A large vocabulary has often been as much a hindrance as much as a help. Simple words and expressions are distinctive characteristics of some of the world’s great speakers.

I find that eloquence and precision are best developed by surrounding yourself with language of that pattern. It is absorbed rather than learned. So listen to great speeches, read thought-provoking books, and watch insightful movies. And you might also find excuses to befriend people who speak the way you seek.

Later in the afternoon, Wendy Wang ACB ALB was elected Division Governor for Division D, and Bill Wang ACB was elected Division Governor for Division L, the new Division for CAT. No doubt many other CAT members will be taking on other leadership roles within the District, and we look forward to their success.

Congratulations!

But when asked about it once, Gladwell replied, “I know it may not look like this. But it’s all scripted. I write down every word and then I learn it off by heart. I do that with all my talks and I’ve got lots of them.”

It’s great to connect with your audience as if you were just having a casual chat with them. And sometimes that’s precisely what you will want to do. Other times, when you want to really nail it, you might be better off going beyond the bullet points to rehearse, refine and distill the most important information that you are there to share. And find yourself on a level where you have that polish that casual (amateur?) speaking just doesn’t allow.

While memorizing isn’t “the answer”, if you want to deliver a professional-standard speech, you might find yourself enjoying an interesting experience if you treat your next presentation as a performance.

At least that what seems to work for the guy who wrote The Tipping Point, Blink, Outliers and, most recently, What the Dog Saw.

When I first joined Toastmasters, I saw the first 10 speeches as my focus. Along the way, I realized that there was much more that I could learn by taking things further.

Yet completing a DTM requires a very significant commitment over an extended period of time – a DTM will have usually delivered more than 50 separate speeches over at least 3 or 4 years. And there are some specific rules that you’ll need to follow – some projects count for some awards, but not for others. And you have to do things in the right way too – not just be a good speaker: I had to redo a component entirely because I didn’t have the records from when I completed one step years earlier… it’s almost like part of becoming a DTM is learning what the rules are, and making sure that you can follow them!

But it’s about setting your own standards. Where would you like to take your skills? It took me 11 years to complete my DTM – but I’m sure that you can do it much faster

CAT has a number of specific initiatives that can help increase your chances of making it to DTM. And that’s one of the things that we focus upon – how to help you take your skills to the next level. You can find out more about The DTM Track here, on our website, or even better by attending one of our meetings.

You can listen to the start of his speech here.

The local newspaper records that, “Mark Hunter is proof positive of what can be achieved with a liberal dose of self-determination and an appreciation of the power of love.” And they have included the text from his speech in this story on his great achievement.

Mark, you probably don’t remember me, but congratulations!

- Daniel Smith, DTM

Below is the text of the speech. There seem to be a few errors amid the wonderful examples of alliteration – can you pick them?

Literature is literally littered with lively legends. Amongst them rides Don Quixote the Man of La Mancha. An idealistic knight who fought for the rights of others and dared to dream the impossible dream.

Mr Contest chairman, ladies and gentlemen, while I dare not sing that song for fear it could be your nightmare, I like many of us here have dreamed impossible dreams. But to make one of my dreams even remotely attainable, I had to learn a lesson, perhaps a lesson for us all.

When I was 22 an accident changed my view of the world completely. Before the accident, I saw the world from an invincible 6 feet high, now I see it from the height of the consummate navel gazer.

In my new position, short and seated and recycled, I soon faced discrimination, so I became a modern day Don Quixote fighting for the rights of those with a disability. Many, many times , I would don the armour of righteousness, mount my trusty grey horse Eeeha! (work with me here), raise my lance, and charge into hell for my heavenly cause, dreaming of a world where discrimination no longer existed.

But at other times, I would retreat, exhausted and just want to be invisible

For many years as I championed this cause I faced this problem: Do I want to fit in, or do I want to stand up, stand out and stand fast for who and what I am; do I want to be same or different?

I became consumed by this dilemma and desperate for an answer. I turned to books, coaches, meditation, you name it I did it, I even searched in the bottom of a bottle of whiskey – I eventually found my answer where many of our lifes most important questions are answered.

My Grandmothers kitchen was filled with the aroma of freshly cooked bread, and the quiet rhythmic chopping of vegetables was the only sound to be heard. On the bench, gleaming upturned jars were begging to be filled with her world famous tomato relish well I thought it was world famous my grandfather, Poppy, always said it could be used as paint stripper. I too would laugh at his mischief

A splash was followed by her silent invitation to look in the water filled sink. A wildly bright red apple had accidentally tumbled in, and was bobbing amongst a dozen green tomatoes. Nana said, Mark, look in the sink. What do you want to be? I looked at my choice to be the one apple or one of many tomatoes- and I remembered thinking..

Who looks at fruit and veges and becomes philosophical?

So how did I answer grandmother?

As I watched her, I finally understood her wisdom. Nana, I said. She stopped, turned, and waited. Nana, I want to be the water.

She turned back to her work, and I am sure I heard her smile.

She knew I had found my answer. That you cant change the world by charging around like an idealistic knight. You change it from here, by being the water. You see water embraces everything completely. It does not differentiate young from old, black from white, tall from navel gazer. It simply encompasses all.

And what is this water if is not a unique definition of love. A definition reflected in Deepak Chopras work, where he writes for love to be real it has to flow out and around what is loved. This water is liquid love. When I am the water, when we are the water, the need to fight the good fight no longer exists. The need to work out whether we are the same or different no longer exists. When we love with the intimacy of water, difference doesnt exist.

Its what this liquid love does. What happened in the kitchen allowed me to replace the passion of youth with the wisdom of my grandmother (maybe cut) and so with my new understanding I began to change my world from in here

Ladies and Gentlemen: In an ordinary kitchen, I learnt an extra-ordinary lesson. One which enabled me to take off my armour and get off this horse not literally. I learnt from my grandmother that it doesnt matter how we are different. Its how we love that matters. So this morning, I offer you her wisdom. In a sink full of green tomatoes and one wildly red apple, there is so much, so very much to be gained from being the water.

Interestingly – at least for me – is that the VPE of my first club, Leonard Scuderi DTM, is one of the published comments on the page. Great to see you continuing to float around, Scooter!

Last week, I saw an experienced speaker who would poke his tongue out at his audience! It was very natural – he probably didn’t realize that he was even doing it – but after I noticed it, I couldn’t help but chuckle whenever he did it again. And again. And again!!!

Mannerisms come from all sorts of places. Sometimes they are big; sometimes they are small. Sometimes it can be an expression of nervousness. We pick them up from our friends, family and famous figures. I have had some mannerisms that I originally used deliberately, but then they became so habitual that they grew out of control!

Look out for these mannerisms. They allow your audience to focus on your style that they forget what you say.

One of the easiest ways to identify these mannerisms is to watch yourself on video. Preferably with some supportive friends – who can point them out and help you find better ways of expressing yourself.

CAT has our Peer Mentoring sessions – where you get together with a few other experienced speakers and help each other get better. But whatever your level of speaking, look to help your audience get your message better by eliminating your mannerisms.

• “If I could make a suggestion…”
• “One suggestion that I would have…”
• “Now onto some suggestions…”

A well-used signpost becomes a distraction for the audience and a crutch for the speaker.

Let’s stop wasting time talking about it and instead use that time to give relevant, targeted, and useful suggestions.

As an evaluator, emphasise what the speaker did well that audience can learn from, and areas that the speaker could improve that would also help the audience.

Leave your personal comments for a private conversation with the speaker and perhaps in the written evaluation.

Malcolm Gladwell wrote a book (called Blink) on the subject of how we make snap judgments based on very little information. It’s just how we all are.

As I was watching one speaker in table topics last month, three things stood out:

• Use your best voice
  Some people sound terrible. Maybe it’s the pitch, or the pronunciation, or the smoothness or the resonance. Listen to your own voice and notice how you can make listening to yourself even more appealing. I always remember my cousin getting so excited about listening to Mark Hunter who she described as having “a voice like chocolate”. Now we heard him delivering a speech in about 1999 but a few years later he made it through to the World Championships.
• Use stories
  Nice stories. Tight and clean stories – with a point and that are interesting or amusing. Stories that validate your authority to speak and support the emotions you are looking to transfer to your audience.
• Look to make a point
  Have something to say. If you don’t know what to say, think about it. Great speakers give something to their audience rather than talking out loud.

Use every opportunity to speak and refine your skills that you get!

(originally posted here)

How does your next speech stack up?

Our Summiting Session for this meeting, focused on Body Language and Using the Stage will be led by Spike Gu ACB CL.

• TME Emily Minor CC CL
• Speech Chris Haynes CC
• Speech Wendy Wang ACB ALB
• Speech Daniel Smith DTM
• GE Delphy Chow ACS CL
• IE Carlo Wolff ACB

Our venue is very close to Nanjing West subway station. We’ll send it out to everybody on the email list – or who asks of course! Just email “attend@chinaadvancedtoastmasters.com” or subscribe by emailing “agenda-subscribe@chinaadvancedtoastmasters.com” and we’ll make sure you get it.