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Step 1: Show up In 2010, my first experience with attempting to get better at public speaking was a disaster. I was too scared to attend my first Toastmasters meeting, so half-way there I turned my car around and went back home! The next week I followed through and attended, even though opening the door…
Question: I got a good feeling from when I landed a good speech from the one class I took [in college]. But that had more to do with landing a [good] grade. I was a wreck before I had [to give my speech]. Kinda not worth it. Answer: Yeah, the pre-game used to be a…
Zoom is no substitute for standing in front of an audience and getting sweaty palms, butterflies, and feeling nervous. Meeting for Toastmasters over Zoom was always a last-ditch effort to keep the club going during the pandemic. I’m sure this was true to various degrees for all 15,000 clubs and 300,000 members worldwide. Our club…
Reid Walley – Public Speaking Demo – April 11, 2022 at Capital City Toastmasters in Sacramento, CA The difference between your left & right and your audience’s left & right. When you’re standing in front of an audience, heighten their experience by extending your left hand when you say something like, “On the right”. Match…
During this evening’s Toastmasters Zoom meeting I posed the following question: What is your biggest turn-off when watching / hearing someone speak via Zoom? Fantastic answers from Capital City Toastmasters #142 in Sacramento, CA Ring-light reflecting in speaker’s glasses/eyes Speaker shuffling papers Speaker’s head/face out of frame Speaker slurping beverage Speaker eating food Speaker smacking…
It’s hard enough maintaining good eye contact while you’re speaking to an audience. It’s 10 times harder after you’ve forgotten what you were going to say next. Places to practice making good eye contact: Cashiers at grocery stories, department stories, gas stations Baristas Wait-staff at restaurants Bartenders Table Topics section of a Toastmasters club meeting…
When I first joined Toastmasters in 2010, I thought I’d learn how to mentally force myself to have zero butterflies before getting up to speak. But that never happened. Speaking while nervous is how I got through the 10 prepared speeches in my Toastmasters Competent Communicator speaking manual.
The public part or the speaking part? The following Facebook comments from fellow Toastmasters provide a deeper insight than I imagined: Author W. Faye Portman: “Speaking [part]. Saying the wrong thing.” Linda Thompson: “Pubic part. I like talking.” Clark Pierce: “For me it’s the public part depending on the audience and topic. I gave a speech about failure…
The bigger your mistakes in Toastmasters, the less you’ll look ruffled in real life!
Each speech does not have to be perfect. You can mess up your next speech too. Your speaking path is an arc of fumbles that leads to self-confidence. When it comes to practicing public speaking in front of your Toastmasters club, feeling the feeling of feeling awkward is your goal. Flip the script on your…