2009-05-08: Top public speaker conducts Toastmasters workshop
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Top public speaker conducts Toastmasters workshop
Source: THE PENINSULA, Web posted at: 5/8/2009 3:16:20
BY JOYCE C. ABAÑO
DOHA: To be an excellent public speaker, one should know the audience, the message and the venue, Lance Miller, an award-winning speaker and trainer, said during his 90-minute workshop at the Qatar Toastmasters Annual Conference (QTAC) yesterday.
Miller, who is a member of Toastmasters International and won the World Championship on Public Speaking in 2005, said the good thing about being a member of a Toastmaster’s Club is that it is the best place to fail.
"Being a member of a Toastmaster’s Club will give you a chance to practise communicating to other individuals, and if you make a mistake or if you stutter in front of the other members, you will not get fired for it. The members will give you a pat on the back and say you should try again next time," he said.
The workshop, which is about "Finding Your Voice," taught the audience how to prepare speeches and present them well before an audience.
"Did your speech communicate? The major element of communication is to make sure your speech is understood; communicate in a manner that everybody can catch what you are saying," he said, adding that he was now in the process of putting together a new programme called "Life Skills."
Miller is one of the two speakers the Qatar Toastmasters Club invited for their QTAC. The other one was Mohammad Al Issa, an engineering specialist working for Saudi Aramco, who will be giving a 60-minute workshop today on Humorous Speech. Al Issa was the 2007 champion of the Humorous Speech Contest for District 79, which was held here.
2008-03-23: Glendale News Press
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BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT: Group set to toast 75th anniversary
Published: Last Updated Sunday, March 23, 2008 10:14 PM PDT
By Ryan Vaillancourt
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| Dennis Guyer is president of the Glendale Toastmasters, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary. (Roger Wilson/Glendale News-Press) Toastmasters have been helping people to improve their public speaking skills since 1933. |
It was 1933, nine years after the umbrella nonprofit educational organization was founded in Orange County as a men’s club for professionals with the hopes that heightened communication prowess would translate to entrepreneurial and community-related success.
More than seven decades later, the Glendale club’s mission remains the same, though women now comprise about 50% of the club’s membership, President Dennis Guyer said.
"We try to help people begin to speak better in public, and we also have a leadership track for younger people starting out in business that want to learn leadership," said Guyer, a semi-retired life insurance agent and professional lecturer who joined the club four years ago to improve his oratory skills. "Those are the two goals of Toastmasters."
Once a week, the club meets for two hours over dinner and engages in a series of communications exercises, Guyer said.
Traditional "table talks," when members are required to speak for two minutes in response to questions they have not prepared for, are a key aspect of the club, he said. The questions relate to a theme picked for each meeting.
"The table talks are scary to most people," he said. "The idea is you have to stand up in front of a crowd and give an answer, and that trains you for your business to think on your feet."
The exercises help hone fundamental life skills that have led people like Lance Miller, a world champion public speaker and longtime member of the Hollywood Toastmasters club the Renaissance Speakers, to personal and professional success, Miller said.
"A lot of the things I do today are because of the things I learned in Toastmasters," said Miller, who will deliver the keynote address at a 75th anniversary celebration for the Glendale club on Tuesday. "If you look at the essence of leadership, it involves being able to communicate clearly and concisely to your group . . . those are the bases you work on every week in Toastmasters."
And as members practice speeches, conquer table talks and build self-confidence, they do so in a low-stress, no-risk situation, Miller said.
"One of the big benefits I see in the organization is it’s a really fun and friendly environment to come in and develop these skills, and once we’re out of school we very seldom get the opportunity to get into a learning environment where we can practice the fundamentals like this and make mistakes in a fun and friendly environment, and there’s no consequence for failure," Miller said. "So when you actually go out in a business or community setting, you can communicate confidently and successfully."
The Glendale Toastmasters are inviting the public to attend their 75th anniversary celebration from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in room 105 of the city of Glendale’s Municipal Services Building, 633 E. Broadway.
RSVP to Dennis Guyer at adg22@sbcglobal.net or (818) 242-8315.
Original Article: Click Here.
Glendale, California
2008-02-28: PR Newswire - A Slugfest of Speaking Skills
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A Slugfest of Speaking Skills: Toastmasters Declare Obama Winner of Debate
RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA, Calif., Feb. 28 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/
Representing a unique combination of the TV shows Survivor and American Idol, presidential candidates Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama duked it out in a Democratic debate that revealed the speaking skills of each. According to Toastmasters experts, "Obama won by a nose" and scored points with silence and verbal pacing.
Monday night's debate for their party's nomination was fought not with marked policy differences but with roundhouse punches in the form of filler words, like "ahs" and "ums" and "you knows," and with silence wielded like a weapon. Toastmasters International asked three veteran members and public speaking experts to analyze the presentation skills of Clinton and Obama. Here's what they found:
Ann Hastings, a past International Director of Toastmasters International, found both candidates to be "concise, well-versed and passionate." Yet the nonpartisan trio agreed Senator Obama edged out Clinton. They cited a few key reasons:
-- Acting is reacting. The Toastmasters agreed that Clinton appeared more defensive. Hastings says, "When challenged about their campaign criticisms of each other, Clinton, through facial expressions and tone of voice, appeared peeved and angry." Hastings adds that Obama "appeared mature and matter of fact, defending his criticisms of Clinton by remaining calm and deliberate."
-- It's not what you say but what the listeners see. Hastings says the candidates' reaction shots -- what they were doing when the other was speaking -- showed Obama listening "intently and courteously." David Brooks, Toastmasters' 1990 World Champion of Public Speaking, says, "When Obama was speaking, Clinton appeared to glare at him with apparent disdain."
-- Silence is golden. Brooks says that Clinton lost big on the second question when she began her response complaining that she's always seemed to get the first question in this series of debates. "It made her look as if she were whining," he explains. He adds, "Obama wisely refrained from addressing the 'who goes first' issue and the Saturday Night Live sketch [performed two nights earlier, which many people in the country hadn't seen]. In a debate, sometimes you score points with silence."
While Lance Miller, Toastmasters' 2005 World Champion of Public Speaking, believes Obama won the debate based on his use of gestures and pacing of words, he offers positive points about each candidate.
"Both Senator Clinton and Senator Obama were polished, prepared and professional in their appearance and knowledge," Miller says. "They are both excellent at handling questions in a manner that does not dwell on the answer as much as it forwards their position and message."
"This is as much an art form as a science," he adds, "and a necessary skill for any successful contender in the political arena."
For information on Toastmasters International, its programs and locations, visit www.toastmasters.org.
Website: http://www.toastmasters.org/
Original Article: Click Here.
Rancho Santa Margarita, California
2008-02-27: Toastmasters - State of the Union Speech
Bush gets good grades for speaking techniques — but can still improve.
Rancho Santa Margarita, California
2008-02-27: Toastmasters - Democratic Debate
A Slugfest of Speaking Skills — Toastmasters Declare Obama Winner of Debate.
Rancho Santa Margarita, California
2008-02-15: Variety - Experts on the acceptance speech
Experts on the acceptance speech — Oration: Trustworthy tips for the tongue tied.
Hollywood, California
