Tag Archives: Toastmasters

How to Talk to Anyone?

How To Talk to Anyone, Anytime?  meet-new-people

Do you feel uncomfortable during conversations with neighbours, co-workers, acquaintances or even family members?

Do you want to be a better conversationalist?

Here are some tips for talking to anyone, anytime extracted from the article “Become a Better Conversationalist” written by Patricia Fry, ATMS which was published in December 2014 Toastmasters Magazine:

To Become a Better Conversationalist

  • Express a sincere interest in the other person.
  • Ask meaningful questions.
  • Give compliments.
  • Listen.
  • Avoid debates.
  • Keep up to date on current events and issues.
  • Use humor.
  • Model someone whose communication skills you admire.

“If you know how and when to speak, and when to remain silent, your chances of real success are proportionately increased.”  
– Ralph C. Smedley

How to Talk to People Without Being Awkward: 3 Quick Tips

  1. Be Genuinely Interested.
  2. Ask Open-Ended Questions.
  3. Be Willing and Open to Share.

Natural communication does not always come naturally.  A good place to practice your conversation skills is at your Toastmasters meeting. While the Toastmasters Competent Communication manual focuses on public speaking, many assignments in the Competent Leadership manual can help you practice one-on-one communication.

Practice is the key to helping you improve your communication and presentation skills.  Join Toastmasters and find a club that you like to practise your speeches in a friendly environment.  You are welcome to visit our Kampong Ubi Toastmasters Club if you are living in Singapore.

How to Talk to Anyone with Ease and Confidence

This video shows you a few conversation tricks and nonverbal tips that use both your communication and people skills to lead to amazing conversation and memorable first impressions.

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A Short Comparison: Toastmasters vs Carnegie

Join Toastmasters and find a club that you like to practise your speaking skills. You are welcome to visit our Kampong Ubi Toastmasters Club if you are living in Singapore.   public speaking

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“A Short Comparison Of Public Speaking Schools Of Thought: Toastmasters & Carnegie”
by: James Masterson

As everybody will certainly agree that having the confidence to speak publicly is a valuable skill, there is much debate as to which technique of public speaking is the most effective.

Currently, the most recognized public speaking associations are Toastmasters International and the Dale Carnegie Course.

Toastmasters International is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the promotion of the principles of communication, public speaking and leadership skills. It achieves this by promoting a “learning-by-doing” program in which members move up by making presentations in the presence of certified examiners. Continue reading →

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Great Icebreakers: How to Break the Ice and Meet New People

How to Break the Ice and Talk to New People?

meet-new-peopleCheck out the below Toastmaster International YouTube video “Great Icebreakers” and learn how to break the ice with confidence at your next networking or social event with these time-tested tips.

Having the ability to break the ice in any social situation makes networking more effective and fun. When you’re having fun people naturally want to interact with you.

Here are the points mentioned in the video:

Be in the moment.

  • Talk about relevant topics
  • Avoid negative or controversial topics
  • Ask questions about the event
  • Talk about interests
  • Make sure it’s a two-way discussion

Approach a group or person.

  • Smile and introduce yourself
  • Start with easy questions
  • Read body language
  • Ask the group a relevant question

Creating a lasting connection.

  • Exchange business cards
  • Write down a few details

Incorporate the tips and techniques as stated above and in no time you will be amazed how quickly you will be able to break the ice with other people.

For more information, to break the ice, you can check out our other blog post “How to Talk to Anyone“.

Since 1924 Toastmasters International has helped more than four million people gain the confidence to communicate.  Join Toastmasters and find a club that you like to practise your speaking skills. You are welcome to visit our Kampong Ubi Toastmasters Club if you are living in Singapore.

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Public Speaking Tips & Presentations Skills from Robert Graham

Youtube Video: Public Speaking Tips from Robert Graham

public speakingRobert Graham teaches the fundamentals of public speaking and presentation skills.  We find this video useful and would like to share with you.  It does not mean our Toastmaster Club endorse his products. Thanks!



Join Toastmasters and find a club that you like to practise your speaking skills. You are welcome to visit our Kampong Ubi Toastmasters Club if you are living in Singapore.

 

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Public Speaking Tips: The Importance of Speaking Skills

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.”

speaking-skills

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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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.

• Ability to stand out from the rest. When one thinks of speaking skills, one tends to think of it as a common skill. Think again. The ability to stand before others and speak effectively is not an ordinary skill. Many are deathly afraid of public speaking; others have little ability to form thoughts into sentences and then deliver those words in a believable way. The bad news is that at any given moment the world has precious few with the speaking skills of Winston Churchill; the good news is that a speaker with skills that are honed and developed with constant application and hard work can stand out.

• Ability to benefit derivatively. Well-developed verbal skills can increase one’s negotiation skills. Self-confidence is improved. A growing sense of comfort comes from speaking in front of larger and larger audiences. A reputation for excellence in speaking skills can accrue over time, thereby imparting a certain credibility to the speaker.

• Career enhancement. Employers have always valued the ability to speak well. It is, and always will be, an important skill, and well worth the effort in fully developing.

Speaking skills are important for career success, but certainly not limited to one’s professional aspirations. Speaking skills can enhance one’s personal life, thereby bringing about the well-roundedness we all should seek.

Gerald Gillis is the author of the award-winning historical novel “Shall Never See So Much.” Visit his website at http://www.geraldgillis.com and his blog at http://geraldgillis.blogspot.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gerald_Gillis
http://EzineArticles.com/?The-Importance-of-Speaking-Skills&id=6360630

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How to Offer Feedback | Effective Evaluation

How to Offer Feedback Video

Constructive feedback in a Toastmasters meeting contributes to continued skill development, building the confidence a person needs to reach his or her goals. Learn how to critique the performance, not the person.

Tips and Techniques for Effective Evaluation by Toastmasters International
evaluations

In Toastmasters, feedback is called evaluation, and it is the heart of the Toastmasters
educational program. You observe the speeches of your fellow club members and offer evaluations of their speeches, and they do the same for you. If you want to improve your speaking skills, you must learn how to give and receive helpful evaluations.

Click here to download the Effective Evaluation Manual published by Toastmasters International.

Evaluating Speeches Tactfully

Check out the article Evaluating Speeches Tactfully.  It is a very good article about how to do evaluation effectively.   Here is the introduction of the article.

“Teacher. Guide. Captain.

Evaluation is a systematic determination of a subject’s merit, worth and significance, using criteria governed by a set of standards. Source: Wikipedia.com

What Is Tact?

Tact is the ability to tell the truth in a way that considers other people’s feelings and reactions.

  • It allows you to give difficult feedback, communicate sensitive information, and say the right thing to preserve a relationship.
  • Emotional intelligence, respect, discretion, self-awareness, thoughtfulness, compassion, subtlety, honesty, diplomacy, and courtesy.

Introduction — Evaluation

    • Feedback is called evaluation
    • Heart of the Toastmasters educational program
    • Learn how to give and receive helpful evaluations
    • You have listened to and observed others and their work and offered feedback
    • You evaluate in some manner every day, at home, at the office, and in the community.
    • People join Toastmasters clubs to improve their speaking and leadership skills, and these skills are improved through evaluations.
    • Members prepare and present speeches based on Pathways
    • Their fellow club members evaluate the speeches or leadership efforts, enabling the members to develop their speaking or leadership skills.
    • The tone and content of an evaluation have great impact on the speaker and even on the club.
    • A harsh evaluation may cause a member to leave the club.
    • An overly kind evaluation may not help the member to improve, making the member frustrated and unhappy.
    • Good evaluators strive to find a balance between the extremes, giving evaluations that are helpful and encouraging.
    • Although most of the time you will be evaluating others in the club, the skills you learn can be applied in all aspects of your life. You will become a better listener and a more critical thinker…”
      Click here to the other parts of the article.

Toastmasters – Giving An Evaluation That’s Worth A Darn

How to Give a Great Speech Evaluation in Toastmasters

Join Toastmasters and find a club that you like to practise your speaking skills. You are welcome to visit our Kampong Ubi Toastmasters Club if you are living in Singapore.

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