Craigstrachan.com – Keep talking!

A tongue in cheek look at some of the changes in the Toastmasters organisation over the last few years.

You have been a member for more than a few years if:

1. You achieved a CTM award. Do you remember the Able Toastmaster award?
2. Your CTM manual had 15 speeches in it
3. As VP Education, you had to fax programmes to members, and if you were a member the programme was faxed to you by the VPE
4. You remember carbon-copied area visit reports which needed to be mailed to the district governor
5. Club and district performance reports were mailed to clubs and district on a quarterly basis. You could not view them online
6. Membership application forms needed to be mailed or faxed to WHQ
7. Educational awards needed to be mailed or faxed to WHQ
8. You were not admitted to a club meeting unless you were wearing a jacket and tie (ok some clubs still enforce this, but very few)
9. New membership dues was $16, and renewals $18 (or even less)

While this list is in jest, it shows how the organisation has progressed over the last several years, and how it continues to be a dynamic and growing organisation. Now we have:

1. A very strong communication and leadership track
2. Programmes are placed on club websites and emailed to members
3. Area visit reports are electronically processed and automatically emailed to relevant people
4. All club and district reports (as well as archives) are available online
5. Most forms can now be processed online, including new membership applications, dues payment and  educational awards
6. It is far less formal than in the past, and clubs have adapted their formality to suit their markets
7. We now have a podcast, and online training
8. Yes dues are now $20 and $27 respectively, but still astonishingly good value

What should be added to the list?

Grow your Voice to Speak with Confidence

Dr Petro Janse van Vuuren

This book discusses aspects of public speaking that we often neglect, and that is using your voice as an effective tool to get your message across.  Instead of telling you how to structure your presentation, how to use the stage or to use body language, she focuses understanding, developing and using the core muscles required to have an effective speaking voice.

It is a little like a Pilates or Yoga course for developing your speaking voice. It is written in 6 chapters, each building on the previous chapter to help you to develop your speaking voice. The accompanying CD takes you through the physical and vocal exercise in the book. While the exercise are good for developing the core muscles (hence my Pilates comment), they are also good for general warm-up (thinking about it they remind me of choir warm-up exercises from high school).

Dr van Vuuren has plenty of experience in the theatre, and many case studies to backup her approach. The book is for sale on her website for R190. You can find out more about her book and workshops on her website.

This is a good book to compliment traditional public speaking training, and I see a place in my bookshelf for it.

Craig Valentine offers 10 simple guidelines for adding impact to your speech. Included are:

1. Don’t move all the time. If you are always moving then no movement will be meaningful. Your audience will never know what’s most important. Move with a purpose. When there is no reason to move, don’t.

6. Don’t use the same gesture over and over again. This is evidence of a habit and most likely distracts from your presentation.

Read the full list with more details and audio-examples here.

I have listened to Darren LaCroix’s “Get Paid to Speak by Next Week” CD’s several times, and they provide great insight into the business and art of public speaking.

Darren has now gone a step further by offering offering 52 weekly modules (IE 1 year) via email for free. You can signup or find out more here.

Yesterday, I saw Ben Zander speaking in Cape Town. He and his wife Ros were here for the launch of the Alive With Possibility DVD, a DVD celebrating the possibility in South Africa. Ben is the conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, and one of the most transformational speakers that I have ever heard.

He speaks about downward spiral thinking, and radiating possibility speaking, and leaves us with the challenge of looking for possibility in our thoughts and our actions. This is the third time that I have seen him, and every time is a transformational experience.

If you are in Johannesburg, there are still a few tickets available for Friday’s presentation. Speak to johleen@symphonia.net about tickets, or visit www.benjaminzander.com to find out more about Ben.

We are alive with Possibility

If you want to see a brilliant and inspirational speaker, you have to get tickets to see Ben speak. I have been twice, an it is an incredible inspiring presentation! He will be in Cape Town and Johannesburg in Jan 2011. It is worth every cent.

For details, email Johleen@symphonia.net, or goto www.symphonia.net.

Benjamin Zander, world renowned conductor and speaker on leadership, captivates and inspires with his unique style.

Benjamin Zander

Benjamin Zander, conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, is a world renowned speaker on leadership. He has presented at the World Economic Forum many times, and was the opening keynote speaker at the World Economic Forum at Davos in 2009.

Benjamin Zander’s presentation takes an audience on a journey that offers a startling new perspective on leadership. Through stories, music and concepts it causes a radical shift in perception. This is not a speech, it is an experience!

In this new model of leadership, the conductor sees his job as awakening possibility in others. The orchestra is a group of highly trained individuals poised to coalesce into an effective whole. Passion, creativity and the desire to contribute are basic human instincts to be released.

World famous conductor, Benjamin Zander uses the metaphor of the orchestra and a life-time of experience conducting, coaching and teaching musicians to work his magic to overcome barriers to corporate productivity. This presentation sources fundamental changes in organizations.

For more information see www.benjaminzander.com.

CAPE TOWN

Dates: Tues, 25 January 2011
Registration: 08:30 – 09:00
Time: 09:00 – 13:00
Venue: TBC

JOHANNESBURG

Dates: Fri, 28 January 2011
Registration: 08:30 – 09:00
Time: 09:00 – 13:00
Venue: Vodaworld, Midrand

You often hear me speaking about the value of impromptu speaking, and why learning to speak off the cuff is as important as learning to speak prepared.

Here is a great resource; an entire website dedicated to the art of “table topics”, or speaking impromptu.What I like about the site is  that he gives you a lot of templates, or outlines you can use for practising unprepared topics.

Here is an example:

Split Personality

Number of participants: Two

The majority of the information we convey doesn’t come from what we say, but from how we say it. Bodily gestures are a large part of this. The goal of this template is to separate these different aspects of communication between two people. One participant does the talking, the other does the gesturing.

There are two ways to use this template. Either one participant talks, and the other creates the corresponding gestures, or one uses gestures, and the other talks about what the gestures are indicating.

Doing this effectively requires a reasonable amount of cooperation from the participants. It can weaken the delivery if both participants end up gesturing (once you do it, it can be a difficult thing to put down temporarily!). This should possibly be made clear to the participants.

It’s interesting to see the different ways people can take this, sometimes you may have one participant controlling the flow of the entire topic, while others will work together to figure out how the talk or story will evolve.

The purpose of this template is to give people the chance to carefully consider what their gestures are saying to an audience.

Thanks to Andrew William’s for creating the resource.

I am often asked for my views on keeping the stories in a speech completely accurate as to what happened, as opposed to embellishing the story to make a great speech. My response is that while you need to be true to your stories, you must also be true to your message. Make sure that your audience remembers your message.

But it can be a fine line between embellishing a story to make it a great story, and telling an outright lie.

Darren la Croux has written a great blog post on this subject, explaining that your stories should at least be “Based on a True Story”. He says,

Have you ever noticed that Hollywood blockbusters always start off, “based on a true story?” They never start, “this is exactly how it happened.” If they told it exactly how it happened, we’d be bored!

Are you perfectly accurate when you tell your stories? The truth is important, yes. I’m not saying to lie or make things up. I just want your stories to be so memorable that people walk away clearly understanding your message.

If you are unsure how to approach this issue in your speeches, read his post; he gives a very clear an concise answer.

A guest post by Louise Baker

Many people are afraid of speaking in public or have trouble doing so effectively. With today’s technology, the job of a public speaker is becoming easier. Here are 5 iPhone apps that you can use the next time you are giving a presentation.

1. Presenter Pro

“Presenter Pro” is available for $1.99 is designed to improve your public speaking abilities. It covers body language, the content of your presentation, the audiovisuals that you use, and many quick tips. By making use of ability of the iPhone to seamlessly blend text, pictures, and sounds, this application is ideal for a public speaker who is looking to improve his or her skills.

2. Public Speaking Hypnosis

If the thought of public speaking makes you start sweating, try the “Public Speaking Hypnosis” application ($0.99). This application claims to use hypnosis techniques to reduce anxiety before your big presentation. It uses beats and soothing music to allow you to attain a state of relaxation.

3. Speech Timer Premium

“Speech Timer Premium” ($4.99) offers large, color coded timers for your speech. A light on your phone will indicate green, yellow, red, or flashing to alert you when you reach pre-set times. See at a glance whether you are on track or use the vibrate feature and keep your phone in your pocket. If you give a variety of presentations, you can save the timing information for each of your presentations. This application also comes in a “lite” version for $0.99 if you don’t need all the features of the full application.

4. iSpeechCards

“iSpeechCards” ($1.99) is a full featured cue card application that allows you to plan out your presentation on a series of notecards which you can flip or tap to turn allowing you to refer to your notes as you speak. You can also set a duration for each card to display and then “turn” automatically. The notecards can also be easily rearranged or edited.

5. iUmmm

“iUmmm” ($0.99) is a unique application which allows you to record your presentation and take note of your verbal tics or bad habits. You can set whatever habits you want to track and use an easy click to record each time it occurs. If you have a tendency to allow “um” or “like” to interrupt your speech or a nervous habit of clicking your pen, this application can make you more aware of the habit and track your progress in ridding yourself of it.

Public speaking is your opportunity to present yourself with confidence and professionalism. With the help of some new applications, you can be more in control of how you present yourself so that your next public speaking engagement will make a positive impression on your audience.

Louise Baker is a freelance blogger who usually writes about online degrees for Zen College Life. Her most recent article ranked the best online schools.

Everyone Communicates, few Connect by John Maxwell

Published by Thomas Nelson

***look below for a free copy – contest closed

Many of us have intentions to read more self-development books, but by the end of the work-day we are simply too tired, so we end up in front of the TV or reading a light novel.

This book is one of those that you can pick up at the end of the day. It is filled with stories and anecdotes drawn from his own experience and from others; all of which illustrate the points that he is trying to make. The story telling style makes it easy reading; yet still a book of substance. This is typical of what I have come to expect from his other books. At 250 pages it is not a long read, but you can always go back to it again and again.

The main premise of the book is that while we spend a huge amount of time communicating, we are not necessarily making the right effective connections that are crucial to effective communication and leadership.

The book is divided into two main sections; principles and practices. It is self explanatory, but he gives a few simple principles on making better and effective connections, and then shows how to implement them.

The book is aimed at anybody wishing to make better connections; and could be applied in both your personal or business life. He gives simple tips at the end of chapter, divided into three main areas, namely one-on one, a group or an audience.

For the public speakers out there; some great tips (and affirmation of some things you already know), for those of you in corporate business, some tips on working with colleagues, in teams at or in a group environment, such as at meetings. And one-on one communication is important to us all.

An unusual feature of the book is that John Maxwell posted the manuscript of the book on his blog www.johnmaxwellonleadership.com, and he received over 100,000 view over eleven weeks, resulting in over 70 quotes, stories and anecdotes from readers which resulted in over 100 revisions. Every contributor is acknowledged in the book.

I am a fan of John Maxwell, so it is difficult to be unbiased, but as a communicator and public speaker, this is a great book, and it is going to help you to become even better.

It is available from Amazon in hardback for $17.15.

The folks at Thomas Nelson have kindly provided 5 free copies to readers. Leave you name in the comment section below, and I will randomly draw 5 names on 28 July who will each receive a copy.

Thanks to Thomas Nelson for the (signed) review copy.