6 june 2011

PresentationsTo Go

Best microphones for speakers

Speak andBe Heard

How to Muzzle the Yakker

Know anyone whotalks too much?

www.toastmasters.org Using Social Media to Build Strong Clubs

A review of apps for speakers’ mobile devices

®

June 2011

2 TOASTMASTER June 2011

V I E W P O I N T

� Recently, I’ve been reflecting on my leadership style. I want to look beyondany immediate, short-term successes. I want to understand how choices I makenow will impact the future. I want to know what my legacy will be.I ask myself: “What do I stand for? What do I really believe in?” One

question leads to another: “Am I living my life with purpose? How will I be remembered as a leader?” These are fascinating questions for leaders toask ourselves; they are also important because the answers determine ourlasting legacies. When we, as leaders, make the choice to turn dreams into realities, the

future fills with exciting opportunities. Big dreams stretch us and pull us forward while providing focus and meaning in our lives. Because ambitiousgoals are often outside our comfort zones, they challenge us to show agreater degree of creativity in order to reach them. When leaders take a stand on things that are crucial, such as ethics and

values, we influence and shape our own future as well as that of othersaround us. All decisions and interactions make an impact. Every moment –and with each movement – consciously or not, we leave something of ourselves behind. Is the legacy we are leaving, whether accidentally or purposely, something for which we want to be remembered?If we keep our eyes on the legacy we wish to leave, we can imagine

a fuller, brighter, more exciting future. If we live our legacy in everything we do in our Toastmasters, professional and personal lives, we choose howwe influence and shape others and their futures. There is no roadmap to guide us along the way, and therein lies the

excitement! We need to imagine the bigger picture and hold on to the vision and ideals of what can be – the vision that comes from our heart. We need to move forward, toward our vision, realizing our dreams and creating our legacy. It has been said that leadership is like trying to find a path in a field of

newly fallen snow. Once we walk across the field, we have discovered ourpath. Our legacies are discovered in much the same manner. We answer theimportant questions with each step forward.Now, I ask you to ask yourself: “What will my legacy be?”

PublisherEditorAssociate Editors

Editorial AssistantArt DirectorGraphic Designer

Daniel Rex

Suzanne Frey

Beth BlackPaul Sterman

Michelle Tyler

Susan Campbell

Deidre Gaffney

International President

International President-Elect

First Vice President

Second Vice President

Immediate Past President

Executive Director

Secretary-Treasurer

Pat Johnson, DTMVictoria, British Columbia, Canada

Michael R. Notaro, DTMAlameda, California

John Lau, DTMKuching, Malaysia

George Yen, DTMTaipei, Taiwan

Gary Schmidt, DTMClackamas, Oregon

Daniel RexMission Viejo, California

Sally Newell CohenMission Viejo, California

Emmy Hager, DTMEverett, Washington

ASSIGNED TO REGION 1

Ken Cawley, DTMStockton, California


Kevin Doyle, DTMHonolulu, Hawaii


Pamela McCown, DTMPasadena, Texas


Jacquie Schnider, DTMCalgary, Alberta, Canada


Ron Kirchgessner, DTMGreenwood, Indiana


Gina Cook, DTMKanata, Ontario, Canada


Heath Suddleson, DTMPotomac, Maryland


Pamela Christopher, DTMUnion Grove, North CarolinaASSIGNED TO REGION 8

David Hollingshead, DTMJacksonville, FloridaASSIGNED TO REGION 8

Susan Dalati, DTMManotick, Ontario, CanadaASSIGNED TO REGION 9

Roberta Perry, DTMLos Angeles, CaliforniaASSIGNED TO REGION 10

Theo Black, DTMWayzata, MinnesotaASSIGNED TO REGION 11

Mike Storkey, DTMAirlie Beach, Queensland, AustraliaASSIGNED TO REGION 12

Keith Ostergard, DTMBeijing, ChinaASSIGNED TO REGION 13

Christine TembliqueMeycauayan, DTMPhillipinesASSIGNED TO REGION 14

TOASTMASTER

The TOASTMASTER Magazine (ISSN 00408263) is published monthly byToastmasters International, Inc., 23182 Arroyo Vista, Rancho Santa Margarita,CA 92688, U.S.A. Periodicals postage paid at Mission Viejo, CA and additionalmailing office. POSTMASTER: Send address change to The TOASTMASTERMagazine, P.O. Box 9052, Mission Viejo, CA 92690, U.S.A.

Published to promote the ideas and goals of Toastmasters Inter national, anon profit educational organization of clubs throughout the world dedicatedto teaching skills in public speaking and leadership. Members’ subscriptionsare included in the $27 semi annual dues.

The official publication of Toastmasters International carries authorizednotices and articles regarding the activities and interests of the organization,but responsibility is not assumed for the opinions of the authors of other articles. The TOASTMASTER magazine does not endorse or guarantee the products it advertises.

Copyright 2011 Toastmasters International, Inc. All rights reserved.Repro duction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited.Not responsible for unsolicited material.

Toastmasters International, The TOASTMASTER, and the ToastmasterInter national Emblem are trademarks of Toastmasters International registeredin the United States, Canada and many other countries. Marca registrada enMexico. Printed in U.S.A.

Printed on Recycled Paper

TI OFFICERS AND DIRECTORSFounder Dr. Ralph C. Smedley (1878-1965)

2010-2011 OFFICERS

2010-2011 DIRECTORS

TOASTMASTERS INTERNATIONALP.O. Box 9052 • Mission Viejo, CA 92690 U.S.A.

(949) 858-8255 • Fax:(949) 858-1207Voicemail: (949) 835-1300

www.toastmasters.org/members

CONTACTING WORLD HEADQUARTERS

For information on joiningor building a club, visit: www.toastmasters.org

Article submission: [email protected]

Letters to the Editor: [email protected]

To change address,log in to: www.toastmasters.org/members

Pat Johnson, DTMInternational President

What’s YourLegacy?

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TOASTMASTER June 2011 3

A Toastmaster’s PromiseAs a member of Toastmasters International and my club, I promise . . .

� To attend club meetings regularly;� To prepare all of my speech and leadership projects to the best of my ability,

basing them on projects in the Competent Communication manual, AdvancedCommunication manuals or Competent Leadership manual;

� To prepare for and fulfill meeting assignments;� To provide fellow members with helpful, constructive evaluations;� To help the club maintain the positive, friendly environment necessary for all

members to learn and grow;� To serve my club as an officer when called upon to do so;� To treat my fellow club members and our guests with respect and courtesy;� To bring guests to club meetings so they can see the benefits Toastmasters

membership offers;� To adhere to the guidelines and rules for all Toastmasters educational and

recognition programs;� To maintain honest and highly ethical standards during the conduct of all

Toastmasters activities.

Presentations to Go! Pick up your iPad and leave your laptop at home. A review of mobile apps for speakers.By Dave Zielinski

PAGE 8

Speak and Be HeardWhat kinds of microphones are best for speakers?By Bill Stephens, ATM

PAGE 16

How to Muzzle the Yakker Strategies for stopping the serial interrupter – diplomatically.By Patrick Mott

PAGE 24

& 2 Viewpoint: What’s Your Legacy? By International President Pat Johnson, DTM

4 Postcards: The Traveling Toastmaster

5 My Turn: Can You Understand Me?How Toastmasters helped improve my skills in a foreign language – English! By Elsa Esquivel-Soto, ACG, ALB

6 Profile: From Glasnost to Russia Today Moscow Free Speakers club celebrates freedom of speech. By Denis Shevchuk

12 Toastmasters 2.0

How to leverage social media to build strong clubs. By Jack Vincent, CTM, CL

14 Technology’s Toll What do you give up when you punch that button? By Beth Black

20 Do Away with Document-Speak! Fill your presentation with personality and vivid language. By Douglas Kruger, ATMS

22 Looking at Language: Confessions of a Logophile How a word lover gathers new gems to enrich her writing. By Colleen Plimpton, ACB

27 Official Notice of Vote: Your 2011-2012 Officer and Director Candidates 28 Q&A with Tim Lee: From Science to Stand-Up Former biologist now works in comedy –

with PowerPoint as a stage tool.

30 Funny You Should Say That: So, Um, You Know, Here’s, Like, My Column, Ya Know? When words wander away. By John Cadley

ARTICLESDEPARTMENTS FEATURES

June 2011Volume 77, No. 6


POSTCARDS

Bruce Meaker of four clubs inEverett, Washington, visits theEiffel Tower in Paris, France.

Picture yourself here! Bring the Toastmaster magazine with you as you travel and pose with it in your exciting surroundings. Email the high-resolution image to [email protected]. Bon voyage!

Raghavan Nedium Veettil of Qatar Toast masters in Doha, Qatar, visits theSwayambunath Temple in Kathmandu, Nepal.

Marriam Khurram and Khurram Shahzadof Himalayan Toastmasters Club in SaudiArabia, visit the Arctic Circle in Sweden.

Bernie Kreiner of Evergreen Clubin Hinton, Alberta, Canada, treks theAnnapurna Circuit in Nepal.

3 Deborah Tepley-Ferguson of EffectiveCommunicators inCamp Hill, Penn -sylvania, travels tothe St. SophiaCathedral in Kiev,Ukraine.

DominiqueCarrasco ofRosemasters inToulouse, France,visits the PetrifiedDunes in the SaharaDesert in Tunisia.

John J. Glozek Jr.,of Huntington Club inHuntington, NewYork, visits the Valleyof the Temples inAgrigento, Sicily.

The Traveling Toastmaster

MY TURN

June 2011 TOASTMASTER 5

Can You Understand Me?During my experience with

the Training Committee, I gave asecond speech, titled “The Power of Six Sigma,” to the entire Researchand Development staff. At the endof the speech something extraordi-nary happened: Everybody stood upand applauded for me. It soundedlike bells to my ears.

And you know what? This time I did not cry. Instead, I was happyto be talking in front of all thoseemployees. Toastmasters broughtmany benefits to my life and mycareer. After four years of employ-ment, I was promoted to the posi-tion of quality control engineer.

The Next StepsI continued to give many morespeeches. Then in 2008, I decided toparticipate in a speech contest. I wasnervous, but I won second place inthe International Speech Contest forour division. Last year, I won firstplace in the division contest.

I currently serve as area governorfor the Southern Division in District 6.I earned my Advanced Commun -icator Gold and I am now workingtoward my DTM. I feel proud of beinga Toast master. This organization canchange the life of anyone who joins.Everyone has the potential to be suc-cessful and to become a great speakerand leader. If I can do it, you can too!

Elsa Esquivel-Soto, ACG, ALB, is amember of the Southern MinnesotaMentors in Rochester, Minnesota,and Tuesday With Toastmasters inAustin, Minnesota. Reach her at [email protected].

T

broken English. Ever since I was alittle girl, speaking in front of othersalways made me cry. I told myself,in that moment of delivering the IceBreaker, that I needed to have forti-tude and to just do it. Rememberingparts of my life still makes me cry,and the audience saw my pain. But it was good to get through it.

It Worked at WorkWhile working in the Research andDevelopment department at HormelFoods, I got involved in the compa-ny’s Training Committee. To informthe committee of what Research

and Development does, I gave aPowerPoint presentation. Afterward,committee members asked me togive the presentation to other com-pany employees. I thought, Me?They are crazy! Then I rememberedthat Toastmasters would help megive this presentation.

I read my first Toastmastersmanual and organized my pres -entation following these steps:Define the problem, explain theobjectives, give your conclusionsand make your recommendations.Then I did it! I gave the speech. I could not believe it – me, a second-language speaker, giving a presentation to the employees,thanks to Toastmasters.

How Toastmasters helpedimprove my skills in a foreignlanguage – English!

� As a native Spanish speaker livingin the United States, I knew it wasimportant for my career to be able to express myself correctly in English.But it was hard to find any help inlearning how to do this. Approx -imately six years ago I worked forHormel Foods Corp oration in Austin,Minnesota, and once during a perfor-mance review I asked my boss how I could improve my English skills. She recommended Toast masters.What’s that? And how could they help me speak better English?

I visited our company’s corporate club, Tuesday with

Toastmasters. At my first meeting I sat in a chair by the door. I wasunsure what to expect. The meet-ing started and I watched a speak-er named Eric Heneke. He was anextraordinary speaker. He showedso much confidence and talent ashe presented his speech that, inthat moment, I wished to be likehim. But how could I do it? Myfirst language was not English and my accent troubled me.

The breakthrough moment happened when I gave my firstspeech, the Ice Breaker. I could not think of a title, so I called it“The Ice Breaker.” I was so nervousmy stomach hurt. This nervousnesswas more of a challenge than my

“I could not believe it – me, a second-

language speaker, giving a presentation to

the employees, thanks to Toastmasters.”


PROFILE By Denis Shevchuk

From Glasnost to Russia Todaymeeting, and I wanted to make MFSa more interesting and joyful placeto visit and join,” says Kholodkova.

Noting that it is the sole English-language club in the country, shesays MFS needs to be the “bestexample of the Toastmasters com-munity in Russia.” Despite the club’ssuccess, Kholodkova has even high-er expectations for the future. “I amsure that this year will be more suc-cessful, and we will continue togrow higher and hopefully spreadwider in our country,” she says.

Speaking Freely Then and NowMoscow Free Speakers currently has45 members and is regularly full ofguests wishing to join or at leastcatch a glimpse of the life of theclub. The language of the meetingsis strictly English, so people fromdifferent countries and nations areable to participate and be a part ofthe community.

“In this club I make new friendsfrom different countries who speakthe same language – English!” saysmember Syahnaz Akhtar Mat Ali,who came to work in Moscow fromMalaysia. “Moscow Free Speakers isthe club that makes me feel at home,because of its friendly environment.”

Club members range in age from 20 to 80, in occupations fromstudents to business professionalsand scientists. And what talentedmembers we have! They don’t justrest on their laurels, but competeand even set the pace for theyounger members.

What is the first thing thatcomes to mind whensomeone mentions Russia

to you? I bet it is something like“Perestroika,” “domed buildings cov-ered with snow” or colorful nestingdolls. While all of those things exist inmy country, there is also another truth:Toastmasters in Russia! Picture a groupof positive, goal-oriented people hold-ing bi-weekly meetings all year round,speaking English to each other, pre-senting high-quality speeches and men-toring each other. I belong to the onlyEnglish-speaking Toast masters club inthe biggest country in the world.

Long, Long AgoLet’s travel back to the stormyMoscow of the late 1980s to seehow this story started. You mightremember that the period from thelate ’80s to the early ’90s were yearsof great change in the world. TheIron Curtain that kept capitalist andcommunist camps apart was gradu-ally lifting; for Russia it was a full-scale revolution.

In the middle of these uncertaintimes, in a country thatwas brimming withenergy and ideas,three Toast mastersclub “babies” wereborn. RobertMeyerson, anAmerican, fatheredtwo of the clubs,including the veryfirst one, which wasstarted in one of the

most open-minded universities inthe country, at Lomonosov MoscowState University. One of the clubmembers was Gennady Gerasimov,Mikhail Gorbachev’s foreign ministryspokesman; he helped start the second “child” at another university,the Moscow State Institute of Inter -national Relations (MGIMO).

And Then There Was OneThe chaotic Moscow of the early ’90sproved challenging for Toastmasters,and only one club managed to survive– the youngest one. Its name was justthe right fit for the times: MoscowFree Speakers (MFS). Meyerson says,“There was not yet freedom of speechin Russia, but I was giving the clubmembers back then a goal to aim forand a title that would remind eachmember of that goal, no matter howdifficult or how far away it seemed.”

For 15 years, the only survivingToastmasters club in Russia took itstime to develop and grow. In the pastfew years, our club’s more noticeableincrease in size has been marked bythe awards it has received: MFS was aSelect Distinguished club in 2007-2008and earned President’s Distinguishedstatus in 2009-2010.

The club’s 2009-2010president, Valeria

Kholodkova, hasbeen one of themost importantcontributors toits success. “Iloved the clubfrom the first

Moscow Free Speakers clubcelebrates freedom of speech.


Moscow Free Speakers, the only English-speakingToastmasters club in Russia, earned President’sDistinguished status in 2009-2010.

“I was amazed to see rathersenior people being so involved,active and creative in their presenta-tions,” says Dmitry Chebotarevsky,an active new member. “The more I attended club meetings, the biggermy respect grew for those experi-enced members; for their dedica-tion, open-mindedness and energy.”

An excellent example isProfessor Henry Norman, who hasbeen a club member since 1994.Norman knew from the start thatthe Moscow Free Speakers wouldhelp him – including boosting hiscareer in science. “My impressionwas definitely favorable. I under-stood and appreciated the club’slearn-by-doing system,” he says. “Iimproved my public speaking skillsremarkably and applied them at sci-entific conferences, meetings, nego-tiations and banquets. My speakingskills in private communicationsbecame much better as well. Mywriting skills became better too.”

Norman didn’t stop at developinghimself; he also shares his experiencewith the young scientists of his team.“My public speaking skills help me toincrease both my income and theincome of my young collaborators,”he says. “I do my best to increasetheir public speaking skills in bothEnglish and Russian.”

that is not the only thing thatattracts people to the club. It’s alsoabout how people feel about them-selves and how they are treated.“I’m in the place where I want tobe, where I can express myself,”says Maxim Tsvetov, one of themost active young club members.

Now, in 2011, adjusting to thepace of Moscow life, our club hasquickly become known as a vibrantand dynamic place with a highly

positive atmosphere and an irre-sistible desire to grow within thecountry. And I am happy to tellyou, fellow Toastmasters, that evenin snowy Russia you will alwaysfind a warm place to come, speakand feel at home.

Denis Shevchuk is a member of MoscowFree Speakers Club in Moscow, Russia(moscowfreespeakers.ru). He canbe reached at [email protected].

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Another distinguished club mem-ber is Alla Oganova, who joinedToastmasters in 1998. Oganova is anEnglish teacher at one of the LawInstitutes in Moscow, and she usesher Toastmasters experience in herprofessional life.

Club Benefits ContinueTo benefit from the club, you don’thave to be a member for a longtime. Oleg Petrov, a new member

and a project manager in informa-tion technology and telecommunica-tions, found that being active in theclub helped him “arrange and cleanup not only my speech, but also mymind when taking part in businessand private meetings, especiallywithin a large group of people.Moreover, our Toastmasters projectshelp to improve another crucial skill– time management.”

Members gain a broad set of use-ful skills and ideas for work, but

“Moscow Free Speakers currently has

45 members and is regularly full of guests

wishing to join or at least catch a glimpse of

the life of the club.”


By Dave Zielinski

PresentationsTO GO!

Pack up your iPad and leave your laptop at home.


A bevy of such programs has already been built tohelp speakers on the go. With these apps, a speaker can design, edit, rehearse or deliver speeches andPowerPoint presentations using their mobile devices.Given their low cost and appealing features, thesedevices just may convince you to leave your laptop athome for your next speech or business trip. Here aresome of the most useful or intriguing of the apps.

Create, Edit or View Presentation VisualsPresent Pad

Anyone who has given a presentation tosales prospects or senior leaders knowsthey rarely go as planned, and Present Padis a software application designed to helpyou adapt to changing speaking circum-

stances. This app allows you to give presentations in a nonlinear fashion, and puts additional details at your fingertips to answer tough or unexpected audience questions.

Present Pad displays presentation slides in a flexiblegrid so you can present them in whatever order the situation calls for, which enables you to quickly jumpbetween different parts of a presentation. You can layout your main presentation slides horizontally within the app, and then add detail or backup slides vertically,eliminating the need to force in backup slides at the end of a slide deck.

Present Pad makes it easy to navigate from theslide you are on to any of the four surrounding slidesbased on audience needs or questions.

Creating a new presentation in Present Pad is assimple as using your favorite design software (such as PowerPoint or Keynote), saving your presentationas a PDF, then importing it to Present Pad via email oriTunes. When the presentation is finished and you’respeaking to a small group, use the full-screen view topresent it right on an iPad. If you’re presenting to alarger audience, connect the iPad to a projector andcontrol the presentation using the presenter display.

Present Pad, from developer Scotty Allen, is availablefor $4.99 and can be found in the business category ofthe iTunes application store, itunes.com.

SlideRocketSlideRocket is one of a growing number ofonline alternatives to Microsoft PowerPoint.Available as a software-as-a-service (SaaS) optionon the Internet, it is presentation design software

you can rent on a “pay as you go” basis: Pay amonthly subscription fee for access to the software.

SlideRocket enables you to create presentation slidesusing your own materials or by a diversity of contentfound in an online marketplace, including Googlespreadsheets, photos, illustrations, video clips, Twitterand more. You also can import existing PowerPointslides into SlideRocket.

After you create a presentation in SlideRocket, youcan publish it to a website, attach it to a blog post, or even share it in a Web conference with customers or colleagues. Toastmasters using SlideRocket for busi-ness purposes will find another attractive feature: Thesoftware enables you to track vital statistics regardingyour slide show. You’ll know who viewed a presenta-tion – and where – on the Web, how much time eachviewer spent on a particular slide and the actions theytook after viewing the presentation, such as clickingthrough or forwarding it to others.

For more information about SlideRocket, visit sliderocket.com.

Keynote Presentation Design SoftwareApple developed Keynote presentation designsoftware as an alternative to Microsoft Power -Point for use on desktops and laptops. NowApple presents a Keynote app designed specif-ically to create presentations using an iPad.

With a tap or drag of your finger on the iPad touchscreen, you can use Keynote to create or edit presenta-tion slides. The application’s document manager servesas a master organizer, enabling you to scroll throughalready created slides, tap to open a slide, add newones, and delete or reorganize them. There are a num-ber of Apple-designed, themed templates to choose fromto launch your presentation design, and a Magic Movefeature allows you a subtle method of animating yourimages by moving each from an initial position on oneslide to different positions on subsequent slides.

Whether an iPhone, iPad, Blackberry or Android smartphone,

mobile devices have become the business communication tool

of choice for many Toastmasters around the globe. As these devices have

become ubiquitous, the quantity and diversity of software applications –

or apps – designed for their use has mushroomed. Apps created for

speaking and presentation scenarios are no exception.


Using Keynote’s media browser, speakers can addtables, charts, photos or video clips from a stored libraryfor business presentations. Creating regular slide anima-tions is also relatively painless, since the app does muchof the work for you. There also are ample on-screenguides to help you design slides.

When finished with a presentation, you can projectyour slides to small audiences directly from the iPad’sfull-screen view by tapping to play and “swiping” tomove forward or backward in the presentation. For presentations to larger audiences, an optional adapter is available to connect the iPad to a monitor, LCD dis-play or TV in a conference room, with speakers viewingslides from the presenter display.

Some speakers find Keynote for iPad best suited toone-on-one presentations, where they can import andproject presentations built earlier in PowerPoint. The

only drawback to this app has been solved with newerversions of the iPad, and the addition of a built-in USBport. In the first generation of iPads, the missing port –that would be available for a remote control – has madeit difficult to advance slides remotely, meaning speakershave to place the iPad on a podium and stand behind itto deliver a speech.

The Keynote for iPad app is $9.99 and can be foundin the business category of the iTunes application storeat itunes.com.

Documents to GoDid you forget your laptop at home but stillneed to edit or view an important PowerPoint or Keynote presentation? Documents to Go is amobile app that enables you to open – and with

some versions, edit – your presentations on a smartphoneor tablet. Even if you’re not a fan of using the smaller key-boards on smartphones, it’s typically not a big headache ifyou only need to make last-minute tweaks or changes topresentations, add speaking notes or rearrange slides. Youmight even start creating a new presentation, then completeit when you get home to your laptop or desktop.

The native support feature of Documents to Gomeans you’ll be able to open files regardless of how you transported them to your mobile unit, be it email,Bluetooth or a media card. The app also ensures that file formatting will be retained once you’ve edited aPowerPoint file and forwarded it to someone else.

The application is compatible with Apple, Blackberry,Palm and Android devices. The standard edition costs$9.99 and enables you to open and view PowerPointfiles, but only the premium version, priced at the slightlyhigher $14.99, enables you to edit and modify slides.

For more information about Documents to Go, visit thewebsite of software developer Dataviz at dataviz.com.

ThinkFree Office Mobile for Android PhonesThinkFree Office Mobile, from the ThinkFree OfficeCorporation, is an application designed to enhance the use of Microsoft Office documents on Androidsmartphones. For speakers, the biggest benefit is thatThinkFree allows you to view, edit or create MicrosoftPowerPoint files on a mobile device.

ThinkFree supports all the document forms ofMicrosoft Office 2003 and 2007, but with the addedbonus of operating in web browsers (Java RuntimeEnvironment should be installed on your computer for optimum performance), and thus it can be used by Mac and Linux systems as well as Windows.

Presenters can view, edit and manage PowerPointdocuments saved in My Office, for example, and uploadpresentations created on a mobile phone to My Office,as well as easily share presentations with others.

A review in PC World magazine gave strong marks to the application’s PowerPoint-editing feature. Thereviewer found it easy to create a PowerPoint presenta-tion with images and bullet points, and concluded thatthe app worked well in OpenOffice and Google docs.“This is one of the very few mobile apps that can makea PowerPoint file with images, so kudos to ThinkFree for that,” wrote reviewer Brent Hopkins.

For more information about ThinkFree Office Mobile,visit thinkfree.com.

Teleprompter Software ApplicationsSpeakers around the globe are increasingly making their mobile devices serve double duty as teleprompters,using their screens to read from scrolling, enlarged fontscripts for speeches, corporate videos, podcasts andmuch more. Here’s a sampling of software appsdesigned to facilitate such use.

“Speakers around the globe are

increasingly making their mobile

devices serve double duty

as teleprompters.”


Prompster Prompster is a teleprompter application thatallows speakers to project and scroll text oniPads or other mobile devices. A product ofapplication developer Dante Varnado Moore,

Prompster is designed to help users practice anddeliver public speeches, lectures and sermons, and to narrate corporate videos.Prompster has two modes: Edit mode for writing

speech scripts and Prompt mode for speaking. In Editmode, speakers can write and edit documents or importtext documents from popular word processors likeMicrosoft Word. Users can also copy and paste content from email or from any application on asmartphone that contains text. This app allows you to scroll speech text at variable

speeds on your mobile device screen, adjust the fontsizes on the fly and “tap” your screen to start andpause scrolling text at anytime, all while trackingelapsed speaking time. Prompster has recently addedan audio recording feature that enables you to listento and critique your speaking style using a mobiledevice’s built-in microphone.Prompster costs $9.99 and is available for iPhone,

iPad and Android phones. For more information, visitdantemoore.com or look for Prompster in the iTunesapp store in the business category at itunes.com.

ProPrompter The ProPromter app, from well-known telepromptermanufacturer Bodelin Technologies, enables you touse your iPad, iPhone or iPod touchscreen to readtext for corporate video, speeches, presentations orvideo podcasting.Speakers can create their scripts directly in the app,

or paste a script in an email and send it to themselves.Key software features include remote scroll control,allowing speakers to touch another iPad, iPhone or iPod to control the text scroll speed and re-cue forwardor backward in a script projecting on another mobiledevice. Speakers can also use asterisks to set cue pointsin scripts and jump to the exact spot in the speech thatyou need. This software supports the use of internationallanguage characters like Chinese, Japanese, Russian andmore. Finally, an all-caps option helps your copy standout better for easier reading. ProPrompter costs $9.99. For more information or to

watch a short video of how the application works in action,go to apps.bodelin.com/proprompter/producer/.

SpeechPrompterRemove the stress from speechmaking with SpeechPrompter,another teleprompter app for mobile devices. Speech -Prompter allows you to create and edit speeches and thenset a preferred font size, style and color to play the text foreasiest viewing while speaking. You also can load text intothe app from an existing speech.A finger swipe on your screen controls scrolling

speed of text, and a timer helps speakers watch theclock. Like other apps mentioned here, users can alsoset cue points in SpeechPrompter, enabling them tojump to particular sections of script with a couple quickfinger taps. For more information on Speech Prompter,go to gwhqproductions.com/snpeechprompteror visit the business category of itunes.com, whereSpeechPrompter is available for $7.99.

Dictation ApplicationsDragon Dictation

For Toastmasters who prefer to use their voice rather than typing out ideas or notes for upcoming speeches on the small key-boards of their smartphones, Dragon Dictation

voice recognition software for the iPhone and iPad is anattractive option. Dragon Dictation is a product of Nuance Communications,

creator of the popular software program Dragon NaturallySpeaking. It translates your spoken words into text, andhas a reputation as the most accurate voice-to-text translatoron the market. Nuance claims the voice-driven app creates text five times faster than typing.The iPad version of Dragon Dictation quickly saves

dictated text, which can be viewed and managed at alater time. It also has a “Notes” feature that lets usersspeak and then save drafts of speech-related docu-ments, emails, to-do lists and more. Voice recordingsare currently limited to 30 seconds in length on theiPhone, and 60 seconds on the iPad, so you will haveto record thoughts in small segments, one after theother. Dragon Dictation 2.0 also features multilingualcapabilities, giving you the option to switch amongvarious languages.The Dragon app remains free for a limited time

from itunes.com. To learn more, visit dragonmobileapps.com.

Dave Zielinski is a freelance writer and frequent contribu-tor to the Toastmaster.

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Photo of Chris Brogan courtesy of KGS Global.12 TOASTMASTER June 2011

requires focus,” she says. “It’s a matter of doing a few of the rightthings, and then integrating small dosesof social media into your daily life.”

Kremin, a Toastmaster since 2005,runs KGS (Knowledge Goes Social),which organizes business conferencesand events. She uses social mediaextensively in her business. In fact,KGS (kgsglobal.com) hostedBrogan at the Berlin con ference,“B2B Marketing Europe,” where we caught up with him.

Not surprisingly, the conferencewas among the top Europeanevents trending that week onTwitter, the micro-blogging plat-form. From this, another informalevent took root at a Berlin socialvenue that attracted nearly 100 tech-savvy Berliners, all through tweets,blog posts and mobile messaging.

Making Social Media Pay Off in ToastmastersSo how can Toastmasters clubs reapthe greatest return on invested effort

The social media landscapeevolves so rapidly that evenmarketers of major brands

struggle to harness its true power.As Toastmasters clubs embrace

social media to engage with mem-bers and potential members, theyface the same challenges as large corporations, but have more difficultyovercoming them because they havefar fewer resources. Chris Brogan,expert of social media and Webentrepreneurship, best-selling co-authorof Trust Agents and popular bloggerat chrisbrogan.com, recently spokewith the Toastmaster magazine abouttaking full advantage of your club’ssocial media efforts.

“Many organizations jump intosocial media with both feet but withno real strategy,” says Brogan. “In theprocess, they waste precious resourcesand don’t get the full benefit.”

Irina Kremin, a member of Toast -masters of the Hague in The Nether -lands, echoes Brogan. “Getting themost out of any social media initiative

from social media? How can clubsdo the right things and do themwell, in terms of generating publici-ty and attracting new members?

Brogan stresses the importance ofsetting clear and reasonable objectivesfrom the outset. Broad statements ofgoals can be inspiring, he says, but a statement such as “Build the imageof our club, while attracting guestsand engaging existing members” isnot enough to keep key officers andcontributing members focused.

So in addition to following the club mission statement, a clubshould set measurable goals that are time-bound.

For example:By June 1 of next year, our club’ssocial media activity will focus on:

� Persuading two or more localjournalists to write about the cluband its members.

� Attracting 20 first-time guests tothe club as visitors.

Toastmasters 2.0By Jack Vincent, CTM, CL

How to leverage social mediato build strong clubs.

Chris Brogan


� Enabling 10 members to providecontent or photos for the club blog.

Such goals will help club officersand contributors prioritize their efforts. It may be worthwhile to set up

a blog, a Facebook fan page and a Twitter account. “But doing sowithout a clear strategy,” Brogansays, “is like creating icebergs.”Icebergs drift independently in thehigh seas, with no cohesive link to other icebergs or the mainland.Twitter, for example, can be

incredibly powerful. But tweetingonly with the purpose of promotingthe club may not help you achieveyour objectives and, therefore, candrain your club of precious resources– your time! It’s vital, therefore, tocreate synergies among your club’sdifferent “online assets” so that thewhole becomes greater than the sumof its parts. Here is how:

Keep Your Strategies SimpleBrogan is more than a social mediaguru. He’s a strategic advisor andthe best strategies are simple. Fororganizations such as Toastmastersclubs, Brogan recommends a “HomeBase and Outpost Strategy” inwhich one of your online assets – (Continued on page 19)

By Jack Vincent

1. Establish simple but clear goals and objectives.� Write specific objectives that are time-bound

and measurable.

2. Outline which online assets your club wishes to manage.� List the online assets you could manage, then

create a smaller list of the ones you can startmanaging over the next two weeks.

3. Determine your Home Base.� In most cases, this will be your website or blog.

4. Establish your Outposts. Clubs should consider:� A blog. This is where your personality comes

through.

Social Media Tool Kit for Toastmasters Clubs� Facebook fan page. Whatever opinion you have

of Facebook, many people are socializing there.

� Twitter. You can follow many conversations on Twitter, and if your topic gets hot, it canbecome red hot and your message will spreadlike wildfire.

� YouTube/Vimeo/Etc. Open a video account in theclub’s name, and cite the club’s Home Base URL.

� Flickr/Kodak/Etc. These are similar to videosites, but don’t underestimate the power ofphotos.

5. Stay positive.� Blogs and tweets usually receive the most

comments when they’re positive.

perhaps your website or your blog –is chosen as your foundation, yourhub . . . your home base. All yourother assets – perhaps your photopage, video page or Twitter profile– should be considered satellites, as outposts that capture attention,engage visitors and drive trafficback to your home base.Here are a few simple considera-

tions to help you with this strategy:

Determine Your Home BaseThis should be your website.� This is where you want to directmost users, especially potentialguests, once you “capture” them.

� This should be the platform whereyou are most likely to secure afirst commitment in the “newmember acquisition process” –e.g., where visitors are most likelyto confirm their attendance for anupcoming meeting.

Design Your Outposts� First and foremost, these assetsshould be designed to captureattention and engage yourcommunity.

� They should then encourage visi-tors and members to link to the

home base for more information,such as club meeting location,time and agenda. Or they mightlink to another exciting platform,which then links to the HomeBase. For example, a Twitter postmight mention a video and link toit. Yet the video itself should referto the home base/website, with alink back to it, and the Twitterprofile should link to it, as well.

� Outposts must be exciting andengaging. They should establish“social proof,” or credibility andattractiveness to your targetaudience.

Establish Social ProofSocial proof is similar to “street credi-bility.” It means making people wantwhat you have. To grasp the concept,imagine that you and a few friendsenter a restaurant along a city side-walk on a Thursday evening, andyou’re a bit early. A savvy restaurateurwill seat you in the window to showpassers-by that the restaurant is busy.Similarly, night clubs purposely

make patrons wait at the door. Theline sends a message that the clubis in high demand, that it’s trendy.


By Beth Black

Technology’s Toll� The element of surprise. When a

couple has been married a longtime, it’s not easy to surpriseyour spouse with a gift, a tokenthat says, “I love you. I thoughtabout you today, even thoughwe were apart for awhile.” It’sthis kind of moment that keepsspouses smiling at each other.

� Focus on the here and now. Whileon the phone, I overheard myfriend Cindy getting an update onthe kids’ behavior, the neighbor’santics and the situation with abroken dishwasher. Some of thehard-earned rest and respite shewas trying to find by driving forhours to this mountain retreatwere instantly buried by a barrageof everyday problems. It took abrisk walk outside and a veryunusual jewelry counter in thenext store to help her lay all thataside ... once more.

� A chance to miss each other. In a happy marriage, it’s great tocome home to your lovingspouse. At times, it’s also great tospend a few extra hours missingthat person and looking forward,like the old days, to seeing your

“For a list of all the ways

technology has failed to

improve the quality of life,

please press three.” – Alice Kahn

Afew weekends ago, I enjoyeda mini-vacation with my friendCindy in the rustic town of

Julian, northeast of San Diego,California. We spent the day shoppingand at one point, Cindy came across aselection of men’s shirts. Without hesi-tating, she pulled her cell phone outof her purse and dialed her husband.When he answered, she filled him inon the choice of styles, asking whichhe’d prefer. It gave him the chance todecline the gift. Within a few minutes,we found ourselves in another storesurveying different merchandise – theshirts all but forgotten. It occurred tome later that Cindy never realized theopportunities that were crushed byusing the phone in her purse.

Once upon a time, personalcommunication devices – cellphones – were the stuff of the1960s television show, Star Trek. In this show, some dramatic ironywas presented in every episode,

often exploring the balance betweenour humanity and technology. Ofcourse, in real life, personal commu-nication devices are now taken forgranted and it seems we’ve zoomedpast those philosophical questions atthe speed of light.

So what did Cindy trade for theexpedience of contacting her hus-band? Plenty, according to mem-bers of Heart2Heart Toastmasters,a specialty club for couples locat-ed in Oakland, California. “Ourclub is all about the nuances ofcommunication when one is in a relation ship. That landscape isfraught with problems, misunder-standings and innuendo,” saysKeith Patterson, DTM, of theHeart2Heart club. “It takes a special skill set to navigate thosewaters and successfully communi-cate within a relationship whereyour heart is deeply involved.”While technology may help insome ways, we have lost some ofthe benefits of old-style communi-cation. A vital part of our sharedhuman experience is fading fastinto the recesses of history.

There are a few advantages of simpler times that may not becoming back:

What do you give up when you punch that button?


To help you get back into the “real world” habit, trythis easy exercise: Turn your cell phone off for oneday. To be safe, let family members and friends knowhow to contact you in an emergency. If a day is too long,try it for an hour. Now stash this little machine some-place safe. Then go out into the world and really lookaround as you walk down the street.

Force yourself to shake your cell-phone withdrawalsymptoms by paying more attention to your surround-ings. Try to interact more. Are flowers blooming inyour local park? Take a moment to enjoy them. Greet people you meet and smile at the other people in

line when you buy lunch. Make friendly chitchat withpeople, and try to appreciate something great aboutthe strangers who fill your world. Does it inspire youto write a poem? Paint a picture? Or sing a song?Great! You’ve just reconnected with the human race.

And if you miss the camera functions on your cell phone, even better – because now you’ve found a new reason to embrace technology. Perhaps now you can learn how to bring the virtual and realworlds together in a way that maximizes them both.Meanwhile, be sure to make the most of this littlebreak from your gadgets.

beloved in the future. Whenyou’re in constant communica-tion, you never have this oppor-tunity to stand back and reflecton what you have.

� Bringing personal to the inter -per sonal. Some conversations andmoments are best enjoyed in per-son. A teenager can learn from amentor, a husband can gaze intohis wife’s eyes and a boss can com-mend an employee’s performance –these things are all best done inperson. While electronic substitu-tions exist for just about everything,nothing quite comforts a cryingchild like a hug from Mom or Dad.

What This Means to YouThere’s no denying that cell phonesare a boon to communication. Inemergencies, we can dial for helpwithin seconds. Business executivesare never far from the office thanksto the instant communication avail-able via cell technology. Teenagerscan call home and let worried par-ents know their whereabouts. Andthis just pertains to the speaking or texting part of mobile phones;never mind the slew of applications(“apps”) and other technologiesnow available in pocket-size pads.

A balance is necessary, however,for all these benefits to mean any-thing. Sales and marketing profes-sionals have always understood the

electronics with a personal con nec-tion when reaching out to his customers. “I do use the electronictools of the trade but there is nosubstitute, in my mind, for face-to-face or personal communications,”he says. “Most of my sales are of a technical nature, which takes timeto personally explain and to gainthe confidence of my customers.”

Similarly, it may take some time toexplain all the benefits and activitiesof Toastmasters membership. When -ever possible, sitting with a guest (oreven a prospective guest) for a fewminutes – chatting cordially about theclub experience – may make enoughdifference to attract a shy newcomer.What’s more, talking face-to-face willgive you the opportunity to get toknow this person and perhaps start a new friendship.

But don’t throw away your cellphone, laptop, desktop, touchscreen,e-reader or electric toothbrush just yet.Each one of those machines glorifieshuman ingenuity. Bear in mind thatthey can be distractions or, worseyet, replacements for a handshake, a hug or a smile. With any luck, youhave both kinds of communicationwithin reach. Take advantage of themboth and you’re sure to find realpower and connectivity in your life.

Beth Black is an associate editor ofthe Toastmaster magazine. Contacther at [email protected].

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value of human contact. “Credibility,trust, transparency – and all theother stuff that shows who we really are and helps to influenceothers – naturally flourishes in the‘analog’ world of face-to-face inter-actions,” says John Young of theSales and Marketing Executivesclub in Minneapolis, Minnesota.“We lose these things, and some-times even lose our manners, inthe ‘digital’ realm.”

What This Means to Your ClubJust as individuals benefit from one-on-one communication, Toast mastersclubs build membership more effec-tively when they add a personaltouch. Patterson’s newly charteredHeart2Heart club used some of itsfunds on local advertising. “From allthat effort, we gleaned not one newmember,” he says. “However, in thatsame time period, we added 10 newmembers. Every single one of themcame to the club as a result of a one-on-one, person-to-person, face-to-face invitation.”

With the ever-rising mountain of devices and the myriad programsavailable to us, it’s no wonder wereach for the nearest pocket or laptop when it’s time to contact aprospective member. We rarelystop to ponder if there might beanother way. Lowery J. Smith of theSales and Marketing Executives clubhas found success by combining

The Unplugged Challenge

By Bill Stephens, ATMWhat kind of microphone is best for speakers?


As an alternative, consider this: You are the featuredspeaker at the Toastmasters International Convention.You step onto the podium and the audience quiets,waiting for your message. Without saying a word, youproject your thoughts directly into their minds. Althoughit may seem far-fetched, that kind of immediacy in com-municating thoughts is a goal that every professionalspeaker should hope to attain.

Recording engineers use the term transparency whendiscussing how well a sound is retained as it goes throughall the electronic processes to bring the performance toyour ears. In true transparency, a recording of a speech

sounds like the speaker is performing right in front of you. Filmmakers are expert at making the technology trans-

parent. You’re able to watch movies and TV shows withoutever seeing the microphones used to convey the actors’words, because sound technicians make every effort tohide the machinery. Highly directional off-camera mics areaugmented by more mics hidden in clothing or strategicallyplaced in set pieces. After recording more than 40 years ofToastmasters and other groups’ conventions – and in my experiences of recording tens of thousands of speeches– I’ve witnessed speakers giving superb presentations without the audience being aware that they were using a

and be HeardYou’ve prepared for weeks to give the best speech of your life. The moment has

arrived; you are introduced, and you take center stage. Suddenly, as you open

your mouth to speak, the audience is assaulted by “screeeeeeeech!!!!” You’re not

presenting anything. Instead, the sound system is presenting horrendous feedback.

Speak


Proximity and Personal SpaceHave you ever experienced another person violating yourpersonal space by standing too close and talking in a loudvoice? If your microphone is too close to your mouth andyou speak in a loud voice throughout your speech, youare going to wear out your audience. Be particularly care-ful to avoid using a hand-held mic in this way.

If, however, you are a comedian or produce vocalsound effects, you can learn how to adjust the mic. Withthat knowledge, you’ll be able to hold it close for yourpurposes and then move away from it for normal speak-ing. It’s worth the time and effort to watch seasonedentertainers to help you to develop a full understandingof professional microphone techniques.

Lapel MicrophonesA lapel mic can be either hard-wired into the sound system or part of a wireless system. A wireless lapel micconsists of a small microphone with a mic clip and a wirethat runs to the transmitter, also called a body pack. Thisis my favorite mic for public speaking. It clips to yourclothes, so you never have to worry about how far to holdit from your mouth. Also, this design takes advantage ofthe more natural sound that your whole body produces, in much the same way that the body of an acoustic guitarprovides a rich tone lost in electric versions.

It’s best to clip the mic near the center of the chest –just below the second button on a man’s dress shirt. If it’s placed too high or too low, the sound can be muffled. The transmitter can be attached to the speak-er’s belt or placed in back of the wearer; if the speakeris to control the on/off switch, the transmitter should beplaced on the side of the non-dominant hand to avoidaccidentally hitting it or the cord, or dislodging it.

Whenever you’re given the choice, use an omni-directional mic. Uni-directional mics are susceptibleto problems. If it gets bumped and is no longer pointingtoward your mouth, the sound quality will suffer.

You may have heard about “lavaliere” microphones.Historically, a lavaliere was a type of necklace that includ-ed a pendant, often with a central stone. At one time, alavaliere mic was hung like a pendant with a cord aroundthe wearer’s neck. Through the years, these mics werereplaced by smaller mics with clips that attached to aspeaker’s lapel. While there used to be a distinctionbetween lavaliere mics and lapel mics, the word lavalierehas since become a standard term referring to a lapel mic.

Headset MicrophonesHeadset mics, worn over the ear with a small boom angledtoward the mouth, are great for aerobics instructors, clergy,auctioneers, stage actors, sports announcers and singers.But unless you are very acrobatic in your speaking perfor-mance – or find yourself in a situation where you are closeto the loudspeakers, which may cause feedback with other

microphone, thus achieving transparency with theirthoughts. But I have also seen many instances where the speakers’ presentations were marred by microphone problems that could have been prevented. Speakers havetrouble with microphones, such as feedback, improperlyplaced microphones and microphones failing half-waythrough a speech. This results in a broken Plane ofTransparency. The speakers’ messages were interrupted by problems that could have been avoided.

As a speaker, you seldom have your choice of microphones, so knowing how to use a variety of microphones will help you to connect with your audience. If you are asked for your choice, here are some mics and the standard applications:

Hand-held Microphones“Speak to your audience, not to the mic,” is the univer-sal wisdom shared with speakers as they become moreadvanced. Often, the type of microphone you hold will affect how well you carry out that axiom. The mostcommon mic you will encounter is hand-held. It comesin both hard-wired and wireless versions, and it can alsobe mounted on a stand. It is usually a directional micwith a built-in “pop” filter so it can be held up closewithout causing annoying “p-popping” sounds from hard consonants, such as ”p,” “t,” “k” and “b.”

Comedians and singers often prefer this type of mic,because it can be held close to the lips without distor-tion, but also works well away from your mouth. Singersoften place it right against their lips or very close, toallow the sound technician to isolate the singer from the background and have better control of the mix. Aprofessional speaker should never use a hand-held micin this way, unless she uses vocal sound effects or singsas part of the presentation.

To properly use a hand-held mic for speaking, the mic– hard-wired or wireless – should be adjusted so you canhold it between six to 12 inches away from your mouth.This way it does not block you from your audience. If youneed to be louder, you can move it a little closer to yourmouth. Hold the mic between your thumb and fingers at a comfortable balance point – not with a closed fist. Besure to hold it lightly and remember that it is a delicateinstrument. Never hold it with your hand up against thewindscreen ball, the foam cover on the microphone,because doing so could change the quality of the soundand may even cause feedback.

Often you will encounter a mic with the levels set so low that you have to hold it up to your mouth to beheard because sound technicians often will set the level,or gain, very low to avoid having to run back into thesound room to adjust for feedback. Also, many soundprofessionals come from the rock music field, whereclose-up use of mics is the norm. This is not acceptablefor professional speakers.


mic designs – they’re not appropriate for public speaking.They may seem glamorous and high-tech, but they can bedistracting to your audience.

Do It YourselfIf you have your own wireless mic, or are planning to buy one, you should take precautions. Any wirelessmicrophone in the 700-MHz range (698 to 806 MHz)was declared illegal by the United States FederalComm un ications Commission on June 12, 2010, and thefrequencies have been allocated for other use. Using a wireless mic in that range may cause interferencewith those allocated to use that bandwidth. It may alsocause unwanted interference and interruptions that willaffect your microphone. For more information, go tofcc.gov/cgb/wirelessmicrophones/manufacturers.html. If you’re planning to use your own legal wireless

mic at an event, it is imperative that you check inadvance with the audio-visual (AV) company supplyingthe sound regarding the frequency that your systemuses. Your meeting planner can help you with this. Be sure to speak with them, as there could be otherwireless systems in use in the same room or adjacentmeeting rooms that might interfere with your system. Or your system might interfere with theirs. When

two wireless systems are on the same frequency, theycan cancel each other out, rendering both useless.

Have a Backup Mic HandyIf your mic should fail during your speech, it helps tohave a backup microphone ready to replace the dead one immediately. In some cases, it could be the lecternmic, adjusted to the same volume levels as your own. Ifyou are giving your speech entirely from the lectern, themic should be set for use at six to 12 inches from yourspeaking position, and set low and out of the way of yourface. If you are planning to speak entirely from the lectern,don’t ask for a lapel mic. In that case, a second micro-phone should be somewhere nearby for you to grab.

Achieving Ultimate TransparencyTo achieve ultimate transparency, you must hide themicrophone from your audience, completely. Do this by positioning a specially designed mic inside yourclothing. These omni-directional mics can be hiddeninside a man’s tie, or clipped to a woman’s undergar-ment. Experts use a “vampire” clip to hold the mic,which has earned its name with two sharp needles that slide into cloth. Since these are highly professionaland expensive, you aren’t likely to find them in mostaudio-visual suppliers’ inventories. If you speak frequently outside of Toastmasters, consider purchasingone. Obtaining a good, reliable, dual-diversity wirelesssystem with multiple frequencies will round out yourtraveling microphone setup needs.

The most effective and successful speakers havelearned to deliver their messages fully by using micro-phones wisely and not having attention drawn to theequipment. By working to achieve transparency, youcan be a more powerful and effective speaker.

Bill Stephens, ATM, has directed the ToastmastersInternational World Championship of Public Speakingsince 1986 and has produced all the audio and videorecordings from those Conventions. A member ofWashoe Zephyrs Toastmasters in Reno, Nevada, he can be reached at [email protected].

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Three Tips to Sound Out Your Next Speech Setup1When planning to speak at a meeting

of any size, let your meeting planner knowwhich type of microphone you prefer. In manycases, you may get exactly what you want. Onthe other hand, wireless microphone rentalsmay be too expensive to fit into the meeting’sbudget, so be prepared to use an alternative.

2Ask for a few minutes with the soundman,before your session, in order to conduct a

microphone check. Never test mics by saying,“Testing one two three.” Instead, run throughportions of your speech at its loudest andsoftest points to give a true indication of howyou will be speaking. Move about the stage tocheck for feedback. If your session is beingrecorded, this would be a good time for thosetechnicians to check their recording levels.

3Always carry some fresh 9V, AA and AAAbatteries in your speaking kit, and ask

the soundman to put in your fresh batteriesbefore your session. That way you’ll know that the mic won’t go dead from low batteriesin the middle of your session. You may be toldthat they recently changed the batteries, but you are the one standing in front of the audience with a dead wireless mic. Youshould know that many wired lapel mics alsouse batteries.


This is social proof, and it works insocial media as much as it does insociety itself.Social proof establishes you as

cool, relevant, educational or what-ever you want your brand to be –but certainly attractive to your targetaudience. For example, Toast mastersZug in Switzerland – a club locatedin Zug, a small city about 30 min-utes from Zurich – uses the slogan“Enjoy Speaking!” Showing mem-bers and guests having fun as theyspeak is therefore a must in all theclub’s online photos, videos andblog posts.

To manage your brand andensure social proof, be selective.Quality and image matter!

Unleash Social Media’s Real PowerTo view social media simply as apromotional vehicle is to sell one’sefforts short right from the start.“What the real leaders in this spacehave figured out is that you can re-humanize businesses and createloyal communities using these kindsof tools,” Brogan says.Social media goes far beyond

promoting a product, a company or even a Toastmasters club. Thereal strength of Web 2.0 is enablingconversations. As Toastmasters, weknow that listening is as importantas speaking.

Grow Bigger EarsWhere Web 1.0 was about websitesthat transmit messages one way, as is the nature of publishing andbroadcasting, Web 2.0 broadly refers

Toastmasters 2.0(Continued from page 13)

to platforms that enable discussionsand commentary – not only betweenthe host and its users, but amongusers on the host’s platform.Brogan is frequently quoted for

the term “grow bigger ears.” This ishis way of telling marketers thatthey should “listen” to the onlineconversation and that they shouldpay attention to other sites, includ-ing the media (online or other-wise). By doing this, marketers can gain an understanding of cur-rent trends and will more likelyuncover opportunities.Toastmasters clubs, therefore,

should not only monitor the com-ments on their own websites andblogs, but also pay attention to

broader conversations within theirgeographic communities. By grow-ing bigger ears and thinking creatively,clubs can find opportunities wherethey otherwise might not.

Seize OpportunitiesSocial media is an enabler. Youmust still take initiative and seizeopportunities. For example, let’ssay that a prominent artist is goingto open an exhibit at a nearby university, on the same day as an upcoming club meeting. Whynot invite her to your meeting?Perhaps you can extend the invita-tion right on her own blog, in her“comments” section. She’ll notonly be grateful for the invitation,she’ll be grateful for the activityon her blog. All bloggers are!If she accepts, why not build it

into an event, promote it online andreach out to the media?As an entrepreneur, Toast master

Kremin knows how to identify andleverage opportunities. Help ing

others win at the same time is one ofthe golden rules of social media, andKremin helped both Brogan and aprominent Berlin venue succed online.Leading up to her B2B Marketing

Europe conference, Kremin and KGSteamed up with the Berlin venue –called “Home Base” – and arrangedfor Brogan and the other conferencespeakers to “socialize” with Berlin-based techies and bloggers.The outcome was that the night

before the conference, Broganenjoyed a few beers, played Ping-Pong with a few enthusiasts andtalked with just about everyone.Participants had a blast. Theytweeted live from the venue, posted photos on Flickr and theirblogs, and posted videos onYouTube and Vimeo.It was a win-win all the way

around. KGS established socialproof within a community thatKremin considers important. Brogan strengthened his own personal brand in Europe. HomeBase packed the house while alsostrengthening its own credibility.

Start Small. Think BigFor Toastmasters clubs, the sky’s the limit with social media. How -ever, many of us do not have abun-dant resources, so “don’t bite offmore than you can chew.”Understand social media’s

real power – engaging and buildingcommunities. Set clear but attain-able objectives. Capture attentionon your Outposts and link to yourHome Base.Be selective in the quality of

your photos and materials. Listen tothe community at large to uncoveropportunities. Approach everythingwith a win-win mindset.And enjoy the journey. We’re all

learning!

Jack Vincent, CTM, CL, is a memberof Toastmasters Zug in Switzerland.He is a sales consultant and theauthor of Sales Pitches That Snap,Crackle n’ Pop. Read his blog atBraveNewSales.com.

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“Toastmasters clubs should not only monitor the comments on their own

websites and blogs, but also pay attention to broader conversations

within their geographic communities.”


Do Away with Document-Speak!Scores of corporate presenta-

tions today still suffer from the scourge of the dreaded

Document-Speak. It is a sort of socialvirus: One person does it in publicand the whole company catches it.

It happens when an otherwisefriendly, warm-blooded human ceasessounding human and starts imitatinga legal brief. They stand up beforean audience and their sentencesbecome longer. They hide behindformality and distance. They go togreat pains to appear as emotionallyempty as language can help thembe. For a coup de grâce, they gener-ally back it all up with a mind-numbing litany of PowerPoint slides.

The end result is predictable:mass air-gulping among the audi-ence. When the speaker leaves theroom, his points become mist ratherthan memories.

There is a Better Way Toastmasters know that publicspeaking can be a thrillingly powerful medium. The humanmind sits up and takes noticewhen another human speaks with passion and conviction; we’re wired that way. However,passion and conviction are choic-es, and their design is largelyinformed by language.

Good speakers don’t doDocument-Speak. They practicethe alternative: High-Impact Speak.High-Impact Speak is emotive,creative and vivid. It gets younoticed and it keeps your mes-sages fresh and memorable, long after you’ve left.

Looking for a little electricity in your own presentations? Usethe following six devices to addsizzle to your sentences:

1Start by sounding human. When you chat with your friends,

would you use a sentence like, “Ithas come to my attention, in termsof our internal policies, that wastefulexpenditure is causing a detrimentaleffect upon our bottom-line profits”?Doubtful. A human being would say,“We’re wasting too much and it’shurting us.”

Remember that you are thethought leader in the room. Whenyour audience perceives that youhave slipped into “formal speechdelivery” mode, they will subcon-sciously switch off. It’s as if you havegiven them the cue: “Here comes the speechy stuff; you may all go tosleep. I’ll wake you when I’m reallycommunicating again.” A conversa-tional tone keeps them engaged.

Mark Brown, the 1995 Toast -masters World Champion of Public

By Douglas Kruger, ATMS

Fill your presentation with personality and vivid language.


Speaking, agrees. “A conversationalstyle is more personal and person-able. It invites the audience in andhas a level of intimacy that makesthe audience infinitely moreengaged and receptive.”

Marie Grey, head of Africa’s lead-ing speakers’ bureau, Marie Grey &Associates, concurs. “Keep it real,”she advises aspiring professionalspeakers. “Affected words only takeup head space and waste time!”

2Craft interesting titles. Yes, youcan deliver an address titled, “

A Critical Look at the History andProduction of Fireworks.” But howmuch more engaging to have theemcee say, “Help me to welcomeJoe, with his speech titled, ‘Bang! –Making the Fire Work!’”

One of my keynote speeches is about the topic of personal initia-tive. I call it “The Rules of HamsterThinking.” Your title is an opportu-nity to create interest before youeven stand to speak. Take the timeto develop a hook.

3Metaphors help you to sum upcomplex ideas quickly. Certainly,you can show a busy graph depict-ing the ins and outs of any idea. Oryou could simply use a metaphorthat captures the essence of theidea, and say, “It’s like . . .”

On the hit television show TopGear, British presenter RichardHammond once described a Porsche’srear-mounted engine as being “a bit like building a pyramid with the pointy bit at the bottom.”

Metaphors sum up complex ideas quickly. Most of the detail in corporate presentations is super-fluous, because there is a world of difference between mere informationand actual message. Informationrequires graphs. Message can bedone with metaphors.

Professional speakers and trainedToastmasters rarely use fussy Power -Point graphs. They know that havinginformation is only half of a speak-

er’s job. Communicating that infor-mation in impactful and memorableways is the full obligation.

4Repeat catchphrases often andyour point will be remembered.Simple. Memorable. Easy to repeat.Advertisers know the value of agood catchphrase, and top speakersunderstand it, too. Remember the old war-time phrase “Loose lips sink ships”? That’s the kind of easy-to-repeat mnemonic slogan youshould develop and use often inyour presentations.

Mark Brown says, “A catch-phrase well crafted and repeatedcan even become one’s signature.Just Do It. Three simple, monosyl-labic words propelled the Nike corporation to the top of its industry.”

He adds, “My friend and fellowWorld Champion of Public SpeakingDarren LaCroix is internationallyknown for his mantra ‘stage time,stage time, stage time.’ Powerful!”

Graeme Codrington, a professionalspeaker and workplace expert,agrees. “What’s the point of takingtime to speak to an audience whena few days later no one can remem-ber what you said? Make an impactby using all the hooks and tech-niques you possibly can to embedyour message in the minds of youraudience.”

“No one knows this rule betterthan we comedians,” adds RehmanAkhtar, director, producer and starof “Rehman & Friends,” a stand-upcomedy show that has become oneof the best-known brands in SaudiArabia’s emerging comedy scene. “Agood comic can rise or fall on thestrength of his catchphrases as theybecome an invisible bond betweenthe performer and his audience.”

5Rhyme is sublime and alliterationadds impact. In one of my contest speeches, I spoke about the glib nature of self-help quickfixes. I packaged it in the followingsentence: “The treadmill of self-

improvement churns out Kellogg’sRice Competitors, Kentucky FriedPerformers, Supersized McMen and Women – egos bigger thanbuildings.” Rhyme and alliterationadd musicality to your sentences. Its rapid-fire nature also helps youcreate the impression of being “on a roll” when you speak, whichadds to the perception of passion.

Morgan McArthur, the 1994Toastmasters World Champion of Public Speaking, introduced a story with this line: “There’s a Tiny Tumbleweed Town calledLedore, Idaho . . .”

6Visual devices bring dry infor -mation to life. Don’t just give information. Create mental pictures.The human mind becomes moreengaged when points are deliveredin story form, with character, setting,emotion and the description ofaction. We do not “feel” a PowerPointgraph the way that we feel a story.

Use language that creates theperception that you are “re-living”the story as you tell it, and you willpin souls to seats and set fire tominds. Best of all, you will beremembered.

The next time you pen a presenta-tion, challenge yourself to raise the baron your use of language. Rememberthat Document-Speak kills speeches.High-Impact speak gives your scriptmouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Thehuman mind sits up and takes noticewhen a person speaks with passionand conviction. Take the time andtrouble to design language that captures the imagination and youraudiences will thank you for it.

Douglas Kruger, ATMS, CL, is a member of the Sandton Toast mastersin Johannesburg, South Africa, whorepresented Africa in the finals of theToastmasters International SpeechContest in 2004, 2005 and 2007. He isthe author of three books, including50 Ways to Become a Better Speaker.Reach him at douglaskruger.co.za.

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LOOKING AT LANGUAGE

By Colleen Plimpton, ACB

Confessions of a Logophilesuch a pearl. Your speeches are areflection of you – your experiencesand your life. A treasure chest willsimply help you locate the bestwords to do the job. Capturingwords is a time-saving device toenhance public speaking. I employa treasure chest, but all sorts ofother methods exist to select, saveand use terrific words.

For example, Toastmaster DebGrehn, of two clubs in Connecticut,characterizes herself as an “audiblelearner.” If you caught her appearanceon the TV game show Jeopardy! a fewseasons ago, you would realize that iscorrect. Deb loves the sound of words,and she collects them in various ways:from conversations, her computer’s“Word of the Day” and the Word -masters at her clubs – Charter OakToastmasters in Glastonbury and WestHartford Toastmasters in West Hartford.

Grehn has sage advice forprospective word gatherers. “Ifyou’re unsure how a new word ispronounced, go to the computerand listen before you use it in aspeech,” she says. Websites like dictionary.com offer recorded

Isettled into my chair, morningnewspaper in hand. My cup of coffee sat on the adjacent table

and the cat snoozed at my feet. A soft breeze wafted through the window while I rustled open thepaper. And then . . . Eureka! In an article on municipal water supplies,my attention was drawn to a word I didn’t possess in my Treasure Chestof Words: notch. How versatile! I could use “notch” as a verb or anoun. It had a firm, definitive qualityand would lend itself to a visual or agesture. I could see myself notchingmy accomplishments in a speech onweight loss or garden building.

This little jewel went immediatelyinto the journal at my side, to beentered later into my computer filelabeled “Treasure Chest.”

Before I finished reading thepaper, two more words grabbed me:pounce and bluster. And by dinnertime, I’d secured hokum from a radiobroadcast and albatross from a televi-sion commercial. All in all, it was asingular day for plucking words.

I’m a logophile – a word lover.I’m always questing for better

nouns, verbs, adjectives andadverbs, as well as great similes,powerful metaphors and funnyphrases. The words I capture helpme express myself in Toastmastersspeeches and garden lectures, aswell as on my blog and the free-lance articles and books I write.

Passion for Language Started EarlyAs the daughter of an English teacher,I’ve loved words since as far back as I can remember. My Toastmastersaffiliation honed this affection when I realized the impact that word choicehas on how a speech is crafted, memorized, delivered and retained.Whether you outline, pen yourentire speech or construct some-thing in between ...Toastmasters are all writers, first. As such, we knowthat vigorous words are a key tomemorable presentations. But how to come up with a bon mot? How to remember all the terrific wordswe’ve seen, read and heard? It’s easy.Capture them where they lie.

Of course, there’s no single “per-fect” word for each situation, sodon’t search until exhaustion for

How a word lover gathers new gems to enrich her writing.


pronunciations of its entries. Words, Grehn notes, are too precious to mispronounce.

The Toastmasters TroveSo how else does Toastmasters membership help you appreciate and hone your word proficiency? The first 10 speeches in the CompetentCommunication manual build manyskills, including introducing yourselfto fellow Toastmasters, organizingyour speeches, employing vocal variety, becoming comfortable withvisual aids and using body language.But it’s Project Four, “How to Say It,”that particularly assists in groomingyour speechcrafting skills. It exhortsthe speaker to use “clear, simple,vivid and forceful words” to addexcitement to presentations.

There’s a reason Project Fourappears so early in the manual: It’scrucial. The simple explanations onthe basics of specificity and carefulselection of verbs, and the primeron similes, metaphors, alliterationand triad, help Toastmasters to bebetter speech writers and, thus, better speakers.

On her way to becoming a betterspeaker, Aletta Rochat of two clubs inCape Town, South Africa, found thatchoosing the right words was a bitlike finding the perfect outfit to wear.According to Rochat, her words haveto fit her personality. And so she lis-tens closely to other speeches, notesthe words and phrases that appeal toher, and jots them down. A memberof Cape Town Toastmasters, she prac-tices incorporating these words intoher interpersonal communication, tobe used later in her speeches. Rochat,who is bilingual, also reminds us ofthe clout of colloquial phrasing. Forinstance, during the 2010 World Cupof soccer, held in Cape Town, manyspectators came to understand thepower (and volume!) of the Afrikaansword vuvuzela – a stadium horn. Thesound of this memorable word hintsat its trumpeting nature.

Rochat always gives her speechesthe “bathroom mirror test.” This is a

finds that she no longer consciouslyponders word choice. She does,however, watch for redundancies,inconsistencies and typos. She alsoseeks out and destroys inadequate,erroneous grammar.

Fry appreciates creative sentences– identifying those that fall flat. Sheexhorts Toastmasters not to overusethe same word. For instance, insteadof always using the word “dog” todescribe a dog, try using canine,furry friend or the animal.

More Guidelines for Word GatheringGathering interesting words is anexcellent way to keep speeches fresh.Practicing keeps these words applica-ble, and using them – whether inspeeches, everyday conversation orprofessional enterprises – will makethem yours forever. But not all wordsare worthy of collecting.

What is my treasure chest notused for? I never write down pro-fanity. There is enough of that inthe world. I try to stay away fromarchaic words, arcane usage, preten-tious verbiage, clichés and jargon.(For example, the rest of the worldprobably doesn’t need to hear mymangled botanical Latin.)

There is a never-ending supply of great words awaiting capture.Once caught, they always help mewrite speeches, deliver talks andenhance interpersonal communication.

In short, I probably couldn’t bea writer without my treasure chest.And I’d certainly not be as success-ful in Toastmasters. With all duerespect to the dictionary, thesaurus,Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations andthe Metaphors Dictionary, it’s mytreasure chest that comes throughfor me time after time.

Colleen Plimpton, ACB, is a memberof Barnum Square Toastmasters inBethel, Connecticut. A professionalwriter, coach and lecturer on gardening, her most recent book is Mentors in the Garden of Life.Contact her at colleenplimpton.com.

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handy tool for uncovering words thatdon’t sound as graceful as they lookon a page. Indeed, there are clunkyphrases that don’t trip lightly off thetongue just as there are words thatare simply not a good fit for somepresentations. Any speakers who omit this test do so at their own peril.

Building a Better TrapAs these examples show, we don’tneed fancy equipment to find andkeep words. My treasure chest was at first a simple written list, which I’d glance over when composing aspeech. As it grew I divided it intonouns and verbs. With continual hunt-ing and gathering it grew longer still,and I soon scanned the entirety intothe computer, adding a category forfunny words and sayings.

After several years of word collecting, the trove now stretches to thousands of entries, and hasbecome my muse. When I’m stuckfor an action word, or somethingthat rhymes with “last,” I consult mytreasure chest. When I need a nudgeto finish my weekly column, I pullup the pages and search for inspira-tion. When I need a verb startingwith the letter “w”, I run down the list and find the perfect choice.

It’s a private file, compiled andviewed only by me, and, like Grehnand Rochat, I come across wordseverywhere: In the morning paper,of course, underlined in red so I can find them later. In writings and postings on the Web. In peo-ple’s everyday chatter. (I keep areporter’s notebook at the ready.)On the radio, in television commer-cials and on signs at the market. InSunday church sermons. Wonderfulwords are everywhere.

Other lessons in gathering andusing potent words come fromauthor, publicist, editorial consultantand former Toastmaster Patricia Fry,who reminds us that the best words are the familiar ones. She’simmersed in a verbally rich worlddaily, but after many successfulyears in the writing business she


How to Muzzle

the yakker

Cute, right? Gives you a little chuckle? Then what happens?You think about it a little more and before you know ityou are giving some serious thought to grinding your teeth.

Why? Because we all hate to be interrupted. Ordrowned out. Or conversationally dominated. Wedespise, secretly or otherwise, the verbal interloper. Thisscourge can appear in the guise of the loud talker, theclose talker, the conversation hog, the story topper, thequick interjector, the extra-long joke teller or the ques-tioner who never waits for an answer. They all share one basic infuriating aim: They want you to shut up andyield the floor, and they want you to do it right now.

Your first impulse might be to slip a few dozen table-spoons of hot sauce into the yakker’s double decaf latte,but, being the inventive Toastmaster you are, you pon-der less explosive solutions (even as you eye theTabasco longingly).

Check out these ideas to get the more civilizedwheels turning:

Learn to ListenIf we take our cues in everyday conversation from muchof modern political discourse, we may come to believethat bombast equals victory and good listening equalsdefeat. I shout ’em down and shut ’em up, I win; I keepmy mouth shut, I lose. But that’s not conversation, that’sverbal bullying.

So why do so many people do it? The late Americanphilosopher and educator Mortimer Adler, in his bookHow To Speak, How To Listen (1983), wrote that schoolsdo not teach listening as a skill at any academic level.This leaves many adults unprepared to engage in trulyintelligent conversations.

“Is anyone anywhere taught how to listen?” Adlerasked. “How utterly amazing is the general assumptionthat the ability to listen well is a natural gift for whichno training is required.”

Fortunately, listening is one of the skills thatToastmasters International values most. It is a quality that members focus on and improve at club meetings.Toastmasters recognizes what Adler believed: Listening is a quality that needs to be honed. “While listening mayseem like it should be easy to do, it can be very diffi-cult, often requiring more mental effort than speaking,”says the Toastmasters Competent Leader manual.

Don’t be Dominated by InterruptersParlor conversation is one thing. But what if you’re inthe bare-knuckle netherworld of the business meeting,sitting around a table waiting for a serial interrupter –the person who loves to score points through the domi-nation of others – to strike again? How to deal with theoccasionally malicious verbal counterpuncher?

Illustration by Chris Murphy

if you don’t already know this one, ask

your kids – or any kid, because no kid can

resist pulling a fast one on an adult – to tell

you the “interrupting cow” knock-knock joke:

Knock, knock.

Who’s there?

Interrupting cow.

Interrupting cow wh .. . ?

Moo.

Strategies for stopping the serial interrupter. By Patrick Mott


No less an authority than celebrated funnyman JohnCleese, of Monty Python fame, lays out a handful of semi-guerrilla tactics in a video called Meeting Menaces (one in aseries of popular business-training videos from Cleese).First, however, he points out that not all interruptions inmeetings are bad. Interjections to “save time or to correctmistakes” are fine as long as they’re quick and useful. Hecalls such breaks “running repairs to the discussion.”

It’s the egregious interrupting windbag who’s the true culprit. “Letting the interrupter take over isn’t theanswer,” says Cleese. The initial speaker can lose controlof the situation and “completely swallow the interrupter’schange of agenda.” Neither is simply telling the verbalinterloper to shut up an option. Assuming the meeting ischaired, the best defense, says Cleese, is to “keep yourcool, ignore the interrupter and appeal to the chair.” Andif that fails? The “ultimate deterrent,” says Cleese, is topack up and start to walk out. Severe? Yes, but “it’s veryunlikely that it will ever come to that,” says Cleese, “andif it did, it would be very surprising if the chair didn’tcall you back.” Timing, of course, is everything.

One stratagem that may disarm the serial interrupterbefore he or she can pounce, says Cleese, is to beginyour floor time by stating how many points you’re goingto make. This helps to close the yakker’s windows ofopportunity from the start.

Quieting the QuestionerWho . . .Won’t . . . Stop . . . TalkingAnother awkward and frustrating situation can occur whenyou give a speech – typically outside of the courteous envi-ronment of Toastmasters – and during a question-and-answersession, you’re confronted with a questioner who goes onand on and on. They hog the Q&A time, to the extreme irri-tation of other audience members. In a 2008 article for theToastmaster magazine, author R.J. Stove described this kindof person as the “Never-Ending Questioner” – “or, rather, theinterminable speechmaker who offers up his unsolicited biog-raphy and hopes it’ll be accepted as a question.”

Stove’s solution for handling such a boor? Say some-thing like, “I’m sorry, I’m not quite sure what your specificconcern is – could you perhaps approach me about it after-ward?” “In nine cases out of 10,” notes Stove, “the Never-Ending Questioner won’t accept this implied invitation.”

Be Decisive and ConfidentInterrupting can be a form of domination and, dependingon the degree, sometimes needs to be dealt with instant-ly and decisively. “Sometimes you must return the dirtydeed with a polite retort, something like, ‘Excuse me,Debbie, but I didn’t get to finish. I’d like to add that . . .’ ”writes business-communications consultant ConnieDieken in her blog, “Influential Leadership.”


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2001 World Champion of Public Speaking

Today’s interrupters, writes Dieken, are a newbreed. Often they aren’t merely rude, but rude and ina hurry. She calls them “The Chronically Impatient.”

“Buoyed by instant technology and addicted to speed, these pragmatic people are having a tough

time tolerating long-winded ramblers,” she writes.“The Chronically Impatient value time, clarity andaction, and they want you to get to the point, pronto. If you dilly dally, they’ll either nudge you with a brief interjectory question or they’ll outright overpower you and butt in as if your words don’t matter.”

How to keep them at bay? When you’re speaking,be confident, don’t be long-winded or hog the floor,and stop “speed talking.” “If you’ve ever receivedfeedback that you’re a fast talker,” writes Dieken,“chances are you’re often interrupted. Why? After all,

you’re talking as fast as you can.Bingo! Some people can’t digest whatyou’re saying at a high rate of speed,so they cut in to catch up.”

Dieken offers her own fail-safe weaponto use in the war of words: Keep right on talking. If you’re dealing with a relent-less interrupter who just won’t quit, shesays, then the last-ditch – and unconven-tional – approach is to push ahead with

your own words and add more volume to them. That, she says, “delivers a jarring and unmistakable

message. It conveys that you’re sick of being rudelyinterrupted and you’re just not taking it anymore.”

Patrick Mott is a Southern California-based writer and aregular contributor to the Toastmaster.

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“While listening may seem like it

should be easy to do, it can be very

difficult, often requiring more mental

effort than speaking.”


OFFICIAL NOTICE OF VOTE

TOASTMASTERSINTERNATIONAL®

It is the right and duty of all clubs to participate in the vote, either through their representatives at the Convention orby proxy. If you are attending the Convention, you will have an opportunity to meet and talk with all the internationalofficer and director candidates before the election. Additional nominations for officers and directors may be madefrom the floor at the Annual Business Meeting.

Your 2011–2012 Officer and Director Candidates

From Region 13Balraj Arunasalam, DTM

You will have the opportunity to vote for the internationalofficer and director candidates of your choice while attend-

ing the Annual Business Meeting on Saturday, August 20, 2011. The International Leadership Committee nominated officer

candidates for the positions of President-Elect, First VicePresident and Second Vice President. International director candidates were nominated for Regions 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11 and 13.

The Committee’s selection is presented in accordancewith Article VIII, Section 1, of the Bylaws of ToastmastersInternational.

From Region 1John Barnes, DTMJames Sultan, DTM

From Region 3David Estrada, DTM

From Region 5 Andrew Little, DTM

From Region 7 Viki Kinsman, DTMDeborah Lee, DTM

From Region 9Wendy Harding, DTM

From Region 11Lois Strachan, DTMGeorge Thomas, DTM

2011 Annual Business Meeting11:30 a.m. Saturday, August 20, 2011

Bally’s Las VegasLas Vegas, Nevada, United States

To review details of each officer nominee’squalifications, visit the Toast mas ters website at:

President-Elect, John Lau, DTM

First Vice President,George Yen, DTM

Second Vice President,Jim Kokocki, DTM

Second Vice President,Mohammed Murad, DTM

www.toastmasters.orog/officernominees

www.toastmasters.orog/DirectorCandidates

To view details of each director nominee’s qualifications,please visit the Toastmasters website at:


Q & A WITH TIM LEE

From Science to Stand-Up

Former biologist now works in comedy –with PowerPoint as a stage tool!

Most stand-up comedians minetheir material from subjects

such as relationships, politics andscandal-causing celebrities. But TimLee? He jokes about molecularbonding and nuclear fission. Hewrites punchlines built aroundquantum physics, and he usesPowerPoint as his comedy prop.

Lee is a trained biologist whoearned his Ph.D. at the University ofCalifornia, Davis. He spent years inacademia, developing simulation andanalytical models of populationdynamics before discovering that itbored him. Then something funnyhappened: The scientist turned his pro-fessional sights to stand-up comedy.

First, there was a small careerdetour. After abandoning academia,he worked as a computer program-mer for Charles Schwab. But hestill didn’t feel fulfilled. One nighthe performed at an open-mic com-edy event in a San FranciscoLaundro mat – and was instantlyhooked. Lee soon found thatPowerPoint was a fitting stage toolfor his science-themed act.

He has since found success on

YouTube, with more than 3 millionviews of his videos, and is perform-ing sold-out shows at comedyvenues from New York to San Diego.Lee’s corporate comedy clientsinclude Johnson and Johnson,Genentech and Microsoft.

Here, the stand-up comic an -swers questions from the Toast -master magazine:

When did you know that you wanted to do comedy?After graduate school I was at a point inmy life where I knew what I didn’twant to do. I was bored with thekind of research I was doing. I gavecorporate America a shot and found thework was just as boring – plus, I hadto spend countless hours in meetingslistening to people avoid making deci-sions. I had to try something new tospice up my life. I chose stand-upcomedy. It was painful at first, but Icould deal with honest pain easierthan boredom.

What made you give up a promising career in science to stand up and tell jokes?

At some point you have to have avision for yourself and go for it. If youdon’t, someone else will create thatvision for you and force you to live it.By most people’s standards I shouldhave been happy with where I was,but honestly I wasn’t. When comedycame along, I knew I loved it; I wasn’tgoing to let it slip through my fingers.

Why do you use PowerPoint in your act?My favorite professors would throwgag slides into their presentationsand I decided I would as well. A fewmonths after I started doing stand-upcomedy I found an open mic [event]that had a PowerPoint set-up. I askedthe emcee if I could try some Power -Point science jokes in front of theregular audience. He agreed, and tomy surprise the audience loved it!

What type of people are in your typical audience? I perform everywhere: theaters, comedy clubs, colleges, companyevents. The one thing that my fanshave in common is intellectual curios-ity. They’re generally pretty smartpeople. That keeps me on my toes.

Tim Lee riffs on topics like nuclearfission and quantum physics.


How do you tailor your material to your audience?I always work clean. I don’t haveto change it up for the corporateaudience or the theater crowd. Idecided early on that I wanted towork clean and I’ve stuck to that.

Do you write all your own jokes?Yes! I like writing almost as muchas performing, so I wouldn’t dreamof having someone do it for me.

How do you pick your topics?I’m not an epiphany comic – i.e.,most of my jokes don’t just cometo me. I usually sit down with atextbook, try to understand a par-ticular topic at a deeper level, thenimagine I have to teach it to a stu-dent. How could I teach it to themhumorously?

Who is a bigger influence on you –comedian Dane Cook or Albert Einstein?It depends on how you look at it.It’s all relative.

It has been said PowerPoint isoverused in corporate presentations.What’s your opinion?PowerPoint is the only form of tor-ture still legal in the United States.But I believe PowerPoint can be usedfor good. I believe that one day thepeople who use PowerPoint willhave a point. I believe that one dayno one will read their slides aloud toan audience that has already readthem in their head. I believe that oneday presenters will check their fig-ures before they present them. Ibelieve that one day people from HRwill join hands with people fromengineering and say, “I understoodwhy we had to sit through that!”

What tips would you offer to engineers and scientists about how to liven up their presentations?No one pays attention to onetopic for more than seven min-utes, so you need to change it upabout every seven minutes. Whatif I can’t explain a topic in seven

minutes? It’s fine to spend sometime talking about one subject,then move on to another, thencome back [to the first subject].The presentation doesn’t have tobe completely linear. In fact, it’smore interesting if it isn’t.

Once you’ve lost the audience,you might as well not be talking,because no one is listening.

Should all speakers open their presentations with a joke?If you are good with jokes, go forit. Jokes are very good at breakingtension and helping people relax.That opens minds a little bit. Ifyou’re not good at telling jokes, abrief personal anecdote will drawthe audience in as well. You’re shar-ing a little bit about yourself, andthat gives them a reason to careabout what you’re saying.

To learn more about Tim Lee, or to contact him, visit powerpointcomedian.com.

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FUNNY YOUSHOULD SAY THAT! By John Cadley


Snooki from U.S. reality TV showJersey Shore:

“So, like, yeah – it’s, like, way coolthat you’re all here and I’m, youknow, like, just sayin’ – this is cool.”

“You’re here to present the mar-keting plan for 2011, is that correct?”

“Yeah.” “What is it?”“We gotta sell more stuff.”“What’s your strategy for doing that?”“You know, just, like, do stuff that

makes people want to buy it, youknow? Like, commercials and stuff.”

“What kind of commercials?”“With stuff in it.”“What else?”“You know, like, ads and stuff

in really serious, important maga-zines like, you know, Vogue andGlamour. And then, you know, like,Facebook and Twitter with lots ofbling bling about how this stuff isgreat and how you buy it and tellall your friends ’cause they’re gonnafreak that they don’t have it sothey’ll run out and get it and texteverybody with pictures and stuffand then everybody’ll be flippin’ to buy it and you’ll sell more stuff.You know, like that. Just sayin’.”

It’s at this point that I wake up in a cold sweat and read a fewpages of Shakespeare to reassuremyself that real language has, infact, not been annihilated during thenight by an ICBM missile from NewJersey armed with monosyllables.

It’s unfortunate that these youngturks have to write a resume. Try asthey might to appear witty and artic-ulate, what should be a list of quali-fications often turns into a litany ofdisqualifications. Let’s start with

�We have a generation of collegegraduates who treat the English language like a rented mule. Theypush, prod and poke it into sub mis-sion for the lowly purposes of texting, emailing and – God help us – tweeting. Never mind the mil-lions of years it’s taken for humanspeech to evolve into a wondroussystem of nuance and complexity.We now have an entire generationthat would rather communicate like birds on a telephone wire.

The rules of spelling, grammar andpunctuation are not simply ignored;they’re beaten with a stick. Languagehas no intrinsic beauty. On the rareoccasions when technology fails andthese bright young minds must usethe spoken word, they use a vocabu-lary so flea-bitten with “um,” “uh,”“like,” “you know” and “sorta” that itdoes, in fact, resemble the mutedbraying of a barnyard animal.

This is the future, ladies and gen-tlemen: intelligent young men andwomen who can master complexvideo games, program TiVo fromtheir cell phones, control homeappliances from their laptops, writecomputer code in their sleep, evengraduate with honors – but whocan’t spell “restaurant.” As a lover of the language, I am deeply saddened. As an employer seekingto hire individuals who can expressthemselves clearly, I am scared outof my wits. I have nightmares of hiring a recently minted graduateand sending her out on a client presentation. The room is filled with people who could well deter-mine the fate of my business, andstanding there before them is . . .

applying for a job as a proofreaderand actually misspelling the word.Really? Then let’s make sure weactually do proofread the resume to avoid saying that previous workexperience includes “stalking, ship-ping and receiving,” or that we were“instrumental in ruining the entireMidwest operation of a major chainstore,” or that we spent a summer ina call center “taking odors.”

We might also want to run thespelling and grammar functions onour computer – heaven forbid wewould actually refer to a dictionary– to make sure we don’t request asalary “commiserate with our experi-ence,” or that we don’t opine onhow we feel our substantial qualifi-cations will prove “detrimental toour future success.”

Logic and specificity help, too.Saying you’re a “hard worker, etc.”isn’t really a list of qualifications.And it’s nice that your twin sisterhas a degree in accounting, but thatdoesn’t tell us much about you,does it? Also, just for the record,being bi-lingual in three languagesmay be impressive, but it doesn’tsay much for your math skills. Andfinally, when I ask how large thedepartment was that you worked inas a summer intern, “three stories”isn’t the answer I’m seeking.

I know you’re smart and capable. Iknow you’ll perform well and do yourparents and your employers proud.But come on, kids – would it kill youto learn how to spell restaurant?

John Cadley is an advertising copy-writer in Syracuse, New York. Reachhim at [email protected].

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So, Um,You Know, Here’s, Like,My Column, Ya Know?

When wordswander away . . .

Toastmasters International

Convention 2011is Coming Soon

Register April 18

See you in Las Vegas!

Early-bird registration starts April 18, so make your plans today! To register, view the schedule of events andlearn more, go to www.toastmasters.org/InternationalConvention.

August 17-20, 2011Bally’s Las Vegas

Las Vegas, Nevada

TOASTMASTERSINTERNATIONAL®

Discover what everyone’s talking about! Each year, nearly 2,000 Toastmasters travel to the International Convention to learn, share and grow.

If you haven’t yet attended a Toastmasters Convention,make this the year you discover what you’ve beenmissing. Convention 2011 will be bigger and better than ever. Here’s what you can expect:

Opening Ceremonies and keynote

Twelve communication and leadership skill-building sessions to help you grow personally and professionally

Nine International Speech Contest Semifinals

Hall of Fame Ceremony

Golden Gavel Dinner

World Championship of Public Speaking

President’s Dinner Dance

Networking with Toastmasters from all over the world

6 june 2011

Documents

e w p o i n t

exciting future

leaders toask

big dreams

exciting opportunities

personal lives

howwe influence

fascinating questions