Your First Ten Speeches

As a Toastmaster you develop your speaking ability in a self-paced environment, one skill at a time. The first 10 speeches make up the Basic Communication and Leadership Program, in which all new members participate.

1. The Ice-breaker is your first speech, to get you started by talking on a subject about which you are the expert (you!), to introduce yourself, and to find what skills you want to develop.

2. Organize Your Speech emphasizes organizing your thoughts into a logical sequence leading to a clearly defined goal, and building a speech with an opening, body, and close.

3. Get to the Point select a topic to inform your audience for a specific purpose.

4. How to Say it selecting the right words to communicate your ideas clearly, accurately and vividly.. Eliminate jargon and unnecessary words., using correct grammar.

5. Your Body Speaks using stance, movement, gestures, facial expressions and eye contact to express your message.

6. Vocal Variety explores the use of voice volume, pitch, rate, and quality as tools used by an effective speaker.

7. Research Your Topic collect information about your topic. Support your poits and opinions with specific facts, examples and illustrations gathered thru research.

8. Get Comfortable with Visual Aids- select a visual aid that is appropriate for your topic.

9. Persuade with Power gives you the opportunity to practice the skills necessary to convince an audience to accept your proposal or viewpoint by appealing to their own self-interest, building a logical foundation, and arousing emotional commitment.

10. Inspire Your Audience is the final speech in the Basic Communication and Leadership Program. The objective of this speech is to select a topic about which you feel strongly, analyze your audience's mood and feelings, and inspire them using all the skills you have developed.

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Table Topic Tips From A to Z Compliments of Distinguished Toastmaster,Fran Gedra

ART Bring pictures of abstract art. Ask members to describe what they see.

BALLOONS Place questions in balloons. Each speaker chooses a balloon and 'pops-it' for the question.

BOOK TITLES Ask a person to tell what they think the book is about without looking in the cover.

BOOK SWAP Have members tell why they brought a book. Then have a mad swap at the end of the meeting.

CONTINUOUS STORY Begin a story and ask participants to continue it.

CASES AND PROBLEMS Provide participants with challenging problems to discuss: How do explain to your spouse why you purchased something extravagant, what do you say to your child who wants to borrow the car?

DEBATES Count members off in twos, and ask them to debate the pros and cons of certain issues. Selected issues can be funny or serious - why you'd like to be CEO of a major company, why you'd rather be living in (a certain state), why we should use the military to help resolve crimes, the prevalence of drugs, etc.

DEAR ABBY Give each person a "Dear Abby" question and ask them to respond.

DISCUSSION Select local, regional, national, or international issues and discuss - local taxes, crime, pollution, drugs, health care, the homeless, education, the Federal budget, etc.

EDITOR Each participant is the editor of a national magazine. Ask them what they plan for the next issue for their respective sections - world news, national news, feature articles, sports, health, business, people, etc.

EXCHANGES Bring 'selected' gifts, wrapped or unwrapped. Ask members to give and receive them appropriately. Tell why they are 'thrilled' to receive this special gift.

FORTUNE COOKIES Ask participants to open a fortune cookie, read it, and explain what it means. Or take the real fortune cookie and replace it with your own.

FRUIT Bring in fruits and ask each participant to describe what they love about the fruit and why it is so important in their life.

FOOD Ask members for the proper technique for eating artichokes, bacon, fried chicken, spaghetti, etc.

GESTURES Choose topics which lend themselves to gestures. Select a pair of participants - the first does the speaking only, the second person makes the gestures for the first speaker. Then have them swap function.

GRAB BAG Pull an 'object' out of the bag and describe what it is. 'Sell' the object, tell why this object is a perfect gift, or tell what it means to you.

HATS Place a variety of hats on a table. Each participant chooses a hat and plays the character who would wear that hat. For example, baseball, football, fishing, straw, sailor's chef's, etc.

HOW TO Ask 'how-to' questions - how to make a salad, how to change a tire, how to put up a tent.

HISTORICAL EVENTS State an historical/recent event. Ask what the participant would have done if they were Napoleon, Caesar, Queen Elizabeth, a US President, Boris Yeltsin, and reply as if they were that person.

INSTRUCTIONS See how well members follow instructions by asking them to draw an item which is described. Or describe how to get to the meeting, how to get to any location, etc.

IMAGINE Ask member to imagine they were Little Red Riding Hood - how would they handle the wolf? If you could go back ion time, what period would it be and why? Imagine it's the year 2100. What would life be like?

Give recipe titles (real or imaginary) and ask for the ingredients - how prepared, how served?

INTERVIEWS Interview famous people. President Clinton, Tom Hanks, Cal Ripkin, or figures from the past - Jefferson, Lincoln, Columbus, Martin Luther King, Mozart, Van Gogh, Marie Antoinette, Charles Dickens.

JOB INTERVIEWS Help members prepare for job interviews by presenting interview questions to participants, OR do the reverse by fielding questions to the TT Master, who would be the person seeking the position.

KEYS Give participants a key and ask what it is the key to - responses could be the key to success, happiness, mystery, disaster, or a key to a car, jewel box, a mansion, etc.

LOTTERY Ask participant what they would do if they won specific amounts of money or various prizes.

MUSIC Play old songs, ask what the songs mean to participants. Show album covers, ask for their memories.

MYSTERY Announce that one of the members has had family jewels stolen from the second floor bedroom of their mansion. Everyone is suspect. Ask each to defend themselves - maid, gardener, butler, chef, chauffeur, business partner, mailman, maintenance person.

NEWSPAPERS Ask members to place an ad - find a mate, sell a car, and describe what the ad would say.

OPPORTUNITY Describe unusual opportunities and ask how they would be handled.

PICTURES Tell a story after looking at a picture from a newspaper, management, etc.

QUOTES Provide a quote or saying. Ask participants to explain where it originated and what it means.

READ ALOUD Practice vocal variety.

REVIEWS Review a book, a movie, TV show, etc.

SALES Sell an 'object,' until someone will buy it or time is up.

TV SHOWS Ask questions from dating-game type shows.

UNUSUAL OBJECTS Ask participants to select an object and explain what it is.

VALENTINE What - or who - was your favorite valentine?
WORD Build a story around a word.

XEROX If you could copy a lost document from history, what would it be?

YELLOW PAGES Have each member chose an ad at random and have them convince everyone that they must buy something from them or use their service.

ZOO If you could be any animal in a zoo, what would it be and why?

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