My talk on structure to Speechcraft Workshop

to the Gavel Club at ITE college (a technical college where students learn about: engineering; hospitality; management.

Fellow toastmasters and friends:

QUESTION TIME
Questions to the audience:
Is there anything you would like to know about structure?

Q 1 Audience member: 'How could I use drama in speeches?'

Speaker Angela Lansbury: You mean persuade people to join drama classes? Or to demonstrate dramatic action during the speech?

Audience member: Both.

Speaker: Start by saying how watching a play excited you.
Talk about a play such as Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Demonstrate a dramatic moment. Act out a scene. Say what you liked about it.
End with your call to action. Suggest borrowing the book of the play from the library, reading it aloud, then joining a drama group. Give details of a drama group.
Give your contact details. Remember to ask for theirs.

Q2 Audience Member: Do you always need to start with the end in mind?

Speaker, Angela Lansbury: No, you could just sit and write down what inspires you and see where it leads you. The danger is that you will have dozens of ideas. You will be so in love with all your new babies that you won't want to cut out anything and you will end up going over time.

If you start with the end in mind, it keeps you focused. If you find an idea which doesn't fit the theme, message and call to action, write it on another page in your notebook or another card in your card index and keep it for a second speech.

Self-assessment
I gave a speech on structure which had no structure.

Audience/evaluator assessments 7/8/9/perfect/perfect/excellent.

What did you learn?
From Mr Ong:
I learned that you could turn (the subject/topic for) one speech into ten (speeches).

Author
Angela Lansbury, blogger, author.

  

I tried to visit two clubs in one night - and failed

I tried to visit a club which was supposed to run from 5.30 to 7, then a club from 7 to 10.30.

I thought that the person driving me to the first club would let me speak first, drive me to the MRT station at half time. I might arrive late at the second club, but not later than half time.

Several other toastmasters do two clubs in one evening. They leave at half time. But they have cars and drive themselves on to the next club.

You could occasionally do it by public transport. But only if the places were nearby, and you could be sure the second meeting would run late and not end early.

Don't rely on somebody else to get you moving.

If you want to leave, insist on it. Don't just tell the person giving you a lift. Tell the person responsible for ensuring the meeting runs on time.

My winning table topic Jan 15 2019 on Your Wedding Day

At Bukit Timah Toastmasters, at Bukit Timah Community Centre, in Singapore, I was given the table topic for a two-minute impromptu speech:
Question Tell us about your wedding day.

Answer:
My wedding day was surprising, not one surprise but three surprises. The first was that I expected some ex-boyfriend of mine to rush in, the way they do in the movies, shouting, "Stop! Don't do it. Marry me instead." But nobody did.

I looked all around, up in the gallery, at the back - nobody. I was very surprised.

My husband-to-be did not look surprised. Nor did his mother. Nor did my mother.

Nothing for it but to continue. I was wearing a long white dress. You ladies will know how careful you have to be walking in a long white dress. You must not go too fast or you are likely to catch your pointed-toe shoes in the hem of your dress and trip yourself up.

My father dragged me along at a fast pace, the way impatient men with long legs do. (Maybe he wanted to marry me off in a hurry.) I was trying to proceed at a slow stately pace, but he insisted on rushing up the aisle to hand me over.

When I got there my mother started a running commentary of advice as if I were a five-year-old. "Stand up. Speak up." I felt like a competitor in a televised race with a commentator voice over.

Finally, we had finished, I thought, and went to sign the register. But the best man was my husband's cousin and somebody queried whether a cousin was too close to be a witness. It turned out that the cousin was distant enough to be a witness.

After all those stressful surprises I never wanted to get married again. That's why my husband and I are still married!

COT TRAINING AND PATHWAYS

At COT training in Singapore, Saturday afternoon 2019, Jan 12.
Venue ITE.

Anand showed us the old system and the New Pathways.
He showed the advantages and disadvantages of both systems at each level. Then he asked us to vote.

Later we had Q and A.

It emerged that older members were unable or unwilling to transfer to the new Pathways.

Younger newer members were left without guidance and evaluators.

I was shocked to learn that
1 Toastmasters international knows that older members will leave.

2 This does not bother them. They have invested millions in the new system. Every other business from banking to tax is going online. Toastmasters is keeping up with the trend and expects its leaders and members to do the same.

The solution seems to be for the older and younger members to pair up for what I call mutual mentoring. The youngsters help with the tehcnical online website matters. The oldtimers evaluate creation of speeches and performances of speeches.

Venue
Buses stop outside, about 3 stops from the MRT station, not Am Mo Kio but Yio Chu Kang. First you see the bus station outside the MRT you leave, then the tower of the Grassroots Community club. Then the large building of Nanyang college, with ads all over the front.  Then the futuristi curved white ITE building. I went to get off but the driver told me to stay on to the next stop which was outside the ITE front door.

Leaving you have to cross the overhead bridge to the other side of the road.

Food
Inside are a food court (mosts stall not open on Sunday before lunch time). I got chicken rice. Signs said two prices, for ITE people, or visitors.

Usual food. I looked at sandwiches in the convenience store.

Supermarket next door had pineapple tarts and Yusheng for Chinese New Year.

Timing
I had arrived early.

The Toastmaster was late. He phoned to say so.

The ITE has two campuses so the directions systems might send you to the wrong one.

This delayed me.
Luckily I was still one of the first to arrive.

Timer
I was timer, jointly with a senior person.

Gave me time to ask for the lights - none - and cards.

The chairs have pull-out ledges, no adjustable, crush you in and papers slide off.

I needed clipboard (I left mine at home - too much weight to carry.).

Learned locals say clip-bod and don't understand board.

Organizers should bring a box of bits including the cards, clipboards and pencils. HOD in London meets in a room with a cupboard, in which these are easily to hand.

I asked about using meetup for several groups at the same venue, or same Area. The responder suggested joint meetings, of all clubs in area (as done at area contests) which then share the advertising on Meetup.

Afterwards I chatted to my mentor. He pointed out that I was moving from giving speeches to training. Although training can be one to three hours, instead of just 7 minutes to 30 minutes or at most an hours, training is not necessarily more tiring because you are getting the audience to be involved which is how they learn better, They could be in pairs or groups. You must give them questionnaires, or quizzes as well as acting out activities and discussions.