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Toastmaster's Secret
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Hi Reader Have you ever finished a Toastmasters speech and thought: "That went okay... but I don't feel like I'm improving as fast as I should?" I certainly have. In my early Toastmasters days, I was doing everything right.. at least I thought Attending meetings. This is a part I did regularly. Then, started taking roles. This part was also good as I now started speaking. Speeches? I have a confession to make. It took 4 months to give my first speech! And that too one of the club mentors had to school me. Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is that you make progress when you do the "thing" that moves the needle. Somewhere and sometime, you need to make that decision to take the plunge. The good thing about the initial Toastmasters program that I was part of, had a structure to it. A very seamless structure that tried to improve one key skill at a time. One was about organizing One was about getting to point One was about vocal variety. One was about eye contact. But if you pay attention to all the asks of the project, something interesting will happen. Yes, speeches will not become perfect overnight. I did not realize this earlier, and probably the countless people also might not realize that the transformation is happening along the way! So here's a challenge for your next Toastmasters speech or a non Toastmaster's speech. Before you start writing, answer this question: "If I could improve just one skill in this speech, what would it be?" Write down your answer. Then build your speech around that goal. You might be surprised by how much progress you make. On a related note... Many of the lessons I learned through Toastmasters, speech contests, and years of trial and error eventually found their way into my book, Toastmaster's Secret. If you've read the book and found it helpful, would you consider leaving a quick review on Amazon? Reviews help other Toastmasters and aspiring public speakers discover the book and decide whether it's right for them. Even a short review means a lot to me. Thank you for reading, and thank you for being part of this wonderful community of speakers. Keep learning. Keep speaking. Keep growing. As always, thanks for being awesome! Rama
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PublicSpeakKing
Learn something every week about public speaking, book writing or personal development. Join 1500+ creatives and professionals who receive my action packed yet entertaining newsletter.
Hi Reader, Hope your week is gearing up. I came across someone recently who made me pause. Not because of what he said…but because of what he didn’t say. His name is Baba Hari Dass. (not sure if you have heard about him. I'm assuming you have not.) And for most of his life, he didn’t speak. Not occasionally. Not at all!!! When I first read that, I had the same reaction you probably have right now: “How can someone teach… without speaking?” I assumed it was symbolic. Maybe exaggerated. It...
Hi Reader, Most career growth conversations don’t happen during annual appraisals. They happen in small moments. A quick update in a meeting. A casual question from your boss. A stakeholder asking, “So how’s that project going?” And strangely… those small moments decide a lot. Here’s where many people go wrong. Someone (Ok, mostly it's your boss) asks, “How’s the project going?” And the answer sounds like this: “Yeah… it’s going okay… we had an issue, and team worked on it. There were a few...
Hi Reader, Most people think they struggle in meetings because they’re not confident. That’s not the real problem. The real problem? They’re unprepared for the moments that matter. Let me explain. Important conversations at work are actually predictable. Your boss will ask for updates.. Stakeholders will ask questions.. Someone will challenge your idea,, You’ll get a chance to talk about your work,, And yet…Most people walk into these moments hoping they’ll say the right thing. They don’t....