Life Etc Etc

It's international speech contest time in Toastmasters and yours truly who once talked about what not to do as part of a speech is now back to discuss how to put a ' good speech ' together (although my examples would be geared more towards Toastmaster speeches, almost anyone can use the points below to formulate a good speech). Before I proceed any further let me clarify what I mean by a 'good speech'. A good speech in my opinion has five vital characteristics: Interesting Premise Logical Flow Accurate facts, believable examples, credible anecdotes Rational arguments Clear conclusion Now how do you go about constructing such a good speech. Here's a five step plan:  Pick an idea, a story or a thought which inspired you or affected you or has been bothering you. It doesn't matter if you pick a single line of thought or a story as the basis for your speech. The extent you are convinced about your pick is all that which matters. Now analyz...

It's time to delve into the memory lane and remember a time when yours truly was a college fresher in his teens. It was a lazy weekday afternoon and I had no choice but to look forward to the Physics class which was up next on the schedule. Just when the class was about to begin my good friend Vikram burst in. " JJ come, we gotta participate in What's the Good Word Contest " " Vik What? What in the royal hell is What's the Good Word Contest? " " I don't know but we will know everything once we get there. " Although I wasn't in love with Physics I found no fun in flexing my brain muscles at some random contest either. But when you have a friend who is almost 4 inches taller than you are and broader in every sense of the word you don't have much of a say. Before I could say ' No ', Vikram had already dragged me out of the class. On my way out I muttered a feeble excuse to my Physics professor who glared at me as thou...

On March 20th 2016, I attended my last contest (at least for the foreseeable future) in Toastmasters. It was somewhat poetic justice that my four year journey in Toastmasters which started with a contest ended with another one. My journey in Toastmasters had come a full circle and I was proud that I was walking out with my head held high. More importantly this guy who had stumbled into Toastmasters all alone was walking out with a group of friends. Nostalgia has no place in life if it doesn't lead to wisdom and today I look back at my Toastmaster's career to recount some of the most important lessons I learnt while establishing myself as one of the premier competitors on the Toastmasters circuit. " Start Afresh ": I was a successful orator at both the state and national levels during my college days before I joined Toastmasters after a lengthy break. My results in Toastmasters initially were way below par. Nothing seemed to work. That's when I realized I st...

Of all the Competent Communication manual projects nothing troubled me more than the CC 6 project. Incidentally CC 6 is also the final speech project that needs to be finished if one has any ambitions of competing in the International Speech Contest  (ISC). So what makes this project complex when it has some simple objectives such as: Use voice volume, pitch, rate and quality to reflect and add meaning and interest to your message. Use pauses to enhance your message. Use vocal variety smoothly and naturally. Should be pretty easy right considering the fact all of us use our voice everyday to converse with friends and family? Wrong , there's more to this project than just plain voice modulation. Although the project is all about vocal variety, its objectives are only met when audience easily connects to what you are presenting through your voice. In other words if everyone in the audience closes their eyes they should still be able to feel what you are attempting to put...

A year ago my commentary on International Speeches talked about the myths that should be avoided while preparing a speech for an International Speech Contest (ISC). Today with the Toastmasters contest season once again in full swing I am going to point out certain pitfalls which if avoided will improve the overall value of your speech and also solidify the audience connect. The speaker and the audience <Photo Courtesy: Wan San Yip  on  Unsplash > I llogical Premise : A Premise is the base upon which your entire argument/speech is built and in many cases forms the opening statement of the speech. The conclusion that you attempt to derive through your speech is only as good as the assumption (the premise) you make.  Its therefore necessary that this premise is credible and is generally acceptable. Premises such as "You can't be successful until you hook someone who is successful", "Sleaze and not substance sells films", "There's no such thing c...

The contest season is well and truly underway here in Toastmasters and this year we once again have a talented field of speakers vying for the foremost honor in public speaking. As an active contestant over the last few years, I have not only seen many success stories but have also seen quite a few trip ups which could have been avoided if only people knew what to watch out for. So here are a list of myths compiled using all my toastmasters’ experience which should probably help a contestant avoid a potential pothole. Have the audience in the palm of your hand <Courtesy:  Alexandre Pellaes > Myth 1– Current Trending Topics are a sure shot way to success : Let me admit picking up a hot issue definitely grabs eyeballs for starters but it’s the conviction with which you convey the argument that ultimately matters. One line of approach which attracts audience to such speeches is a personalized example. Let the audience know your perspective and then support your reasoning ...