The First 10 - 1st London Toastmasters

These are the first ten speeches given by a member of 1st London Toastmasters.

1. Icebreaker - This is your opportunity to give your first prepared talk and "break the ice." The best way to begin your speaking experience is to talk about the subject closest to you -- yourself. You will introduce yourself to your fellow Club members and give them some information about your background, interests and ambitions. Think of this speech as a talk before a group of friends. Your fellow members will help identify your natural speaking abilities and areas to further explore and work on for your next speeches.

Your objectives for this speech are:

To begin speaking before an audience.
To help you understand what areas require particular emphasis in your speaking development.
To introduce yourself to your fellow Club members
Time: 4-6 minutes

2. Organize Your Speech - In your first speech, you concentrated on standing before an audience and making it through a talk. Now, having "broken the ice," you can start concentrating on structuring your speeches. A speech must be organized to effectively deliver your message. The speech should have a catchy opening that sets the stage for your message, a body that provides supporting points, and a memorable conclusion that reinforces your message.

Your objectives for this speech are:

To organize your thoughts into a logical sequence that leads the audience to a clearly defined goal.
To build a speech outline that includes an opening, body and conclusion.
Time: 5-7 minutes

3. Get to the Point - You have now delivered two prepared talks. You've also begun to develop your impromptu speaking skills in table topics and other parts of the program. In this speech you will focus on organizing the speech for a specific purpose of informing, persuading, or inspiring. Convey your message with sincerity, conviction, and enthusiasm. As you prepare and deliver this talk, make an effort to confront and overcome any nervousness you may feel.

Your objectives for this speech are:

To convince the audience of your earnestness, sincerity and conviction on a subject.
Ensure the beginning, body and conclusion reinforce the purpose of the speech.
To project sincerity and conviction and control any nervousness you may feel.
Time: 5-7 minutes

4. How to Say It - When you don't understand a section of a book or magazine article you are reading, you can read it again until the meaning is clear to you. When you are speaking, your listeners do not have this luxury. They hear your words only once. If you want them to understand your message when they hear it, you must use words that your audience will understand and will accurately convey your message, and you must construct your sentences so they are simple and clear. This project will help you understand the basic uses of words in speaking and help you choose and arrange them to express exactly what you mean.

Your objectives for this speech are:

To select precisely the right words required to communicate your ideas clearly and vividly.
To avoid lengthy words and sentences, and eliminate jargon.
Time: 5-7 minutes

5. Your Body Speaks - Most likely when you talk to your friends or co-workers, you move your hands and arms, walk around, make eye contact, or change the expressions on your face. These movements are called body language. Body language is as important in public speaking as it is in everyday conversation. By learning how to use body language in your speeches to illustrate and emphasize the points you are making, you will dramatically increase your speeches' effectiveness. Body language has another purpose, too. Gestures, movement and facial expressions help to release any nervous energy you may have as you stand before an audience.

Your objectives for this speech are:

To learn the value of gestures and body movements as part of a speech.
To explore the different ways of using body language.
To develop a sense of timing and natural, smooth body movement.
Time: 5-7 minutes

6. Vocal Variety - What kind of voice do you have? Is it resonant, musical and easy to listen to? Or is it harsh, monotonous or tiresome? You can make it just about what you want if you're willing to work at it. Every time you present a talk, you involve your mind, body and voice in communicating the message to your listeners. We've looked at sincerity, organization, and body language as parts of effective communication. Now we will concentrate on the primary link between you and your audience: your voice. The skills you develop in this project will be among your most important tools for favorably impressing people, whether you're speaking to one person or to a thousand. You have the potential for an effective speaking voice. The first step in building a better speaking voice is awareness. You should work to develop a voice that is pleasant to the ear and displays enough variety of sound to be an expressive part of your speaking.

Your objectives for this speech are:

To explore the use of voice volume, pitch, rate and quality as assets to your speaking.
To achieve a pleasing natural voice quality when speaking.
Time: 5-7 minutes

7. Research Your Topic - In the preceding projects, you've acquired a variety of speaking skills and have received helpful evaluations on your efforts. To make your speech more effective, you need to do research and provide strong supporting statements for your message. Put your experiences together and deliver a well organized speech with supporting facts and examples.

Your objectives for this speech are:

To research the facts needed to support your speech.
To organize your speech in a logical manner incorporating facts and examples from your research.
To bring together and apply the communication skills you have learned in the preceding projects.
Time: 5-7 minutes

8. Get Comfortable with Visual Aids - You have practiced using your voice and gestures to illustrate and emphasize the points you are making. Another way to illustrate and emphasize your message is to use visual aids. The most common visual aids are computer slide shows, flip charts, videos, handouts, and props to display or pass around. In this project you will practice using one or more of these props.

Your objectives for this speech are:

To learn the value of props in speaking.
To learn how to use props effectively in your presentations.
Time: 5-7 minutes

9. Persuade with Power - Throughout history speech has been a major form of social influence and control, as people have rallied around those who could speak persuasively. The ability to persuade -- to get other people to understand, accept, and act upon your ideas -- is vital when you communicate with and lead others at home and at work. Developing your persuasive skills is one of the best investments in time and effort you can make.

Your objectives for this speech are:

To present a talk that persuades the audience to accept your proposal or viewpoint.
To achieve this persuasive effect by appealing to the audience's self-interest, building a logical foundation for agreement, and arousing emotional commitment to your cause.
Time: 5-7 minutes

10. Inspire Your Audience - As you become known as someone who can speak effectively, you'll undoubtedly be called upon to deliver an uplifting or inspirational talk -- a speech that challenges people to embrace noble motives or achieve their highest potential. In this project you'll learn how to deliver such a presentation. You'll select a subject that has deep meaning to you and your audience, then organize the thoughts and beliefs you and the audience share into a dynamic, inspirational speech.

Your objectives for this speech are:

To inspire the audience by appealing to noble motives and higher levels of achievement.
Appeal to the audience's needs and emotions, using stories, anecdotes and quotes to add drama.
Time: 8-10 minutes