toastmaster - february 2009...midland, michigan, chamber of commerce. he was sharing with me how he...

members.toastmasters.org Molding Future Leaders

Speak Up!Advice from a hearing-impaired member.

Give the Giftof Listening!

TOASTMASTER®

February 2009

TOASTMASTERSINTERNATIONAL®

Safeguarding the Toastmasters Brand:

It’s All

NameIn the

V I E W P O I N T

2 TOASTMASTER Febr uar y 2009

Jana Barnhill, DTM, Accredited SpeakerInternational President

PublisherEditor

Associate Editors

Editorial AssistantGraphic Design

Daniel Rex

Suzanne Frey

Beth BlackPaul Sterman

Jamie Reynolds

Susan Campbell

International President

Senior Vice President

Second Vice President

Third Vice President

Immediate Past President

Executive Director

Secretary-Treasurer

Jana Barnhill, DTM, ASLubbock, Texas

Gary Schmidt, DTMClackamas, Oregon

Pat Johnson, DTMVictoria, British Columbia, Canada

Michael R. Notaro, DTMAlameda, California

Chris Ford, DTMOttawa, Ontario, Canada

Daniel RexMission Viejo, California

Nancy LangtonMission Viejo, California

Lyle Appleyard, DTMStonewall, Manitoba, Canada

Sal Asad, DTMRichmond, Virginia

Kristal DiCarlo, DTMWestlake, Ohio

Lee Holliday, DTMJohns Creek, Georgia

Charlotte Howard, DTMOklahoma City, Oklahoma

Mohammed Murad, DTMDubai, United Arab Emirates

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Earleen Norris, DTMTruckee, California

Michael V. Raffety, DTMChicago, Illinois

John Rich, DTMHolland Landing, Ontario, Canada

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Michael Smith, DTMBloomington, Illinois

Richard Snyder, DTMUpland, California

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Tevis T. Thompson, DTMMartinez, California

Annelie Weber, DTMNew Windsor, Maryland

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� I recently received an e-mail from ImmediatePast District 14 Governor Joy Lewis. Part of itread, “The troubled economy will undoubtedlytake its toll on our clubs, but I think troubledtimes are the prime time for Toastmasters. Weall need to take time in this downturn to think

of self-improvement. We shall certainly have to promote that aspect of theToastmasters experience.”

Troubled times are the prime time for Toastmasters! Evidence of that is anarticle I saw the other day in The Wall Street Journal. It showed a photographof a man and described him as an attorney, recently out of work. To give him-self an edge, he had enrolled in a speech class at a local community college.

During one of my district visits I was speaking with a man at theMidland, Michigan, chamber of commerce. He was sharing with me how hehad asked a very successful business executive how he had done so well.The executive responded, “I learned to articulate my thoughts effectively.”Wanting to know more, the man asked how he accomplished that. Theexecutive answered, “I joined Toastmasters.”

I was watching the television game show Wheel of Fortune the other dayand heard the host, Pat Sajak, ask one of the contestants a question. Thiscontestant was a recent college graduate, fresh on the job search. She pro-vided such a quick, articulate response that Mr. Sajak actually made a bigdeal out of the fact that she had not been briefed on the question and wasso articulate in her response that anyone looking for someone in her fieldshould give her a call! That’s what the ability to think on your feet will dofor you. That’s what Table Topics will do for you! How many people look-ing for jobs today need that skill?

Stanford University research tells us something we already know: A per-son’s business success is only 20 percent attributable to his or her technicalcompetencies; the other 80 percent is a result of personal competencies,which include communication skills. We offer what people need – especiallyin troubled times!

Unfortunately, often when times are tough, many people pull back onany activity they consider non-essential, including Toastmasters meetings.But Toastmasters is absolutely essential! Now is the prime time for us toencourage anyone we know who could benefit from Toastmasters trainingto stay a member or become a member. Effective communication and leadership skills, along with self-confidence, are the attributes that will giveanyone an edge. Today a lot of people need that edge. No one developsthose attributes like Toastmasters. Now is the prime time for Toastmastersto give everyone The Courage to Conquer Tough Times!

The Courage toConquer Tough Times!

TOASTMASTER Febraury 2009 3

TABLE OF CONTENTS

The Toastmasters Vision:Toastmasters International empowers people to achieve their full potential and realizetheir dreams. Through our member clubs, people throughout the world can improve

their communication and leadership skills, and find the courage to change.

The Toastmasters Mission:Toastmasters International is the leading movement devoted to making

effective oral communication a worldwide reality.

Through its member clubs, Toastmasters International helps men and womenlearn the arts of speaking, listening and thinking – vital skills that

promote self-actualization, enhance leadership potential, foster humanunderstanding, and contribute to the betterment of mankind.

It is basic to this mission that Toastmasters International continuallyexpand its worldwide network of clubs thereby offering ever-greater numbers

of people the opportunity to benefit from its programs.

Speak Up!A hearing-impaired Toastmasteroffers practical advice.

By Rick Moore, ATMB

PAGE 8

Leading by a TaleHow to put storytelling to workin your organization.

By Caren Neile, Ph.D., ATMS/CL

PAGE 16

It’s All in the NameSafeguarding the Toastmasters brand.

By Tammy A. Miller, DTM, PID

PAGE 24

&2 Viewpoint: The Courage to ConquerTough Times!By International President Jana Barnhill, DTM, AS

4 Letters to the Editor

5 My Turn: Selling My Skills to a SchoolHow Toastmasters training helpeda teacher in a tough spot.By Kealah Parkinson, ATMB

6 Profile: Molding Future LeadersAt 85, this Toastmaster has spenttwo decades teaching the YouthLeadership Program to students.By Julie Bawden Davis

12 Manner of Speaking: That’s Not My Voice – Is It?The voice you hear is different fromthe one the audience hears.By Nancy Sebastian Meyer, ATMB, CL

14 Give the Gift of ListeningHear the story of a lifetime.By Patrick Mott

21 The Art of BraggingBad bragging has a bad rap and rightly so –but good bragging is good for you!By John Spaith, ACS

30 Funny You Should Say That!As Ol’ Will Would Say. . .The benefits of quoting Shakespeare.By John Cadley

ARTICLESDEPARTMENTS

FEATURES

February 2009Volume 75, No. 2


LETTERS

Being a conscientious member,she looked up the word in the dic-tionary when she got home, thencomplained to the club presidentthat I had insulted her, because tobe prosaic is “lacking in wit orimagination.”

Ouch! After my deep-felt apologywas gracefully received and accepted,I took the lesson to heart – you’renever too old to learn new words!Keith Hart, CC, CL • Cottonwood SpeakersBlandford Forum, United Kingdom

A Riposte to RememberI take umbrage with John Cadley’sdiatribe upon lexophiles employingsesquipedalian verbiage. Multi-syllabic words are arguably the ultimate demonstration of bon motsand sine qua non to polished com-munication between scholars. Onlytroglodytes promulgate mono-syllabic utterances as de rigueur and,ipso facto, establish vulgar, inchoateand jejune speech as standard usage.

Consider, if you will, the je nesais quoi of chiliastic metaphors.The imposition of order upon chaosis, in fact, the dream of all whoapply rhetorical logos via linguisticlegerdemain, surely no province ofthe non compos mentis amongst us.

Mr. Cadley, do not consider thisrejoinder a ferula over your reti-cence to embrace “poly-syllabism”as a philosophy. It is merely mysatyagraha to enhance critical think-ing by enlarging vocabulary. Ratherthan argufy, I wish you a generouspair of comfortable pajamas to promote restful slumber, hoping itwill prevent further somnambulisticepisodes on your word processor.After all, we are all epigone com-pared to Papa Hemingway.

Did I just prove your point? Ohwell, I’ll just go back to reading myNew Yorker. Thanks for the great article.Ernest R. Raynor III, CC • All Stars Toastmasters • Tulsa, Oklahoma

than I did during my preceding 20years of life in the U.S. I’ve wit-nessed such a marvelous personaltransformation, which attests tohow valuable the Toastmastersexperience truly is.Rino St. Paule, CC, CL • Toastmasters 90210 • Beverly Hills, California

Don’t Drop the Ball –Raise the Question!John Cadley’s ( January) article lam-basting “smarty-pants verbiage” and“linguistic social climbers” is ironic,considering his misuse of “begs thequestion.” To beg the question doesnot mean to raise the question! Tobeg the question is a logical fallacyin which a statement is assumed tobe true without evidence other thanthe statement. Mr. Cadley might fol-low his own advice, “If you’re goingto use big words...do it right.“Keith D. Hanson Jr., ATMB, CL • Au Jus ToastmastersSimi Valley, California

A Whopper of a WordYour article (“Big Words? Big Deal!”)was supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!Thanks for the humorous play withwords.Robin D. Domino, ATMB • National Finance Center ToastmastersChalmette, Louisiana

Still LearningI enjoyed the article “Big Words? BigDeal” by John Cadley. It remindedme of the latest of many lessons Ihave learned at Toastmasters – you’renever too old to learn new words!

I was grammarian at a clubmeeting where a speaker cited alot of poetry in her talk. I enjoyedbeing grammarian; I am confidentin my knowledge of grammar and Ihave an extensive vocabulary (or soI thought). The poetry spoke to meas if it was said in prose, so I com-plimented the speaker on being“prosaic,” because that’s how I havealways used that word (on the rareoccasions I have found a use for it).

In Short, You Get SupportI belong to a small, yet dynamicclub. I have taken an executive posi-tion within the club, despite being anovice Toastmaster (as has our presi-dent, who joined when I did). But asthe old adage says, you only get outof something what you put into it.My fellow club members must allhave the same attitude, because eachand every time I attend a meeting Iam rewarded with vibrancy, humor,great speeches, camaraderie, sup-port, friendship and the talent of myfellow Norvicians, and all that whileI’m learning valuable skills. Thankyou, Toastmasters, for being there!Wendy Swinton • Norvic Toastmasters Club • Victoria BC, Canada

Encouraged and EmpoweredTo me, a non-native speaker ofEnglish, Toastmasters has been agoldmine of opportunities for get-ting over the linguistic hang-ups ofhaving been born and raised in aforeign country (in my case, Italy).

For those of us born and raisedin non-English-speaking countries,the challenge of speaking in front ofa group entails much more than justovercoming the fear of public speak-ing. We must first acquire technicallinguistic competence and thenembody confidence in the new language. This is something nativespeakers [take for granted].

It is precisely in these sociolin-guistic aspects that the Toastmastersexperience shines with unequaledbrilliance for us non-native speak-ers. Toastmasters clubs offer suchsupportive, nonjudgmental environ-ments where we feel both encour-aged and empowered at each stepof the way to develop the very con-fidence we so badly need to growas effective speakers. I have person-ally gained more self-confidenceand effectiveness as a speaker inthe past 11 months as a Toastmaster

Do you have something to say? Write it in 200 wordsor less, sign it with your name, address and clubaffiliation and send it to [email protected].

T

MY TURN

Febr uar y 2009 TOASTMASTER 5

Selling My Skills to a School� I sat in the parking lot of my doc-tor’s office with a lump forming inmy throat: This wasn’t a health carecrisis, but a simple case of speakingnerves, and I – an AdvancedToastmaster – was crestfallen.

Not only am I a Toastmaster,I’m also a professional writer,speaker and speech coach. But thesimple cell phone conversation Iwas having at that moment was notgoing as expected.

A couple of months prior, I hadanswered an advertisement in mylocal paper, calling for instructorswith innovative course ideas for theregional adult education center. I hada course in the can: “Speak YourTruth,” a communications class thathighlights spiritual principles andconflict resolution skills. I’d subti-tled it “How to Get What You Want(by Simply Saying What You Mean)”and had geared the curriculumtoward interpersonal relationships.The ideal pupils I envisioned werespiritually aware, highly intellectualand willing to go deep into theirinner selves in front of strangers.In short, they were just like me!

I submitted my proposal andreceived a cursory e-mail response(“Your course sounds interesting”;“We’ll phone you in November toset up an interview/learn more”).That convinced me I would reachthese neighboring, like-mindedsouls, and that my course wouldbe a major success.

As fate would have it, HurricaneIke remnants rained fury over theAmerican Midwest, damaging manyproperties in that area, includingmy home. I suffered from stress-related heart problems after that,and spent some time in the hospital,racking up bills that my husband

By Kealah Parkinson, ATMB

So there I sat in my car, penpoised over calendar, listening tothe director explain that “due to theeconomy,” their enrollment rateswere at an all-time low; and thatthe demographics were mostlyblue-collar employees who werelooking for practical courses aimedat gaining employment. Certainly,he was saying my course was nolonger a good fit.

When he graciously asked me totell him a little about myself, I seizedthe moment: This was the interviewI’d been calling to get! Though noth-ing in my professional past had everprepared me for an on-the-fly, over-the-phone, sitting-in-your-car-in-a-parking-lot interview, Toast mastershad prepared me to speak on anysubject at any moment via our manyTable Topics exercises.

I told him the truth: As an activemember of my Toastmasters cluband the group’s former public rela-tions officer, I had tripled the clubmembership through a marketingcampaign that included a month lynewsletter. I said little about mycareer or corporate success. But hehired me on the spot to teach a dif-ferent class, asking me to craft acourse description that addressedthe needs of the center’s new market: the newly unemployed.

When I returned to my desk thatday, I realized, as I began to writethe course description, that my newclass would still be filled with idealstudents who were – as fellow jobhunters in trying times – truly justlike me.

Kealah Parkinson, ATMB, is a mem-ber of Extreme Toastmasters clubin Chicago, Illinois. Reach her [email protected].

and I could scarcely afford. In thewake of the November presidentialelection, the media buzzwordbecame “economy” – but I soldieredon with faith in my fellow spiritualseekers, certain that there were others out there pursuing personalimprovement, maybe with evenmore vigilance during these tryingtimes. It seemed destined that wewould connect, because we wereso much alike.

However, it wasn’t going to beeasy. My health care team slated athree-week intensive therapy pro-gram for me. The November dateswere not flexible; I begrudginglycleared my work schedule andsocial calendar to begin treatment.Halfway through the program, Ireceived a voice mail message atmy home office: The adult educa-tion center was ready to schedulemy interview, and wanted it to happen as soon as possible.

The catch to this joyously ex -pect ed news was that the center’soffices closed at 4 p.m. daily –while my therapy sessions lasteduntil at least 3 p.m. on the otherside of town, a 30-minute drivefrom my home office. Panicking,I concocted a plan: I would phonefrom the parking lot of my doctor’soffice, date book in hand, andschedule my interview then. Fourdays of “phone tag” passed beforeI finally reached a receptionist whomuttered a complaint about nothearing from me. She also saidinterviews had been finished theday before. Then, while I was tryingto process that bad news – andwondering why they hadn’treceived my voice- and e-mail messages – she patched methrough to the center’s director.

How Toastmasterstraining helped

a teacher ina tough spot.

PROFILE


By Julie Bawden Davis

Molding Future Leadersholding nine-week classes thatcover the basics of speaking, includ-ing the various types of speechesand their functions, the organizationof a presentation and leadershiptraining. Each class meeting featuresfive speakers as well as evaluationsfrom peers and a coordinator.Speech topics vary according to par-ticipants’ age. Di Cerbo teachesleadership by giving students vari-ous roles each meeting, such asTopicsmaster, Meeting Leader andAh-Counter. “These positions makethe students realize that they are incommand, and with those positionscome responsibilities,” he says.During each meeting, Di Cerbo

scores the students’ speeches andthen names a Speaker of the Day,who is then eligible for the Speak-Off. That event is held during the

last week of classes.Parents and grandpar-ents are invited toattend the program.Tyler, the buddingpolitician, has wonfirst place for the lasttwo years.

Big BenefitsDi Cerbo started teach-ing leadership classesafter he retired from acareer working withsemi-conductors. Hesays the YouthLeadership Program isvaluable to today’syoungsters. “One of

Eleven-year-old Tyler Jonesplans to run for a U.S. Senateseat when he’s 30 and eventu-

ally make his way to Wash ington,D.C. The Arizona youngster discov-ered his desire for a life in politicswhen he took the Toast mastersYouth Leadership course frominstructor Michael Di Cerbo.“Toastmaster Mike changed my

life,” says Tyler, who attended theclass at Kiva Elementary School inParadise Valley, Arizona. “He mademe realize that one of my talents ispublic speaking, and that I’m veryinterested in politics and leadership.” The sixth-grader, whose presen-

tation skills surpass those of manyadults, is one of thousands of chil-dren who have been fortunateenough to take the leadership classfrom Di Cerbo in Arizona schoolsover the last 20 years.Because the veteranToastmaster has positivelyaffected so many younglives, he received the2008 Hon Kachina Awardfor Volunteer ism, whichhas been awarded inArizona since 1977 to rec-ognize the achievementof outstanding volunteers.Di Cerbo joined

Toastmasters in 1980 andquickly rose through theranks, serving as a clubofficer and then a districtofficer. At one point, hewas preparing to becomea district governor and also

get his DTM; while working towardhis DTM, he chose to conduct aYouth Leader ship Program as a wayto meet one of the requirements. “Initially, I didn’t want to hold

the youth [program],” admits DiCerbo, who chuckles about hisreluctance now. “Eventually, I gavein and decided to teach one courseso that I could fulfill the require-ments, and I found it wasn’t sobad.” The results were actually sogood that they prompted a call froma teacher who asked him to teachthe course to her class. Today, atage 85, he is still teaching theToastmasters Youth Leadershipcourse, spending as much as 20hours a week in the classroom, andoften working a full day. Di Cerbo follows Toastmasters’

Youth Leadership Program manual,

At 85, this Toastmaster has spenttwo decades teaching the YouthLeadership Program to students.

3 Michael Di Cerbo (left) with YLP participant Tyler Jones andsixth-grade teacher Carla Schneider.


the major benefits of the program isthat the positive and constructivecriticism leads to an increase in self-confidence. Parents often tell methat their child was shy and thenblossomed. Children also find thatthe program organizes their thoughtsand makes them better writers.”

Teachers whohave worked withDi Cerbo over theyears are amazedat the progressthe kids make inhis course. “There is no time in lifewhen the fear of ‘standing out’ isgreater, yet Mike helps studentsovercome this fear and move on toa higher level of self-confidence,”says Holly DiTallo, a teacher atCheyenne Traditional School inScottsdale, Arizona. “Not many peo-ple have the gift of teaching to thisage group, yet Mike comes in,offers valuable life tools, demandstheir respect, and leaves them betterstudents at the end of the program.He’s good at what he does becausehe cares for the students, and theycan sense it.

“Who else at the age of 85 canwalk into a room of middle-school-ers and have them say in unison,‘Good morning, Toastmaster Mike!’He’s a beautiful anomaly!”

Carla Schneider is a teacher atKiva Elementary School where TylerJones attends. She has seen DiCerbo work his magic for the lasteight years.

“I think the most importantmessage that Michael gives thestudents is to have a positive atti-tude and confidence in their abili-ties,” she says. “He also remindsstudents that the key to success isto practice, practice, practice. Ihave seen kids thrive under hisdirection, and I think the mostimportant thing the kids get fromthe program is the lasting benefitsthey gain. Our elementary studentswho take his course go on to

him improve in many areas of hislife. “Throughout life you have tomake a lot of tough decisions andToastmasters training gives you theconfidence to make those deci-sions,” he says. “If you think ofToastmasters as the training wheelsfor life, then eventually you’re able

to ride with no hands. The mostimportant thing that ToastmasterMike taught us was that our speechhas to be from the heart, not justfrom the brain. I learned that if youare confident with your speech andreally know it, the rest will follow.”

Wise comments from youngsterslike Tyler drive Di Cerbo and maketeaching the class gratifying. “It is souplifting and satisfying when stu-dents say that they’ve been helpedby the program,” he says. “I feelthat in some small way I am con-tributing to helping the next genera-tion become leaders. The thingsthey learn stay with them. Aboutthree years ago I got a call from ayoung teacher who wanted me toteach the leadership classes in herschool. When I asked her how sheknew about the program, she saidthat she had been one of my stu-dents and she wanted her studentsto benefit from the class like shedid. Calls like that show me that I’mdoing something valuable.”

Julie Bawden Davis is a freelancewriter based in Southern Californiaand a longtime contributor to theToastmaster. Reach her [email protected].

Editor’s Note: To conduct aYouth Leadership program, orderthe Youth Leadership EducationalPacket (Item 811; $17 for materialfor five students).

T

become student leaders inmiddle school.”

Kiva’s principal, MichaelHelminski, often hears stories ofhow the early training has helpedolder students. “Many seventh- andeighth-graders come back and tellme how the Toastmasters training

has helped them with confidencewhen they were required to doclassroom presentations in middleschool,” he says. “We can’t take itfor granted that leadership is natu-rally developed. Many childrenneed role models and strategies fordeveloping leadership skills, andthat’s exactly what the YouthLeadership course provides.”

Educators who have watched DiCerbo work over the years feel thathis infinite patience and good humorare the secrets to his success. “I haveseen Michael model how to deliver aline and patiently work one-on-onewith the student until he gets thedesired effect,” says Schneider.“Never have I seen him get exasper-ated or frustrated with a student. Healways manages to find somethingpositive to say to each child.”

Tyler’s mother, Laura, agrees thatDi Cerbo has the right approachwith kids. “He’s really good at moti-vating elementary and middleschoolers and relating to them,” shesays. “While he doesn’t hold backon the negative, I’ve seen him cri-tique the kids without criticizing in avery constructive way that theyunderstand. Since taking the classes,Tyler’s organization of his messageand ability to really get that messageacross has improved considerably,and his confidence has soared.”

According to Tyler, the confi-dence and organizational skills hegained in Di Cerbo’s class helped

“If you think of Toastmasters as the training wheels for

life, then eventually you’re able to ride with no hands.”


Speak Up!A hearing-impaired

Toastmaster offerspractical advice.

By Rick Moore, ATMB

OUR WORLD TODAY IS NOISIER THAN EVER.Airplanes, jackhammers, MP3 players –

whether the noise is self-created

or environmental, absolute

silence is almost non-existent.

And when the volume of

that noise reaches unsafe

levels, especially for pro-

longed periods of time,

damage to our

delicate hear ing

mechanisms is

likely to result.

I know thisto be true frompersonal expe-rience. As aToastmasterwho has to

make a consciouseffort to hear and under-

stand others, I’m paying for the ignorance of my youth,when I worked in a noisy factory, went to painfullyloud concerts and eventually worked as a profes-sional musician, all with no hearing protection. I’mnot alone, though. According to the U.S. NationalInstitute on Deafness and Other Communication


� First, consider the ages of your audience members.Instances and severity of hearing loss and tinnitus bothincrease with age, so if someone in your audience isolder – especially over 50 – take into account that theperson may not hear you as well as the 20-year-olds inthe audience. In addition to helping you keep your vol-ume up, this practice may inspire you to work on yourdiction to make sure your words are easily understood. Daniel Sklare, an expert on hearing-related issues,

agrees it’s important to speak precisely – and not toofast – when there are listeners with hearing difficulties.

“Make sure the speed and clarity of your words arewell-matched to your audience,” says Sklare, a programdirector at the NIDCD in Bethesda, Maryland.

� You should also remember to look up from your notesas much as possible to face the audience; when youdo this, your voice goes out, not down, and a hard-of-hearing audience member can figure out what you’resaying better by watching your lips and your body language. These are good general suggestions for public speaking, anyway.

� Using visual aids is also helpful – and be sure they arereadable and not too busy or complex, says Sklare, whois responsible for clinical research on hearing disordersat the NIDCD. “Research that’s been done, and that theNIDCD has backed up, demonstrates that young andolder people, whether they are wearing a hearing aid ornot, have benefited very handsomely from combiningauditory and visual elements in speech,” he notes,adding that well-prepared slide presentations – such asPowerPoint – tend to be very effective.

Another way to tell if a person is having trouble hear-ing you is if their interest seems to be flagging andtheir body language indicates that they would obviouslyrather be somewhere else. True, they may have had ahard day, or have a lot on their mind, or it could be –but hopefully isn’t – that your speech is just plain bor-ing. But it’s also possible that they can’t hear you verywell. In this case, walk over to where they’re sitting asyou speak, and perhaps raise your voice ever so slightlyor punctuate a certain point to get their attention. Don’t

Disorders (NIDCD), 26 million Americans between theages of 20 and 69 may have permanent hearing damagefrom excessive noise exposure. And the World HealthOrganization estimates that there are about 280 millionpeople around the globe with moderate to profoundhearing loss in both ears.In addition, the American Tinnitus Association

estimates that another 12 million people have tinnitus,a persistent ringing in the ears that can interfere withother frequencies (especially higher ones), and inextreme cases, can actually be so loud that itbecomes all but debilitating. I haveboth hearing loss and tinnitus, so listening to someone give a speechis often a challenge. I’ve been asked, “Why don’t you wear

hearing aids?” Well, I sometimes do, sinceI’m one of the fortunate ones who canafford them (insurance normally won’tpay for them). But hearing aids are nearlyuseless at a Toastmasters meeting. Why? Because hearingaids, while they do make it easier to hear the speaker,are an almost-painful nuisance when the audienceapplauds or laughs heartily, or when the gavel is bangedon the podium. Those sounds are magnified severaltimes, the same way a speaker’s voice is, turning a hearing aid into a jolting loudspeaker inside the ear. Given the number of people whose hearing is less

than perfect, it’s reasonable for all of us to assume thatwhen we speak to a group of any size, there is boundto be someone in the audience with a hearing impair-ment. As speakers, we have a certain obligation tomake sure people can hear and understand us, just asthose people have an obligation to do what they canto hear us speak. So, having been on both sides of thepodium, I’m suggesting a few things we can all do tohelp make both the speaking and listening experiencesmore effective and enjoyable.

When You’re the Speaker:As a good general practice, scope out the roomwhen you first enter it. Think about where you willstand to make maximum visual and auditory contactwith everyone.I have found that when many Toastmasters give pre-

sentations, especially novice speakers, they tend tovocalize too softly – as if they were talking to someoneclose at hand, even if some listeners are 30 feet away. Sospeaking louder in general is a good idea, and an evenbetter idea when dealing with listeners who may havetrouble hearing. Now, you may be wondering, “How doI know who can or can’t hear me?” There actually are afew ways.

“As speakers, we have a certain obligation to

make sure people can hear and understand

us, just as those people have an obligation

to do what they can to hear us speak.”


do it threateningly, but in a manner that makes themfeel like a valued member of the audience. Whether theproblem is with their ears or your speech, it’s a goodway to keep the listener engaged.

If you’re a woman, keep in mind that people with tinnitus may often have trouble hearing you, because theringing in their ears can cancel out some of the higherfrequencies of the female voice. So if you’ve been toldthat you need to project your soft voice a little farther,this is one more reason to do that.

Sklare, of the NIDCD, says the environment in whichyou give your speech can also play an important role forthe hearing-impaired listener. For one thing, you want itto be a quiet place with no distractions around. And ifyou can speak in a room with a public address system,it would be ideal if the system is a Hi-Fidelity one thathas as much amplification as possible without causingtoo much distortion.

speaker is a younger person. And don’t feel guilty aboutyour hearing impairment. Others can’t see your problem,so it’s up to you to take steps to deal with it. Tryingsome of these ideas might help:

� No matter what the seating configuration is, sit at ornear the front of the room (assuming the speaker is inthe front). Being shy and sitting at the back of the room,especially when there is no amplification, almost guaran-tees that you won’t be able to hear everything. If theseating is in a horseshoe configuration, sit with yourweaker ear toward the podium. If the seats are arrangedstraight across in rows, try to sit near the middle. Thiswill allow you to hear the speaker better should he orshe walk from one side of the room to the other.

� If the person giving the speech is wearing a micro-phone, determine the placement of the public addressspeakers (either speaker cabinets or ceiling speakers) andtry to position yourself in the path of their projection.

� If you’re still having trouble hearing the speaker, makethe simple motion of cupping your hand behind your earwhen the speaker makes eye contact with you. You maybe doing everyone a favor, because chances are that ifyou’re indeed sitting at the front near the speaker, youaren’t the only one having trouble hearing.

And when you’re the speaker and are also hearing-impaired:� Watch your audience. Use eye contact to judge theirreactions to your speaking voice as well as your speech.

� Don’t yell. Those of us who don’t hear well sometimestend to talk pretty loudly, so practice speaking at a levelthat’s commanding but doesn’t make people feel likethey’re being yelled at. After your next speech, ask yourevaluator how your volume was (although more volumeis still better than not enough).

In the end, we can always learn to be better listen-ers even if we’re not hearing-impaired, and we can allbecome better speakers by being cognizant of voiceprojection and volume, and making eye contact asmuch as possible with the entire audience. In fact,focusing more on the audience’s need to hear mayactually help alleviate some of your nervousness asyou speak, and make you a better communicator ingeneral. So speak up!

Rick Moore, ATMB, is a member of Nashville Toast mas tersin Nashville, Tennessee, and is a professional freelancewriter. Contact him at www.rickmoorewriter.com.

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“If seats are arranged straight across

in rows, try to sit near the middle.”

The onus shouldn’t always be put on the speaker,however. Public discourse is a partnership between thespeaker and the listener, so the audience has a responsibility too.

Dr. Gerald Hickson is a physician and an associateprofessor of hearing and speech sciences at VanderbiltUniversity in Nashville, Tennessee. He regularly addressesgroups of medical professionals of varying sizes aroundthe country. Depending on the audience size, he speaksboth with and without a microphone, so he is someonewho is very aware of the auditory needs of his listeners.

“You have to think about what you’re going to do toensure that the audience is focused on what you have tosay,” says Hickson in an authoritative but not overbearingvoice he has developed through years of public speaking.“One of those things, of course, is to make sure everyonecan hear you, and you need to take into account thatthere may be one or more people in the room who havea hearing impairment. Assessing their body language isone way you might be able to determine that.”

“At the same time,” adds Hickson, “as a listener youhave to be aware of the everyday things in life thatmight distract you, that may stop you from getting themost out of a speech. So the listener does have a certainamount of responsibility to take whatever steps are avail-able to get the most out of what the speaker has to say.”

When You’re the Hearing-impaired Listener:� Don’t get frustrated when a speaker doesn’t seem tohave your hearing problem in mind, especially if the

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MANNER OF SPEAKING


By Nancy Sebastian Meyer, ATMB, CL

That’s Not

MyVoice – Is It?Factor One: Your inner earhears your inner voice.“It’s a surprise! Don’t listen,”Chris instructed Kelly as hebegan whispering birthday plans toher friend. Kelly put her fingers inher ears and made nonsensicalsounds to keep from overhearingtheir conversation. In the process,she noticed that with her fingers inher ears, her voice sounded somuch louder than usual. Why?

Your voice originates in about themiddle of your neck. Initial soundwaves are created as air passesthrough your vocal folds (cords)drawn tight across the trachea (wind-pipe). You can feel the flutter withyour fingertips if they lightly rest onthe “adam’s apple” area of yourthroat while you speak or sing.

This tiny vibration is then magni-fied in the voice box (upper throat).The waves continue to grow inmagnitude as they resonate in thecavities of your head before comingout your nose and/or throat.

Thus, your internal voice is creat-ed and grows from inside your neckup through the nasal cavities whereit reverberates. And because yourinner ear – which contains the actu-al organ of hearing – is located soclosely to your inner voice, onlyyou can hear your internal voice.

This is a unique sound your listen-ers will never experience. Now, let’sadd the next factor.

Factor Two: Your outer ear catchesthe distorted outer voice.The other day my husband and Itook a short hike. Several times Ihad difficulty catching everything hesaid when he was ahead of me on anarrow, single-file section of the trail.Likewise, he would ask me to repeatthings when I was in the lead. Theleader’s voice projected forward, inthe opposite direction of the follow-er. Listening was much easier whenwe stopped, turned toward eachother and spoke face to face.

Our listeners’ ears catch and pullin the sound waves, channelingthem into the inner ear canal. Butyou cannot directly hear your ownvoice. Your ears are behind yourmouth, like I was behind my hus-band on the hike. You hear the resultof your vocal sound waves travelingforward, hitting surfaces and bounc-ing back to you. On this return trip,these somewhat distorted waves arecaught by your outer ear and movedalong inside to your ear drum.

The voice you hear is differentfrom the one the audience hears.

As a speaker, you need thebest voice quality possible.But to get your voice sound-

ing the best it can, first you have toknow what it actually sounds like,right? And that can be difficult –because the voice you hear is differ-ent from the one the audience hears.

Just think about the first time youheard your voice captured on a taperecorder, computer or other elec-tronic device. You shook your headin amazement and said to yourfriends, “You’re joking. That’s notmy voice – is it?”

“Sure,” they replied. But you stillcould hardly believe the two soundswere one and the same.

Pretend to be one of my voicestudents for a moment and I willexplain this simple, yet profoundconcept of listening to your voice.As a speaker (or singer), you hearsomething different from your lis-teners because of three basic factorsthat work together: Your inner earhears your inner voice; your outerear receives a distorted outer voice;and your sound waves vibrate thewhole ear mechanism. The endresult is that you hear a differentvoice than other people do.

Let’s break down this process, sothat you’ll better understand how tomake vocal adjustments as a speaker.


So your inner ear not only hearsthe initial interior voice but also thedistorted, round-about exterior voicecoming in through the outer earpassage. Michael Kelly, author ofUnderstanding the Power of YourVoice, says: “You hear your voice instereo (air and bone conduction)while other people just hear it inmono (air conduction).”

Factor Three: Your sound wavesvibrate the whole ear mechanism.The sum of the first two factors –inner voice and indirect outer voice– would be enough to explain whyspeaker and listener hear two differ-ent things. But this third factor,vibration, plays an even more signif-icant role:

When I’m a guest teacher in ajunior or senior high school musicclass, I love to ask the students toexperiment with vibration: “Try

observe and play with all three fac-tors outlined above. You can exper-iment with listening to your innervoice. You can take under consider-ation the additional vibrations inyour head. But most importantly,you want to tune your outer voiceto an audience-friendly sound.

You can hear more of whateveryone else hears by amplifyingyour real voice with one of the following methods.

� Record a short speech or pieceof prose on an electronic deviceand play it back. The higherquality the microphone, the moreaccurate your recording will be.

� Extend your sound catchers –your ears! Cup a hand aroundeach ear and draw your elbowstogether. As you speak, channel

shaking your head from side to sideas rapidly as possible while you say‘peanut butter and jelly.’ ” The stu-dents have fun – the resulting wordsfeel silly and sound ridiculous! Andthis crazy illustration demonstrateswhat is going on inside your head.Sound waves being created in theneck and head of the speaker orsinger are vibrations that literallyshake up everything inside, includ-ing your inner ear mechanism.

Therefore, the inner voice andaround-the-corner outer voice arefurther distorted because your headis vibrating.

Help! How Can I HearMy Real Voice?So that explains the process of whyyou hear your own voice differentlyfrom your listeners. When you aretrying to develop the best voicequality you can, I encourage you to (Continued on page 27)

ListeningGive the Gift of


By Patrick Mott

Today leaders of an oral historyprogram want to bring this samesense of wide-eyed intrigue to peo-ple of all ages by changing a singleword of that childhood request: “Tellme your story.” The organization iscalled StoryCorps, and it recentlylaunched a campaign that encour-aged folks to listen to each other.Not just over coffee or a beer, how-ever; StoryCorps wanted people –

mates that around 30,000 familiesparticipated throughout the UnitedStates. He calls this “an absolutelyphenomenal response.”

The nonprofit organization cameup with the idea “about the time theeconomy began to go south,” saysIsay. One person listening to anoth-er’s life story, and recording it, “is theleast expensive and most meaningfulgift we can give each other in thesetough economic times,” he notes.

Can Toastmasters give this gift toeach other? Why not?

Oral history is a concept that fitsquite well with our organization’sgoals. Listening is, of course, a much-valued skill for all Toastmas ters. Sohaving members of a club split upinto pairs, for example, and inter-view each other for a speech oreven a club’s own oral history pro-ject, would further hone the abilityto listen carefully.

Hear the story of a lifetime.

Tell me a story.” It was one of our first articulate requests

as children. And when the story unfolded, we always

expected to be fascinated, enveloped in a world beyond

our own, transported to a different time and place, thoroughly

captivated by the uniqueness of it all.

“

family members, friends and others– to sit down deliberately with anaudio recorder or video camera andshare the stories of their lives.

It started in the U.S. with aNational Day of Listening, held Nov.28, and was expanded from a singleday to encompass the entire 2008holiday season. David Isay, thepresident and founder of StoryCorpsin New York City, New York, esti-


Sharing Life HistoriesToastmasters members bring richand interesting stories they can tellabout their lives. Charles W.Watson, who founded the ChicagoSouth Toast mas ters in Chicago,Illinois, says he thinks his fellowmembers would enjoy doing oralhistory interviews with each other.“I’m 80 years old – I’ve got a lot ofhistory,” says Watson, who grew upin the American South and wit-nessed many brutal acts of racismcommitted against AfricanAmericans.

There are no doubt many otherToastmasters around the globe whocould be recorded talking aboutexperiences from their past. Perhapsmembers of clubs in China couldreflect on the dramatic social andeconomic transformation they’veseen in their country; Toastmastersin Sri Lanka – young and old –could recall how the Indian Oceantsunami of 2004 impacted theircountry; and those in England couldshare their memories and impres-sions of the royal family over theyears. Maybe some clubs could asktheir members to talk specificallyabout one common, major societalevent – in Germany, perhaps thatcould be the Berlin Wall comingdown in 1989; in Australia, perhapsit could be the Olympic Games heldin Sydney in 2000.

How would such a Toastmastersproject be structured? Each clubcould tailor it to suit their own needs.The oral histories could be recordedon video camera, audio recorder orwhatever devices worked best.Perhaps once these histories werepresented to the group, memberscould then give speeches aboutwhat they saw and heard.

An added benefit of sharing lifestories in this way is that it wouldenable fellow Toastmasters to getto know each other even better,increasing feelings of club cama-raderie and friendship.

of oral historians that was estab-lished in 1966.

“Storytelling is at the heart ofwho we are, the way we under-stand the world, and has been sincetime immemorial, whether it’s aboutepic events or just everyday occur-rences,” says Hardy. “And what thetape recorder and now the videorecorder allow us to do is capturethose living voices and preservethem. And the new digital tech- nologies make it not only affordablebut very easy to transcribe themand edit them into polished piecesthat are a delight to listen to formany people.”

Beyond making a unique giftfor the subject of the interview –indeed, for other family membersand friends as well – a recordedstory of their life in their own wordsprovides an invaluable link to other

Learning to ListenStoryCorps, which was founded in2003, has also published a bookdetailing how to conduct oral histo-ry interviews; it’s called Listening Isan Act of Love (Penguin Press).

Far from being a difficult orarcane skill set, listening and inter-viewing family members, friendsand others about their lives is some-thing any amateur can easily learnwith a bit of preparation and somesimple and, usually, inexpensivetools, says Isay. Toastmasters meet-ings and informal gatherings ofmembers can be ideal opportunitiesto work on these techniques andexchange personal histories, he says.

Beyond this, however, participa-tion in the gathering of individualoral histories offers deep and lastingrewards, say professional oral histo-rians such as Charles Hardy III, thepresident of the Oral HistoryAssociation, an international group

A Few Tips for Oral History Interviews� Do your homework. Learn as much as you can about the person

you’re going to interview before sitting down with them. Ask yourself:What can I learn from this person? What have they lived through andexperienced that’s likely to be of interest?

� Prepare your questions in advance, but don’t write them down.Become familiar with what you want to ask, but use the questions asguidelines rather than a strict road map. Be willing to let the personyou’re interviewing take the story where they want.

� Choose a quiet environment where you won’t be distracted or disturbed.

� Listen actively and closely. Don’t concentrate on your next question;concentrate on what the person is saying.

� Take your time. Let the person tell the story without limits of time or subject. Keep yourself in the background. Don’t be afraid of silences.

� Ask open-ended questions. Encourage the subject to go into detail.For example, how did a particular person in the story look, dress andspeak? How was a room furnished?

� Avoid leading questions or questions that can be answered with a simple yes or no. Begin each with who, what, when, where or how.

� At the end of the interview, ask the person if there is anything theywant to add, or if they want to address a subject that didn’t come upduring the interview.

� Make sure your recording equipment is in good shape and batteriesare fresh.

(Continued on page 28)


Within six months, most of these department headswere let go. I believe that the same lack of imaginationthat caused the faculty members to scoff at my presenta-tion contributed to their short-lived careers.

How to putstorytelling to workin your organization.

By Caren Neile, Ph.D, ATMS/CL

Let me tell you a story: I once presented a program to the depart-

ment heads of a university business school in which I attempted to

demonstrate why and how storytelling was useful to their students.

After a few jokes about milk and cookies, these professors told me that they

preferred statistics to stories. The consensus was that with a few minor excep-

tions, storytelling had no place in a serious business school curriculum.

Fortunately, imagination is very much in evidenceat some of the greatest organizations in the world,from Nike to the World Bank. The leaders of thesecompanies know that storytelling is one of the most


powerful tools of persua-sion there is, and for goodreason. According toMakingstories.net presi-dent Terrence Gargiulo,well-told stories can per-form nine main functions:

� Empower a speaker� Create a particular environment

� Bond individuals� Engage the mind inactive listening

� Negotiate differencesamong individuals andgroups

� Encode information� Serve as tools for thinking� Act as weapons� Bring about healing

What’s more, they accom-plish all these tasks byappealing to emotion andenhancing memory –creating indelible images inour hearts and minds thatare so strong, we actuallyfeel we have experiencedthe story ourselves.

Perhaps even more importantly, storytelling exercisesthe imagination. And when you have a strong imagina-tion, you can imagine alternatives to a whole range ofbusiness and personal challenges, from developing a newtype of widget to solving inter-office conflicts.

What is Storytelling?The National Storytelling Network, and the several thou-sand professional storytellers it represents, define story-telling as face-to-face oral narrative that employs non-verbal communication and imagination. However, storiescan also be created for annual reports, newsletters andany other internal or external written business communi-cations. Just bear in mind that when stories are sharedlive, they tend to be much more powerful than whenthey appear in print.

For one thing, the storyteller can gauge the best wayto deliver the story by the reaction of the audience. Thismeans that if attention is flagging or people look puz-zled, he or she can respond immediately and adjust theperformance accordingly. In addition, a dynamic perfor-mance can generate the kind of energy that engages andinspires, especially for people who may not respond aswell to the printed word, such as young people or thosewith limited reading skills.

How Do Leaders Use Storytelling?Stories told by leaders – whether they are bosses, gener-als, politicians or team captains – are generally intendedto build trust, motivate, inspire or educate, and some-times all four at once. They can be personal experiencestories, folktales, current events stories or fictional talescreated for a particular situation. Leaders can deliver a

full-blown story with a beginning, middle and ending aspart of a speech or in a meeting. They can also use storyshorthand, referring to a name, event or phrase thatsummons up a familiar narrative in the minds of the listeners. For example, mentioning “9/11” so powerfullyevokes the image of a cataclysmic terrorist strike thatwhen Mumbai, India, fell under attack, the events weredescribed as “the 9/11 of India.”

Experts say that the most effective type of story inany given situation depends on which of the above-mentioned goals a leader intends to achieve. Business-storytelling guru Annette Simmons, president of GroupProcess Consulting, says there are six types of storiesthat leaders tell:

� Who I Am. A story that demonstrates where I am coming from and why you should trust me

� Why I Am Here. A story that expresses my agenda� The Vision. A story that reflects a vision of the future

that my listeners can buy into � Teaching Stories. Demonstrating how and why a

desired skill is valuable� Values-in-Action. An example of the positive benefits

of shared values � I Know What You Are Thinking. A story that reflects what

I know about the group I’m addressing to show that Ihave their interests and attitudes at heart. Simmons notesthat these kinds of stories will help persuade others thatthe leader is worthy of their trust and hard work.

“Storytelling is one of the most powerful tools of

persuasion there is, and for good reason.”


When Do Leaders Share Stories?Do you train people in your line of work? Jo Tyler, assistant professor at Pennsylvania State University,has worked in organizational development for severalcorporations, including the Otis Elevator Company.She recalls that an escalator repairman who ignoredsafety precautions was once seriously injured on thejob. Instead of letting the man go, Tyler reassignedhim to train the company’s maintenance crews. Hetold his story to new hires, and the company’s safetyrecord skyrocketed.

Do you need to resolve diversity issues? Acclaimedstoryteller/trainer Susan O’Halloran works with corpora-tions to help them resolve employee issues connected togender, race, religion and other sensitive subjects. Oneof O’Halloran’s most effective stories is a West Africanfolktale she calls “Kofi’s Hat.”: Two brothers and two sisters got along perfectly; the couples married and happily settled on adjacent yam farms. When they decided to pool their resources and work together, theywon the village’s annual yam contest, much to the dismay of the perennial winner, Kofi.

Kofi then created a hat that was different on theright than on the left. He walked down the roadbetween the two farms and caused dissension betweenthe couples as to what the hat actually looked like.They stopped speaking to each other and neverworked together again. Needless to say, they never wonthe yam contest again.

You can see how a story like this could lead to auseful discussion among people who are certain thattheir – and only their – perspective is correct.

Want to liven up a meeting or keynote address?Create a strategic plan or corporate vision? Ignitechange? Enhance technology? Personalize employeeorientation sessions or annual reviews? In these situations and more, storytelling has brought aboutproven results.

How Can You Start Using StorytellingIn Your Organization?You may wish to keep a story diary of memories thatcome to you during your day that you may wish toshare with others in your organization. Or, you cansearch the Internet for folktale collections that containsimple tales demonstrating important character traits.You may also put out a call to your organization forstories – anonymous or not – that demonstrate certainthemes (courage, loyalty, jealousy, honesty) or situa-tions (first day at work, harassment, job training). Asyou can see by the examples, the stories may be positive or negative, depending on the desired goal.Some companies initiate sessions where employees ofall levels are mixed together in small groups and sharestories on particular themes. In cases like this, be sureto encourage good listening skills, without judgmentand with generosity. You may also wish to employ the“Vegas” rule – that is, the stories told in the groupremain in the group.

Is there a storyteller in the house? Although the abilityto tell and understand stories is said to be one of themain characteristics that makes us human, some peopleare more talented and practiced at it than others. Youmay not be comfortable sharing stories with those youlead. In that case, there may be someone else in yourorganization who can take on that role.

Or, you may wish to bring in a professional storytellerto coach and guide you, or even to help create and present the story herself. (To find a storyteller, visit theNational Storytelling Network at www.storynet.org.)Just remember storytelling consultant Stephen Denning’sadvice: We don’t choose to use storytelling in business;we must use it if we are to achieve consensus aboutthe organization’s goals and the best way to achievethem. The only choice, he says, is whether or notwe do it well.

Caren S. Neile, Ph.D., ATMS/CL, is a member of WestBoca Toastmasters in Boca Raton, Florida. She directsthe South Florida Storytelling Project at Florida AtlanticUniversity and serves as Southeast Regional Directoron the Board of the National Storytelling Network.Dr. Neile has presented on storytelling at two Toast -masters lnternational Conventions. You can reach herat [email protected].

Some Leading Books onStorytelling for Leaders� Denning, Stephen. The Leader’s Guide to Storytelling:

Mastering the Art and Discipline of BusinessNarrative. John Wiley & Sons, 2005.

� Silverman, Lori L. Wake Me Up When the Data IsOver. Jossey-Bass, 2006.

� Simmons, Annette. The Story Factor: Inspiration,Influence and Persuasion Through the Art of Story -telling. 2nd Revised Edition. Basic Books, 2006.

� Simmons, Annette. Whoever Tells the Best StoryWins. AMACOM, 2007.

� Wacker, Mary B. and Silverman, Lori L. StoriesTrainers Tell: 55 Ready-to-Use Stories to Make TrainingStick. Pfeiffer, 2005.

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By John Spaith, ACS

The Art of Bragging

the Mayo Clinic or that you’ve seenevery Golden Girls episode 15times, your audience is more likelyto pay attention to you and, moreimportantly, your message. If you’reabsolutely awesome at something –even if it’s only Golden Girls trivia –let the audience know by tellingthem early and directly.

DBAJThe principle I follow when brag-ging is DBAJ – “Don’t Be a Jerk.”Most of us are so afraid of violatingDBAJ that we go to the otherextreme of not bragging at all. Youprobably understand intellectuallythe need for self-promotion, but ata gut level you may be terrifiedyou’ll look snotty. DBAJ helpsserve as a self-check.

First, is what you’re saying relevant? Consider a speaker start-ing with: “Hello everyone! I canspeak six languages, am a Frenchchef and a concert pianist. TodayI’m going to talk about improving

your tennis game.” None of Mr.Perfect’s skills is related in anyway to teaching me tennis. Insteadit feels like he wants to teach mehow great he is.

The next check is whether theaudience can possibly relate to anyaspect of the achievements you’rebragging about. Consider tennisgreat Andre Agassi. He has a lot ofGod-given talent and I can’t relateto the level at which he plays thegame. But I can relate to the factthat Andre has overcome a lot toget where he is. That’s enough.Even if you’re talking about thetime you won Wimbledon, a rea-sonable audience won’t resent yoursuccess if you talk about how youscrewed up along the way – howyou’re human like them. What anaudience won’t put up with is a jerkwho says, “I’m a natural at tennis,I’ve won too many tournaments tocount, and I don’t remember learn-ing, so it’s always interesting tryingto teach people.”

Bad bragging has a badrap and rightly so – butgood bragging is goodfor you!

The Toastmasters party line goes something like this:We’re a supportive group where members are guaran-teed to have listeners who always give their undivided

attention. Um .. . not always. And if you can’t hold the atten-tion of a bunch of supportive public speaking devotees, whathappens when you’re in the real world? You can lose anaudience fast with a boring opening. But there’s another

problem that often goes undiagnosed:failing to brag about yourself.

I’ve given the speech this articleis based on many times and alwaysreceive nasty glares when I say the“b-word.” Bad bragging has a badrap and rightly so. But braggingdone right establishes credibility andcreates an audience connection. Ionce visited a club where thespeaker told us about the need forvitamin supplements. Two thirdsinto her speech she said as anaside, “This reminds me of backwhen I was finishing medicalschool...” Huh? Because the womandidn’t do any bragging, I’d thoughtshe was an amateur rehashing theencyclopedia, not a trained experton the subject.

Professional speakers don’t makethis mistake. Pros appreciate theyhave competition and so shouldyou. You’re competing for the audience’s attention – against theirstray thoughts if nothing else. Bybragging about your internship at


T

The final DBAJ check is to makesure you don’t spend too long brag-ging. No matter how good you areat it, you need to get it over withquickly. How long you shouldspend bragging is analogous to how

long a mini-skirt should be: shortenough to be interesting, but longenough to cover the essentials.

Implementation DetailsWhen I give the “Art of Bragging”talk, I have the audience act as aspeaking coach for a hypotheticaltennis player on the lecture circuit. InIntro A, he very dramatically tells howhe was losing a match badly until hiscompetitor made a vulgar remark thatinspired him to come back, eventhough it almost killed him. Intro Bhas some decent bragging (no DBAJviolations) that’s a bit dry about vari-ous tennis tournaments he won. Noone ever has said that Intro B is bet-ter. You should brag sooner in yourspeech rather than later, but itdoesn’t have to be your lead.

get away with the “I’m your Frenchchef/tennis instructor/…” bulletpoint list on paper than it is com-ing out of your mouth.

Don’t Establish CredibilityWhy am I saying “brag” all over theplace rather than something morepalatable, like “establish your credi-bility”? It’s because I’ve found it’smuch easier to think up ways tobrag about myself and then root outthe jerk parts rather than start outwith “establishing my credibility”and try to build it up so it’s notwishy-washy.

I’m sure someone is angry atdumb John Spaith right now. You’llcomplain that your speech contentshould do all the bragging for you.Fine. In a fair world, you’d be guar-anteed to have everyone always lis-ten to your speech too. Just thinkabout the doctor and the vitamins.Take a bragging pill – not for your-self, but for your audience.

John Spaith, ACS, is a Frenchchef, concert pianist, tennis pro...Never mind. John is just a memberof Redmond Toastmasters inRedmond, Washing ton, who triesreal hard. Visit his blog athttp://www.mySpaith.com/.

It’s important to put as muchthought into your bragging as youwould the opening and conclusionof your speech, even if you skimpon the body. Your bragging can’tbe off-the-cuff like Table Topics or

you’ll risk gettinginto troublesome day. Eitheryou’ll be too self-deprecating, a la“I have a DTMbut, well, youknow that’s not

so big a deal really, oh nevermind.” Or you’ll say something thatmakes you look like a jerk, catchyourself, and then lamely back-track. Your bragging needs to berehearsed to the point that it’s likepushing the play button on yourDVD machine.

A great way to brag is to havethe Toastmaster, emcee or printedagenda do it for you. Even thoughyou’re still the one writing nicethings about yourself, seeing it onthe page or hearing it from some-one else gives the audience adegree of removal from your brag-ging. This also saves you fromproblems with impromptu brag-ging. The same general rules ofDBAJ apply regardless of who ispraising you, though it’s easier to

“A great way to brag is to have

the Toastmaster, emcee or

printed agenda do it for you.”

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Safeguarding the Toastmasters Brand:

By Tammy A. Miller, DTM, PID

M ost of us can name our favorite brand, whether it’s a

type of coffee, cereal or clothing line. But, we don’t

often think of why the brand is important in our choice

of that product. Reasons may include the quality of

craftsmanship, the price, or the value you get for what you

pay – but whatever it is, there’s that something extra that

makes us want to purchase the item.

It’s All

NameIn the

Recently, the term “branding” has become a buzzword that evokes not only aproduct but often something else associated with that product, such as a visual imageor a catchy slogan. Think of Nike. One of the most recognized branding symbols inthe world is the Nike “Swoosh,” the ever-present logo – it looks like a small tail or alittle wing – that is on countless Nike products. Then there is its equally famous slogan, “Just Do It.” Together, the logo and advertising phrase have helped makeNike one of the most dominant brands in the world.

While Toastmasters isn’t in the business of selling sneakers, it has elements in com-mon with Nike – and many other global brands as well. Perhaps you have neverthought of Toastmasters International as a brand? Yes, there is also a famous appliancecompany called Toastmaster, Inc., that still generates phone calls to the ToastmastersInternational Headquarters about fixing toasters (honest!), but we are ToastmastersInternational. Whether you see our logo or just hear the word “Toast masters,” there isan immediate recognition – at least for all members of this organization, and for manypeople throughout the fields of business and industry as well.

Defining a Toastmasters TaglineIf someone were to ask you what Toastmasters stands for, what comes to your mind– what’s your immediate response? That initial response gives us better insight into


TOASTMASTERSINTERNATIONAL®

how we really feel about our organization. As an exer-cise, try this in your club meeting: Ask your memberswhat words come to mind when they hear the name“Toastmasters International.” Hope fully, the words willinclude: communication, leadership, fun, speeches, TableTopics, evaluations, fellowship, meetings and other posi-tive responses.

A strong and successful brand, however, is also asso-ciated with words such as: ethics, integrity, information,

life-changing, confidence and leaders. Does the image ofToast masters conjure up those words? For most of us,the answer is yes.

What other words can you name or would you expectto hear in response to this question in your club meeting?

The tag lines we use as an organization are also vitalto our branding. Many of us remember this formerToastmasters tag line: “Making Effective Communicationa Worldwide Reality” (and some readers of the Toast -master may remember other signature phrases from ourhistory). This former motto of ours was an excellentchoice to help people understand that we are a commu-nication-building organization. However, as we changedour organizational goals to also include leadership-build-ing skills, it was necessary to change to our current tagline: “Become the Speaker and Leader You Want to Be.”

Now anyone who visits our Web site, or picks upour quality materials, can see that we are not only acommunication organization but our program alsobuilds strong leaders.

A Symbol of QualityOur logo is another key piece of our branding, and it’sone we need to protect to maintain the high level ofstandards we represent. If you have ever been in a position to create a logo, you know how much thoughtgoes into something like this. Many of us belong toorganizations that allow us to use their logos on anypiece of material we choose, whether it is a well-craftedbusiness card or a poorly designed educational piece fora conference. There are no limitations. One danger ofthis is that someone might look at the item and – notknowing the organization – decide that the entire groupis of the same quality as the poorly designed material.At Toastmasters, we have seen this happen many times,and so we take great steps to preserve the quality of thematerials that bear our logo.


The Globe Logovs. the Text Emblem:

Which to use?

The Toastmasters “globe” logo is recognized world-wide. But over the years, the organization has also

used a graphic image of the Toastmasters name as analternative or in addition to using the official logo. Thistext emblem can, at times, be a better representative ofToastmasters International, depending on the project athand. Both the logo and the alternative text emblemare acceptable to use on official Toastmasters materials.You’re encouraged to use the text emblem as it bestsuits your needs: in addition to the logo or instead ofthe logo. But you should know the rules for using thelogo and the text emblem, in any case:

� Using Existing Toastmasters Products. Toast -masters’ manuals, programs, and other materials arecopyrighted and may not be reproduced in any formwithout advance written permission from WHQ. So ifyou find materials that carry a logo or text emblem, besure to ask for permission by [email protected] before copying and dis-tributing any of it.

� Using the Logo or Text Emblem on Your OwnMaterials. The names “Toastmasters” and“Toastmasters International” as well as the logo aretrademarks and cannot be printed, engraved or placedon any other items (e.g. badges, trophies, plaques, cer-tificates, coffee mugs, clothing, etc.) without writtenapproval from WHQ. Any such use is a violation oftrademark law and TI policy. For example, Club 9999may not purchase trophies from a local shop and have“Toastmasters International” engraved on them. Theycan be used, however, for official Toastmasters docu-ments, such as a club or district newsletter.

This is only part of the story. Be sure to visit mem-bers.toastmasters.org and search for “logos” to readmore about the appropriate use of the logo and thetext emblem.

Likewise, the Toastmasters online store offers a widevariety of items that maintains the organization’s highstandards and keeps them consistent across all levels.

As members of Toastmasters International, we eachhave an individual responsibility to protect and preserveour brand. When we wear a lapel pin, or talk to peopleabout how this organization has changed our lives, orthe lives of those around us – or how we have learnedvaluable communication and leadership skills – we arerepresenting our brand. When people look at us and seethe pin, or know our association with Toastmasters, theymay be deciding whether or not this is a group theywould like to be associated with, in some cases justbecause of that initial connection. How are you repre-senting our organization?

What an organization stands for and how its membersrepresent it are key elements for building membership inthat organization. Many of us join clubs and associationsbecause we believe in the work they are doing and whatthey stand for, and it is the same with Toastmasters. Weall have the responsibility to bring more members to ourmeetings. While we have district officers who are respon-sible at that level for membership building, it is the indi-vidual members who have the greatest impact on newmembership, club building and growth.

Word of Mouth is Best Promotional ToolThink about it – why did you join Toastmasters? Formost of us, it was because someone asked us to cometo a meeting, or a friend or relative suggested this greatplace to learn or hone communication and leadershipskills. Or the idea may have been brought up at anannual employment review. Maybe you simply saw asign advertising Toastmasters meetings in your area andyou were curious, so you attended a meeting.

Whatever brought you to Toastmasters, you arehere. But what is keeping you here? Whatever it is,share your enthusiasm with others. What role are youplaying in helping to build your club or our organiza-tion? Have you brought a guest to a recent meeting?Have you asked friends and family to get involvedwith our organization? Do you remember the excite-ment you felt when you finished your Ice Breakerwithout fainting, or completed your first manual?How has your life changed?

I know that my life changed tremendously becauseof my involvement with Toastmasters. It’s easy for meto talk to people about this organization, because itnot only changed my life, but I have seen so manyother lives changed for the better as people learnedhow to put their thoughts together and realized thatnot only do they have something to say, they are nowempowered and equipped to say it. For some of us,


Editor’s Note: Here are some items available in our online store to help you get the word out about Toastmasterswhile preserving the organization’s branding efforts.

� Find Your Voice (Item 99)� Confidence. The Voice of Leadership (Item 101)� All About Toastmasters (Item 124)� How Confident Are You? Fliers (Item 116)

� Toastmasters Can Help Cards (Item 119)� Your Membership Provides Fliers (Item 354)

For details about these items or a complete listingof products, go to www.toastmasters.org/shop.

the benefit may just be presenting thoughts atwork more efficiently. Others have talked abouttheir life experiences in their speeches, in order togive hope to others dealing with difficult situations.The list of how we use the skills we learn inToastmasters is endless, but sometimes we forgethow far we have come from that first club meeting– how much we have grown!

Smedley’s Sage WordsOur organization’s founder, Dr. Ralph Smedley, oncesaid, “Ours is the only organization I know that is dedicated to the individual. We work together to bringout the best in each of us, and then apply our skills tohelp others.” It is indeed our responsibility as membersto make a difference, to introduce others to this life-

changing organization, remembering why we gotinvolved and why we stay involved.

When we all work together to protect the valuablebrand of communication and leadership training we havedeveloped over the past 85 years, and to make sure theToastmasters name and logo is representative of ourquality programs, more people will understand why weare so proud of what we have to offer.

What a unique gift we can give others as we bringthem to our program. Fellow Toastmasters, together wedo make a difference in our organization!

Tammy A. Miller, DTM, PID, is an international speaker, authorand coach. She is a member of the State College Toast -mas ters and the ARL Pingers, in State College, Pennsylvania.You may contact her at www.tammyspeaks.com.

the sound up your arms and intoyour ears.

� Purchase two PVC elbows that fittogether like a phone. Speak intoone end while the other end ispositioned around your ear.(Caution: The smooth, hard plas-tic conducts sounds so well, youcan damage your ear drum byspeaking or singing too loudly.)

With each of these methods, yourinitial goal is hearing the voice yourlisteners hear. Do you like it? First,get past the fact that it sounds differ-ent from what you normally hear.Then, ask yourself if this is how youwish to sound to other people. Ifyou don’t like what you hear, you dohave the power to change it withawareness, practice and time.

Get Used to YourVoice – or Change ItShould you decide you wish to modi-fy your voice, the next step is playingwith your sound. Re-record or useyour sound catchers or PVC “phone”to help you listen to the changes untilyou have something you like. Thenpractice this new way of speaking un -til it becomes second nature. Anotherhelpful option is hiring a trusted vocalcoach who can give you professionalfeedback on your real voice.

Seldom should a voice be changeddrastically. Often the speaker justneeds time to get used to the idea thatthe listener hears something different.Remember, different can be Okay.

Is it important to know what yourlisteners hear? Think about your oldhigh school teacher with the nasallyvoice or your hair stylist who soundsso breathy. These people probablygive no thought to their sound.

However, the speaker’s voice makesan impression on the listener.

Ask yourself these questions. Iswhat I have to tell people importantenough to present it in the mostappealing manner? Does my voicecomplement or distract from my mes-sage? How much am I willing to workon my voice to make it work for me?

Some day you might be a Toast -masters speech finalist whose record-ing gets passed around clubs all overthe world. I say, “Go for it!” Maxi mizethe impact of your unique voice.

Nancy Sebastian Meyer, ATMB, CL,is a member and past president ofthe Downtown Sunrise Toastmastersin Lancaster, Pennsylvania. A nation-al speaker and author, she has recorded two solo albums and mentors students in voice andspeaking. To learn more, visitwww.nancysebastianmeyer.com.

That’s Not My Voice – Is It?(Continued from page 13)

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times and places and, often, a deep-er connection between intimates.

“There is no life story that’s notinteresting,” says Elisabeth Pozzi-Thanner, the founder of OralHistory Productions, a professionaloral history organization. “We canoften [learn] the biggest lessonsfrom interviews we don’t think, atthe outset, will be promising.”

Helping to HealAnd the person sharing their storiescan also find the process greatlyrewarding, adds Pozzi-Thanner, whohas worked as a broadcast journalistand social worker, and who has con-ducted more than 100 interviews forSteven Spielberg’s Survivors of theShoah Visual History Foundation.

“How rare it is in our times,when everybody is talking constant-ly, that a person is given the chance

to sit in front of a microphone witha deep listener who says, ‘Pleaseshare your life story with me,’” shesays. “That can have a really healingimpact sometimes.”

If there is one absolute iron-claddictum by which oral historians liveand work, it is this: There are noinsignificant or ordinary life stories.Hardy tells of an elderly womanfrom South Philadelphia whom heinterviewed once, not expecting tohear what he heard.

“She had worked in the clothingindustry, a typical modest elderlywoman,” Hardy says. “And it turnsout she had come to America fromRussia at age 5 and lived throughthe influenza epidemic of 1918 andlost many family members. I askedhow many children were in herfamily. She said 12. And how bigwas her apartment? Three rooms,she said. They all slept in the samebed, shared the same hot water forbaths once a week, made room forrelatives from Russia when they’dcome to stay. It turned out to be anextraordinary re-creation of life in aPhiladelphia immigrant neighbor-hood in the first part of the 20thcentury, absolutely fascinating.”

Such stories often galvanize people– many of them Baby Boomers whohave entertained the idea of inter-viewing their elders – into action.

“I’ve been on a book tour withListening Is an Act of Love,” notesIsay of StoryCorps, “and I’d say 50people come up to me each daysaying, ‘I wish I would have inter-viewed my grandfather or myfather.’ Part of the lesson ofStoryCorps is letting people knowthat it’s really worth it to do it now.They won’t regret it.”

To learn more about StoryCorps,and to hear people’s stories andget tips on good interview tech-niques, tools and resources, go towww.StoryCorps.org.

Patrick Mott is a Southern California-based writer and regular contributorto this magazine.

Give the Gift of Listening(Continued from page 15)

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Organizations around the world are becomingmore focused on environmental con cerns,

and Toast masters Inter national is no exception. In aneffort to combine first-rate service to members withenvironmental stewardship, WHQ will send the up -coming member dues renewal invoice via e-mail,rather than through the postal service.

Members will benefit from this change inseveral ways:

� Renewal invoices will be delivered faster and more efficiently. � E-mail delivery is cost-effective, saving the organization (and its

members) from unnecessary spending.� Delivery by e-mail is more convenient for many members.

Club officers, please look for the April 2009 dues renewal invoice in youre-mail inbox the first week of March. Remember, member renewals are dueby April 1, 2009. Club officers will be able to submit renewals online throughthe Club Business login: www.toastmasters.org/clubbusiness startingthe first week of March.

We welcome your support in helping Toastmasters International savetrees and postage!

Look for Your Renewal Invoicein Your E-mail Inbox!

SpecialAnnouncement

RegardingApril 2009 Dues

Renewals

Club Officers:

FUNNY YOUSHOULD SAY THAT! By John Cadley


mentioned that she was unhappyabout the cold weather we were hav-ing – it was December in Massachu -setts – and I replied, “Ah yes, now isthe winter of our discontent.” Shelooked stunned, as if Cupid had laidaside his traditional bow and arrowand had instead hit her over thehead with a club. She fell breathless-ly into my arms and I’ve been quot-ing Shakespeare ever since.

Recently, a colleague askedabout my progress on an assign-ment he had given me.

“When is it due?” I asked.“Tomorrow.”I looked at him with baleful eyes

and said, “Tomorrow… and tomor-row…and tomorrow creeps in thispetty pace from day to day to the lastsyllable of recorded time. And allour yesterdays have lighted fools theway to dusty death. Out, out briefcandle! Life’s but a – ”

At which point he interrupted meand said, “You know what?Whenever you get to it. No rush.”

You really don’t have to memorizemuch, either. You can simply say, “Tobe or not to be, that is the question,”and people will think you know thewhole speech. Throw in a littlesomething about the slings andarrows of outrageous fortune andthey may even think you wrote it.

Best of all, Shakespeare affordsus the delicious pleasure of insult-ing others with impunity. The nexttime someone makes you angry,rear back and say: “Thou calum-nious onion-eyed death-token! Thoucockered, plume-plucked fustilarian!Thou roguish, tickle-brained clot-pole!” Trust me: They will take it as

� Perhaps you’ve heard the expres-sion, “Everybody wants to go toheaven but nobody wants to die.” Forwe language lovers, the equivalentmight be, “Everybody wants to bewell-read but nobody wants to read.”Or, said another way, everyone wantsto be thought of as well read. Forsome reason, there is an automaticassumption that if you read a lot, youknow a lot. This has always seemedlike a suspect goal to me, since highlyknowledgeable people have gotten usinto just about every mess there is.But admired they are, and if we wantthat same admiration there are twoways to get it. One is to actually reada lot, remember what you’ve readand to reference it at the perfect time.

That seems like a lot of work tome, and there is always the dangerof matching the wrong author withthe wrong book and having sometwerpy former English major catchyou, in which case you’ll be labeleda poseur and sent to the corner witha dunce cap on your head.

Thankfully, there is an easier,faster and much safer way: quoteShakespeare. For some reason, quot-ing even a few lines of the Bardmakes people think you’ve read theentire canon of Western literature.

I know this from experience. Iwas educated at a time when stu-dents were required to memorizeShakespeare’s more famous solilo-quies. And while the rest of that edu-cation went through my skull likewind through a tunnel, the interiormonologues of Richard III, Macbeth,Hamlet and the rest somehow stuck.I remember one time in particular agirl with whom I was infatuated

a compliment that their stupidity,ignorance and ineptitude can bedescribed in such lavish terms.

So now the question is: How doyou quote Shakespeare? First of all,don’t go to the plays. The rhythmsof Elizabethan iambic pentametersound to the modern ear like aninebriated British aristocrat speakingwith a speech impediment. You’llunderstand every fifth word at bestand feel like you’re taking a class inEnglish as a second language.

And don’t buy The CompleteWorks of Shakespeare. It weighs 40pounds and you could hurt yourself.

The obvious way, of course, is tospend a few minutes with Bartlett’sFamiliar Quotations. Or you coulduse the Internet, although GooglingShakespeare gives even a barbarianlike me pause. Somehow, ferretingout the most beautiful words in theEnglish language with search enginealgorithms is just bad form.

The easiest way is to make oneup yourself, which is easier than itsounds. Throw in an “in sooth,” an“alas,” and some cheesy poeticmetaphor and who’s going to knowthe difference? Just this morning I waslate for a status meeting and whenasked for an explanation, I proclaimed,“In sooth, time is a thief that steals mybest intentions and leaves me, alas,well past the appointed hour for ourmeeting, hey nonny nonny.”

My boss looked at me suspiciously.He didn’t think Shakespeare went tostatus meetings. But he wasn’t sure.

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

As Ol’ Will Would Say...

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