Have you heard of toastmasters? Can Toastmasters help you to be a better speaker?

If you are or were a toastmaster, I think your answer to the above question is YES.
If you don’t know what toastmasters are. Check out the below article “Can Toastmasters Help You Be a Better Public Speaker” written by George Torok for more information.

If you want to overcome stage fright and learn to speak with confidence, join a toastmasters club.
You are welcome to visit our Kowloon-Singapore Toastmasters Club (KSTMC) if you are living in Singapore.

Next Meeting Date:  25 Jan 2012 (Sat afternoon)
Time: 2:15 pm - 5pm
Venue: Kampong Ubi Community Centre, Level 3 Conference Room
10 Jalan Ubi Singapore 409075
Click here to see the Location Map.

Yetti
Kowloon-Singapore Toastmasters Club
Past Club President
District 80 Treasurer 2009-2010

“Helping You To Overcome Your Fear of Public Speaking and Speak With Confidence!”
Public Speaking Singapore
Public Speaking in Singapore Blog

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Can Toastmasters Help You Be a Better Public Speaker?
By George Torok

The short answer is yes.

Toastmasters can help you improve your presentation skills. Toastmasters has helped hundreds of thousands of people around the world improve their presentation, public speaking, and communication skills.

My Experience with Toastmasters

I joined Toastmasters to improve my presentation skills. I was a member for seven years. During that time I actively participated in meetings, on the executive, in public speaking contests and in the promotion of membership. I contributed articles, letters and tips regularly to Toastmaster Magazine. I presented at officer training programs, regional conferences and at two international conferences.

Membership in Toastmasters was a series of positive experiences for me. If you want to get the most from any organization or experience contribute and participate. This article is my opinion of my experience as a member of Toastmasters. As a professional speaker and presentation skills trainer I am often asked about Toastmasters.

What is Toastmasters?

Toastmasters is a nonprofit association primarily focused on improving the presentation skills of its members. Through participation in the administration of the volunteer structure Toastmasters also offers leadership development. Anyone can join. Pay your membership fees and you are a member. Volunteer to lead and you can be a club, area or regional officer. Naturally you will be expected to invest time, effort and commitment. Read more »

Updated Toastmasters Speech Series: Your Guide to the First 10 Speeches

Here are some good public speaking resources:
“If you are not a Toastmaster, consider this an introductory public speaking course.”
“If you are a Toastmaster, this is your guide through the first ten speeches. For each speech project, we’ll look at tips, techniques, and wherever possible, written and video examples of speeches which demonstrate the goals.”

Toastmasters – Ten Speeches (at Ratana Ong’s Blog)
Here you’ll find the objectives for all 10 basic speeches and sample videos from toastmasters doing their speeches.

Andrew Dlugan’s “Six Minutes - A Public Speaking and Presentation Skills Blog” has a Toastmasters Speech Series.

• Overview:  The Toastmasters Speech Series
• Project 1 : The Ice Breaker
• Project 2 :Organize Your Speech
• Project 3 :Get to the Point
• Project 4 :How To Say It
• Project 5 :Your Body Speaks
• Project 6 :Vocal Variety
• Project 7 :Research Your Topic

In addition, here are some other public speaking resources for your reference:

Project 1 - The Ice Breaker Manual Guide
Project 9 - Persuade with Power Manual Guide
By DTM Kan Kin Fung, Division U Head Speech Coach 2005-2006

Competent Leadership Tracking Table

Setting Up A Speech Databank  (The Real Secret to Creative Speech Ideas!)
By ATMG Ng Seng Chuan

Practice is the key to helping you improve in public speaking.

You’re welcome to visit our Kowloon-Singapore Toastmasters Club (KSTMC) if you are living in Singapore.

Cheers!

Yetti
Kowloon-Singapore Toastmasters Club
Past Club President
District 80 Treasurer 2009-2010

“Helping You To Overcome Your Fear of Public Speaking and Speak With Confidence!”
Public Speaking Singapore
Public Speaking in Singapore Blog

Youtube Video on Public Speaking Tips : The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs
I think it is an awesome video on presentation skills.

Here are some points extracted from the video:

• Set the theme
• Make your theme clear and consistent
• Create a headline that sets the direction for the meeting
• Provide the outline
• Open and close each section with a clear transition
• Make it easy for your listeners to follow your story
• Demonstrate enthusiasm e.g. extraordinary, amazing, cool, incredible, unbelievable, awesome
• Wow your audience
• Sell an experience
• Make numbers and statistics meaningful
• Analogies help connect the dots for your audience
• Make it visual
• Point a simple picture that doesn’t overwhelm
• Give ‘em a show
• Identify your memorable moment and build up to it
• Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse
• Spend the time to rehearse
• One more thing…
• Give your audience an added bonus to walk away with

This is a short post about our next chapter meeting.
If you want to overcome stage fright and learn to speak with confidence, join a toastmasters club.
You are welcome to visit our Kowloon-Singapore Toastmasters Club (KSTMC) if you are living in Singapore. We will have a special talk at the meeting too.

Meeting Date:  17 Dec 2011 (Sat afternoon)
Time: 2:15 pm - 5pm
Venue: CSM Singapore - Genius Seminar Room
Blk 231 Bain Street #04-41 Bras Basah Complex Singapore 180231

Special Talk : Maximise Your Memory Power

Speakers Profile:
Nishant Kasibhatla is an ACB and is the president of Brilliant Advanced Toastmasters Club. Nishant helps executives, managers and leaders to attain peak mental performance and boost their productivity. He is a Guinness World Record Holder and the only Grand Master of Memory in Singapore. Nishant is an author of 4 books on memory and learning. He is a popular speaker with over 15 years’ experience in conducting training in 11 countries across 4 continents. Nishant is a past President of Asia Professional Speakers, Singapore. He is the youngest Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) in Singapore.

Youtube Video: Public Speaking Tips on How to Start Your Presentation

“If you’re like most people, getting started is probably the hardest part.  It’s kind of like writers block. You can sit for hours—nothing comes to you, but when it does, it just pours out.  So, how do we get started?”

The following video provides some helpful tips on how to start your presentation by Karen Friedman.

Think about the following questions…
1. What is the purpose of your talk?
2. What do your listeners care about?
3. What do you want people to remember?

If you want to overcome stage fright and learn to speak with confidence, join a toastmasters club.
You are welcome to visit our Kowloon-Singapore Toastmasters Club (KSTMC) if you are living in Singapore.

Yetti
Kowloon-Singapore Toastmasters Club
Past Club President
District 80 Treasurer 2009-2010

“Helping You To Overcome Your Fear of Public Speaking and Speak With Confidence!”
Public Speaking Singapore
Public Speaking in Singapore Blog

Public Speaking Tips: 4 Ways to Avoid Presentation Disasters

“I once heard Jerry Seinfeld joke that, because the fear of public speaking outranks even that of death, the average person attending a funeral would rather be “the guy in the casket than doing the eulogy.” Put to you this way, you’d probably want to get over your fear of public speaking (if you have one) in a hurry. This is particularly true in the workplace where public speaking is frequently a part office life. For some people, the thought of leading meetings or making formal presentations can be terrifying. Some are so terrified their muscles tighten and throats gets so dry they can hardly speak when just having to introduce themselves to a group of their peers around the boardroom table…” Check out the below full article for more information.

If you want to overcome stage fright and learn to speak with confidence, join a toastmasters club.
You are welcome to visit our Kowloon-Singapore Toastmasters Club (KSTMC) if you are living in Singapore.

Yetti
Kowloon-Singapore Toastmasters Club
Past Club President
District 80 Treasurer 2009-2010

“Helping You To Overcome Your Fear of Public Speaking and Speak With Confidence!”
Public Speaking Singapore
Public Speaking in Singapore Blog

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Public Speaking Tips - 4 Ways to Avoid Presentation Disasters
By Dr. Sandra Folk

I once heard Jerry Seinfeld joke that, because the fear of public speaking outranks even that of death, the average person attending a funeral would rather be “the guy in the casket than doing the eulogy.” Read more »

Public Speaking Tips: How To Make a Speech Like a Pro

If you are expected to make a speech or give a talk, check out the below article for 8 simple tips that will help things go smoothly. 1. Practice in front of a video camera or mirror, and rehearse enough times to feel confident…

If you want to overcome stage fright and learn to speak with confidence, join a toastmasters club.
You are welcome to visit our Kowloon-Singapore Toastmasters Club (KSTMC) if you are living in Singapore.

Yetti
Kowloon-Singapore Toastmasters Club
Past Club President
District 80 Treasurer 2009-2010

“Helping You To Overcome Your Fear of Public Speaking and Speak With Confidence!”
Public Speaking Singapore
Public Speaking in Singapore Blog

——-
Public Speaking Tips - Make a Speech Like a Pro
By Judy Camp

Public speaking can be a scary thing the first few times you try it, but people who speak often have a few tricks that help improve their performance. If you are expected to make a speech or give a talk, here are eight simple tips that will help things go smoothly.

1. Practice in front of a video camera or mirror, and rehearse enough times to feel confident, without saying “um”. In between rehearsing, take a moment to close your eyes and visualize your audience smiling and enjoying your talk. Visualization might seem strange, but it has been proven that positive visualizing beforehand will create a positive experience. Read more »

Public Speaking Tips: The Importance of Speaking Skills

“While a picture may be worth a thousand words, those words will no doubt come in handy if the picture is distorted or poorly understood. After all, the best way to communicate is through speech.”

If you want to overcome stage fright and learn to speak with confidence, join a toastmasters club.
You are welcome to visit our Kowloon-Singapore Toastmasters Club (KSTMC) if you are living in Singapore.

Yetti
Kowloon-Singapore Toastmasters Club
Past Club President
District 80 Treasurer 2009-2010

“Helping You To Overcome Your Fear of Public Speaking and Speak With Confidence!”
Public Speaking Singapore
Public Speaking in Singapore Blog

——
The Importance of Speaking Skills
By Gerald Gillis

While a picture may be worth a thousand words, those words will no doubt come in handy if the picture is distorted or poorly understood. After all, the best way to communicate is through speech.

The four language skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing are all interconnected. Proficiency in each skill is necessary to become a well-rounded communicator, but the ability to speak skillfully provides the speaker with several distinct advantages. The capacity to put words together in a meaningful way to reflect thoughts, opinions, and feelings provides the speaker with these important advantages:

• Ability to inform, persuade, and direct. Business managers, educators, military leaders, lawyers, and politicians, among others, seek to develop their speaking skills to such a level that they are transformed into master communicators. Speaking clearly and confidently can gain the attention of an audience, providing the golden opportunity for the speaker to make the message known. Wise is the speaker who gains and then holds the attention of an audience, with well-chosen words in a well-delivered presentation, forming a message that is effective, informative, and understood. Read more »