, but you can also use technology to reach out to new audiences, try new media and enjoy the process.

Out of the comfort zone
Some technologies may feel very threatening already in the club atmosphere. It may be asking a bit too much to try these in the wild.

Here are the reasons why you should try:
1- You are experimenting with new areas, therefore learning
2- You can always remove things / keep them private
3- Ask your mentor if s/he would like to review this extra-curricular speeches

Take the G&T challenge
Don’t run for the drinks cabinet just yet… Take this little test first:

Which areas do you find most challenging? (Look at your past feedback slips)
a) Content and structure
b) Body language
c) Voice variation

Depending what you answered, pick a challenge from the list below to stretch yourself.
a) Content and structure

• Try using Tony Buzan’s incredible Mind-mapping software. You can download trial software for free.
• Blogging and more BloggingWhy not try writing an article about your next speech and blogging it on the MSC website.
• Take some PowerPoint® courses,then prepare a Powerpoint presentation for your next speech.

b) Body language

• Short videos: Post a short video of yourself.
• Live video streaming:  Share every-day life experiences with your friends and family, as they happen.

c) Voice variation

• Start phlogging (i.e. phone blogging)
• Create your own podcast (you don’t have to post it on the web!) – get your kit.

Good luck and don’t forget to reward yourself if the technology works. If the gadget fails, you can always have a real G&T anyway!

Full disclosure: The author has been commercially or financially involved with some of the companies and services mentioned above (namely, Microsoft and Qik).

There are countless videos out there on the topic of public speaking but for 40 minutes of fun and useful tips, this video of Daniel Wagner speaking at Trojan Speakers in Ealing is worth a look.

A visitor to our club this week asked what the content of the first 10 projects were. I referred him to the following links for further detail, and they may be useful to someone else asking the same question:

The overall programme is described here.

The first 10 projects are here. On the left hand menu, click on Speaking Projects.

Certificate Winners and Contest Organisers, Maidenhead Speakers Club Contest 14th September 2009. L-R, Amanda Bouch, Joyce Rhodes, Annie Harris, Jacqui Hogan, Ian Rees, Steve Catchick.

Experience counted on Monday night when past and current club presidents were the winners at Maidenhead Speakers Club annual Speaking contest at the Kidwells Centre. Open to all club members the contest is an opportunity for members to have their speaking skills judged with a prepared 5-7 minute humorous speech. More challenging is the Table –Topics contest where members stand up and speak for 2 minutes on a random topic given to them at the time.

Thirteen speeches were presented for judging by club members. Attendees heard speeches on subjects as varied as ageing Career Gurus, singing Ski Instructors and rainy Days Out in Henley. Gales of laughter greeted the winning Humorous speech from Ian Rees, current Club President, who warned us to stop digging into our ancestors’ behaviour lest we find something we are ashamed of!

The winner of the Table Topics contest was past club president Amanda Bouch who entertained us with a personal view on ‘Excluding love, what makes the world go around?”.

Joyce Rhodes was Contest Chair, Annie Harris was Chief Judge and Norman Rhodes, presented the certificates and trophies.

The winners will go forward to the Area contest being held in Windsor on Saturday 19^th September, when they will compete against other speakers who won their respective competition in other speaking clubs in the Thames Valley.

The other club winners are as follows:

Club                  Humorous Speech                                Table Topics

Marlow            Janet Rose                                             Steve Catchick

Windsor          Mark Billingham                                 Mark Billingham

Chiltern           Jacqui Hogan                                       Jim Moffat

The Area 21 Contest is at Windsor Speakers Club, Gardeners Hall, 213 St Leonards Road, Windsor SL4 3DR., on  Saturday 19 September – Doors open @ 11.15 am

Directions are on www.winspeak.org.uk

The winners of the Area will go through to the Division Contest, then potentially the District. The Division Contest is being held right on our own doorstep in Marlow.

DIVISION H FINAL

Marlow Orators     10 October     www.marloworators.org.uk note special venue Liston Hall Marlow 2.00 pm

DISTRICT 71 FINAL

York     13-15 November    www.whiteroseconference.org

Maidenhead Speakers Club meets on the 2^nd and 4^th Monday of the month at Kidwells Centre in Marlow Road. The Club’s purpose is toimprove your public speaking and presentation skills. No previous experience is required, just a desire to improve your public speaking. The next meeting is on the 28^th September at 7.30pm, when a special educational slot on “How to take the terror out of talking” is being presented. Why not come along as a guest? For more information see http://maidenheadspeakers.org.uk/ or contact club membership secretary Adrian Sutton at info@maidenheadspeakers.org.uk

From Liam Mifsud.

When I worked in a technical role in a telecommunications company my company once sent me on “voice training” course. I duly attended and learnt a lot about Erlang theory, 30 channel multiplexing and audio compression. Meanwhile my partner had endured (or enjoyed) my being away for a week on “voice training” and come Friday night was eagerly looking forward to hearing me speak more eloquently, coherently and confidently.

Sadly for her, my attempt to explain Erlang theory over a bottle of red wine proved that in fact the opposite of her expectation had occurred. ‘Voice training’ had meant one thing to one person and something else to another, totally dependent on context. Her expectation was based on her knowing me as a quietly spoken expert in my field who lacked confidence in public speaking – hence my joining Maidenhead Toastmasters many years later.

So how does this relate to achieving Competent Communicator? Well, when I finished my 10^th project, I considered telling the world via my CV, blog and website that I was now a….drum roll….Competent Communicator. Then my memory of the ‘voice training’ misunderstanding kicked in and the little voice in my head started up. “What do mean you are now a ‘Competent Communicator’??”, it said people would say, “Isn’t that what you learnt in the first 6 years of your life?”

At Toastmasters, CC is not only a significant achievement and the end of an enjoyable learning experience, but also a platform for the future. It raises your awareness of all those things we notice good public speakers doing week in week out and which make you think “Just how does she/he do that??” Finding out how much you have to learn can be a painful experiences. Along the way for me there have been ups and downs, times I’ve been elated and times I’ve considered giving up. But now at last it’s done and looking back over the 18 months it’s taken me, I can say that this is what I have learnt:

• How to stand up confidently in front of an audience and have my mind focused on my message and how it is being received so I can adapt accordingly
• The use of words and rhetoric in getting my message through effectively (and keeping the audience awake!)
• How to organise my thoughts into a strong opening, a structured body and a powerful conclusion, whether it’s a 40 second, 2 minute  or 1 hour speech
• The differences between speeches to inform, to entertain, to motivate or to persuade
• The importance of visual communication: your dress, stance, body language, gestures and eye contact with the audience
• How to use visual aids effectively whether PowerPoint, flipchart or just objects to display
• The impactful use of tone variation, amplitude, speaking rate and even more importantly : silence and pauses
• The huge improvements one can make by practicing using a mirror and a voice recording device

So did I know all this after the first 6 years of my life? Absolutely not, not even after the first 40, and I don’t even know it all now. But at least I’ve made progress and can see a future where I continue to improve these skills. Toastmasters provides a structured route through the Advanced Communication and Leadership projects to continue to stretch oneself and develop. But achieving CC is the first step, and now I’ve done that there’s a whole new set of speaking challenges to take on.

Getting to CC has been fun too. There have been low points, as well as high points, but in the true spirit of Toastmasters I think I’ve learnt just as much from both. Here are one of each.

The Pizza speech. Way ahead of the ‘using visual aids’ project I made a speech about home pizza making. Eschewing the use of pictures and diagrams I decided the best thing to do was to demonstrate with real ingredients and, to close, to produce from under the lectern a real pizza I had baked earlier that day. It worked a treat! I won my first Best Speech ribbon, although whether it was for the speech itself or just the quality of the home cooked pizza I will never know.

Shackleton speech. I decided to present the story of Shackleton’s epic Antarctic journey, in my view the greatest story of personal leadership ever. So much scope for dramatization – the cold, the icy wastes, ships sinking, crew despair, Shackleton leading from the front, the storms, the epic ice and sea journey, near death experiences around every corner, shipwrecks, struggle, joy, relief – the story has it all. Yet when I told it, the other speaker that night delivered a speech with so much more passion, enthusiasm, tone variation, gestures and flamboyance that you would have thought she was the one describing an epic. Her topic ? “A history of English desserts”. My lesson was clear: that feeling passionate about a topic is one thing, demonstrating it quite another.

Towards the end of my CC program I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to attend some professionally delivered presentation training that concentrated on use of the voice, breathing, projection and so on (all the stuff I should have done 20 years ago , see opening para to this article!). It made me conscious of the distinction between what such a course offers versus what Toastmasters does.

I would summarise it as:

• If you are preparing for a one off occasion in the near future where it is essential you speak well, and you have lots of money to spend –> go on a 2 day Extreme Presentation Skills course
• If you want to gain speaking skills that will last you a lifetime, develop confidence and the ability to communicate better in any situation, meet other people doing the same thing, and have more time than money – -> Toastmasters is for you

Of course, in an ideal world – do both!

One thing that is unique to Toastmasters is of course the supportive atmosphere within the club meetings. There is criticism but always constructively delivered and let’s face it – it’s only by getting that feedback that we learn from our mistakes. So my final thought on achieving CC is one of thanks to all the MSC members who give feedback so freely and generously at every meeting. Finally, thanks to them, I can, as my partner had expected me to all those years ago, speak to an audience eloquently, coherently and confidently.