Fulfilling Objectives of Project Manuals - Workshops, Mentors

Many people treat Toastmasters as a place where they can practise speeches for their business, for fun, for an objective, prepare a speech without looking at the manual, then look for a project it will fit. They are too busy to read the manual. Several ways to address this: Firstly ensure that the speaker has the manual at every meeting. Add bring your manual to the agenda sent out. Keep doing show of hands, who remembered the manual, who forgot. Ask those who remembered their manual to explain why they bring it and how they remember and find it.

 WORKSHOPS Run a regular workshop at a meeting every three months on using manuals for all new members.

MENTORS Ask mentors to explain the manual before new members give the first speech. Assign mentors for all ten speeches, not just the first three. Remind everyone that to obtain a credit in the leadership manual they have to mentor. Try reverse mentoring. Some clubs insist that members alternate a speech and a role to ensure that roles are filled and that pressure on speech slots is reduced and each member completes both manuals. Assign the person who got the CC without doing projects to be a mentor. Ask their mentee, a member who has completed their CC and is doing it again, to ask the mentor for help in choosing subjects fitting the role. Pick the most diplomatic member to discuss this privately. Hold a meeting workshop devoted to the subject of using manuals, with demos of speeches or how to tweak them to fit the manual.

READING ALOUD OBJECTIVES AT MEETINGS Ensure that objectives are read out by the evaluator before each speech.

OPENING SPEECH AT MEETING COVERS MANUALS Ask whoever opens the meeting, The President or the Toastmaster of the evening, to remind audience before voting that the project should have fulfilled the objectives so the speakers are more likely to win a ribbon if following objectives. Run regular workshops on using manuals or ask TME to describe the use of manuals in the opening speech at every meeting. Assign mentors for all ten speeches, not just the first three.

PRE-VOTING REMINDER Mention manual objectives before voting for best speech.Assign mentor whose job is to speak to each speaker after their speech, in the break, to discuss how project objectives can be filled in next project to ensure speech follows manual. Ask the evaluator to mention whether speech fulfils the objectives. Point out that all aspects of speaking covered by projects are used in judging at contests. Do a 'roast' on the person who does not follow the manual, the real person, or a fictional character. (Anybody doing a roast should check that the person they are mentioning is happy with every part of the speech. Even if the subject says he does not want that subject mentioned, you have had the chance to raise it.
Angela Lansbury

Mentoring a Speech - and ideas for speech and props

It is very true that teaching others helps you to learn. I have just mentored somebody with their speech. One idea I gave them about props I have just used for my own speech. Can you guess what it is? Read on.

I wrote to my mentee: What project is it? Five? Your body speaks?

Video yourself and note the gestures you make and exaggerate them and write them into the draft in another colour. Make sure you have a gesture or movement every couple of sentences.

From what I remember of your test speech at Harrovians’ contest, as well as other people’s, you had good stage control already, and lots of conversation. Although this project is not about voice, you need to remember these 

points:

1 When asking a rhetorical question pause, raise eyebrows. If you don’t want shouting and heckling tell them to make a mental (or written) note.

If expecting an answer, show the audience you expect an answer.

2 If this is a speech to Toastmasters (eg to deliver as an officer training workshop or a training for newcomers, rather than simply rehearsing at Toastmasters for another occasion such as a wedding speech) make every other sentence related to Toastmasters, (eg climbing through the manual). You could alter your tone for each part - eg extra enthusiasm, smiling, speaking louder for all the sentences relating to toastmasters, or vice versa. 

3 Avoid being monotone - find a word to emphasise and underline it in the speech

4 Allow extra time if you are crossing the stage without saying anything or if walking about will slow down your delivery.

5 Try to get the important word  at the end of the sentence. Don’t tail off at the end of the sentence, going quieter or losing the last word. eg end on mount TOP, rather than top of the mountain. Add a few shorter sentences for variety.

You already did a good job of conversation in your last speech. Maybe you can invent an imaginary mountain climbing guide, perhaps with a German accent, encouraging you or not allowing you to fall back or ignoring your protest.

Which country is the mountain? Plenty of scope for two different accents. 

I hope this helps.

Now, dear reader, you may have gathered which tip I am using in my speech.

 Two or three copies of the photo in progressively larger sizes.

Angela Lansbury BA Hons, CL, ACG.

Testimonials from feedback for books, websites, confidence

Producing a new book, you find you are told to put testimonials. Years ago I was very anti testimonials. Big companies did not need testimonials. Only suspicious mail order companies wrote themselves suspect testimonials from anonymous or first name people. But now marketing people everywhere are saying that you need testimonials.

Ideally you should have testimonials from famous people. If you can't, you just need testimonials from others. If you are shy and modest, it's hard to get the courage to ask for testimonials. The people asked are worried about committing themselves, are too busy, or don't know what sort of testimonial to give.

However, if you are a member of toastmasters international and go to speakers meeting, every time you do a speech or a role, you get written testimonials in the form of feedback, either in your manuals, or on feedback slips or both; and if you are not a member of a club, but give any kind of service or product, you can enclose a form asking for feedback.

It's important to keep a record of who wrote the testimonial, and what it was about. I ended up with a lot of slips in pockets or bags, with vague statements such as, 'Brilliant', well done.

The solutions are:
1 Ask people at the time to write their names on the feedback forms.
2Write the subject of your speech on the top, even a word, or the date as a reminder.
3 As soon as you get home, either staple to feedback slips to your manual of speeches. Or make up a folder with the speeches in transparent pages and the feedback slips either in a pocket, or help together by a staple or paperclip.

When you start a new book or website on the subject of your speech, go back and find comments.
You can, if you wish, ring up the person who gave their comment and ask for permission to quote their whole name, first and last names. If they don't like that idea, they might agree to be described as, member of ... workshop / college / event.

Whether or not this give potential buyers confidence to buy your book or service, it is a real confidence booster to you.

Angela Lansbury, writer, photographer, tutor, author.

How to revive a dying/dwindling speakers club

A man who has started fifteen clubs and revived a dying/dwindling club gave me the benefit of his experience which I am passing on to you.

Andy O'Sullivan is the man. He is a member of a London public speaking club. I had met him previously when I sat next to him at a workshop in central London. He visited HOD Toastmasters and gave me this advice:

1 Fit the room size and chair numbers.
He went to a club which had dwindling numbers. They met in a huge hall seating 1-200, but put out 30 chairs and had only 15 or fewer members who looked lost in the huge space. He moved them into a smaller room which they could fill.

2 Have a friendly welcome at the door.
Put one or two people on the door so the moment a visitor walks in somebody speaks to them.
(I was the meeter and greeter at HOD. I and the topics master sat at a small desk by the door.

I had copies of the Speakers' CC manual clipped to a clip board by the blank back cover with the club name on the cover, so the copy did not get lost or abandoned and could be seen easily when I wanted to retrieve it and replace it in the cupboard at the end of the evening. I attached a piece of A4 paper to a clip board. I wrote down the name of the person entering, or asked them to write their name in capital letters. I added the short form or nickname in quotation marks and underlined the name or nickname we should use.

I write M for member or G for guest. I ask whether they came through a friend or website.
We achieved getting the names of the guests so we could ensure a confident members of the club spoke first to demonstrate how to do a table topic, then guests to ensure those without a role (of speaker or evaluator etc) all got a turn.

However, one of our guests declined to stand. Another stood and could not understand the question or formulate an answer. Despite our reassurance that simply standing up on stag is the first step, it will probably take a phone call to enthusiastically invite him back to ensure he has the confidence and enthusiasm to return.

I should have asked guests if they were happy stand up and speak for a minute or two in a table topic, and any subjects they could talk about. (We had two guests with broken English who were nervous about standing up. If we had asked them about their job, or home or family or their native language or why they want to learn public speaking, we could probably have got them on stage.)

3 Make your club name clear and findable on the internet
We have discussed changing our club name at both clubs of which I am a member, Harrovians and HOD. Each time we had objections, about confusion, tradition, and especially about the cost of new banners and stationery, feedback forms and badges, changing certificates, the cost and time needed to inform HQ and change websites.

Andy said you don't have to change the club name. All you need to do is have a headline of the new 'name' which people might search for, such as French Public Speakers Club, New York Public Speakers Club, and direct readers to your website and venue.

Angela Lansbury, speaker and author.