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.