by Alan | Feb 15, 2007 | Communication skills, Content, Delivery, Toastmasters
I witnessed a great apology today. At Toastmasters, we are frequently sarcastic and sometimes even caustic with one another (mostly the guys), and today was a light-hearted and enjoyable example of friends getting after one another. It escalated quickly, with one...
by Alan | Feb 7, 2007 | Communication skills, public speaking, Toastmasters
Had a guy last night offer up an English nugget to me. He was a very interesting guy — a true Renaissance man who was also a Toastmaster DTM (highest level possible). As we connected and talked, I used an incorrect word and he paused and said, “I’m...
by Alan | Nov 8, 2006 | Communication skills, Delivery, public speaking, Toastmasters
Had a comment on last night’s post to just give the tips to getting better. Unfortunately, there are really precious few.The best tip, of course, is Rule #1: It’s not about you, the presenter. It’s about them, the listener/learner/client/audience. ...
by Alan | Oct 11, 2006 | Communication skills, Delivery, public speaking, Toastmasters
I placed second in tonite’s Toastmasters’ Division Evaluation contest. While I won the Area contest, I joke that I finished second to last (only two competitors). Everyone in tonite’s competition had won twice already, and everyone was good. After...
by Alan | Sep 27, 2006 | Communication skills, Delivery, public speaking, Toastmasters
Took in a Toastmasters’ speech contest tonite. I’m always challenged and entertained by what folks can come up with — the human mind is so creative! But I suppose it’s what I do that makes it tough to get past what I consider to be critical...
by Alan | Aug 29, 2006 | Communication skills, Delivery, Toastmasters
Our local Toastmasters Club tried something a little different yesterday. We called a special, voluntary meeting to watch a video of a presenter (about 20 minutes) and then spent the rest of an hour discussing what worked and what didn’t for that speaker. The...
