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Conquer Your Fear of Public Speaking: 7 Proven Strategies

Are you hearing your heart thump in your chest as you imagine getting up in front of hundreds of strangers to give a speech? Do you suddenly feel like your throat is in a vice grip every time you think about speaking in public? If so, you’re definitely not alone in your fear of public speaking. In fact, it’s one of the top fears in the world.

But the countless possibilities in life that could be opened up if you could conquer your fear of public speaking are worth the effort. It’s just a matter of finding the right strategy to make it happen. That’s why we’re here today. In this blog post, we’re going to explore seven of the most proven strategies people have used to successfully conquer their fear of public speaking, no matter how petrified they were at the outset. So buckle up and get ready, because together, we’re about to take a deep dive into the world of public-speaking fear-conquering. Let’s do this!

How to Introduce a Speaker: 8 Steps to a Perfect Introduction

Have you ever noticed the energy in the room after a powerful introduction of the speaker?

Knowing how to introduce a speaker can establish a great starting point for the presenter and boost the audience’s enthusiasm for the speaker and the topic. An introduction that lacks passion and is full of cliche biographical details and exaggerations fails to create momentum.

Hence, a presenter must introduce their speaker in the best way possible. It is your responsibility as the host, MC (master of ceremonies), or presenter to establish the speaker’s credibility through a carefully written and skillfully executed introduction.

Fortunately, crafting a well-thought-out introduction isn’t difficult. Furthermore, it gets progressively easier as you flex your presenter skills, and soon, you might be able to roll a smooth introduction off the tip of your tongue. But first, here are some steps to guide you.

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How to Introduce Yourself in a Presentation with 6 Terrific Tips

When you introduce yourself at the start of a presentation, it’s the first opportunity that audience members have to meet you formally. So, you should give them the best impression that you can.

It’s critical, at this point, to establish a strong connection with participants that will encourage them to hear you out.
Audiences are known to judge a speaker quite quickly!

The moment you open your mouth, they’re deciding whether they’re going to like what you have to say or if there’s something else they’re rather spend their evening doing.

If it’s the latter, they’ll look for a chance to make a speedy exit as unobtrusively as possible – like when the lights dim so that you can show your first slide, for example.

Here’s how to woo watchers and keep them in their seats with an effective personal introduction.

What is a Toastmasters Meeting Like? Guide for First Timers.

If you’ve belonged to Toastmasters International for any length of time, you know the drill at club meetings.

You look forward to the familiar rhythm and flow of these events. And, you become practiced in fulfilling different meeting roles, and enjoy taking part in standard agenda items like Table Topics.

Joining other club members as an active participant at meetings gives you a warm glow and a sense of achievement.

But, if it’s your first time attending a Toastmasters meeting, you can be forgiven for finding the experience a bit of a whirlwind!

There’s definitely a lot going on!
While no two clubs run their meetings exactly alike, there’s enough commonality. Here’s the run down on what typically happens at these weekly or bi-weekly gatherings.

Toastmasters Club Officer Positions [EXCO]: Roles and Responsibilities

If you’re new to Toastmasters, there’s certainly a lot to learn about the organization.

Toastmasters was founded almost 100 years ago and is still going strong. Incredibly, today there are over 16,400 clubs in 14 currently around the world.

It’s not just all about becoming a better public speaker when you join Toastmasters. Granted, this is a significant learning objective and often the first reason many people sign up with a local club.

There are those of us with an absolute fear of speaking before an audience. Others may actually enjoy giving speeches but want to become better at it.

Public speaking aside, the other big benefit to being a Toastmaster is that you learn leadership skills.

More that 5,000 clubs are corporate clubs – a fact that attests to how invaluable the organization has become to help grow leaders in many different industries.

Like any membership association, each individual Toastmasters club relies on a well-functioning executive to keep it running smoothly and growing. Serving on the executive is one of the best ways for participants to acquire leadership competency.

Ethics in Public Speaking: 7 Tips to be a More Ethical Speaker

Public speaking has long been one of the most challenging skills to perfect, as it can be difficult for many. Some speakers can more easily gain their audience’s interest, while others don’t provide their audience with much value.

While any speech can captivate an audience and provide value and insight, you can provide even more value to your audience by showing respect and being genuine. Therefore, it is crucial to take ethics in public speaking very seriously when engaging with your audience. If you may still have some doubts about the importance of ethical speaking, I’ve compiled a list based on my experience and research on the ethical aspects of public speaking.

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Benefits of Public Speaking: Why This Skill Is Important For Your Life

The process of improving public speaking skills can dramatically transform many aspects of your life.

While an amazing speech – delivered well – can uplift an audience and make an impactful impression on an audience, the skill of public speaking is more than a tool to inspire the masses.

It has the power to completely revolutionise both your professional and personal selves.

In fact, public speaking is something that many people fear more than death! If this is you, you’re probably wondering whether it is worth the trouble. It is also probably something that has stopped you from realising your full potential in your personal life and in your career.

If you are not convinced, I’ve taken stock of my own public speaking experience, as well as feedback from other learners, on the best reasons why good public speaking skills can and will upgrade your life in every way.

Terrific Tips to Tackle Table Topics in Toastmasters (with Structures)

Ahh, table topics.

Do you feel scared whenever it’s time for table topics?

Do you hesitate to raise your hand when volunteers are called?

Does your mind go blank when you receive the topic?

We’ve all been there. The bane of every Toastmaster. Some jokingly call it Terror Topics.

We dread it, but we know the importance of table topics, or rather, impromptu speaking.

It is useful when it comes to job interviews, small talks or picking up girls being asked to do a last-minute talk at work.

And so, I decided to master this skill. I’ve attended workshops, watched countless Youtube videos and read public speaking books.

What I’ve learnt is that answering table topics is just like giving a regular speech. It has a structure. And once you understand what structure to use based on the question, you can answer the topic easily.

Here, I am sharing with you 8 structures you can use to tackle table topic questions, with example topics and answers for each structure.

DTM Requirements (Pathways): Guide to Be a Distinguished Toastmaster

Dear DTM-to-be, if you search online for the requirements to be a Distinguished Toastmaster, almost every site shows you this list:

Complete two learning paths
Serve as a club officer for 12 months
Serve a complete one-year term as a district officer
Serve successfully as a club mentor or coach
Serve successfully as a club sponsor or conduct a Speechcraft or Youth Leadership program
Complete the DTM project
That is all they show.

A very superficial list.

None of these sites go deep into what each requirement entails.

What exactly is a club mentor? Do you have to spend money as a club sponsor? What is counted as a district officer?

Not to mention, many of these sites are not updated. They show the requirements for the old Legacy education track (CC, ACS, ACG etc).

In this article, we will break down each requirement to be a DTM, update it for the new Pathways education program, and give some tips and guidance on how to achieve it.

How to Write a Tall Tale (and Tell it Well) for Toastmasters Speech Contest

I joined a Toastmasters Tall Tale Speech Contest a couple of months ago and during my research, I realized there’s not a lot of resources on how to write a tall tale speech.

I scoured the internet looking at (very short) articles, Youtube videos and even sat down with a mentor to break down my script sentence by sentence to prepare for my contest.

In this post, I will share all I’ve learnt on what makes a good tall tale speech and break down my contest speech and share what could have been better.

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