Public Speaking Tip – The Best Toastmasters Advice I Ever Got
I used to cram as much information as possible into my Toastmasters speeches while still meeting the 5-7 minute time-limit. Which meant I had to speak really fast! And speaking fast is super tough, because speed kills. There’s no wiggle room for mistakes, forgotten lines, pauses or letting a phrase “sink in” with the audience. There’s also no room to build rapport with an audience when the entire speech is a jam-packed rushing-river of information.
The best public speaking tip I ever received was from my former Toastmasters Area Governor, Kevin Hrim, who said:
Reid, you were speaking so fast, cramming so much into your speech, that I couldn’t keep up with all of the information. I won’t remember any of it. Your speech would have been 10x better, and made more impact, if you cut out half of the content.
I didn’t believe Kevin at first, but I eventually followed his advice. And my audiences have been more positively impacted ever since!
Less is more.
Cutting your speech content in half means you’ll look like you know what you’re doing. You’ll come across as calm, composed and confident. Let your excitement speak for itself in bite-sized, memorable content. Don’t drown your audience with a fire-hose of information. Just use the sprinklers. You’ll have more positive impact!
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Work with me.
Hit me up if you’d like to look calm, composed and confident when you speak.
916-416-6404 or reid@reidwalley.com
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