CARLSBAD CHAMBER OF COMMERCE BUSINESS JOURNAL

By Shirley M. Carolan, ATM-G

My Toastmaster club, Tick Talk Toastmasters of Carlsbad, California joined the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce last November. This is almost an unprecedented action for a non-profit, educational organization like us to undertake. We did so to boost our membership and attract local businesses and merchants to our club.

We were also asked to write a brief article on public speaking… or what steps to take when giving a speech, without actually mentioning Toastmasters or Tick Talk Toastmasters. I found this assignment challenging to say the least. The first two articles were rejected because they were considered blatant advertising for Toastmasters.

Finally, I attacked it through the eyes of an Evaluator giving constructive feedback to a speaker. Voila, that idea was accepted!. Following is the article I wrote which appears in the February 2009 Carlsbad Business Journal, entitled: “HOW TO STREAMLINE YOUR SPEECHES! “

"You know you’ve “arrived” when someone asks you to give a presentation to a live audience. Whether you talk about your business, products, services, new market trends, or hobbies, the rules are the same.

As a newbie, It is very tempting to want to tell your audience everything you know about your specific topic. But, a word of advice “Less is More!” It’s better to leave your audience clamoring for more than overdoing it with minutiae clichés, pet words, and jargon. The mind and the seat can only absorb so much. Better to save some material for a follow-up speech than to overdo it.

While the topic may be of utmost interest to you, if you’ve not engaged your audience, or given them something to think about, or take action on, then you run the risk of losing them!

Here are some tips, from a 28 year veteran of public speaking, to help you streamline your talk:

• Organize your material. Make sure it has a strong opening, body, and conclusion!

• Rehearse your speech! Make sure you “own the words” before getting in front of an audience. This will help you stay focused, handle nerves, stay within a specified time frame!

• Start your presentation with a quote, statistic, or controversial idea … it’s a good way to grab your audience’s attention.

• Use audio/visual aides: a handout, or miniature CD to give more details or examples.
Use slides, an overhead projector, flipchart, or music to create a mood.

• Wrap it up by asking your audience a question, e.g., “Before I conclude, are there any questions?”

• Tell your audience you’d be happy to send them more information, if they’d like to leave their name and email address at the end of your presentation.

The latter point is an excellent way to follow up with them and to assess if they have a genuine need of your products or services. It is a non-threatening way to market to a possible future client

These are just a few tools to help you streamline your presentation so that it flows, is interesting, and lets the audience know you are an expert on your subject. Hence, Less is More! If you’d like more information, please contact me at: 760-732-0663 or www.ticktalk.org."

Happy Speaking!

Shirley M. Carolan
Speaker Writer Artist
Phone/Fax: 760-732-0663
artistwithaflair@att.net
www.shirleycarolan.com
http://angelscross.blogspot.com
http://smcarolan.blogspot.com