What I learned from Buona Vista Club about winning table topics, being positive and fluent

Buona Vista club had a packed programme. After about ten speeches, and ten evaluations, finishing with ten table topics. The meeting was long, from 7 pm to ten pm, three hours. Some clubs run 7.30 to 9.30, two hours.

 What did they not have time for? They had no grammarian, only an ah counter. The timer did not explain timing and demonstrate lights or come to the front of the room. Just stood up and read out times. No table topics evaluator.

Listing Speakers
 The table topics master wrote the numbers one to ten on the whiteboard. She filled in the name of each speaker on the board before giving them the topic. Essential to list the names when you have so many. The danger is that people will forget the names of earlier speakers, and vote for one of the last three, or the last one. The last one was me. I won.

When To Volunteer
 I had waited until nearly the end. Sometimes in a small room with not many visitors I am invited to speak first. I prefer to let the local VIPs enjoy being first. I will step forward if there is a silence and no volunteers, to help the topics master get the session going.

Topic : The Road May Be hard - but the view is beautiful
 My topic was 'the road may be hard but the view at the end is beautiful'. I launched straight away into a positive remark, instinctively, 'This is so true!' Then I tried to think of examples.

Metaphors and Cliches
 To talk about 'the toastmasters journey' is rather a cliché for the Toastmasters Club veterans. It is used so often because new members are starting all the time. But I am bored with it and wanted to entertain people.

Mountain Climbing
 I look the topic literally. A road up a mountain. My family climb mountains. The road is hard. Like running marathons, to climb a mountain, (Kilimanjaro or Everest), involves the hard work of training all year. Run up ten flights of stairs in a condo, when you can do it easily.

Taking The Lift
I recommend doing that. I never do it. I take the lift. While I was away in England, the block where I live was struck by lightning and the lifts would not work. The rest of my family would not mind. I do. Luckily for me, the lifts are running again now.

The View From Skyscrapers
(I love the view from the tops of buildings. I don't take the stairs, I take the lift.) I know I should get fit. I come from a family who enjoy camping out, sleeping in a hammock attached to the side of a cliff. I stay home in a proper bed and write about their journey.

Getting Pictures Of Views
 For me a major excursion requiring a lot of planning is getting up from my chair by my computer and walking to the toilet. If I go to a mountain and think the view is good, I hand my camera to somebody else and ask them to climb the mountain and take a picture for me. I put the picture on Facebook were you can see it. They take the hard road, I and you can enjoy the beautiful view.

Conclusion
If the road is hard, get somebody else to climb for you and take a picture. Yes, the road is hard, but the view is great.

When I got home, I confessed, afterwards I thought, "I didn't have a positive message."
I told my family, "I only won because everybody else stammered and got flustered. I was fluent."

My family smiled and nodded: "Yes, that's why you won, because you were fluent!"

What must I do next to improve?  I need to work on half a dozen stories of success, so that when I am given an opportunity, I can relate not just a personal view, but also my motivational success story.

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.