Competent Communicator Award from Toastmasters

Hello! I’ve just received my Competent Communicator Award from Toastmasters International. That means that I gave 10 speeches in front of an audience in my local club. Would you like to know what about were those speeches? Below is a list of the titles. Most of the speeches are in some form converted into articles on this website.

18th Jun 2007 – Icebreaker
29th Oct 2007 – Reiki
26th Nov 2007 – The Law of Attraction
17th Dec 2007 – Practical Use of the Angels
18th Feb 2008 – You Can Be a Tai Chi Master
14th Apr 2008 – Unleash the Power Within
26th May 2008 – Vegan Children
01st Sep 2008 – Raw Vegan Food
29th Sep 2008 – EFT – Emotional Freedom Technique
24th Nov 2008 – Money Free World

Each speech has to obey some rules and guidances, at the bottom there is a list of them. It took me a year and a half to complete these ten speeches which is fairly good. Doing it in one year would be too crammed, although there are people doing it faster. Each speech lasts only several minutes but preparation takes countless hours spread over weeks. Writing articles takes also a lot of time but it is much faster. Non the less it is worth it. In between those speeches I played almost every role in the club: I recited two poems, introduced word of the day three times, kept timing of other member’s speeches etc…, once I even was a Head Toastmaster for one day – that means that I kept control of the whole meeting. This year I’m a also a secretary so I log each meeting and I prepare a program/agenda before each meeting. There are many advanced speakers in my club, Competent Communicator – 10 speeches is just a first step into an art of public speaking. Here are guidances for those first 10 speeches:

 
 

Speech 1 – The Ice breaker
Objectives:

  • To begin speaking before an audience,
  • To discover speaking skills you already have and skill that need some attention.
    Time: 4 – 6 mins.  

     

    Speech 2 – Organise your speech
    Objectives:

  • Select an appropriate outline which allows listeners to easily follow and understand your speech.
  • Make your message clear, with supporting material directly contributing to that message.
  • Use appropriate transitions when moving from one idea to another.
  • Create a strong opening and conclusion .
    Time: 5-7 mins.  

     

    Speech 3 – Get to the point
    Objectives:

  • Select a speech topic and determine its general and specific purposes.
  • Organise the speech in a manner that best achieves these purposes.
  • Project sincerity and conviction and control any nervousness you may feel.
  • Strive not to use notes.
    Time: 5 – 7 mins.  
     

    Speech 4 – How to say it.
    Objectives:

  • Select the right words and sentence structure to communicate your ideas clearly, accurately and vividly.
  • Use rhetorical devices to enhance and emphasis ideas.
  • Eliminate jargon and unnecessary words. Use correct grammar
    Time: 5 -7 mins.  

     

    Speech 5 – Your body speaks.
    Objectives:

  • Use stance, movement, gestures, facial expressions and eye contact to express your message and achieve your speech’s purpose.
  • Make your body language smooth and natural.
    Time: 5 – 7 mins.  

     

    Speech 6 – Vocal Variety.
    Objectives:

  • Use voice volume, pitch, rate and quality to reflect and add meaning and
  • interest to your message.
  • Use pauses to enhance your message.
  • Use vocal variety smoothly and naturally.
    Time 5 – 7 mins.  

     

    Speech 7 – Research your topic.
    Objectives:

  • Collect information about your topic from numerous sources.
  • Carefully support your points and opinions with specific facts, examples and illustrations gathered through research.
    Time 5 – 7 mins.  

     

    Speech 8 – Get comfortable with visual aids.
    Objectives:

  • Select visual aids that are appropriate for your message and the audience.
  • Use visual aids correctly with ease and confidence.
    Time 5 – 7 mins.  

     

    Speech 9 – Persuade with power.
    Objectives:

  • Persuade listeners to adopt your viewpoint or ideas or to take some action.
  • Appeal to the audience’s interests.
  • Use logic and emotion to support your position.
  • Avoid using notes.
    Time 5 – 7 mins.  

     

    Speech 10 – Inspire your audience.
    Objectives:

  • To inspire the audience by appealing to noble motives and challenging the audience to achieve a higher level of beliefs or achievement.
  • Appeal to the audience’s needs and emotions, using stories, anecdotes and quotes to add drama.
  • Avoid using notes
    Time 8 – 10 mins.  

     

    Each speech and any presentation in Toastmasters has to avoid top three controversial topics: sex, religion and politics. Beside that there are really no restrictions and there is unlimited selection of topics. I’ve chosen those that I liked most. I am so happy that I gave these speeches and to have this award now :)

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    This entry was posted on Friday, December 19th, 2008 at 5:53 pm and is filed under Announcements, Informative. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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