3 Magic Cures to Eliminate Aaaaaaaahs!

3 Magic Cures to Eliminate Aaaaaaaahs!
by Azmi Shahrin

A speech crutch is an annoying impediment to speakers in 2 ways. First, it distracts the audience from enjoying the speech. Secondly, it disrupts the speaker's train of thoughts.

Often as an audience when we listen to a speech punctuated by speech crutches, we start to pay attention to the crutches instead of the speech. In the end, we get so frustrated and annoyed that the idea presented is lost to us. All we are left with is the lingering stench of the incessant annoying punctuations of aaaahs, uhms and eeeeers.

When you are speaking, these crutches reverberate in your mind like the booming echo of distant thunder disrupting your thoughts until all that is left are just aaaaahs and more aaaaaahs.

8 years ago, as an apprentice speaker, my speech consisted of aaaaaahs punctuated with proper words.

I was unaware of my dependence on speech crutches until an honest evaluator brought them to my attention. Since then I have worked to eliminate them from my speeches using various techniques both recommended and improvised. I am proud to report that as a result of my efforts, I have managed to lower the frequency of my aaaaahs. On some days, I don't have any at all.

I would like to share my 3 magic cures for speech crutches which in my experience I have found to be extremely effective.

Magic Cure #1 - Speak at a slower rate. Most of us are not endowed by providence with a quick fire mind. Therefore we speak at a faster rate than we think. When our mouth opens when there's no more signal from our mind, the inevitable aaaaaaaah is emitted. Therefore, speak slower to match your thinking rate and you will cure your speech crutches.

Magic Cure #2 - Close your mouth when you have nothing to say. Speech crutches are emitted when you open your mouth without a definite idea of what to say. Learn to pause when you have a blank thought. Form the next few words in your mind and then only vocalize them. In short, speak only when necessary.

Magic Cure #3 - Punctuate with pauses. Learn to phrase your speech by grouping words forming an idea and pausing after each idea. This will replace your horrible crutches with pauses.
Consciously, use the 3 magic cures which I have recommended and you will positively eliminate your speech crutches. This will transform you into the pleasant and stylish speaker that you desire.

Source: Azmi Shahrin, DTM

Stage Fright Strategies

Stage Fright Strategies
by Tom Antion

Stage fright Is Good and Makes You Better Looking Too!

Before you learn how to deliver your lines, it is important to be ready to deliver your lines. Stage fright is a phenomenon that you must learn to control. Actually, stage fright isn't the most accurate term for the nervousness that occurs when considering a speaking engagement. In fact, most of the fear occurs before you step on-stage. Once you're up there, it usually goes away. Try to think of stage fright in a positive way. Fear is your friend. It makes your reflexes sharper. It heightens your energy, adds a sparkle to your eye, and color to your cheeks. When you are nervous about speaking you are more conscious of your posture and breathing. With all those good side effects you will actually look healthier and more physically attractive.

Many of the top performers in the world get stage fright so you are in good company. Stage fright may come and go or diminish, but it usually does not vanish permanently. You must concentrate on getting the feeling out in the open, into perspective and under control.
Remember Nobody ever died from stage fright. But, according to surveys, many people would rather die than give a speech. If that applies to you, try out some of the strategies in this section to help get yourself under control. Realize that you may never overcome stage fright, but you can learn to control it, and use it to your advantage.

Symptoms of Stage fright

• Dry mouth.
• Tight throat.
• Sweaty hands.
• Cold hands.
• Shaky hands.
• Nausea.
• Fast pulse.
• Shaky knees.
• Trembling lips.

Any out-of-the-ordinary outward or inward feeling or manifestation of a feeling occurring before, or during, the beginning of a presentation. (Wow! What a dry mouthful!).

Here are some easy to implement strategies for reducing your stage fright. Not everyone reacts the same and there is no universal fix. Don't try to use all these fixes at once. Pick out items from this list and try them out until you find the right combination for you.

Visualization strategies that can be used anytime

• Concentrate on how good you are.
• Pretend you are just chatting with a group of friends.
• Close your eyes and imagine the audience listening, laughing, and applauding.
• Remember happy moments from your past.
• Think about your love for and desire to help the audience.
• Picture the audience in their underwear.
  

Strategies in advance of program

• Be extremely well prepared.
• Join or start a Toastmasters club for extra practice
• Get individual or group presentation skills coaching.
• Listen to music.
• Read a poem.
• Anticipate hard and easy questions.
• Organize your speaking notes.
• Absolutely memorize your opening statement so you can recite it on autopilot if you have to.
• Practice, practice, practice. Especially practice bits so you can spit out a few minutes of your program no matter how nervous you are.
• Get in shape. I don't know why it helps stage fright, but it does.
  

Strategies just before the program

Remember Stage fright usually goes away after you start. The tricky time is before you start.

• Be in the room at least an hour early if possible to triple check everything. You can also schmooze with participants arriving early.
• Notice and think about things around you.
• Concentrate on searching for current and immediate things that are happening at the event that you can mention during your talk (especially in the opening).
• Get into conversation with people near you. Be very intent on what they are saying.
• Yawn to relax your throat.
• Doodle.
• Draw sketches of a new car you would like to have.
• Look at your notes.
• Put pictures of your kids/grandkids, dog, etc., in your notes.
• Build a cushion of time in the day so you are not rushed but not too much time. You don't want to have extra time to worry.
• If your legs are trembling, lean on a table, sit down, or shift your legs.
• Take a quick walk.
• Take quick drinks of tepid water.
• Double check your A/V equipment.
• Don't drink alcohol or coffee or tea with caffeine.
• Concentrate on your ideas.
• Hide notes around the stage area so you know you have a backup if you happen to draw a blank.
• Concentrate on your audience.
• Listen to music.
• Read a poem.
• Do isometrics that tighten and release muscles.
• Shake hands and smile with attendees before the program.
• Say something to someone to make sure your voice is ready to go.
• Go somewhere private and warm up your voice, muscles, etc.
• Use eye contact.
• Go to a mirror and check out how you look.
• Breathe deeply, evenly, and slowly for several minutes.
• Don't eat if you don't want to and never take tranquilizers or other such drugs. You may think you will do better, but you will probably do worse and not know it.
  

Strategies when the program begins

• If legs are trembling, lean on lectern /table or shift legs or move.
• Try not to hold the microphone by hand in the first minute.
• Don't hold notes. The audience can see them shake. Use three-by-five cards instead.
• Take quick drinks of tepid water.
• Use eye contact. It will make you feel less isolated.
• Look at the friendliest faces in the audience.
• Joke about your nervousness. "What's the right wine to go with fingernails? "
  

Remember nervousness doesn't show one-tenth as much as it feels. Before each presentation make a short list of the items you think will make you feel better. Don't be afraid to experiment with different combinations. You never know which ones will work best until you try. Rewrite them on a separate sheet and keep the sheet with you at all times so you can refer to it quickly when the need arises.

Use these steps to control stage fright so it doesn't control you.

Chapter Meeting No: 03 Thursday, 8 May 2008

TM, En. Mahamad Faez Mahamad Ali receiving his certificates at Bank Rakyat Learning Resource Centre.

DTM, En. Azmi Shahrin is flanked by RTMC’s Charter President En. Abdul Halim Abdul Majid, left, and Ms. Nur Zuraihah Jaafar, TME.

Congratulations to En. Faez for being voted Best Table Topic and Project speaker and also to En. Azmi for being voted Best Speech Evaluator on 8 May 2008. Thank you for pointing out the strengths of the speech as well as the suggestions for improvement. I’m sure our fellow Toastmasters all benefit from your effective evaluations.

Impromptu Speaking Tips

Impromptu Speaking Tips

Most of the talking we do on a daily basis is impromptu speaking, and so if we can learn how to assemble knowledge and thoughts on any topic at a moment's notice, we will benefit by:

• Being able to think on our feet in meetings, conversations, and many other settings
• Having greater confidence when giving prepared talks, because we know that if we 'lose our place', we can talk intelligently on an impromptu basis for a short while till we're back on track
• Being more skilled in social situations
  

Be Mentally Prepared
When you are in a meeting keep on top of what is going on, and every now and then think 'What would I say now if called on to give my views? What aspect would I cover? How would I phrase it?' This will help you be calm and collected when you are called on, because you will have mentally practised many talks you've never given.

Take Time
Take some time to get your ideas together - you don't need to give your reply immediately. This not only gives you a few seconds to work out your response, but also gives the impression you are making sure you'll say something worthwhile.

Start with an Example
You may want to talk about an incident from your life that relates to the topic and has a human-interest angle. The advantages are:

• It's something familiar to you, and it can reassure you when you most need it - during your first few moments
• You won't have to think so hard about your next sentence as experiences are easy to remember
• You'll get into the swing of speaking and reduce your nerves
• You'll get the audience's attention
  

Be Animated
If you are externally animated, it has a beneficial effect on your mental processes, as physical activity and the mind are closely related.
If your body is animated, your mind functions at a lively pace.

Practice
The best way to improve is to practise regularly. Effective impromptu speaking, like most skills, requires some work and practise. This is why Table Topics is such a valuable exercise!

Source: Toastmasters New Zealand

Taming Table Topics :-)

Taming Table Topics :-)

Table Topics can be the most challenging and frightening portion of a Toastmaster's meeting - but with a little preparation, everyone can be a pro at Table Topics. There are a number of ways to tame table topics. Listed below are some strategies you can practice and use.

Give The 411
We have all heard that when describing an event, we should give the basic facts - who, what, when, where, why and how. For example, given the question "Describe your most memorable sporting event," you could respond with what (soccer world cup), when (last summer), where (a party at my best friend's house), why (my first soccer party), and how (rented a big screen TV). By the time you fully described all those parts, you've given a concise 1-2 minute response.

Divide & Conquer
Organization is important because prevents communication from turning into word soup. Clear divisions are essential to an orderly arrangement. Some of the classic two or three way divisions are: past, present, future; that was then, this is now; low, medium, high; cost, benefit; financial cost, social cost; civil law, moral law; problem, solution; thesis, antithesis; thesis, antithesis, synthesis; us, them; ideal, real; what we want, what we can get; mind, body. The list can go on forever. So, pick a division as quickly as possible and stick to that one.

Narrow the Focus
Sometimes the topic is just too big to tackle as a whole. Take this example, "Describe your most memorable birthday?" Some related, narrower, topics are most memorable party or gift or card or date. To begin, acknowledge the original question and then use a bridge device to get to your narrower version. For example, "There are a lot of things that make a birthday memorable. My most memorable gift was..."

Divert Attention
This is the quintessential politician's response. Take, for example, a very controversial subject: "What is your stance on abortion?" Divert attention to a related question. "My personal views are not as relevant as why this is a divisive issue." Then talk about the related question. Sometimes, you may want to avoid the original topic entirely. You could respond, "Your question is very important, however, today I am much more interested in education." And there is always, "A very good question which reminds me of ..."

Tell a Lie
What happens when you have no experience at all with the subject of the question? You can give up and sit down or use the question as an opportunity to stretch your imagination. If you are given the question, "What is the biggest fish you have caught?," and you have never been fishing, you could just make up a fishing trip. Or notify your audience that you are letting your imagination run wild, "I've never caught a fish, but I imagine that ... " Be descriptive and detailed.

Ramble On
Sometimes, you can discover something very interesting about the topic at hand by using a brainstorming or stream of consciousness approach. Start by restating the question. Then make the first comment that comes into your mind. Then say the next thing that you are reminded of. As you approach the end of your time, restate the best point you made the original question.

Elaborate
Sometimes the subject isn't the problem, it's the time. One sure-fire way to put more interest in your speech and to extend the time is to give more elaborate descriptions. Instead of "the bird" try "the green and yellow bird that took delight in singing at the first sign of dawn."

Source: Bishan Toastmasters Club

10 Tips for Public Speaking

10 Tips for Public Speaking

Feeling some nervousness before giving a speech is natural and even beneficial, but too much nervousness can be detrimental.
Here are some proven tips on how to control your butterflies and give better presentations:

1. Know your material. Pick a topic you are interested in. Know more about it than you include in your speech. Use humor, personal stories and conversational language – that way you won’t easily forget what to say.
2. Practice. Practice. Practice! Rehearse out loud with all equipment you plan on using. Revise as necessary. Work to control filler words; Practice, pause and breathe. Practice with a timer and allow time for the unexpected.
3. Know the audience. Greet some of the audience members as they arrive. It’s easier to speak to a group of friends than to strangers.
4. Know the room. Arrive early, walk around the speaking area and practice using the microphone and any visual aids.
5. Relax. Begin by addressing the audience. It buys you time and calms your nerves. Pause, smile and count to three before saying anything. ("One one-thousand, two one-thousand, three one-thousand. Pause. Begin.) Transform nervous energy into enthusiasm.
6. Visualize yourself giving your speech. Imagine yourself speaking, your voice loud, clear and confident. Visualize the audience clapping – it will boost your confidence.
7. Realize that people want you to succeed. Audiences want you to be interesting, stimulating, informative and entertaining. They’re rooting for you.
8. Don’t apologize for any nervousness or problem – the audience probably never noticed it.
9. Concentrate on the message – not the medium. Focus your attention away from your own anxieties and concentrate on your message and your audience.
10. Gain experience. Mainly, your speech should represent you — as an authority and as a person. Experience builds confidence, which is the key to effective speaking. A Toastmasters club can provide the experience you need in a safe and friendly environment.

Source: Toastmasters International