Ten Public Speaking Resources for Toastmasters

Knowledge is of two kinds.  We know a subject ourselves, or we know where we can find information on it. –  Samuel Johnson The web is full of knowledge, if you only know where to look. For a Toastmasters there are plenty of good websites to have a look and increase your knowledge. Want to [...]

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Table Topics Tip #2: What Not To Do

Before you can learn how to be a better table topic speaker, you must first learn what not to do. If you can learn this, you’re well on your way to fooling people (and eventually yourself) into thinking you’re a good table topics speaker. What not to do: 1. Don’t ask the table topics master [...]

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The Road to Mashantucket – the tour

From August 12 – 15 the 2009 International Toastmasters Convention will be held in Mashantucket, Connecticut. The icing on the cake will be the 2009 International Speech Contest. District winners from outside North America will have to compete in the Interdistrict Speech Contest on August 11 for the last two coveted positions in the world [...]

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Mental Preparation

One of the most potent ways of improving your public speaking skills, and one which I highly recommend, is mental preparation. Before you stand in front of the audience and speak, you have to have prepared.  The preparation is basically of two kinds: physical preparation, by writing down your speech and making it conform to [...]

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Toastmaster of the Evening (The First Time)

When I first started with Toastmasters (TM) I thought it was just about speaking (prepared and impromptu) and evaluating. I never quite noticed the significance of the role of the Toastmaster of the Evening (TME) and I sure had no idea just how much work and how much fun it could be. After having been a TME, my TM experiences have acquired a whole new dimension!

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Write your speech 2.0

How do you write your speeches? You may not write them at all, and use a mind map or just jot down the main points. You may write your speech by hand. Many people feel the pen is still the best way to express your emotions on paper, to write a story that is alive. [...]

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First words

Public speaking was never something that I was all too good at. There really is no need to make speeches when your work involves sitting in front of a computer all day long. The requirement is to be a worker bee, not Martin Luther King. That said, there have been opportunities for me to stand [...]

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Table Topics Tip #1: Cheat!

Einstein described relativity as: “Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute, and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute. THAT’S relativity.” And for a lot of people standing up and giving an impromptu speech for 1-2 minutes is exactly like [...]

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To DCP or not to DCP

What is the DCP? The DCP is the Distinguished Club Program and it is Toastmasters International’s way of evaluating how successful a club is. Using the club results, it can then measure how well an area, division or district is doing… How does it measure success? It’s all about points. If a club gets 5 [...]

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The road to the world championship – Geneva

From August 12 – 15 the 2009 International Toastmasters Convention will be held in Mashantucket, Connecticut. The icing on the cake will be the 2009 International Speech Contest. District winners from outside North America will have to compete in the Interdistrict Speech Contest on August 11 for the last two coveted positions in the world [...]

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