“Forgot to breathe” is a common observation from Toastmasters who are doing a post-mortem about going blank and/or panicking during their speech. The answer is an on-going cycle of rehearsals and drills and “again, from the top” that put you in the moment when you go blank/panic. Then you can start to add “breathing, on … Read more
Toastmasters observation: sometimes peeps overspend on “planning” and underspend on “doing.” There’s no substitute for falling down and getting back up. Tonight’s (Sept 9th) public speaking demo takeaway when addressing what to do when you “go blank” during a presentation – and you’re very scientifically minded: Develop a methodology, a framework, and test different techniques … Read more
So cool that client had a videotape of their speech. Gives me a chance to rewind and rewatch. Very cool. My feedback: Font size: Consider doubling your font size (which means more pieces of paper). Voice projection: Consider sounding a bit louder. Eye contact: Good. Consider increasing the duration of eye contact with each Board member. Having … Read more
Had an AWESOME time answering audience member’s questions and hearing my fellow panelist’s insightful answers at the 2017 Toastmasters District 39 Fall Conference Speaking to Win: A Panel of Champions Educational Session. Panel speakers: Keerthi Karnati, Donnie Crandell, Jeffrey Purtee, Reid Walley, John DavisModerator: David GoadConference: Toastmasters 2017 District 39 Fall ConferenceEvent: Educational SessionLocation: Hard Rock Hotel … Read more
P2O Hot Pilates & Fitness co-founder Lindy Hobbs made a very smart business decision when she expanded her business: include public speaking & confidence training as part of her Pilates Instructor training curriculum. Lindy understood the power of Toastmasters‘s public speaking training and wanted to offer that confidence to her future Pilates Instructors. She contacted Capital … Read more
In a Toastmasters speech contest, you can disqualify yourself by going under-or-over-time! Toastmasters’ International (inspirational/motivational) speech contest allows you to speak for 5-7 minutes – with 30 seconds of leeway. IE: you’re technically good from 4-minutes-and-30-seconds to 7-minutes-and-30-seconds. But if you end your speech at 4:29 or 7:31, you’re disqualified. I’ve seen it happen to my … Read more
Has your favorite sports team ever lost? Losing is part of the game. All hail the game! I lost this weekend’s District 39 Toastmasters International speech contest at the District level (round 4 of 6). Didn’t even place. And when the top-three winner’s were announced, and I wasn’t one of them, I was immediately handed two options: 1. … Read more
One of my competitors at the 2017 Toastmasters Division-level International Speech Contest froze for an excruciating 45 seconds in front of everybody. Then they tried to regain their place, managed a few single-word restarts, but continued to sputter for another 15 seconds. What Would You Do If You Froze On Stage? Here’s what world-renown speaking … Read more