Showing the Red Card

“To talk well and eloquently is a very great art, but that an equally great one is to know the right moment to stop.” Toastmasters is all about getting people to speak but what if you’re too successful and they don’t stop? What do you do? I spoke in another club once and my evaluator [...]

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Masquerade

The theme for our next TM meeting on the 4th of September is ‘Masquerade’. Its all about how we wear masks to hide parts of ourselves from the public. At times, we even wear masks to hide from us. So, everyone gets to come to the meeting wearing a mask, which you will make and [...]

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Table Topics Tip #4: Answering the Question

A lot of table topics are either questions or they ask for your opinion on a topic, for instance “War is bad, explain.” There are many ways to answer such a topic but there are also a lot of questions to ask – why is war bad? is war bad? do I want to be [...]

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Mashantucket – The TM world conference

I arrived in Mashantucket on Monday evening, the Interdistrict contest was to take place on Tuesday evening. Plenty of time.  Just to be safe I checked the agenda on Tuesday morning. The draw and explanation was to take place at noon.  All the contestants were present and we got to know each other and each [...]

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The Humorous Speech Analyzed – 1

Let me start with a confession: I never gave a humorous speech. But soon I will, at the humorous speech contest, so I better start studying. In my previous life as an improv player I was used to humor – every performance was filled with it. But sitting down at the kitchen table and racking [...]

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Learning From Others

In Toastmasters, the emphasis is on learning by doing, you become a better speaker by getting up and speaking but you can also become better by watching and listening. Watching and listening to other speakers gives you the opportunity to see tricks and methods that you might never think of, methods you can then use [...]

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The Road to Mashantucket – The Mentor’s Journey

When I first joined Toastmasters I thought it was all about speaking, people getting up week after week and just speaking, and it is, but there’s more… Chances to be a leader, opportunities to organise meetings and as you become a better speaker the chance to give feedback as an evaluator. These have all been [...]

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The Road to Mashantucket – packing

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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Table Topics Tip #3: The question…

Sometimes something is so obvious that you never think of doing it. This tip is all about remembering to do the blindingly obvious when you are in danger of being selected for a table topic… 1. Don’t Panic The Table Topic Master gets up and casts his (or her) evil eye around the room, his [...]

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Inspire Me

The International Speech Contest, the holiest of holies, the ultimate prize being World Champion of Public Speaking… How can you gain a place in the world final and have a chance to become the World Champion? Popular belief would have you think that there has to be a certain format or style to your speech, [...]

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