The Algoa Toastmasters Club

Saturday, January 18, 2014

In 2014, I resolve . . .

Happy New Year! Again?

It’s nearly three weeks into a new year and I wonder how many of our resolutions are still intact? Or have you, like so many others, actually given up on making resolutions?

Over the years, I must say I have become quite cynical about the idea of 1 January being different from any other day of the year, with regard to its being able to re-make me. Still, I am too much of an idealist not to reflect on what has past or to think about what I would like to change in the future.

I was at an ACT Club meeting this week when, in the middle of the Table Topics, I was suddenly inspired. The Topic master had given us a selection of pictures to stimulate our thoughts. They included objects of clothing – mine was a pair of red Hunter boots – as well as other hopefully thought-provoking items. The session had gone well, with everybody managing to speak, including the visitors. Then the final speaker held up a picture of a heart and a stethoscope.

She spoke about keeping your heart healthy, but not only about the obvious aspects like water and air and exercise and healthy eating. What really impressed me was what she said about spiritual and emotional heart health. Keeping a positive attitude; giving back to your community; meditating, praying; being kind to others and to yourself, will all contribute towards the health of your heart.

Not only did Aimee win the Best Table Topic award, but she gave me – and I am sure others too – a lot of food for thought. So, in 2014, I aim to practise heart health!

It’s been a while since my last blog and much has happened. End of year exams; going off to mark matric exam papers; the business of Christmas and the rest of the silly season, and now I am back at work and ready to pick up the reigns again.

To that end, I thought I would spend some time offering tips for those of you who do presentations, either professionally or just as part of your work. I am basing this largely on a link sent to me by Toastmaster Joy Brittan. If you would like to read it, you can find it – and some other useful tips at http://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/10-things-speakers-should-never-say-th.html

As we all know, it is not an easy task to win over an audience, especially one that is unfamiliar to you. What follows then is some advice to ensure that you don’t make things worse.

1. Never apologize.

There is nothing worse than telling your audience that you are feeling sick, or you are tired from traveling, or you haven’t had enough time to prepare. If you want to be perceived as a professional, then “get up, and show up”. That’s what you and they are there for.

2. Don’t fiddle with the electronics

Preparation is vital. This includes having a proper sound check before you start. Make sure that you are familiar with the equipment and on good terms with the sound crew. If there is a problem, don’t fuss or draw attention to it.

3. That goes for the lights too

If you need to see the audience, ask the technicians to turn up the house lights. Better yet, warn them beforehand that you might be doing so. If this is not possible, just smile broadly and carry on speaking

4. Make sure your slides are easy to read.

An interesting tip I learnt is that the font size should be twice the size of the average age of your audience. So, for 20 year-olds it should be 40. You can do the maths!

A second tip is: no more than 7 rows; no more than 7 words per row. Even that can be too much.

If you want the audience to read a quotation, tell them and then leave ten seconds for them to do so.

5. You are in competition with the electronic media.

All you can do is ask for phones to be on silent. These days you will be competing with laptops, tablets, Facebook or online gaming. It is up to you to be so good that your audience will not be distracted.

6. Repeat questions from the audience.

So often, questions from the audience are not heard by other members, so before you go ahead and answer them, repeat or paraphrase so that everyone understands. Otherwise it is just a waste of time.

7. Be conscious of your time allocation.

This is extremely important. Stick to your allocated time, and don’t let on if you have run short without saying all you wanted to say. When you run out of time, condense it, wrap it up and end well. Then go home and plan better for the next time.

So, in 2014 what do you resolve to do?

Until next time

Ricky Woods

Thursday, December 19, 2013

Madiba………and Season’s Greetings 10 December 2013

The country was in mourning and everyone arrived at the meeting with heavy hearts and Madiba uppermost in their mind.
The evening started with the Induction of Gcobisa Makubalo into the club. Welcome Gcobisa!!!
Mike Brosnahan as Toastmaster – appropriately chose Madiba quotes as the theme for the meeting. When it came to Table Topics Angie Kivido had prepared extracts of famous Madiba speeches for us to speak about. Something we were all able to do with ease! Once again a mix of speeches with many tying back to Madiba. Andrew Mthethwa giving an extremely polished CC3 on Values, followed by an inspiring speech by Megan Judd. A welcome return by Mimi Makupula with an after dinner speech - appropriately filling us in on what she has been up to over the last 11 months. And then a heart-wrenchingly, honest speech from Marlene van Wyk, on how an Afrikaner looks back at the impact that Madiba had on her at the time when South Africa moved into a democracy. There was not a dry eye in the room by the time she had finished. This was followed by a prepared reading about Christmas from Glenis Whitehead providing some much needed cheer. All in all an extremely interesting, albeit emotional, evening.
Congratulations to Glenis Whitehead and Louis Erasmus on a tie for the Best Table Topics on the evening. We would like to congratulate Ricky Woods on being unanimously elected as the new President of the Club – a position vacated by Alison’s move to Durban.
A BIG thank you to Alison Immelman for her contribution to the club and best wishes for her new venture in Durban.
And last – but not least – wishing everyone a really good festive season with lots of family, friend, fun and food filled times!!!
See you in 2014
Your interim blogger
Belita

Saturday, November 9, 2013

Celebration Time!

October is Mini-Con time.

Those members from Division E who attended, in particular from Algoa, found the Conference, Jabulani, to be a wonderful time of growing and networking – as always.

However, there was so much more it: Firstly, the Division E representatives to the Humorous Speech Contest and the Impromptu Speech Contest both came from Algoa, in the persons of Michael Warren and Nicholas Mitchell, respectively. They reported that the level of competition was extremely high and that they both really enjoyed the experience. Nicholas also returned having won third place in the Impromptu Contest. Well done (again)!

Then, to make our Eastern Cape hearts swell even further with pride, two of our members won very special awards:

Firstly, Louise Solomons achieved the distinction of winning the John Whiffen Helping Hand Award. This award is given annually to any Toastmaster in District 74 who lends a helping hand to another Toastmaster or who, in the service of District 74, goes the extra mile. It came as no surprise to us when Louise won this award as she has invested so much of her time and efforts in assisting the Toastmasters of the NMMU Club. The club meets every week and Louise seldom misses a meeting. She has rendered invaluable service to the executive, assisting the club to regain charter strength. Louise was also largely responsible for the impeccable organisation of the Inter-varsity Toastmasters competition that was hosted by NMMU.

Mike Brosnahan was the recipient of the Mike van Blerk Trophy, which is also awarded annually, to a Toastmaster who has been a member for between one and two years and who has contributed significantly to the goals and mission of his club. This is a well-deserved award to a man who has really served the Algoa Club and Toastmasters International during the time he has been a member. Mike has been Treasurer of the club almost since the start of his membership when he stood in to fill the place of someone who left. He is now in his second term of office. Mike has also given selflessly of his time assisting at Youth Leadership Training Courses and Speechcraft Courses, as well as by lending a hand at the various Competitions and other Division events.

Colleen Love, our Area Governor, also came home with the award for the Top Area in Division E. She diffidently says that it had nothing to do with her, but we know better. Colleen is a true example of servant leadership.

We are really proud of you guys.

However, winning at Toastmasters is not just about trophies and awards. It is really about the small triumphs that come from achieving the goals we set for ourselves. Last week we had the opportunity to celebrate with two of our members. Trevor Wells, our VP Membership, attained his CC. Well done, Trevor!

We also all had cause to rejoice with our newest member, Andrew Mthethwa, upon completing his Ice-breaker speech. That was after winning the Best Table Topics award - at his first attempt! I am no soothsayer, but I think we can expect great things from this young man.

The year is nearing its end. This is the time for reflection: we look back at the goals that we set and whether we managed to realise them. We look forward to the year ahead and we set new goals. That is the nature of man (and woman!)

With just more than a month left – and three meetings to go, may I challenge you to take a look at what you want to achieve in 2014. Then write those goals down; assess whether they are SMART (remember: Specific; Measurable; Achievable; Realistic and Time-based); and then set about making them happen!

Until next time

Ricky Woods

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Speech Construction 101

So much of what we do at Toastmasters can be summarised under the heading of Learning by Doing. However, it makes sense that one can't really Do unless one is first shown How to Do.

For this reason then, I am going to publish the bones of a recent speech I did on the subject of Speech Construction. It can all be broken down into Ten basic steps:

- Step 1: The Idea

Select a topic on which you can speak with conviction, authority and enthusiasm.

- Step 2: The Central Theme

Jot down one or two sentences describing what you want the audience to learn from your speech. Use this central theme as a guide during the rest of your speech development, to avoid getting side-tracked.

- Step 3: The Purpose

Decide what you want to achieve through your speech. For example, do want to inform or educate or entertain the audience, or do you want to motivate or inspire the audience to action?

- Step 4: The Broad Outline

Introduction; 2 or 3 basic points of the Body; Conclusion

Select one or two phrases describing the content or approach of each part of the speech. Each part must support your central theme.

Many studies have shown that people can remember very few of the facts or items of information that speakers convey. You only need to make 2 or 3 points to have your talk be successful.

- Step 5: Formulate Your Opening and Conclusion

The purpose of the introduction is:

- To grip and hold the attention of the audience

- To motivate the audience to listen to the speaker’s message

- To give the audience some indication what the speaker is going to talk about, and why

Some possible effective openings:

- Ask a question

- Refer to a recent event of interest

- Begin with an unusual statement or question

- Refer directly to the problem

- Show a picture, diagram or object

- Announce clearly the main points you want to make

Beware of the joke or personal story in your introduction

The introduction should take up about 10 % of the total time of your presentation.

An effective conclusion draws all points presented in the speech together, and focuses attention and emphasis on the central theme.

No new information should be introduced in the conclusion of a speech.

You might try the following:

- Summarise the main points of your presentation

- Restate your opening

- Use a quotation, statistics, an analogy, or a vivid illustration to epitomize the whole idea

- End with a direct appeal for support or action

- Give your audience something challenging to think about

- Step 6: Filling in the Details

Concentrating on details right away causes us to lose direction, and we could end up with a mass of detail rather than a focused speech.

As you add detail, ask yourself “What is it about this that is important to supporting my central theme and purpose?”

Do the research that is required to add facts, figures, examples and quotations to substantiate your content. (Remember that the source of quotations, statistics and even pictures must be acknowledged.)

Decide on the audio-visual aids you require, e.g. music, flip chart, overhead transparencies or data projector.

The body of your speech should take up about 85 % of the presentation time.

- Step 7: Give Your Speech a Title

When your speech title is announced immediately before your presentation, it should have the same effect on your listeners as a newspaper headline has on its readers. They will decide immediately whether they are interested; whether they want to know more; or whether the topic does not interest them at all.

- Step 8: Write the Speech Out, Word for Word

Also, prepare your audio-visual aids

- Step 9: Rehearse and Revise

Check the length of the speech, to fit in with your allocated time. Say your speech out loud, and time yourself. Have you taken into account the time that you will use to show visual material, and for questions and discussion? If your speech is humorous, allow time for laughter.

Check the content. Have you said all you need to say? Do you have any unnecessary information in your presentation? Go through it carefully, remembering that after each thing you are going to say, the audience is going to ask “So what?” This will help you to determine what information to remove. Go back to the analysis of your audience, and check that your content meets the needs of your audience.

Check the balance and proportion. Is there enough background relative to detail? Is there not too much time spent on one area, causing you to rush through another?

Check the sequence. Does it appear to be logical? Order your points so that information flows naturally, leading the audience comfortably towards your conclusion.

Check for continuity. Evaluate the transitions between the parts of the speech. Is each part of your presentation logically linked to the next part? Do you seem to be “jumping” into new subjects? Make sure you build transition bridges between the various parts of the speech.

Check for clarity. Do you need to give summaries of certain sections of the presentation as you go along, because the content is complex, or contains a lot of information?

Check the opening and conclusion. All openings must be attention-getters. A good conclusion will recap the high points of the speech and present a memorable wrap-up statement or call to action. Have you phrased your conclusion in a way which will remain in the minds of your audience after they have forgotten the rest of what you have said?The end should be the obvious end. It should never be necessary to say “In conclusion…”

Check for purpose. Does everything still work towards achieving your objectives? Imagine your audience as you rehearse.

- Step 10: Make Keyword Notes for use during the actual presentation

The opening and closing sentences should be written out in full, and memorized.

Any quotations should also be written out in full. This will prevent you from misquoting.

Now I know that merely applying the steps as they occur will not necessarily turn you into an overnight speaking sensation, but it can't hurt to try the recipe, can it?

Until next time

Ricky Woods