CONFIDENCE BUILDERS BLOG

Image by Silvarita from Pixabay I gave a cringe-worthy presentation about a month after I joined  Toastmasters . The eyes were my downfall. It didn't occur to me then to practice my speech in front of my fellow Toastmasters. However, I had a chance to redeem myself. A couple of months after the appalling speech, I learned that I would be giving a talk at the National Weather Association's 44th Annual Meeting . Me needing help was an understatement. Children are great motivators. During my first Toastmasters meeting, I politely passed up several opportunities to participate. At my second meeting, I had another chance to take part. Like the first time, I passed it up. I was too nervous. It took a little girl named Philippa to encourage me to speak at the next meeting. What did she do? She stood in front of a group of adults and gave a short talk! The following week, I gave my Ice Breaker Speech on how I became interested in meteorology.  After the Ice Breaker ...

With Toastmasters contest season fast approaching, I thought I'd share a contest speech that survived three contests last year, went through 15 drafts (I have them all), numerous practice sessions in front of two clubs, in the living room in front of a big dog and a cell phone, and in the driveway working on my footwork! I received good feedback on using parts of the speaking area (contest-speak for stage) to emphasize transitions from one point to the next - and to refer back to earlier points.  There are two "maps" one for the speaker's perspective and one for the audience's perspective.  The solid lines are movement, while the dashed lines are prompts to refer back to an earlier area. Did I get carried away?  I don't think so.  Having every detail mapped out and refined gave me the confidence to compete and improve each time - and confidence-building is what we do! Speaker's Perspective Audience's Perspective -RM Image ...

Image by Виктория Бородинова from Pixabay Sometimes, precious gems can be found in places where you might not think to look. Ross Morrissey (President) and I discovered such a treasure by chance at the Mill Creek Retirement Center (where our meetings are held) last November. The precious gem we ran into was Carol E. Titus, who was a Story Weaver with the  New Jersey Storytelling Network . Of course, we  had  to invite her to speak at one of our meetings! On December 3rd, she graced us with a thought-provoking and captivating storytelling workshop. Not only did we learn the importance of using vivid words but also how telling a story creates a bond between the speaker and the audience  and  between audience members.  It was an enjoyable experience!   When I first met Ms. Carol, she made a comment that stuck with me. She said that audience members aren't looking at the speaker but picturing what the speaker is saying inside their heads. ...

Since we call ourselves "Confidence Builders" I thought it logical to dive into how we actually build confidence by dissecting the 3 segments of our meeting structure: Prepared speeches, Impromptu speaking and Evaluations. I will unpack each of those experiences throughout our meeting and give insights into how they build confidence. What does "confidence" mean? from Latin confidentia, from confidere ‘have full trust’ The state of feeling certain about the truth of something. A feeling of self-assurance arising from one's appreciation of one's own abilities or qualities. Friendly reminder: try to maintain a healthy level of humility – know there's always room for growth and improvement. We always have something to learn from those around us. It's easy to get stop growing, thinking you've reached your limit of potential. Confidence is knowing this very fact and living in a more humble way. Prepared speeches segment Prepared speech...

How to prepare and memorize a speech  Awesome, you've been assigned to speak! Ideally, you will have at least 3 weeks to prepare. Taking a 3 weeks prep time as a sample, this is how to use my speech prep formula: Week 1 Review speech objectives in the manual – this will influence the topic you choose. Once you have your topic, you'll need to focus in on a single facet and consider what message you want to convey. Ideate and hone your message and then start typing out your speech -- keeping within your speech timeframe. Typical speech lengths are 4-6 mins, 5-7 mins, 7-9 minutes. Target the middle minute – for example, for a 4-6 minute speech, target for the 5 minute mark. Target for 4 and you may risk ending too early or not developing your message enough. Target for 6 and you might go over.  A logical breakout of that 5 minutes is: 1 minute intro, 3 minute body, 1 minute conclusion.  For reference, a minute translated to word count is roughly 100 typed words ...

Everyone has a signature style of communicating.  The most effective communicators tailor their style to fit their audience! Director : Directors are hard-charging, want information in quick, bottom line bullet points, are action-oriented leaders, focused on results. The director’s style of communicating is assertive and task-oriented. The Director’s style is to assume that quick action and decisiveness yield the best results. Directors frame the world as a competitive place of action and decisiveness. Expresser : Expressers focus on leading through their creative ideas. They want a fuller exploration of different options and ideas. The expresser's style of communicating is assertive and people-oriented. Their operating assumption is that people should feel free to voice their opinions, think outside of the box, and articulate what they feel. They truly enjoy entertaining. Expressers focus on the world as an intricate place where people are acknowledged for their lifetime ...

I am a liberal arts major from The Evergreen State College, where I studied photography and art history. My favorite photography instructor, Bob, made critiques a regular part of the class structure. In addition to critiques he emphasized the importance of editing. Since joining Toastmasters in November 2016, I see similarities with photography and speaking (communicating). In this article I will be drawing two parallels between photography and Toastmasters: critique and editing. Part I On the importance of critique Before I joined Bob's class, I hadn't experienced someone else "dissecting" my work. The first time the class critiqued my work I was initially surprised by the truth. My classmate said everything I had internalized while creating the photos - that they were lacking substance. Lacking content. Sure, the photos were developed perfectly and they were in focus, but the content just wasn't there, and I knew it all along. "I just don...

Explore books related to generating new ideas The Psychology Book , DK This is a book that isn't a cover novel but a reference if you are looking for something interesting to talk about in terms of human behavior. Referring to this book is a great way to read up psychology studies in a brief fashion.  It starts at the beginning to philosophical times before scientific approaches emerged. Towards the end, it goes into fields of psychology that are relatively new such as optimistic psychology, social psychology, and logotherapy.  50 Psychology Classics , Tom Butler - Bowden This book covers the top 50 most influential studies in psychology, which is what is discussed in your typical psych 101 courses. Not meant to be a cover to cover read but as a reference for ideas, or genuine interest. Studies learned in this book and "the psychology book" can be applied in real life context. Overall this is a useful guide. 48 Laws Of Power , Robert Greene Hard to read...

Explore books related to crafting a speech and delivering with dynamism Trivium , Wooden Books This book is a part of a four series of nonfiction novels(Quadrivium, Sciencia, Designa, and trivium). Liberal arts based books that talks about grammar, logic, and rhetoric. Not really meant to gain ideas, but helps for people to understand the fundamentals of spoken language. If you do decide to pick up this book, skip over the poetry section, it doesn't provide much unless you are actually writing a poem.  Language, Cognition, and Human Nature , Steven Pinker This book is for people who are proficient readers and are really looking into how language connects to cognition, social relationships, child development, human evolution, and theories of human nature. It is not a book for your typical audience, it is just a mere collection of 13 essays each outlining broad topics. It can be dry and tedious but if you are a linguistic enthusiast this could be a book of your liking....

Explore books related to self-help and boosting your confidence How to Develop Self Confidence and Influence People by Public Speaking , Dale Carnegie Dale Carnegie’s How to Develop-Self Confidence & Influence People by Public Speaking is an evergreen work.  The main takeaway from this book is that improving public speaking and improving self-confidence are a function of preparation, education, determination, and practice.  There is no short cut to a better you - rather a long path of self-improvement. Ego Is the Enemy , Ryan Holiday This book is written in 3 different parts, namely Aspire, Success and Failure. This is to remind the reader to be: - Humble in aspirations - Gracious in success - Resilient in failure This is attributed to the belief that everyone’s life has cycles of 3 stages and at any one point, we are either aspiring to something, succeeding at something, or failing at something. This book will not only teach you some invaluable skills, but it ...

Anyone who has done research in Leadership over the last few years has come across Simon Sinek. Simon is a brilliant individual with insight into leadership, but he is also an amazing public speaker. During an interview, Simon identified seven secrets to his public speaking success that may help you. 1. Don’t talk right away According to Mr. Sinek, immediately beginning a speech is a sign of nervousness. On the other hand, in spite of how awkward it feels, walking out on stage and wait a few seconds before speaking shows the audience you are confident.

CONFIDENCE BUILDERS GAINED QUITE A FEW MEMBERS LATELY. All of them completed ice-breakers, a standard first speech for Toastmasters, within a few weeks of joining. Among them were Shirley's action-packed performance, Sana's sincere story and Omran's interesting career move. Not only did they entertain, they taught everyone valuable lessons.

You are about to give t he speech of a lifetime , in front of an audience of 300 . Well, more like 13, but it feels like 300, and it's only an ice-breaker; yet heavy perspiration and heart-pounding suddenly occurs. For pride and integrity, you won't cower from fear; but if you vomit, do pride and integrity matter anyway. Under pressure, you forget that even professionals, including political figures and CEO's, suffer breakdowns before performing. Your heavy perspiration and heart-pounding, therefore, are not specific to newbies. Within our club's supportive community, members seasoned and novice use an arsenal of weapons to combat nervousness before speaking. Today, they share three of the most unorthodox yet effective methods with you.