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Volume 1, Issue 1

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Northern Beaches Toastmasters Club Moving forward, getting ahead

Thought of the month The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do. Anon

Chatter on a Platter

Public Speaking Icebreakers Make a joke at your own expense. Open with a raise your hand question. Start with a story but don’t finish it right away. Break some news (big or small). Ask everyone to complete a simple task. Open with a quote. Do a quiz

Excellence Award – Sharon Austin Best Speech Award – Jan Vecchio

President’s Pick – Reg Stewart Our October meeting was at Club Totem, 195 Condamine Street, Balgowlah. The meeting was chaired by Errol Byrnes. The food was great as is usual at this venue and we were pleased to welcome Sally Burford as a visitor. We had the pleasure of inducting our new member, June McKimmie, who provided the word of the evening “disport”. We look forward to hearing June’s Icebreaker speech at an upcoming meeting. Members were advised that the Toastmaster’s Semi Annual Conference will be held on 27 and 28 November in Tamworth. Interested members could register online. The next meeting will be on Tuesday, 24 November 2015 and will be chaired by Reg Stewart.

CHATTER ON A PLATTER October 2015

What can Comedians can

teach you about Public

Speaking?

Humbling personal stories –

Comedians often open their acts by

sharing a humbling or even humiliating

story. This gets the audience onside.

No to PowerPoint – Comedians know

that the best pictures are the ones you

draw in people’s minds. They use

detailed descriptions, storytelling, body

movement, voice tonality and props.

Gesticulation – Comedians know that

on stage it’s hard for people to see the

minor expressions like subtle facial

expressions, so they make big gestures.

No lectern – Comedians never use a

lectern. It’s hard to connect with your

audience from behind it.

No notes – Comedians don’t use notes.

They practice their routines over and

over and we should do the same. Use

mnemonic memory techniques to help

remember complex speeeches.

Loop back- most comedians wrap up

their routine by referencing some jokes

from earlier in their routine. We can do

the same. In the closing of our speech,

we can refer back to some core

content.

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6 phrases to avoid in casual conversation. (by Travis Bradberry, Co-author of Emotional Intelligence 2.0)source LinkedIn

1. “You look tired.” Tired people are incredibly unappealing – they have droopy

eyes and messy hair, they have trouble concentrating and are as grouchy as they come. Telling someone he looks tired implies all of the above. Instead say “Is everything okay?” This way he can open up and share, and will see you as concerned rather than rude.

2. “Wow, you’ve lost a ton of weight!” This can suggest that someone used to look fat. Instead say “You look fantastic” Instead of comparing how they look now to how they used to look, just compliment them for looking great.

3. “You look great for your age.” Using “for your” as a qualifier comes across as condescending and rude. Instead say “You look great.” No qualifier required.

4. “You were too good for him/her anyway.” When someone severs a relationship of any type, personal or professional, this comment implies he has bad taste and made a poor choice in the first place. Instead say “His/Her loss!” This provides the same enthusiastic support and optimism without any implied criticism.

5. “You always..: or “You never..” No one always or never does anything. People don’t see themselves as one dimensional, so you shouldn’t attempt to define them as such. These phrases make people defensive and closed off to your message which is a really bad thing because you likely use these phrases when you have something important to discuss. Instead simply point out what the other person did that’s a problem for you. Stick to the facts. If the frequency of the behavior is an issue, you can always say, “It seems like you do this often.”

6. “As I said before…” We all forget things from time to time. This phrase makes it sound as if you’re insulted at having to repeat yourself, which is hard on the recipient. Instead when you say it again try to rephrase the message in a clearer and more interesting manner. This way they are more likely to remember what you said.

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Chatter on a Platter Page 3 of 4

Birthday

Celebrations

18th June Guy Loucks 5th July David Tomlinson

Six Filler Words that are undermining your credibility.

1. Actually 2. Like 3. You know 4. Ah/Uh 5. Just 6. Really

“The human brain starts working the moment you are born and never stops until you stand up to speak in public.” George Jessel “I never could make a good impromptu speech without several hours to prepare it.” Mark Twain

“There are always three speeches for every one you actually gave. The one you practiced, the one you gave, and the one you prepared.” Dale Carnegie

Using the Rule of Three in developing your speech outline by Andrew Diugan, Six Minutes Speaking and Presentation Skills

The Rule of Three is a powerful speechwriting technique that you should, learn, practise and master. Using the Rule of Three allows you to express concepts more completely, emphasize your points, and increase the memorability of your message. The Rule of Three will enable you to craft memorable triads of words, phrases, and sentences. You can also apply this rule to speech stories or entire speech outlines. The three-part story outline is a common structure in folk tales:

Three little pigs

Goldilocks and the three bears

The three Billy Goats Gruff When you apply the Rule of Three to your speech outline, your presentation gains warmth, familiarity, and understandability. With the three part outline framing your ideas, your speech will be easier to understand, follow and remember. Speech Outline A: Introduction, Body and Conclusion It doesn’t get any simpler than this. Even if you don’t read the rest of this article you will improve as a speaker if you consistently apply this generic speech outline. It seem obvious, yet two of the most common speaking blunders are;

1. Omit the introduction – the speaker launches directly into the meat of the content without setting the context and the audience wonders “How did we get here?”

2. Omit the conclusion – the presentation ends abruptly immediately after the last slide with “So… any questions?” The audience feels stranded, wondering “that’s it? What does it mean?”

Speech Outline B: Tell them what you’re going to say, Say it, Tell them what you said Repetition is a powerful speechwriting technique and you can do much worse than repeating your key points three times during a speech to persuade your audience. Take inspiration from Lewis Carroll in the Hunting of the Snark:

“I have said it thrice: What I tell you three times is true.”

Speech Outline C: Pros, Cons, Recommendation We’ll conclude with a common speech outline used for persuasive speeches where you are recommending a course of action.

1. Introduction – Brief setup of problem and proposal

2. Body Pros – what are the benefits of this proposal? a. Cons – What are the drawbacks of this proposal? b. Recommendation – Why do the pros outweigh the cons?

3. Conclusion – Restate the pros and repeat the recommendation.

Happy October Birthday to Denise Tomlinson

The October meeting took

place at Club Totem, Balgowlah

Welcome to all members

and our guest Sally

Club Executive Committee

President: Sue Loucks ACS, ALB VPE: Errol Byrnes VPPR: Sharon Austin CL, ACB VPM: Sharon Austin CL, ACB Secretary: Jan Vecchio DTM Treasurer: Jan Vecchio DTM SAA: Brian Paull

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Northern Beaches Toastmasters Club moving forward, getting ahead PO Box 1360 Dee Why NSW 2099

Publisher and Editor – Sharon Austin 0408254033 sharon_austin@hotmail.com

Meetings are held at various restaurants on the northern beaches of Sydney on the 4th Tuesday of each month – 6.30pm for 7.00pm

Forward Planner – to June 2016 24 November – Club meeting – Chairman Reg Stewart

22 December – Club meeting - Chairman Steve Barber

January – Club meeting – Chairman Brian Paull

February – Club meeting – Chairman Deanna

March – Club meeting – Chairman Kathy Stewart

April – Club meeting – Chairman Jan Vecchio

May – Club meeting – Chairman Luke Donabauer

June – Club meeting – Chairman Errol Byrnes

When speaking in public, don’t take yourself TOO seriously! Be confident and committed without being cocky or highly strung. Its essential you remember you’re there to serve the audience. Be present, be kind and be nice to the people around you.

Club Mission We provide a

supportive and positive learning

experience in which members are

empowered to develop

communication and leadership skills,

resulting in greater self-confidence and

personal growth.

Many of these articles are from the How to Present magazine. Thank you to Michelle Bowden for permission to adapt and reproduce them. Michelle is an expert in Persuasive Presentation skills in business. She has run her 2 day Persuasive Presentation Skills Masterclass over 660 times and has been nominated for Educator of the year 7 years running. Michelle is one of only 35 Australian females who is a Certified Speaking Professional – the highest world-wide designation that speakers can achieve.

www.michellebowden.com.au