Be Prepared For World Speech Day March 15

Problem
How do you prepare to give a speech on any occasion, to audiences in your home country and overseas?

Answers
Planned Speeches - The Planning
Carry a card with facts on your favourite subject. (For example, if you are anti-smoking, some statistics.)
Go to Toastmasters International meetings.

Impromptu Speeches - The Planning
How to give an impromptu, or apparently impromptu, speech.

Have a set of ten speeches on which you are an expert. That could be ten speeches on one subject, or ten different subjects. Then you can adapt any of these to the more popular questions.

For example, supposing your subject is football. Think up ways you can adapt the subject as a speech for different occasions. If you are asked, what do you do in your spare time, the answer is football. If you are asked about fitness, the answer is football. If you are asked who is your hero, the answer is a football player.

If you are asked about business, your answer is how your favourite club runs its finances, sells, tickets, sells souvenirs, buys players. If you are asked to tell a joke, have a couple of football jokes ready. If you are asked about your last holiday, talk about a football museum or visit to a stadium or an international football match.

If you are asked about your local area, talk about the football club. If you are told somebody doesn't like football, have a subject you can switch to, or relating to half a dozen other interests. Your favourite film - is one about football.

Inspiration
You could do a speech modelled on a famous speech. Or a parody. But try it out to be sure it doesn't offend anybody. For example, listening to Martin Luther King on I have a dream, you could start, I have a nightmare. You then either write a humorous parody, or talk about how you overcame your fear of flights or fear or flying.

Toastmasters International - find a club
https://www.toastmasters.org/find-a-club

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

Who Knows About Christmas? Questions You Could Ask

Problem
I went to a Toastmasters International Meeting at an advanced club in Singapore. The Toastmaster of the Day asked if you believe in Santa Claus and Why and I won a ribbon for an impromptu two minute speech starting without a second's hesitation: "Yes, I believe in Santa Claus because I have met him. He was in Finland in his Santa Claus house where he answers letters from children all over the world. I was taken there by the tourist board for Finland ..."

The following evening I thought I would ask a similar set of questions about Christmas, to an audience including some shy speakers of English, a mixture of Chinese and Indians, either Singaporean Chinese or expat Asians. I started, as is usual, with an experienced speaker, who gave a fluent although rather predictable speech on how Christmas had become a commercial event.

However, when I moved to giving an opportunity to visitors and newer members, I got hesitant and off the point and unoriginal answers. Nobody planned Christmas in advance.

Nobody thought to divert the topic into planning life in advance. Maybe I should have started with instructions on how to answer a table topic. Why didn't I? Firstly, we were short of time. Secondly, and the evaluation guide in my manual asked my evaluator to say whether I had kept my remarks to a minimum to allow extra time for speeches.

Another question I asked was about a typical Christmas time meal. What will you and your family eat over the holidays?

A typical meal was what they always ate at home. A Singaporean Chinese woman said she ate chicken rice, the classic Singaporean dish served all year everywhere in Singapore. An Indian man said his wife made the best biriani.

Whilst in theory I could have asked who was Christian, I felt this was an intrusive question. Maybe I could have asked one person to say why Christmas was dreadful and another to say why Christmas was delightful. I could have given simple non-controversial answers from my own life; no transport, shut restaurants, high price meals.   My worst Christmas was alone as a student in London, starving. The hostel served no food served Christmas day, the restaurants were shut and public transport was not running.

After the Singapore meeting, I spent the next 24 hours puzzling over the answers my questions evoked, and what I had done wrong.  How could I put it right?

Firstly I should have started by questioning the audience. I could have asked questions such as: How many of you have had a traditional British Christmas dinner of turkey followed by Christmas pudding? If none, simplify, "How many of you can explain one of the Christmas customs?"

In England, although we have a large number of residents and visitors from all over Europe and Asia, every local newspaper writes up the origin of Christmas and customs ranging from crackers to trees.

Newspaper give out the same analysis for Diwali and other religious celebrations. But do I read them? How clear am I on the origins of Diwali or Chinese New year? I'm pretty good at autumn festival and Chinese New Year because I have lived in Singapore on and off for twenty years, and I have heard several speeches on the festivals. Maybe it's time for me to prepare a talk on Christmas customs, or a handout.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

Our Halloween Evening At Harrovian Speakers Club In London, England

Problem

What to do for Halloween

A pumpkin was by the front door when we arrived at Harrovian Speakers, a club which is part of Toastmasters International.

The lit pumpkin cast an eerie, flickering glow over the entrance, next to the cemetery behind St Lawrence's church. (For future meetings see the Harrovians website or Meetup.)

Inside on each chair we found a cut out of a ghost, a mouse, or a spider.

Our President, Sushil, had brought Maltesers for those who volunteered to do table topics (subjects for impromptu speech, sometimes taken from (a box on) the table, as happened tonight.

Past and future member Kamesh picks a topic from the table.

A guest enthuses about the picture which reminds her of a souvenir of her trip to Africa.

Giles, the husband of speaker Rachel, told us about Roman speaker Cicero.

I feel somebody is watching me. Amparo, who brought the pumpkin. Yes, it's a real pumpkin which she carved.

The pumpkin, watching the meeting.

Author

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please share links to your favourite posts in www.travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.co.uk 

How to Remember Names

If you read books on remembering names you will hear that Americans repeat a name three times.


Stories
Wedding Speeches And Names
In my book How To Be The Best Man I suggested that in the best man's speech he could comment on the names of the host or guests. For example, he could take the meanings of names. How many bakers and butchers and smith? How many blacks, whites, greens, silvers and golds? How many of the same name? Did he call the name Maria, and find that the bride and three waitresses ran over. (Or did the groom call the name Maria and find that his wife and three waitresses came running. How did he explain that to his new wife!) Endless possibilities to complement and describe the audience, remember their names, and remind the bride and groom and other guests of each other's names.

Names Of Guests At Toastmasters Meetings
In December 2016 I was asked when I arrived at a meeting to be the Table Topics Master. My job was to invite guests to vie a two minute speech on a subject of may choice, preferably the theme of the evening. I remember two of the guests. Two days later I can still remember their names.

The person on my right and the right of my photos of the evening was Earnest. I asked his name, which was Earnest, asked him to say the spelling, to be sure I had heard right, and then said, "Earnest, I earnestly entreat you to come up and do a table topic."

The guest on my left, and the left of my photos of the evening, was called Victor. I wondered whether I had heard correctly. I asked, "Is that Victor with a C or Victor with a K - can you spell it?" He said, "It's Victor with a c, V I C T O R." I replied, ""Victor, with a C, will you please come up and do a table topic - you may be the victor - you may be victorious!

Earnest was earnest but Victor was victorious. He won the ribbon.


Tips
1 Ask the name
2 Repeat the name
3 Check the spelling
4 Comment on the nationality, religion, language of the name
5 Ask the origin of the name or offer to trace it
6 Write down the name
7 Put the name in your phone
8 Photograph the person
9 Find their photo in the programme or newspaper or media
10 Make a joke or praise the name or find an alliteration.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer.
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