Toastmasters means business
The business world is full of opportunities. Very often chances come unexpected. Scenario one: A big project is in trouble. A new team leader is needed to manage the turnaround. This is a very visible position. Scenario two: The company established a new relationship with a client. They are looking for the trusted advisor who can successfully manage the relationship. Scenario 3: The VP of your division was hired away by the competition. The search for a successor has started. The company is looking both internally as well as externally.
We are interested to grow, perhaps make more money and make a difference. The question is, what do we do to systematically prepare for these situations? Will we have the skills to deal with the new challenges? In the sports world careers are shorter. We can see how players come to the game. There are only few like LeBron James who were drafted from high school into the NBA becoming the leader of the team over night. Mostly, somebody simply gets a chance. One player is injured, another player fills in and proofs himself. Now, what have these athletes done prior to getting their chance? Well, they have practiced. They played their game at anytime they could. They conditioned themselves in the off season. They thought through how this moment would look like, going on the field for the first time as a professional.
In the business world a lot of things are required from corporate athletes. We have to know our stuff. Engineers need to be technically competent. Sales people need to know their products, customers and markets. People in finance need to know their numbers, all applicable accounting and tax rules. Researchers need to know their science. Our educational system is designed to develop knowledge based skills. But, in order to be effective we need to connect with other people. We communicate facts, key concepts, perhaps strategies. Anyone who has ever been in a situation that is similar to one of the three scenarios, knows that the most important thing is not necessarily the domain expertise. The most important thing is to relate to people. It is about to reach out effectively, to listen and to be heard. Toastmasters is the ideal training camp for corporate athletes. Here are five examples how its educational program helps you to get ready.
1. Overcoming the fear of public speaking: Initially, this is the most important reason, why people join Toastmasters. For most people going through the Competent Communicator manual – a collection of ten (10) speech projects – is more than sufficient to achieve this goal.
2. Special speech projects: There is a slew of advanced manuals representing interesting challenges for an aspiring speaker. There are a wide range of speaking projects: a crisis situation, a dinner speech, a toast, a roast or a humorous speech. Nothing is more intimidating than the idea to have to be funny. The manuals help the speaker to prepare for the project. Based on very specific criteria - called speech objectives - the speaker receives constructive feedback in a meeting taking his game to the next level.
3. Impromptu speaking: Most of our day to day speaking situations are impromptu. We have to learn how to think quick on our feet. One way to train are “Table Topics”. As part of every meeting the Table Topics Masters has prepared a number of questions. She picks randomly someone from the audience. The selected person speaks for one to two minutes. And yes, this can be sometimes a long time. I met a number of people who said that Table Topics helped them most to become a more confident speaker above and beyond anything else they did in Toastmasters.
4. Listening: Business leaders need to be good listeners. It’s about understanding different view points and learning to detect those little nuances. This give us the ability to effectively understand, analyze and deal with the situation at hand. One of the great opportunities to train this skill is to give evaluations to other speakers. Evaluators are identified ahead of time in a Toastmaster meeting. They listen to a speech and then prepare a two to three minute response that equally encourages the speaker as it provides valuable suggestions for improvement.
5. Leadership: In Toastmasters we strongly believe that leadership skills can be learned. There are plenty of situations for our members to practice their leadership skills. It can be as simple as to practice how to run a meeting. From there we provide leadership opportunities to run a club, an area, a division or beyond. Just to give you an idea of the complexity: A Toastmaster division can have easily five hundred members. A district may have many thousands of members. So, Toastmasters can provide a training ground that easily matches the complexity of a VP level position in the corporate world.
Regardless, if you are interested to improve your speaking skills or your leadership skills. Regardless, if you are interested to become a professional speaker or just simply become more comfortable speaking in front of a crowd. The first step for all of us is the same. Visit a local club and participate in a meeting, perhaps answer a table topics question. Things will take its course from there.
Public speaking – without the terror
All of my friends at Toastmasters have their own war stories about what has happened to them in front of an audience. Wavering voices, quivering knees, heart pounding and a little bit too much sweating are not even the worst things that happened. Having a “senior moment” and blanking out are more severe problems. When these symptoms occur, nervousness has taken its toll. The speaker’s mind and body are overwhelmed. Nothing works as planned. However, this doesn’t have to happen. Nervousness itself is not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, all speakers that care about their performance experience this in one way or the other. Skilled speakers have learned how to control nervousness and channel it. Used correctly, nervousness can give a presenter the little extra edge to really shine. Good speakers learn to interpret nervousness as an indication that they are ready to give a speech. They reach a state of alertness improving their ability to think and execute. They are able to direct the physiological changes in a positive fashion while avoiding panic. There are four key concepts for speakers to keep in mind.
- Preparation and practice
- Mental rehearsal
- Relaxation techniques
- Experience
Preparation and practice
Even the most experienced speakers are creating notes or write out a speech in its entirety. This process helps to collect thoughts and allows reflecting on the content. Every speech should have an opening, body and conclusion. A simple approach to structuring these three parts is the following:
- Tell your audience what you are going to tell them
- Tell them
- Then tell them what you told them
In this phase, it is important to get the material in shape. Create a script and/or complete the power point presentation as well as arrange for all the visual aids you plan to use. Then, it is time to practice. Do it by yourself, with your significant other, your dog and/or in front of anyone else who is willing to listen. It doesn’t matter. The goal is for you to become familiar with the material and the delivery of the speech. Focus on your message and the rest will follow.
Mental rehearsal
Like professional athletes, learn to visualize your success in delivering the speech before you are going to deliver it. For example, Taekwondo fighters visualize their sparring strategies. They go mentally through combinations of punches and kicks before they actually compete. Like those fighters, do a mental run through of the entire presentation. Begin with your arrival at the meeting, your introduction, the delivery of the speech and the applause you will get (preferably an ecstatic standing ovation). The advantage of doing mental rehearsals is that you can do them at any time, at any speed and any place. I go through some of mine at those boring waits at the airport. We all have time to kill at some point in our day.
Relaxation techniques
After practicing and rehearsing the speech numerous times, there might still be some tension before the big moment. Don’t worry about this too much. Here are some techniques that have helped me in the past. The evening before, I personally like to get some physical exercise. It almost doesn’t matter what it is. I found out for me that a martial arts class, a run or walk are the best ways to calm down. I encourage you to find your own approach. At the event, if you feel that a certain body part, such as the shoulders, are tense, then try the following excersise. Tighten the part that feels tense for a few seconds, then release it. Repeat this 4-5 times. You can do this even in a room full of people. If you have more privacy, then you can try other exercises.
- Standing, inhale and stretch your arms toward the ceiling. Then exhale as you bend and touch your toes. Keep the knees straight. Repeat this 4-5 times.
- Hold your arms to the sides, parallel to the floor and rotate them in small circles first forward, then backward. After you have done that, shake them loose. Then, like a swimmer during a warm up, “hug” yourself.
- Drop your head to the chest, roll it to the right, to the back and then to the left. Do this motion in a circle. Repeat these head rolls a number of times.
- Take deep breaths. While you inhale, make sure that the diaphragm and stomach expands. This helps get plenty of oxygen into your system.
Experience
Finally, over time, the best way to reduce anxiety in front of an audience is to simply practice public speaking. Doing this repeatedly reduces fear and builds confidence. This is where Toastmaster International can help. It provides opportunities to try out speaking skills on all levels of its organization: club, area, division, district, regional or international. To get started, go to www.toastmasters.org and find a club in your area. If you are in the DC area, feel free to reach out to my club www.fstoastmasters.org.
One last word about nervousness. Most likely, your audience will not notice unless you tell them. They don’t see your sweaty palms nor do they hear your heart pounding. In general, an audience has a positive attitude towards a speaker. A little ah here or a double clutch there will go unnoticed. Be yourself, know your material, be prepared and victory will be yours.
