An Unforgettable Speech...

by J.A. Gamache
3rd place Champion in 2001 at Toastmasters International's
World Championship of Public Speaking

So you want to deliver a memorable speech? Then tack a story on to your message. Why? Because although people may forget your message, they generally remember stories.

When people who have seen my presentations approach me, they typically talk about my stories rather than my message. They'll generally say something like,' I remember the story about your grand-father and the chair,' or, 'You're the guy who talks about the butterfly, right?' or 'I remember the story about the young baseball player... It made me think...'

I don't exactly know why audiences remember stories the most. Is it because they empower the imagination? Or do they remind us of the stories we were told as children? Or perhaps they stir up the emotions? I don't know, but they work! In fact, this technique works so well that it's always better to incorporate a story into your message if you want it to be remembered easily.

Professional speakers understand that. That's why they often use storytelling to support their viewpoint. Listen closely to the way the pros speak. Many of them even start and finish their presentation with a story. Using storytelling to get your message across is an old teaching technique. Isn't it how we often teach our children? For my part, Aesop's fable, The boy who cried wolf, taught me not to lie about needing help. In this tale, a boy so often
pretends that wolves are attacking that the day he really needs help no one comes to his rescue. Although I've never had to face wolves, I learned a lesson from the boy and never, ever cried wolf!

Tell at least one story in your next speech, whether it's funny or sad, real or imaginary, or whether it's personal or
not. What matters is that all your stories make your speeches memorable. Don't forget: if your message is backed up by a story, chances are it will be remembered!

Happy writing!

©MMVIII J.A. Gamache http://www.jagamache.com
All rights reserved.

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How does one interpret this piece?

I have prepared and delivered three "interpretive readings" over the past couple of months. These projects come from the Advanced Communications Series of manuals called "Interpretive Reading", sometimes referred to as oral reading, dramatic reading, reading aloud, or interpretive speech.

The essential difference between the speeches from the Competent Communicator's manual and this advanced manual is that instead of researching, writing, and communicating your own ideas to the audience, you convey the ideas and emotions of someone else.

To some degree this is acting. Both actors and interpretive readers recreate the author's thoughs through their own voices and bodies. But the interpretive reader "does not pretend to be someone else."

Or so it says in the manual.

In each of my three projects I have been roundly applauded for "becoming" the character in the story or poem that I have presented.

I purposely chose pieces that I could relate to as a woman. My first piece was a short story about a cat by Wendy Dudley, an author, artist, and award-winning journalist who lives with a mule, donkeys, and assorted critters in southern Alberta. She spent 17 years as a full-time journalist with the Calgary Herald, before leaving to be a freelance writer, specializing in agriculture, western heritage and any other subject that captures her interest. Her stories about country living were also heard on CBC Radio’s regional programming. "She enjoys photography, travels with Maggie, her Aussie Shepherd/ border collie cross, and matching wits with Lucy the mule. She also teaches nature journalling, and creative writing. If it brays, neighs, moos or barks, she is there with pen and palette in hand. An avid conservationist, she cares for the land, seeking to protect the bears, cougars and moose that wander by her back door." The 8 - 10 minute story I read was called "Fergus" from her book, Don't Name the Ducks: And Other Truths About Life in the Country I highly recommend it as a choice for anyone doing an interpretive reading: it is charged with emotion, fresh prairie colour, and fun.

For the second project I sought a 'performance piece' and thought about what I had heard of performing poets from my forebears-- they had a great deal more experience with this sort of entertainment. I remembered that my Grandmother and Great-Aunt had both told me about the part-Mohawk poet, E. Pauline Johnson. In school we had studied a couple of her poems. I chose the highly dramatic monologue-like poem called "Ojistoh" about the wife of a Mohawk Chief. You can read more in my blog at Healthia Cynthia, and about some interesting events that followed the presentation... or, interesting to me. I've included the poem, in full, so if you want to use it for your presentation, there you are!

The third project was called a "Monodrama" and I chose poetry again, this time a series of poems from a collection called Forever Fifty and Other Negotiations. The poet, Judith Viorst, is best known for her children's books. I loved this slim volume and really have to say that the pleasure I have found in 'interpreting' these pieces of poetry far exceeds any anxiety before or during the performances. "Forever Fifty" had me laughing out loud to myself-- lol-- something we use quite often as shorthand on-line, but which is actually pretty rare and precious.

The next project is an actual Play wherein I must focus on a particular character for interpretation. Any ideas to pass along?

Networking with Toastmasters

I guess that it is not news to anyone that Toastmasters is one of the best 'networking' opportunities afforded to you 'out there'.

Toastmasters self-select to improve themselves... you don't have to be invited to join a Toastmasters Club. The standards are high for language and deportment, and people come in from a variety of backgrounds and experiences. Our Club, for example, has people from the trades and the retired, working professionals and a young chap with a brain injury.

I grudgingly went to a training session last Sunday. I thought, resentfully, "There are so many other things I need to be doing," and I REALLY did an internal grumble when I saw that none of my fellow Club executives had turned up to catch the ferry with me.

I went out on deck on the way across and took some pictures of white capped mountains and let the fresh breeze "blow the stink off me" as my late mother would have put it.

By the time we got to the mainland, I was cheery and ready to rock. The training was informative and the folks hosting the event were gracious and friendly. In the afternoon I met a lovely, very interesting woman who is in a similar line of business to what I am. We chatted and traded cards and I'm pretty sure that we will 'do business' and become friends. I also had some good laughs and conversation with the woman who sat beside me at the table. She suggested that women our age are just "coming into our power."

So, if you want to network-- join Toastmasters!

Quips and Snips and Quotes for Every Occasion

My husband has heard me bewail that I can't find an appropriate quote or toast for my ToastMasters' assignment and kindly bought me a book called The Friars' Club Bible of Jokes, Pokes, Roasts and Toasts for Christmas.

I appreciate the gesture, but I don't believe that the "jibes" in this book are the sort of inspiring words that are fostered by Toastmasters.

A Hairy Hairy Night

This was one of those weird and hairy Club meetings. As usual, I felt some deep-seated anxiety before the meeting. I was ready an hour too early (I still haven't put my watch back like everyone else in the province... gives me a sense of 'being on time' although I sometimes forget, as I did tonight).

We got to the Center driving through the fog. One of my Clubmates breathlessly pulled me aside and told me that just right outside the Center, in a snowbank, she had observed a couple having sex. She was shocked but had wanted to make sure the woman involved was not being raped. It seemed that they were both highly inebriated (what kind of drug would make them so oblivious to cold snow and passersby? Alcohol?) So, she was a little traumatized, although she said she does spend four hours a week on the crisis line as a volunteer each week and has seen and heard just about everything.

Then, because we were sparsely populated tonight, I found myself filling the following roles: Timekeeper, Uhms and Ahs Counter, Secretary to the Business Meeting, Ballot Counter, Greeter, and I evaluated a speech. Next week I'm down to be Toastmaster. Yikes.

We had a guest speaker tonight from one of the other local clubs. He talked about how we don't use our voices to full benefit. Very interesting speech, with demonstrations of how we can change our breathing, etc., to make a difference to our delivery. He also brought cookies.

I emailed a friend in Ireland to tell her that I ran across a blog by a Toastmaster in a Club not far from where she lives. I suggested that since she is eloquent and enjoys having fun, she might be interested in joining Toastmasters. I told her that in our Club, for example, we have a city planner, an engineer, a teacher, an entrepreneur, a former hypnotherapist, a chiropractor, a ski rescue team member, a man with head injury, a philosopher, and who knows what else? We blend and we learn. It's cool.

But right before the evening starts, I get the usual performance anxiety... always.

Faux Pas: Putting People On The Spot

There is a great deal of civility built into Toastmasters... old fashioned courtesy and politeness, courtliness and kindness.

I really blew it last week. It was my 10th speech and I did it on "The Big Question" as in 'asking the important question'. I thought it would be clever to go around the table and commend my Clubmates for what I thought I knew of one or two of the important questions they have asked themselves.

Well, I assumed a lot.

Sure, I won the Best Speaker award that night, but the next day I received an email from one of my Clubmates who was not impressed by my having used her as an example without having asked her permission, or at least having warned her, initially. I felt awful, but obviously not as awful as she felt. I apologized for my insensitivity and we resolved the matter. This was a real humbling learning experience for me... even though I'm 57 years old, I still make the kind of mistakes that I used to chastise my children for making.

I received some wonderful feedback from a long-time toastmaster who just dropped in to the meeting (she was in our town visiting her brother). She wrote: "Instead of guessing questions that individuals have (I thought this was so clever and would be so entertaining) state the suggested question. Ask how many have asked themselves that question-- that way no one is put on the spot." Wow, this is really something I will take to heart!

The Power of Asking Questions

I'm putting together my next Speech (#10 towards my Competent Communicator designation) based on Tony Robbins' suggestion in his book Awaken the Giant Withinthat we use Empowering Questions to bring ourselves along the path to successfully achieving our goals...

AND

being the multi-tasker that I am, I am also looking up possible homeopathic solutions for bites on my leg (they're itchy-- looks like I should be using some Rhus Tox, but apparently not with Apis, since they are hostile towards each other.) I also decided to dip into some of the current webtraining I am doing. That led to a scan of the Concise Oxford dictionary for possible redirect website names. And while doing that, I came across the following Swedish athletic term I have never before heard:

Fartlek, n. (Athl.), method of training for middle- and long-distance running, in which athlete runs over country, mixing fast with slow work. [Sw. (fart speed, lek play)]

I'm not sure if this is a very useful and empowering question or not, but I'll ask it: who knew?