In part one of this article, we talked mainly about the opportunities that exist within your own Toastmasters club to push yourself as a speaker. Most people that join Toastmasters don’t venture beyond their clubs, so they’re missing a whole new world of opportunity in Toastmasters for improving their speaking skills.

So here are some ways to flex those speaking muscles outside of your home club:

6. Visit other clubs

Speaking at other clubs is surprisingly more difficult than you might expect. I realized this back in 2003 when I was toastmasters-success-ten-tips-to-become-presidential-distinguished-part-1/”>President of my club and visited a friend at another club. I had given 15 speeches at the time and was used to doing the President’s welcome at my club, so I never felt nervous speaking at my club. But when I got up to do table topics at this new club, I actually felt a little nervous. The room was set up differently, there were new faces and even the lighting was much different.

Speaking to the same group week after week (or month after month) gets you used to that group. So shock your speaking muscles by visiting another club and participating in the meeting.

7. Be a contest master for a speech contest

While you can do this for your own club, it’s even more effective when you do it at the area level or higher. This role requires you to follow some strict rules when it comes to introducing speakers –more so than the Toastmaster of the day at your club. But you also get to do something that is both fun and different which is interview the speakers while the judges are tallying up their scores. These skills are different from table topics and call also help you with job interviewing and if you have the desire to be a reporter.

8. Be an area governor or other district officer.

Being a district officer helps you in a number of ways. First, it does create a perception that you’re a good speaker and experienced Toastmaster (otherwise you wouldn’t be in that position) and you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how closely people pay attention to what you say. But it does a lot more than building your confidence as it forces you to do things like visit (and speak at) other clubs as well as district meetings and events. Again, different crowd and different topics work those speaking muscles in new ways.

9. Give a TLI session

This is a great opportunity to take your speaking to the next level because you’re actually conducting a training session. This means that you need to transfer useful knowledge to your audience – so you can’t take the easy route and just share a story, unless there’s a lesson in it. Since these sessions are primarily officer training, you’ll need to make sure that you’re well versed in the role you’re talking about as you’ll be required to think on your feet for the Q&A session at the end. This is a great way to bring your speaking to the next level.

10. Present at a district conference.

This is what I believe to be the best opportunity for a speaker to grow within Toastmasters. It’s the closest you can get within Toastmasters to giving a speech as a professional speaker – many professional speakers present at district conferences – so if you’re considering that route, you should definitely try this. While some people limit themselves to Toastmaster topics (“How to be the best ah counter,” etc…), many people use this opportunity to give a speech on a topic that’s of interest to members of Toastmasters. You might even get lucky and have someone in the audience actually offer to pay you to give your speech at their event.

So these are just some of the ways you can take your speeches to the next level within the Toastmasters organization. Of course speaking outside of Toastmasters is a whole new ballgame. But that’s another topic for another day.

Post from: Overnight Sensation

10 Ways For Toastmasters to Take Their Speaking to the Next Level – Part 2

Related posts:

1. 10 Ways For Toastmasters to Take Their Speaking to the Next Level – Part 1
2. Toastmasters Success – Taking Your Speaking to the Next Level
3. Tips For Toastmasters: Speaking at Rotary and Other Service Clubs
4. Public Speaking Myths: Joining Toastmasters will Make You a Better Speaker

Last year, I did a presentation at a Toastmasters District Conference about how one can take their speaking to the next level. I’ve since been invited to give this talk to various Toastmasters Clubs (if you’d like me to speak at your club, please contact me) and I’ve learned that a lot of folks within Toastmasters are surprised at how many opportunities they have within the organization to push their limits as speakers.

I’ve put together a list of ten things you can do within the Toastmasters organization toastmasters-how-to-get-the-most-out-of-your-toastmasters-experience/”>to prevent your growth as a speaker from plateauing. Remember that doing the same thing over and over again (such as giving a five to seven minute prepared speech to your club each month) will only let you grow so far. While you’ll grow the most by speaking outside of Toastmasters, here are some ways to push yourself on your path to your DTM.

1. Try out the different roles

Don’t just stick to prepared speeches and table topics. Offer to be a timer, joke master, ah counter, etc… so that you can try new things. Each role requires you to use a different set of speaking skills so try them all.

2. Be the Toastmaster

This is the ultimate improve role – you never know who will show up, how the speeches will go and what sudden changes might happen. On top of that you need to welcome guests, introduce speakers and roles and comment on everything as you transition from role to role. This will keep you on your feet, pull you out of your comfort zone and test how well you can deal with change on the fly.

3. Take an evaluation role.

An evaluation is a lot like table topics except for one big difference – you’re delivering criticism. Being able to deliver criticism is tough – many experienced people in management and leadership roles struggle with this. You not only have to deliver constructive criticism in a manner that encourages the speaker to keep going, but you’re doing it in front of an audience. Personally, I think this is the toughest role within Toastmasters – but it’s also the one that will give you the most benefit.

4. Compete in a speech contest

There are two main differences between a speech contest speech and a regular manual speech. The first is that the timing is critical – no matter how wonderful a speech you give, if you’re even one second over the time limit, your speech gets disqualified. The second is that your speech is judged against the other speeches in the contest. The time limit is interesting because I’ve seen people go over ten minutes OVER their time limit (yes, I’ve actually seen someone take 17 minutes to do a 5-7 minute speech) and outside of Toastmasters, going over the time limit can be an a big no-no.

As for the judged part, you need to convince your audience (or the subset that’s judging your speech) that yours is the best. In the world of professional speaking, you need to make sure that the audience enjoys your talk as well as the person that hired you to give the talk likes it – so there’s a similarity there.

5. Become an officer

Being an officer is one of the best things you can do as a Toastmaster. In addition to the professional experience that you can gain within each particular role, you’re often given impromptu speeches that can push you outside your comfort zone. The Treasurer may need to stress the importance of paying dues on time, the Vice President of Membership may need to motivate people to invite friends to a guest night or the President may need to communicate a new policy that the club will be following. The bottom line is that club officers often need to give speeches that require authority and that is a lot different than giving a prepared speech about your recent vacation.

In part 2 of this article, we’ll cover some ideas that you get to venture beyond your own club.

Post from: Overnight Sensation

10 Ways For Toastmasters to Take Their Speaking to the Next Level – Part 1

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1. 10 Ways For Toastmasters to Take Their Speaking to the Next Level – Part 2
2. Toastmasters Success – Taking Your Speaking to the Next Level
3. Tips For Toastmasters: Speaking at Rotary and Other Service Clubs
4. Tips for Toastmasters: Five Tips for Successful Meetings:

85 years ago today, Dr. Ralph C. Smedley met with a small group of people in a YMCA in Santa Ana, California. That was the first Toastmasters meeting ever. It’s amazing how since then the organization has grown to over 250,000 members in over 12,000 clubs in over 100 countries.

I don’t know if there are any official records of that first meeting or not but I can only imagine what it must have been like. Keep in mind that the world was a much different place in 1924. Dr. Smedley didn’t need to tell people to turn off their cell phones, obey the handicapped parking zones and check their emails for details on the next meeting. I suspect that meeting was mostly men – keep in mind that President Wilson had just four years earlier convinced congress to ratify the 19th amendment allowing women the right to vote.

So since I haven’t been able to find any confirmed details as to what happened in that first meeting, here’s what I would suspect happened based on toastmasters-is-more-than-just-public-speaking-%e2%80%93-my-toastmaster%e2%80%99s-journey/”>my own experiences with the group. I read somewhere that it was held in a basement so I imagine a cold and dimly lit room. Dr. Smedley probably opened the meeting providing a brief overview of his plans for the organization and what will be happening at the meeting. Then a discussion about the group would ensue, being opened to the floor so others in attendance could chime in with their thoughts. Perhaps all in attendance would have the opportunity to introduce themselves and say a few words.

Then I would suspect the precursor to what we know as a Toastmasters meeting began. Perhaps Dr. Smedley himself gave the first speech (remember that manuals weren’t around until a few years later). I would guess that there were either one or two other speakers and perhaps a few prepared roles. Since watches began to increase in popularity around that time, perhaps the first timer was someone simply with a watch. Finally, I would imagine Dr. Smedley would have closed the meeting by thinking everyone for attending and giving details about the next one.

Whatever happened at that meeting, it’s affected millions of people through the past 85 years. Some folks estimate that over four million people have been a part of Toastmasters since its inception. Even if only one quarter of them found a benefit to it, it’s still one million. There’s a famous quote from Walt Disney about the growth of his company – “It all started with a mouse.” In the case of Toastmasters, “It all started with a meeting.” Did Dr. Smedley know that by planning that meeting he would create an organization that has positively impacted the lives of so many? We don’t know. But it’s a lesson for all of us – sometimes these small steps can yield huge results.

Post from: Overnight Sensation

Toastmasters Turns 85 – Imagining the First Meeting Ever

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1. Toastmasters Success – Taking Your Speaking to the Next Level
2. What I Learned at Toastmasters Last Night
3. 10 Ways For Toastmasters to Take Their Speaking to the Next Level – Part 2
4. Public Speaking Myths: Joining Toastmasters will Make You a Better Speaker

So you’ve got a speech that was a bit hit at your Toastmasters meeting and you feel it’s ready for prime time. So what’s the next step along the path to becoming a professional speaker? I recommend taking your show on the road and speaking to local service clubs.

Service clubs are a great way to test the waters for your presentation. They offer you a real audience that will give you real feedback. While Toastmasters clubs are a great venue for learning how to speak, the audiences at these meetings are quite forgiving.

Service clubs allow you test your material in front of an audience that will tell you what they truly feel about your talk but are easier to book than paid engagements (and there’s no worries about having to refund money if they don’t like your talk). They also give you the following benefits:

• They get your name out to others in your community. This could lead to additional bookings.
• You can get speech credit if you bring an evaluator with you.
• You often get a longer speaking slot than you’d get at Toastmasters.
• It’s a great opportunity to practice answering questions.
• You’ll come across some distractions that typically don’t occur in Toastmasters meetings.

So now that you’re ready to speak to service clubs, the first thing you must do is contact the person in charge of booking speakers. Keep in mind that every club is different so the contact person might be the president of one club and an events director in another. Also, bigger clubs might require you to book you speech months in advance.

So once you’ve got your speech booked, it’s time to prepare. Here are some of my best tips for speaking at a service club:

• Practice as much of your presentation as you can in front of your Toastmasters club.
• Arrive early to the event so you can scope out the room.
• Bring some cash (preferably in small denominations) in case you want to get something from the bar (after your speech, of course).
• If a meal is being served, avoid eating anything that could stain your outfit.
• Always dress business formal unless told otherwise.

Speaking at service clubs can be both a challenging and rewarding experience. Most people that join these groups do so because they want to give back to the community, so you’ll get the opportunity to meet people who like helping others. You may even learn about a cause that you can get involved with. It’s most certainly a learning experience that is well worth your time.

Post from: Overnight Sensation

Tips For Toastmasters: Speaking at Rotary and Other Service Clubs

Related posts:

1. Public Speaking Myths: Joining Toastmasters will Make You a Better Speaker
2. 10 Ways For Toastmasters to Take Their Speaking to the Next Level – Part 2
3. 10 Ways For Toastmasters to Take Their Speaking to the Next Level – Part 1
4. Tips for Toastmasters: How to Get the Most Out of Your Toastmasters Experience