Techniques for Speaking and Evaluating

#142

During the initial days of joining Toastmasters, I used to spend most of my time reading about speech topics, evaluation mechanisms, and speech organization techniques. This helped me develop confidence to give a speech of my own.

From what I gather, there are 3 high-level ways to organize a speech:

• Categorical - informative, compare-and-contrast, before-and-after
• Chronological – story, problem statement to approaches to solution to next steps
• Persuasive – motivational

One of the articles mentioned working backwards from the speech content, by starting at the end. Ask yourself what you would like your audience to remember or how you'd want them to react after listening to your speech. 

Would you want them to be inspired to take action, make a change in their own lives, or help others? Once you draft your speech from the ending, you'll realize the introduction writes itself.

Coming to evaluation, here are some helpful tips to keep in mind when evaluating someone. I believe these recommendations can be extrapolated to other aspects of life as well, be it a relationship or at work.

• Start your sentences using "I believe", or "I suggest" rather than the imperative "You must"
• Employ the sandwich technique wherein you start out with the positives, enlist areas of improvement, and wrap it up with a summarized version of the good parts
• During the summation at the end, include both a call back and a call-to-action, and suggest to the speaker "I hope you consider this in your next speech"
• Be a coach, not a judge
• Focus on
• Content
• Organization
• Delivery
• Empathize with your speaker

Level 4 Project 2 Elective: Write A Compelling Blog

#141

Purpose: The purpose of this project is to review or introduce the skills needed to write and maintain a blog.

Overview: Post a minimum of eight blog posts in one month. Your blog may be new or one you have already established. You must receive approval from the vice president education to blog on behalf of your club. Deliver a 2- to 3-minute speech at a club meeting about the impact of your blogging experience. You may choose to have your blog evaluated by members of the club.

Script:

April 2020: the advent of working from home. All of a sudden, I had so many more hours at hand.

What to do with all that free time?

A very good evening Toastmasters and guests.

"Let me tell you a kutti story" about how my very first blog called Riff-lections came about.

Now I'm usually one to contemplate and ideate a lot more than implement. My sister, an avid blogger, started a 30-day challenge in April 2020.

I thought, this time, let me take action. I was inspired by the theme of her challenge of city connect and chose to do the same. Every day for that month except for Sundays, making it a total of 26 days, for every letter of the alphabet, I'd pick one word starting with that letter and write one post containing an account of what resonated with me in each of the cities I'd been in.

The experience was wonderful because I not only discovered my joy for writing but was also transformed [WOTD] into a new person via my blog posts. I got to reminisce amazing memories I had in each of those cities.

Through this process I had a couple of learnings - first is that consistency is tough, but discipline combined with focused effort pays off in the long run. Secondly, passion combined with execution 

results in a virtuous cycle. If I'm happy with my writing, I become more productive at work. If I'm productive at work, I prepare tasty food; if I eat well, I write well, and so on.

Once I published my first blog post, I tweeted about it and shared it with my friends. Once it started gaining traction, other bloggers visited my site, added a few laudatory comments, and I went on to do the same with their blogs. This act of mutual praise was also a motivator for me to write well.

Overall, looking back now, in 2021, having written over a 125 posts, I have the utmost feeling of gratitude and humility and of course, a keen sense of accomplishment. Though I may not have made a big impact or been able to monetize my blog, I know that the written word [Theme of the day] makes me happy and that's why I do it.

Thank you, over to you TMOD.

Video:

Speech

Evaluation

Level 4 Project 1: Manage Change

#140

Purpose: The purpose of this project is to practice developing a change management plan.

Overview: Create a change management plan for a real or hypothetical situation. You may create a plan that is based on a past change or a future change that is happening in your personal, Toastmasters, or professional life. Share your change management plan with your club in a 5- to 7-minute speech. 

It is not a report on what you learned from the project, but an overview of your plan and how it will benefit you and the group the change affects.

Speech Title: City Connect

Script:

A very good evening TMs and guests. For today's speech I have decided to tell you all about my hopping from one city to another in the last 6-8 years. What's more is that I did a 30-day blog challenge on it, which I will tell you all about in my next speech so, stay tuned!

Today's project objective is for me to tell you how I went about handling, coping, and managing change. It's interesting for me to have reflected on these changes because by no means were they trivial. Moving cities and staying there for a period of more than 1 year - that's a pretty long time. 

After being born and brought up entirely in Mumbai, I went to Hyderabad to pursue my engineering for 4 years. Luckily, my college campus was situated far far away from the city and I was shielded from the harsh realities, whatever they may have been. 

What all changes did I have to overcome to find my peace again?

One of the biggest changes was living away from my parents. I had never done that before and living by myself, though in a protected environment, was still a totally new experience.

A couple of other smaller changes were getting used to disciplining myself wrt balancing academics with sports, hanging out with friends while also having time to explore my own interests, and getting accustomed to eating food that was made by someone other than my mother.

4 years after adjusting to that environment, and somehow managing to ingest spicy mess food, I had another change coming my way. I was being posted in Chennai for my 4th year internship.

To be honest, Chennai wasn't as new to me as Hyderabad was because I have relatives here whom I've visited several times so, I know what the city is like. Since i'm already familiar with the language, that wasn't a problem either. What i had to change, however, was to upgrade my level of thinking and explore a whole new side to independence.

Oh yeah! This was going to be a real corporate world experience. No more 4 walls of the campus. It was a new phase. I initially lived in a PG where food was available 3 times a day and then moved into an apartment where I had to learn to make my own food. If I had known what I know now, boy would I have been better off. I wouldn't have suffered so many tummy aches. Anyway, there's always a first time for everything and I'm just glad to have gone through that process of making the unknown become slightly more known.

In this project, the course in base camp mentioned that in order to create a successful change management plan, one must do the following 5 steps:

Analyze circumstances

Know your objective

Consider your options

Collect and analyze data

Choose your metrics

How did I go about implementing these steps when moving across cities? For starters, I prepared my mind in advance on how the environment could possibly be. I read up on Google on what to expect and told myself it's going to be great. Analyze circumstances - check. When moving to Hyderabad and Chennai, I had to consciously tell myself to slow down. Mumbai being an extremely fast-moving city, everybody dashing [WOTD] to get to places, there's no time for leisure. As the poet W. H. Davies writes "What is this life if, full of care, we have no time to stand and stare?". It was exactly like that. I had to tell myself to get used to slowing down and enjoying the moment.

Second, I knew what my objectives were going to be. Hyderabad - 4 yrs of hostel life. Lots of learnings , lots of fun. Chennai - 4 years and counting. Corporate life, more professionalism, and focus on serious work.

Coming to options - did I have options? Well, when considering city choices, yes I did have options, but when I chose my university and my place of work, the city was automatically chosen for me. In hindsight, they worked out perfectly and I have no regrets.

Next was to collect and analyze data. While I did not do this during the time I was living my daily life in those cities, I did manage to do so when writing this speech. Again, in retrospect, it's been wonderful.

Lastly, choosing metrics. I have chosen to share with you all the positives or success metrics of me having lived in each of these cities. If I had to share downsides, I'd probably have to think long and hard. It's not that there weren't any negatives at all, it's more like the pros outweighed the cons by a large margin. Personally, I enjoy change. I enjoy embracing new things and satisfying my curiosity when moving into uncharted waters.  

In conclusion, I'd just like to say that no matter where you are or what you do, just remember one thing - change is inevitable. Change is the only constant.

The easier you adapt to it, the better it will be for you to embrace it.

Thank you, over to you TMOD.

Video:

Speech

Evaluation

Grammarian @ Another Club

#139 

Finally it pays off to be a Grammar Nazi!! Being invited to be a Grammarian in one of the meetings in another Toastmasters club was an amazing experience! It was on a Wednesday evening, 6pm, after a long, hard day at work. What a refreshing night that was. The meeting was supposed to end by 8pm but it spilled over another 30 minutes but I didn't mind. Interacting with new folks who were smart yet humble, warm and welcoming, made my day (night, rather).

I chose the WOTD as 'rejuvenate,' as I predicted my mind would feel the same on attending that meeting, and boy it did. 

Here's my (super-)detailed report:

(Please note, actual names of TMs have been replaced with letters to maintain anonymity).

First of all, I would like to thank you all for this opportunity. Having joined TM only two months ago, this is my first time as grammarian and I must say, I was blown away. I found many excellent usages today so, please bear with me if my report takes a tad long :)

Coming to the good usages:

TM A - 1 usage of WOTD

• affirmations
• unstoppable
• seasoned
• enduring
• whatever it takes
• mystic
• universal solvent

TM B - 1 usage

• quarter-life crisis
• i was as confused as i was excited - nice simile there
• virtual high-five
• took a toll on me
• spiral
• amidst
• unimpressed
• 20-something
• markers of independence
• live in the moment
• mad rush

TM C

• candid
• egotist
• flourishing
• dejected
• toil
• worked like a bachelor
• eating humble pie
• pose a challenge
• be the bigger person

TM D - 3 usages

• trembling with fear
• dignitaries
• nuances
• righteous
• effectively handle
• specialized
• tried my level-best
• proficiency in professional speaking - nice alliteration there
• emerging TMs

TM E - 2 usages

• unprecedented
• ascent
• time is endless
• adapted
• serious series person - nice word play there

TM F -

• sincerity
• biggest highlights
• dedication
• super presenter

TM G -

• crystal clear
• jovial
• one with the speech
• internal monologue
• intonation

TM H -

• relatable
• dilemma
• articulated
• out of nowhere
• top-notch
• key takeaway
• in a nutshell

Not so good usages:

• every TM and not every TMs
• self-analyzed and not self-analyzed me
• made me understand and not made me to understand
• eating humble pie and not eating a humble pie
• objectives are and not objectives is
• excited to be graduating not graduated
• flying abroad not flying to abroad
• running out of time not the time
• uncertainty not uncertainity
• knowledge not knowledges
• i don't not i doesn't
• (juh) gestures and not (guh) gestures
• pronunciation and not pronounciation
• graduate not get graduated
• stuff not stuffs
• feel stuck and not feel like stuck

Being a grammarian is so fun!

Icing on the cake - I won best TAG player!

Toastmasters Evaluation Experience

#138

Evaluations aren't as easy as giving prepared speeches or even table topics. I've completed two evaluations so far and I found both a tad difficult. You have to not only continue listening to the rest of the meeting after the prepared speaker you are evaluating has finished speaking, but also work on a succinct evaluation that outlines the good points you noted in the speech as well as recommendations you would suggest the speaker to consider in their upcoming speeches. Oh, and did I mention you have to speak for at least 2 whole minutes, but not more than 3 minutes 30 seconds? I realized I had to take notes while attentively listening to the speaker on aspects involving the speech content, delivery, body language, and project objective(s) while also drafting a clear, concise speech of my own while the meeting is ongoing. 

First Evaluation Ever - January 2, 2021

Before the prepared speaker speaks:

Good evening everyone. Today, TM so-and-so is attempting his Level <#> project <#> from the so-and-so pathways. The project topic is <...>. The purpose of this project is for the member to <...>. Timer, please note the speech duration is 5-7 mins. Good luck to the speaker and back to you TMOD.

For a speaker who attempted his Level 1 Project 3 on researching and presenting, I was able to employ the sandwich technique to evaluate. State the commendations first, followed by recommendations, followed by a summary of the good points.

A template one can follow would be like this:

TM <...>, you started off well, with <...>

From there on you beautifully moved on to the body of the speech <...>

Good transition into <...>

You spoke about <...>

You excelled in these areas <...>

Here is my recommendation <...>

OR

TM <...>, I evaluated you on the basis of content, delivery, vocal variety, relevance and body language.

I would like to appreciate you on <...>

However, I would request you to work on these areas - <...>

Evaluation script:

Good evening everyone once again. This is my first evaluation ever so I hope I do a decent job.

TM <..>, you had an excellent start. You grabbed the audience's attention right from the first by opening with a question which made it interactive. Kudos on all the amazing props used.

It was unusual to see those phones together and I personally found it interesting that you kept all of them so safely till now.

Despite the topic being quite technical, you did not let the audience feel alienated. You explained the technical terms, the jargon, like CDMA and MIMO. Your slides were crisp and contained bullet points rather than long sentences. Most powerpoint presentations I have seen contain extensive sentences which the speaker tends to read out as is. Since you organized your slides in a concise manner, they acted as supporting cue cards rather than distracting the audience with too much text.

Coming to the structure of your speech, I would say it was well organized. You started off with describing the technology your research was about, and then moved on to the person who was influential behind this and connecting their story with something that we can all relate to. Moving on, your conclusion was complete, because you tied back the speech with the title 'behind the looking glass' and you also told the audience how this research helped you in your life.

One small recommendation I have is that perhaps, you could have tried to narrate the story of Paulraj in an interesting way with some gestures and dramatization rather than show the audience one slide and have them look at that. That way, the audience could have looked at you sketching out the story in your own way and felt renewed and refreshed [theme of the day] by your creative portrayal of what happened behind the looking glass. But overall I must say it was a great speech and it also wholeheartedly conformed to the required speech objective, which was to present a well-organized and well-researched speech on a topic of your choice, which you did so.

Looking forward to more speeches from you. Thank you, over to you GE.

Video

Second Evaluation Ever - February 13, 2021

TM <...>, what an indomitable [word of the day] performance indeed!

I enjoyed the unique way in which you started your speech, with a question that elicited fun responses from the audience about the ferris wheel. You involved the audience a lot more during the flow of your speech, which I think held their attention a lot longer than if it had been a one way monologue

For your evaluation I decided to adopt the sandwich technique. But I think for your sandwich, the top bread will be a lot larger than the filling in between. That's because you excelled at so many things! Vocal variety, use of props, voice modulation, gestures, body language, usage of the word of the day multiple times in relevant contexts and usage of the space that you had - it's tough to do this successfully in a virtual platform but you did all of that so seamlessly with no trouble - and all these are simply the technical aspects.

Coming to other aspects of your speech, I felt your choice of wordplay enhanced your speech to the next level and the humour and quotable quotes were placed in just the right places. Coming to the purpose of your speech, you nailed it! We got to learn about your altruistic and compassionate leadership styles. We got to learn about how you feel about ferris wheels too.

Now coming to one teeny tiny recommendation. I felt if you had given perhaps a few more examples from your own life and shared with us anecdotes that might have helped us discern your leadership style during the narration of the story, it might have reinforced the speech objective by placing more emphasis on it. But other than that, i think this was a wonderfully rendered speech. To summarize, 

it was an indomitable [WOTD] speech that blended beautiful wordplay along with elegant voice modulation, use of interesting props, gestures that captured the attention of the listeners, and of course humour.

That's it from me. All the very best. Look forward to hearing many more speeches from you. I hope I could do justice to your speech with my evaluation. Thank you and over to you GE.

Video

Toastmasters Speeches: Prep Work

#137

This post enlists my thought process for the speeches till Level 3 and the alternate table topics and content I had in mind for some of the meetings.

Pathways chosen: Dynamic Leadership (DL)

Level 1 Project 3:

Went through myriad topics to possibly talk about under 'research and present.'

Topic 1 - Fermat's Last Theorem, or "The quest to solve the world’s most notorious math problem"

1. 1963 - Andrew Wiles
1. Read ‘The Last Problem’ by Eric Temple Bell.
2. E.T. Bell predicted that civilisation would come to an end as a result of nuclear war before Fermat’s Last Theorem would ever be resolved. 
1. Wiles promised himself that he would devote the rest of his life to addressing the ancient challenge.
3. Reference

Topic 2 - Bibliophilic Experiences - 'How books enrich our lives'

1. Avid reader since childhood
2. Started from 'Who moved my cheese' to 'Enid Blyton' to 'David Baldacci'
3. Research on how books makes our lives better
4. Compare and contrast between those who read books and those who don't

Topic 3 - Biases in-depth

1. Blind Spot - book I'm currently reading
2. Bystander effect - Kitty Genovese
3. SPE, Pavlov, Skinner reinforcement
4. Middling, anchoring
5. 1 vs 0 (hot seat) - Dan Ariely
6. Survivorship bias, sunk cost fallacy
7. "Add an egg" - Betty Crocker anecdote
8. Reference
9. Funny psychological studies

Topic 4 - Cuisines around the world

1. History, typical ingredients, variations, health benefits 
2. If I say "jackfruit, jaggery, coconut", aren't you reminded of Kerala?
3. If I say "black beans, sweet corn, brown rice", you might guess Mexican
4. Similarly, "celery, broccoli, and ginger-garlic paste" may remind you of Thai

Level 2 Project 1:

Scores from the leadership questionnaire:

INNOVATIVE - 18

This leader shares a vision of the future and pursues excellence.

This leader encourages innovative ideas.

This leader motivates by promoting respect for team members’ creativity.

This leader invites collaborative conversation.

This style can be less effective when risks taken make team members apprehensive.

This style is most effective when solving complex problems.

AFFILIATIVE - 16

This leader’s objective is to create a cohesive unit by emphasizing teamwork and harmony.

This leader is collaborative and focuses on emotional needs. The affiliative style is often used effectively alongside visionary leadership.

This leader motivates by creating positive personal relationships and avoids conflict.

This style is less effective when the leader has difficulty giving negative feedback and performance is not emphasized.

This style is effective in increasing morale, repairing broken trust, and working through stressful circumstances.

COACHING - 15

This leader concentrates on preparing individuals for the future by building skills.

This leader excels with individuals or groups that have not yet realized their full potential.

This leader motivates by challenging the individual.

This leader communicates with positive statements to foster a high level of personal gratification.

This style is less effective when those being mentored are adverse to change.

This style is most effective in a one-on-one setting when the person being coached is receptive to the close working relationship of this leadership style.

This style is effective in creating a positive culture and promoting high morale.

DEMOCRATIC - 15

This style relies on consensus decision-making.

This leader is comfortable allowing others to occasionally take the lead.

This leader motivates by providing opportunity for participation.

This leader uses collaboration and communication to receive input from team members.

This style is ineffective when time is limited or if team members do not have the knowledge or expertise to make quality contributions.

This approach is most effective when the knowledge of the entire team is needed to solve a problem or find direction.

PACESETTING - 15

This leader expects those they lead to embrace new projects and move with speed.

This leader focuses on productivity.

This leader motivates by setting high standards of performance, and then leads by example.

This leader does not feel it necessary to communicate a lot of detailed instructions.

This style can be ineffective if used over a long period of time.

This style is effective when team members are self-motivated and highly skilled.

ALTRUISTIC - 14

This leader personalizes approaches to meet the individualized needs of the team.

This leader leads in order to better serve others.

This leader motivates by their empowering, ethical approach.

This leader focuses on active listening, empathy, and commitment to building community.

This style can be ineffective if not given sufficient time to apply a long-term perspective.

AUTHORITATIVE - 14

This leader provides long-term direction and focuses on end-goals.

This leader often has more experience and knowledge than those they lead.

This leader motivates by inspiring enthusiasm for the mission.

This leader gives clear direction and sets standards.

This style is less effective when explicit guidance is required.

This style is most effective when a change of direction or vision is required.

BUREAUCRATIC - 13

This leader stringently establishes and enforces rules.

The leader’s decisions are absolute and demand immediate compliance.

This leader motivates by discipline and demands immediate compliance.

This leader engages in top-down interactions.

This style is not effective when trying to lead highly-skilled individuals, as they often become resentful of micromanagement.

This style is most effective when a decision has to be made in a short amount of time.

Books on leadership:

1. 7 habits of HEP
2. 5 dysfunctions of a team
3. The 1-minute manager
4. The heart of a leader
5. Leaders eat last
6. The art of war
7. Influence (the psychology of persuasion)
8. Principles

Level 2 Project 2:

Scores from the communication questionnaire:

SUPPORTIVE - 4

This style is calm, steady, approachable, sincere, and gentle. Because the person with a Supportive communication style dislikes change, she may appear indecisive. More often she is perceived as careful, patient, and amiable. Due to her active listening skills, others see her as cooperative, dependable, and loyal.

She is often modest and prefers praise be given privately. Patient and slow-paced, she likes a personal, relaxed, no-tension environment. She puts high priority on close relationships and does not like conflict, but may mediate if necessary.

ANALYTICAL - 4

This style is precise, exact, analytical, and logical. Because the person with an Analytical communication style is systematic and task-oriented, he is sometimes perceived as a perfectionist. He is organized, self-reliant, purposeful, and diplomatic.

He is motivated by certainty and will rarely give an opinion unless asked. He is slow and cautious in his pace and likes a structured, ordered, and functional environment. Because he needs to feel sure of his position and others’ expectations, he is often private with personal information and does not easily express emotions.

DIRECT - 2

This style is decisive, competitive, independent, and confident. Because the person with a Direct communication style is focused, results-oriented, ambitious, goal-oriented, and driven, others may perceive her as strong-willed or demanding. She can be seen as impatient when bored.

She likes to feel in control and may become frustrated if dependent on others. She measures progress by achievements and successes and is motivated by challenges. At work she displays more concern for results than relationships and does not easily share feelings. Her pace is fast and decisive, and she likes a busy, efficient, structured, and formal environment.

INITIATING - 2

This style is sociable, enthusiastic, energetic, spontaneous, and fun-loving. Due to the gregarious nature of the person with an Initiating communication style, he may be perceived as someone who talks more than listens. He is often perceived as self-assured, innovative, and persuasive.

He likes to feel accepted and is motivated by relationships. He responds strongly to praise and approval. His pace is fast, and he may appear impulsive at times. He prefers a stimulating, personal, and friendly work environment.

Level 3 Project 1:

Alternative points to include in the speech - technical aspects of negotiation:

1. Negotiating for success - BATNA - getting to 'yes'
1. ZOPA
2. Bargaining examples - house rent, vegetable grocer
3. Projects at work - mentoring someone, how to negotiate to get work done
4. Learning to say no politely

Level 3 Project 2 Elective:

Alternate use of PPT software for Photography 101:

1. Good evening dear toastmasters. Today my project is all about using presentation software which is powerpoint that will aid my speech content. As I was thinking through the week on various topics that came to my mind, mostly technical, because I am a technical person and I enjoy learning and telling others about technical things.
2. I chose photography as it's the perfect example to take for using powerpoint to show something because it's a lot easier for you to see what I'm talking about and understand using visual cues rather than me trying to explain what I'm talking about when there's not much to visualize
3. Especially in a topic like photography, the best way to teach a technical concept is by showing what works and what doesn't in a particular photograph. Only if you as the audience can view it and me as the presenter can show it visually, it'll make way more sense.
4. Childhood experience - from point and shoot to a DSLR, to the head of department in college
5. Top 3 concepts - framing, rule of thirds, exposure triangle

Other ideas - Basics of design (Gestalt laws, closure principle, proximity principle, complementary colours)

Level 3 Project 3 Elective: 

More table topics: 

1. Speak on how an idle mind is the saint's workshop rather than the devil's workshop
1. If you’ve nothing to do, you’ll likely think of mischief
2. All that glitters is gold
3. An apple a day does not keep the doctor away
4. A rolling stone gathers a lot of moss
1. We usually agree with the fact that a person who is always changing jobs and places will be less likely to succeed than someone is more consistent

First Experience as a Table Topics Master

#136

Meeting #601 in Chennai Wordsmiths Toastmasters Club was my very first experience as a Table Topics Master on December 5, 2020. Today, I'd like to share the theme I chose for that session as well the topics.

Script:

Fellow Toastmasters & Guests. You’re going to have an opportunity to participate in one of the most

interesting and exciting segments of a Toastmasters Meeting -- The Table Topics session! So, I'll be giving some of you a topic on which you have to speak for 1-2 mins. The timer will show the green card at 1 minute, yellow at 1 minute 30 seconds and the red card at 2 minutes, after which please wrap up your speech within 30 seconds.

I encourage both members and guests to give it a shot. If you can, please try to use the word of the day 'embrace' and the theme of the day 'acceptance'.

For today's table topics session i have decided to choose a sub theme which is 'hypothetical situations'. It is: "You wake up one day and you realise..."

Topic 1:

You wake up one day and you realise you have transformed into a car. What kind of car do you think you'd be and why?

Topic 2:

You wake up one day and you realise you have 15 minutes left before earth is destroyed. What do you do?

Topic 3:

You wake up one day and you realise you are James Bond.

Topic 4:

You wake up one day and you realise you have the power to add one thing to the world and remove one thing from it. What would you choose?

Topic 5:

You wake up one day and you realise you have transformed into a character in your favourite TV show. Who would you be and why?

Topic 6:

You wake up one day and you realise you are 2 feet tall. What would your day look like?

Thank you all very much for participating in today’s Table Topics segment. I really enjoyed all your speeches. I return the control of the meeting to the Toastmaster of the Day.

Video:

TT session: https://youtu.be/S6uW4IbCO48?t=2302 

Level 3 Project 3 - Elective - Active Listening

#135

Purpose: The purpose of this project is to demonstrate your ability to listen to what others say.

Overview: At a club meeting, fulfill the role of Topicsmaster. As Topicsmaster, comment on each speaker’s Table Topics speech to demonstrate your active listening skills. For example, you might say, “Thank you. That was a compelling opinion on the benefits of gardening. I understand you feel strongly that everyone needs to spend some time doing something they love.”

Script:

A warm Good evening to everyone once again. Welcome to the most exciting segment of the meeting - table topics! I will give those interested a topic to speak on, I will repeat the topic twice and you get to speak on it for 1-2 minutes and for a maximum of 2 mins 30 seconds.

Now, as a TT master, I usually like to set sub themes and every topic I give would be centered on that theme. For today i have chosen 'proverb opposites'. We are so used to hearing the usual proverbs and sayings like 'look before you leap' or 'the grass is greener on the other side'. So today, let's mix it up and see what all of you have to bring to the table when the topic is out of the ordinary.  I am eagerly looking forward to hearing fun anecdotes from most of you on this theme. 

Alright, let me not waste any more time, let's get started. First call to volunteers of course, do we have any takers?

Good evening and thank you for stepping up and being the first one to talk in today's TT session.

Topic 1:

We all know honesty is the best policy. But your topic today is: honesty is not the best policy.

Topic 2:

Many times if you see nosy people who want to be in on everything that's going around them and they want to know all gossip, they are asked to mind their own business. Someone may tell them curiosity killed the cat. Today, I would like you to convince us how Curiosity saved the cat.

Topic 3:

Whether it's with respect to effort into some task or your finances, investments, you always hear people say don't put all your eggs into one basket. Today, please tell the audience why it's a great idea to put all your eggs in one basket.

Topic 4:

Usually you're asked to treasure the thing that you actually have than going after something better which you may or may not get, rephrased as a bird in hand is worth two in the bush. Can you share your take on why two birds in the bush are worth one in the hand?

Topic 5:

People usually say better late than never. Even in a party if you show up late the response is 'at least you showed up!' Can you share an experience from your life where you felt: better never than late?

Topic 6:

We are asked to not go by the looks of something, to see what's underneath, similar to Clothes do not make the man. I'd now like you to persuade the audience to judge a book only by its cover.

Topic 7:

It is said that barking dogs seldom bite, meaning people who appear threatening rarely do harm. Your topic for today is: Barking dogs often bite.

Topic 8:

Most of the times, actions matter more than simply saying something. Today I'd like to share your experience on how 'words speak louder than actions.'

Thank you all for making this a wonderfully interesting table topics session. Over to you TMOD.

Evaluation:

1. Speak in a way that others love to listen and listen in a way others love to speak to you - I could see that in Sriya's session today
2. She gave appreciative comments to each speaker
3. She started with a grand smile, gave an intro about the TT session and declared a fun theme
4. She prepared well for the project with her sharp observing capacity
5. One recommendation - on the 'don't put all your eggs in one basket' topic, there was no clarity in your response to the speaker's opposing viewpoint. 

Video:

TT Session: https://youtu.be/qMr9TPo2i_c?t=2446 

Evaluation: https://youtu.be/qMr9TPo2i_c?t=4429 

P.S. Also served as Idiom Master for the meeting: https://youtu.be/qMr9TPo2i_c?t=847 

Level 3 Project 2 - Elective - Using Presentation Software

#134

Purpose: The purpose of this project is to introduce or review basic presentation software strategies for creating and using slides to support or enhance a speech.

Overview: Select a speech topic that lends well to a visual presentation using technology. Use the content of this project and your own research to help you develop your slides. Give a 5- to 7-minute speech using the slides you developed. Your speech can be humorous, demonstrative, or informational, and it may include stories or anecdotes.

Script:

Good evening Dear Toastmasters! Today I'll be walking you through how I've learnt to apply the lessons I learnt in photography to toastmasters. Through the lens of a camera, I've trained myself to look at things in different perspectives. Through the real lens which is our eyes I'm learning to observe the things around us, weave them into a compelling story, and captivate the audience via a speech. 

In today's speech I will be using a visual component to reinforce my message. And what better way to use powerpoint slides than when depicting the photographs iIve taken over the years to 'show' you all what I've learnt via photography to apply to in TM speeches? Okay let's get started.

Lesson 1 - Focus on the main subject

As with the pictures you see here, both the flower and twig are in focus. Although there are other items in the background the main one is in focus. The same principle holds when you're giving a speech. Try not to confuse the audience with multiple components such that. They're unsure of what the main topic of ur speech was. It's a good idea to have one topic or one story that your speech revolves around

and then maybe you can interweave other components such as 3 key points, or 1 key message or 2 incidents that tie to each other in the end. By focusing on the main subject, you ensure that you cater to the audience's attention span and also reinforce your key takeaway by doing so.

As with photography, it's all about timing. In the first picture if the ball isn't there in the frame, if the bowler already bowled the ball, it wouldn't have been an interesting picture that tells a story.

In the pic on the right, if I had waited a second longer it would've been too late and the bird would've taken flight. All I would've captured is a plain old rock and a blurred bird! Ask yourself the same wrt speeches. Are you burying the message within a long sentence and delivering it at a fast pace without any pauses? Make sure to grab the audience's attention on the point of your content by delivering them at the right time in the right manner. If you are narrating a story that has some mystery to it, build up the suspense and leave it a mystery till the end. If you spill the beans right at the start or in between somewhere, it will have lost its charm. So remember, it's all about timing.

Next would be to learn from ur experiments. In the pathways level 1 project 2 you give a speech and apply that feedback to another speech. Similarly, for contests if u participate in multiple contests and decide to give the same speech you can learn from the experiments of your previous attempts on what worked and what didn't. In tenth grade i was extremely fascinated with smoke photography and light painting. What did I do? Experiment. What did i learn? One, while light painting may seem mesmerising at first, it doesn't make for a compelling photo because of lack of subject and lack of story

and with these Agarbatti photos, while the smoke is captured decently well, if the spark of the Agarbatti was seen as a speck of reddish orange, it would've enhanced the picture a lot more.

I reiterate - don't be afraid to experiment, but don't forget to learn from the outcome of those experiments and apply those lessons.

Next, try to capture the unseen. In both pictures here, the scene was a crowded place outside the Gateway of India in Bombay. The place was bustling with people, it was chaotic and cacophonous, but I was able to capture the unseen. Two folks, with exasperated expressions, trying to get by in that summer heat by selling an assortment of peanuts as with the man on the left and some sort of bubble toys as with the woman on the right, got mixed with the rest of the crowd. But through my lens, I was able to capture their poignant expressions, which alone tell a story.

Similarly, in your speeches, what is that one thing everyone may easily miss since it's commonplace or workaday but you have put a spin on, captured the unseen and observed something under a different light?

Finally, sometimes less is more. In this picture, the helmet on the field alone conveys so much without needing any explanation. You know by the looks of it that it's a cricket helmet on a cricket field. Interpret of it what you will. Maybe there was a match played there. Maybe someone left that helmet there and forgot about it. Maybe someone left it intentionally anticipating it might make for a good picture. In this slide, all I have is this one picture to explain the message that less is more. The slide too can convey this with just one picture and doesn't need any more.

Follow the same for your speeches. You don't always have to pack hundreds of words or stories or lessons in your speech. Stick to one story and just a handful of takeaways. Try to prune what's unnecessary and by making your speech contain 'less' content so to speak, you will have actually had more of an impact than if you had perhaps packed more to say.

So to summarize, here are the takeaways you can get from this presentation that will, I hope, not only help you in writing and delivering better speeches but also see better through this lens when trying to capture something from the lens of your phone or camera. Focus on the main subject, try to capture the unseen, learn from your experiments, remember that it's about timing, and keep telling yourself that less is more.

With that I conclude this presentation and my speech. Thank you, over to you TMOD.

Evaluation:

1. A picture is worth a thousand stories, in this case
2. There was both an implicit and an explicit message in her speech
1. She connected every photography technique with a speech technique - subject, timing, experiments, unseen, less is more
2. She also gave an analogy for each technique
3. Got to learn how she used these techniques in her speeches
4. She took something she is comfortable with, she loves photography and made us go through that journey
5. Recommendations:
1. 1 suggestion: the amount of effort put in the presentation could've been more
2. Not using a template would've been less distracting
6. Overall, great presentation
7. The implicit message was that we all have something we can learn from and apply to other areas of our lives
1. For me, I learnt about life via embedded systems

Video:

Through the lens: https://youtu.be/u2CORxhjzuo?t=2079

Evaluation: https://youtu.be/u2CORxhjzuo?t=4756

Presentation:

Initial PPT made by me 

Updated PPT with edits suggested by evaluator

Level 3 Project 1: Negotiate the Best Outcome

#133

Purpose: The purpose of this project is to learn about different types of negotiation and the strategies that can be used when negotiating.

Overview: Develop a 5- to 7-minute speech about a past or upcoming negotiation in your life. The negotiation must be one that you have participated in or will participate in. You may choose to reflect on the strategies you used or those that you believe would be the most beneficial in the future. Your speech can be persuasive, humorous, informational, or crafted in any style that appeals to you and supports your speech content.

Script:

“Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate.” This quote by John F. Kennedy resonates with me every time I prepare myself for a negotiation.

Fellow TMs and guests, a very good evening to all of you. Today I'd like to share one instance of when I decided to negotiate and ask for something I believed was rightly mine and whether I got what I asked for or not, we'll get to that towards the end.

August 2016. Time for campus placements. Final week. We were 5 of us. We had to go to an onsite interview in a company. Here the HR had told us that due to shortage of interviewers, a VP and an SVP would be interviewing us, with each of us having exactly one round that would be the deciding factor. It was a little strange since the usual format was to have a panel of interviewers and each candidate going through at least 2 rounds of interviews.

We waited for our turn as we were called one by one. Turned out, I was the last one to be called. By then, the rounds went by so quickly and it was already made known that 4 of them got selected. Hearing this, I was quite hopeful. Finally my turn came. I went in with a broad smile and greeted the VP. He didn't ask me to sit down and answer his questions. All he did was give me a marker, pointed to the whiteboard, and said "Design a login screen". 

I was thoroughly taken aback. What sort of interview was this? It's usually theoretical questions on programming and databases, and coding questions where the interviewer gives you a well-defined problem and you have to write the code for it. What was happening here? I went blank for what seemed like eternity. I took a deep breath and composed myself. For the next few moments which seemed like an hour, i tried to draw and describe the problem to the best of my ability. Because he was a VP, I feared I couldn't ask for a different problem or negotiate in my favour.

Within less than ten minutes I left the room feeling dejected. The HR came to me escorted me to a different room so that she could reveal the news to me in private. Shaking her head, she said that I didn't make it through. I'm usually a shy introvert person who is also a pushover who says okay to things really easily. Or at least I used to be until that moment. I don't know what came over me but I was outraged. I knew I had to fight back for this injustice. Fight for my right. I knew I couldn't give up and walk away that day from this opportunity. I looked her in the eye and said "in my interview I wasn't asked any coding questions." She said "oh really?" I said yes, well, the other 4 seemed to have gotten specific questions on programming while I was asked a random design problem and wasn't even told what the expectations were. there was no back and forth conversation either. I narrated to her what had happened and she seemed a little flustered, probably because of my tone and the conviction with which i said all this. She even tried to say 'no no everyone got only round one of interview. How can I make an exception for you?' I persisted. At the end of it I politely asked "Could I please have another round of the interview? I wasn't asked even a single technical question." After that I stood in silence and continued looking at her in an unwavering manner, waiting for her response.

Now it was her turn to be taken aback. She stared at me blankly for a second and then said, "oh okay let me talk to the SVP and get back." Thankfully, she said yes. I had an amazing round of interview with the SVP where he kept shooting questions and I was confidently and coherently answering each of them immediately and thoroughly, spitting out all the details i had studied. It felt like a rapid fire round, towards the end of which, the SVP looked at me, smiled and slightly nodded, seeming impressed. I came out of that room with my head held high and I knew this time around the HR would be back with good news. And she was. All 5 of us walked out of there with the offer letter in our hand and a big grin on our faces.

Fellow toastmasters, let us learn to fight for our right. ask and you shall get it. never fear negotiation. always try. even if it doesn't go in your favour, i'm sure you'll learn a lot about yourself in that process.  As we learnt from my story, negotiation is the art of letting the other side have your way.

Thank you, over to you TMOD.

Video:

Fight for your right

Evaluation

Evaluation resource