Category Archives: Fear of Public Speaking

Fear of Public Speaking

Public Speaking Tips: Handling Bad Experience on Public Speaking

Public Speaking Tips: Handling Bad Experience on Public Speaking

“When it comes to public speaking it’s so easy to let one horrific experience become our permanent benchmark against which to measure ourselves from then on. With the die firmly cast, this negative mindset of just how helpless we are at speaking before groups becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy. Hey, we all have a bad experience now and then, but we tend to learn what ‘not to do’ next time. This insightful article will show you how to build on your speaking experiences in a positive way – be they good or bad…”

How to tackle your bad experience on public speaking?  Check out the below article.

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

 

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Public Speaking: Don’t Let a Bad Experience Define Your Speaking Potential!
By Laurie Smale

When it comes to public speaking, there are defining misfortunes that can haunt us for years. These disasters can literally define who we are as a speaker and set up ingrained habit patterns of speaking failure that become a self-fulfilling prophesy for years. Every time we feel threatened with a similar situation this defining experience creeps into our consciousness to remind us of the trauma that lies ahead and just how hopeless we are.

*Graham Skinner had always felt uneasy reading aloud in Primary school. In fact he managed to avoid doing anything in front of people right up to year ten, but this particular day there was no getting out of it. He had to deliver a talk on an article from the newspaper. “Skinner you’re next week’s speaker” he heard the teacher say. Absolute panic took hold of him. The mere thought of having to stand in front of the whole school at assembly terrified him. He told me that each night after that he’d lie awake in a cold sweat hoping it would just go away.

The night before his talk he realised he could avoid it no more. He sat down at the kitchen table and picked the smallest snippet he could find in the newspaper, stared long and hard at it, then put it in his pocket. This was the extent of his preparation. Continue reading →

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Public Speaking Tips: How to Be a Good Public Speaker

Public Speaking Tips : How to Be a Good Public Speaker

“When someone asks you to deliver a speech, what’s your initial reaction? If you are like most other people, it’s sheer terror! But this is quite unfortunate. For with a little bit of training and motivation, anyone can become a good public speaker.”  Check out the below article ” Public Speaking Tips – How to Be a Good Public Speaker “.

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

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Public Speaking Tips – How to Be a Good Public Speaker
By Kajol Shafiq

When someone asks you to deliver a speech, what’s your initial reaction? If you are like most other people, it’s sheer terror! But this is quite unfortunate. For public speaking does not necessarily involve talking to a large audience. There are millions of people all over the world who don’t aspire greatness in the podium. Instead, as office managers, or team leaders, they are required to talk to a small group of people. But even that small task can send shivers down the spine of most group leaders. But the good thing is that anyone, with a little bit of training and motivation, can become a good public speaker. Truly, if you want to succeed as an effective public speaker, you will have to learn and adopt certain public -speaking strategies. Here are a few public speaking tips to make you shine in the podium.

1) Pick the right subject.You must choose a topic you are familiar with and which you have strong feelings. It is really disastrous to talk on something which is not your domain and you are very likely to make an ass of yourself if you do that. However, if you tread on known grounds, you will feel comfortable and confident to talk about your subject.

2) Organize your points thoughtfully and logically. Your talk must have a beginning–a brief introduction on what you are going to say; a middle where you elaborate on your topic; and an ending that summarizes on what you have just said.

3) Rehearse your speech in private. After you have planned your presentation, it is time to practise delivering it. Better if you do it alone. Remember, you are not initiating a discussion here. You will have to talk alone and logically present what you would like to say. Hence, you would do well to practise in front of the mirror like a seasoned actor. Be positive and try to “see” and “hear” the positive feedback you are going to get when you have them under your sway. Continue reading →

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Opening address – President’s Inaugural Speech on 26 July 2011

If you want to overcome stage fright and learn to speak with confidence, join a toastmasters club.

You are welcome to visit our Kampong Ubi Toastmasters Club if you are living in Singapore.

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President’s Inaugural Speech on 26 July 2011 by Ramana Boyani

A splendid good evening to our district officers, my fellow Toastmasters and guests!

It is my privilege to be the President of Kowloon-Singapore Toastmasters club for the term 2011- 2012.

Being the President it has increased my responsibilities and commitments. But I am very happy that I have an excellent team who are more committed and enthusiastic than me. With their support, I am sure we will achieve our club success.

I always believe the value of team work. I always believe my members dreams…and most importantly

I believe myself. With the experience as a Vice President Membership for the last term, I am fully confident that I can overcome all the challenges in the future.

On 20 Sept 2009, I got a call from one of my friends, and he invited me to a Toastmasters seminar.

My immediate response was “I am not interested in toasting or baking courses. Because my wife does not allow me to cook” : )  He said,” it is not about the cooking or baking..It is about toasting your public speaking skills”… hmmm.. That sounded good to me. After 3 days, I visited Chai Chee Community Club along with my friend. As usual the guests were called on to participate in the Table topics. I didn’t dare to step forward. After the seminar I had realized the importance of public speaking in my life. This is the programme sheet for that day. It was so simple… there was no president name and there are no names of the exco team… But I still preserve this… do you know why?….that was the place I got enlightened. I realized about my fear of speaking ….But after 2 years from that day, I am standing in front of you as a President of one of the leading Toastmasters clubs in Singapore. I am very thankful to the friend in my story who showed me the way. He is none otherthan our club member TM. Rao. Please give him a big round of applause!

“People who take initiative and work hard may succeed, or sometimes they may fail. But anyone who does not take initiative is almost guaranteed to fail”.

  • Initiative is often the difference between success and failure. Initiative is the first step to anywhere you want to go. My message to all of you…
    “You don’t have to be good, to start: you have to start, to be good”. I repeat…”You don’t have to be good, to start: you have to start, to be good”

 

Start your Toastmasters journey … I am sure, you will become a better speaker, a better listener, a better thinker eventually a better leader. Continue reading →

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Project 10: My Toastmasters Journey

Project 10: My Toastmasters Journey
By Ramana Boyani

On 23rd March 2010, I started my Toast masters journey, with my Project 1 Ice breaker. On that day I spoke about my 4D principle.

DESIRE…. DECISION……….DETERMINATION …and…….. DESTINATION……

A splendid good evening to my fellow Toastmasters and Guests…

Today I have reached my first milestone in the Toastmaster’s journey. My 4D rule really worked, in achieving this goal.

Because, I had a very strong DESIRE to overcome the fear of public speaking… I took a DECISION to join the Toastmaster club. On my first day itself, I signed-up as a member. I took the challenge of completing 10 projects in 12 months with a strong DETERMINATION…. With a blink of an eye, 12 months have passed. Today, I am at my DESTINATION of completing my final project to become a Competent Communicator.

Many people think that, they are not good at speaking …. They feel shy to talk to others. But I feel that every person has got a talent. Every person is like a diamond. Some are kept on the show like our US President Obama, and some are lying in the mud like us. The more you polish the diamond, the more it shines. Toastmaster is the best mechanism to polish your communication skills.

Toastmaster’s journey has changed my life in 2 aspects. :

1) Personally
2) Professionally

Personally… To do projects we have to read lot. Through that, we will gain knowledge. By giving speeches consistently, we can correct our mistakes with the help of, our excellent evaluators. Apart from that, we also learn time management and leadership skills

Professionally… Few months back, I attended a seminar on Construction law. During the tea break, I had a chat with the speaker Mr.Jonathan Choo, who is one of the leading Arbitrators in Singapore.

After few days, I sent an email to him asking whether he was willing to visit our office, to conduct a seminar on construction law. I know he is very busy man and a very expensive lawyer. To my surprise, he accepted my invitation and agreed to conduct the seminar at our office without any charges. I sent an invitation to all my colleagues, including our CEO.

With my Toastmasters experience, I arranged the meeting successfully. I did all roles like Toastmaster of the Day by introducing the speaker, Timer to help the speaker on his timing, Sergeant at Arms to arrange snacks for my colleagues, and Vice President Education, arrange the program,. I was very glad that my busy CEO attended the seminar.

Because I was very proactive, I secured more points in my Appraisal and received a big bonus during this Chinese New Year. I take this opportunity to give a big ‘Thank You’ to my Toastmaster club.

I strongly believe that, to achieve something you must be with the right people. The people around you must be very positive, supportive and have a lot of initiative. If you are with pessimistic people, you will never grow. Even if you want to improve yourself, the people around you will not encourage you.

There is an interesting story about this.

One day, a boy found an eagle egg, and put it into the nest of a prairie chicken. The eaglet hatched with the brood of chicks, and grew up with them.

Thinking he was a prairie chicken all his life, the changeling eagle did what the other prairie chickens did.

He scratched in the dirt for seeds and insects, to eat. He clucked and cackled. He could fly a little height from the ground with thrashing wings. After all, that’s how prairie chickens were supposed to fly.

Years passed, and the changeling eagle grew older. One day, he saw a majestic bird flying in the sky, with its golden wings.

“What a beautiful bird…What is that? He asked his neighbor.

“That’s an Eagle, the chief of birds”… “But don’t give a second thought. You could never become like him” advised the neighbor chicken.

The changeling eagle listened to his neighbor and never gave it a second thought. After some years, he ends his life thinking he was a prairie chicken.

What about you? Are you content to scratch in the dirt, or would you rather soar in the sky? If you would prefer to soar, you have to be with the right people. If you stay with successful people, you will become successful.

To conclude, I suggest our guests to join us and be part of this wonderful Toastmasters journey. Dear my seniors, please continue your projects and polish your speaking skills by attending the toastmasters meetings regularly and consistently.

Friends… I assure you… you are with the right people at the right place…that is….our Kowloon Singapore Toastmasters Club.

Back to Toastmaster of the evening….

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

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Selected Speeches delivered at chapter meeting held on 22 Sept 2009

Wonder what a toastmaster meeting will do…

Here are a few selected speeches taken at our last chapter meeting.

Basically, we do have prepared project speeches, evaluation section and table topics section.

You can check out Frequently Asked Questions about Toastmasters here.

Gary Haris P5 CPR 20090922

Anthony Sum AP2 – 200909222

Bruno Pereira, DTM Project Evaluation for Anthony Sum’s AP2 – 20090922

Gary Haris – Table Topic Master 20090922

Bruno Pereira, DTM Table Topic 20090922

Yetti Chiu Table Topic 20090922

Practice is the key to helping you improve in public speaking.
If you are a Fearful Public Speaker living in Singapore, please come to visit our toastmaster club.

Kowloon-Singapore Toastmasters Club holds regular chapter meetings where members gather to improve their public speaking and communication skills.

Our Club is one of the warmest toastmasters club in Singapore. Click Here to Download our KSTMC Introduction Kit.

Guests are welcome to visit us!
It’s free of charge.

Just come, relax and see what toastmasters are all about!

By the way, our club members Aileen summarized what she has learnt from the meeting at her blog post.

Yetti

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

“Helping You To Overcome Your Fear of Public Speaking and Speak With Confidence!”
Website: http://public-speaking-singapore.com
Blog: https://blog.public-speaking-singapore.com

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Aileen’s Toastmaster Project 10 : What a Journey

Aileen delivered her project 10 “What a Journey”.   It is a very good speech indeed!   If you have not joined toastmasters, come to visit our club and see what toastmasters can help you to become a better speaker. If you are a toastmaster, the speech may renew your promise as a toastmaster.

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Project 10: What a Journey (by Aileen Chua)
Source:  Toastmaster Project 10: Inspire Your Audience

Good afternoon Toastmaster of the day, president, district officers, friends and guests, especially to our guests,

In Apr 2008, the opportunity of personal growth came knocking on my door but I did not answer. I then was a guest at Kowloon-Singapore Toastmaster Club. I was too scared to take it up. After all, didn’t Edward make me a guest then, stand and do an impromptu speech – that’s table topics. Even though I appeared pretty normal, I was trembling all inside me.

But I found myself itching to come back again to give the club the second chance. I supposed it must be the ribbon that Edward bestowed to me as a “first-timer” to speak in the club. The ribbon certainly looked expensive. So this time round, I did not let the opportunity slip by.

For each and every one here is once a guest of some toastmaster club. We join the toastmaster club to improve our public speaking not just for our toastmaster journey, but for the world outside toast masters.

Having been a toastmaster for about a year, I have garnered 3 Cs in communication. Comfortable. In the past, I would avoid eye contact and speak at ultra-fast speed, often tripping over my words. Not so often now as I managed to control my nerve better now. Second C – Creative. I have learnt to use many different methods of speech delivery – as in the sound effect of the “opportunity came knocking”, the use of visual aids – first-timer blue ribbon. Competent – XXX, do you think I am a competent speaker? I shall stop at 3C as otherwise, I would become cocky.

Besides giving me 3Cs, the toastmaster journey is also an expressway for me to improve myself. This expressway is called PIE. Not Pan-island expressway. PIE stands for Profession, Individual, Emotion.

I am an analyst and in my line of job, I do need to make presentation about market trends and analysis. In the past, I always have butterflies fluttering in my stomach and I would have many sleepless nights before the presentation. Not anymore. Yes, the butterflies are still there. In fact, they are right here in my stomach – flying in beautiful formation.

Also as we need to draft speeches for our toastmaster projects, besides speaking skills, I am also improving on my writing skills.

The toastmaster journey has helped me not only conquer my fear of public speaking but also improve my writing skills, hence improving myself professionally.

I particularly like the feedback from our fellow toastmasters on our speeches. They can be our speech evaluators who will give us feedback so that we can improve on our public speaking, or our language evaluator. When I was doing my project 5 on body language, my speech evaluator asked me whether I was an introvert or extrovert. I was stunned. I used to think that I was an introvert. But not anymore. After joining the club, I have taken on a number of other assignments such as addressing to a 400-plus audience on stage, acting – cross-dress to be a man, flexing my muscle, as well. The toastmaster experience has made me a more open to new experiences.

I remembered a visiting toastmaster who was our language evaluator then. She commented that I reminded her of a friend who never failed to brighten up her day. Her friend would be every so cheerful and she would go “Hi, how are you?” even in the hot scorching sun. That stirred up my memory about 10 years ago that a stallholder made the same comment to me too.

A sports lover myself, I could add in my dictionary people like Cliff Young, a farmer who broke the record for the Syndey-Melboure ultra-marathon race at the age of 60 in 1983, team Hoyt – a father-and-son team, where the son is physically challenged but together they are team invincible in triathlons. Thanks to the speeches by Antony.

So you see, through the toastmaster journey, I am re-learning and improving myself as an individual. That’s the I in PIE.

Now what about E? E here stands for emotion. Emotionally, I have made a lot of good friends in the toastmaster club. I know that help is only an email away or a phone call away. When I first joined the club, Edward assigned Yetti to be my mentor. Her job was to help me start my first project, the Ice Breaker. She was also my first speech evaluator.

My fellow toastmasters are my inspiration not just in my toastmaster journey but also in the way I lead my life. I remembered Raymond who picked up opera singing at the age of 70? And went on to take part in speech contest and was conferred second-runner up. I was impressed by his courage but he told me it was nothing, he just “dare to try”.

We also have get-together session once a year. Last year, we had one at Mak’s place. We did our prepared speeches, followed by barbecue session. There was much fun and camaraderie in our club. It fulfils my emotional needs for friendship.

As what Mrs Ganesan wrote in our public speaking blog

“Being a toastmaster is a life-changing experience, it not only broadens your opportunities but gives you purpose in your life… Deep down in everyone lies a talent that can only be discovered when we stretch out in the dark. I encourage everyone to discover their passion and live their destiny by joining the toastmaster club.”

How true this is! Everyone here, do you think that our club is a Great club? I can’t hear you.

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“Hear from people whose lives were changed by the Toastmasters program!
Experience how Toastmasters can help you improve your communication and leadership skills!”


Join a Toastmaster Club to Overcome Your Fear of Public Speaking.
You are welcome to visit our Kampong Ubi Toastmasters Club if you are living in Singapore.

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