Toast with taste

How To: Tips for a New Year's Eve Toast

When toasting, remember your ABCs.
By Michael Varma, ATMG, ALB

As a professional magician I’m constantly asked, “Can you show me a magic trick?” I smile and consent to conjure up a miracle or two. It’s an occupational hazard. Toastmasters are constantly faced with requests for similar command performances – for instance, to stand up and “say a few words” at family gatherings, or holiday meals, or to give a toast to the New Year. To avoid a real-life, spur-of-the-moment Table Topics test, remember to be prepared and follow the ABCs of toasting. To begin a well-thought-out toast, consider the following three A’s: audience, agenda and ability: 

Audience
Parties and gatherings are a melting pot of ages, genders, relationships, educational levels and ethnicities; all these folks carry high expectations for Toastmasters to speak with poise and confidence. Feeling the pressure? Take a deep breath... exhale. Release that mental stress by asking yourself some questions beforehand about the audience you’ll be facing. Answer those questions and your anxieties will vanish as fear of the unknown dissolves, especially when you stress the positive. 

For example, you might ask, “What is the age range of this audience?” Answer: 20- to 40-year-olds. So you say to yourself, “Yeah, no kids!” Or you ask, “What’s my relationship to the people here tonight?” Answer: They’re friends and family. So you say to yourself, “Great – no co-workers or boss!” 

In addition, the more you know about your audience, the easier it is to create the appropriate content for your toast. 

Agenda
Toasts are most engaging when three primary elements are clearly defined: Why are we celebrating? Who are we honoring? And what is the point you as the toaster want to make? Knowing what you want to say keeps you calm, even while standing in front of a party of people with all eyes focused on you.
 

                    “Say something pithy and spirits remain light; say something serious and
                    people become reflective. Take advantage of this precious time and use it

                   wisely.”

Use a succinct sentence to explain the agenda and set the foundation for your toast. For example, “I find when families pause their busy lives to gather from five different cities and share stories, our holiday meal times become magical.” 

Ability
Whether you’re an executive used to talking to a crowd or just starting out in Toastmasters, be sure to evaluate your skill level. Practice one or all of the Special Occasion Speeches (Item 226N) at your club and you’ll no doubt receive valuable feedback. Some people get very nervous when they have to talk in front of a group. Even seasoned speakers frequently talk too fast, causing spectators to ask their neighbor, “What did he say?” By honing in on your skills through practice, you can build the experience and self-confidence necessary to communicate effectively. 

As the author of the book Tasteful Toasts, the question I’m asked the most is, “How long should a toast be?” In a word: short. Be as brief as possible. It may seem like a cliché, but leave them wanting more. If you are going to speak for as long as five minutes, you’d better be outstanding and bring your Grade-A material. For first-time toasters and experienced speakers alike, I recommend following the three B’s: be brief, be bold, be done. 

Be Brief
Two minutes is a terrific target time for a tasteful toast. Keep your remarks short and simple and your toast will have a greater effect. If you hit five minutes, the snore bore alarm will begin to sound. 


Be Bold
Enunciate clearly and project your voice to the back of the room to ensure everyone can hear your words. Display poise and confidence. 

Be Done
When finished, sit down. Avoid the urge to take a bow or return for an encore performance. Remember, the purpose of a toast is to shine a gentle spotlight on, and pay tribute to, a specific person or event. Say your toast and then return the attention to the honored guest and festivities. 

Dec. 31 will soon be here and Toastmasters across the globe will be called to convey, with conviction, a reflection on 2009 and a vision of prosperity for 2010. Yes, I am referring to the New Year’s Eve toast. And as promised, it’s as easy as A, B and now C: communicate, commemorate and celebrate. 

Communicate
Your first remarks before the midnight hour will slow the hands of time, and party participants will gather round for a message of inspiration. A short joke will bring laughs followed by a few seconds of silence. These golden ticks of the clock are when people will look to you for your next witty comment – it’s human nature. In this pivotal moment you control the room and set the mood. Say something pithy and spirits remain light; say something serious and people become reflective. Take advantage of this precious time and use it wisely. Know what you want to say before you say it. 

Commemorate
The new year means a fresh start for many people. It’s a time to remember the past before stepping into the future. It’s also a time to acknowledge the struggles you’you've encountered and obstacles you've’ve overcome. Place your thoughts on paper and you will be poised with words that honor the sacrifices and commemorate the victories.

Celebrate 
When both hands of the clock point to 12, you can celebrate the fact that everyone’s goals will be established and resolutions made. Give a toast to motivate listeners to be better in their personal and professional endeavors and to face the future with confidence. Raise your glass to celebrate the achievements to come. 

Merely reading this article will not make you an expert or smooth-talking toasting machine, but it will start you on the right path. Similarly, I can read how to perform a magic trick but it requires practice until polished to a quality performance level – that’s no illusion. Make a resolution to follow the three ABCs of toasting and practice in front of friends or family, and your audience will cheer as you bring in the new year.


Michael Varma, ATMG, ALB, is a member of BergenMeisters Toastmasters club in Orange, California, and the author of the book, Tasteful Toasts, available from www.toastmasters.org/shop. Reach him at www.michaelvarma.com.

This article was originally publish at the Toastmasters International website. You can find free resources and more articles like this at Toastmasters International Free Resources .

How to use stand up comedy techniques to get laughs

LIGHTEN UP YOUR SPEECH

Judy Carter

How to use stand-up comedy techniques to get laughs.

I recently got a call from a humorist who wanted coaching on his speech for the Toastmasters Humorous Speech Contest. I listened as he presented his material, which was a collection of jokes, half-baked comedy ideas and funny stories about himself. I knew immediately he had three major problems: One, his jokes were funny but they weren’t his; he’d lifted them off the Internet.

Two, his funny stories were about an audience’s least favorite topic — the speaker. And three, his speech didn’t have a message.

Before I write one joke for a speaker, I have to make sure he or she has a message that makes sense, because a confused audience doesn’t laugh. Once a speech is coherent, then I do a comedy pass. Making a great message funny isn’t as hard as it sounds.

I spent 17 years on the road as a headlining comic before I started speaking professionally. Using a few basic comedy formulas, you can add clean, observational punch lines to your speeches. Clean because you want to get paid, and observational because you want to convey confidence and spontaneity.

I can already hear you protesting: “Spontaneous observational humor?! But I’m not a comic!” Here’s the good news: Getting laughs as a speaker is a lot easier than doing stand-up. Speakers aren’t expected to get laughs every 10 seconds, so when you do deliver a funny line, it’s a happy surprise. Plus, using real-time observations wins an audience over. They appreciate being in on the joke. They appreciate your awareness of their surroundings. If you know how to look for it, there’s “funny” happening all around you. There’s funny in the parking lot of the conference center. There’s funny in the hallway as you prepare to go on stage. Hey, take a look in the mirror! Now that’s funny.

So be brave and add these comedy formulas to your speeches.

Formula One: The First 10 Seconds The second you’re introduced, you can go for your first observational laugh by thanking the emcee and pointing out an obvious (and positive) feature about him or her. One time, my emcee had a deep voice. As I walked onstage, I looked right at him and said, “Thank you, Tom. That was a great intro. Let’s give him a hand. (Applause) You have a beautiful voice. I realize now it was you who played Darth Vader.”

You can pretty much ask the audience to applaud anything — and they will. “Let’s have some applause for the dessert chef who gave us cake and pie!”

Like I said earlier, people like to be in on the joke, so mentioning something obvious and inclusive accomplishes that goal. When the audience knows you just made something up, they give you a lot of leeway. So, don’t always plan the first thing you’ll say. Allow for spontaneity as a result of what you observe before you step on stage. It might scare you, but your audience will love you — and that’s a great way to start off your keynote.

For your spontaneous moment, consider the following examples: “Let’s have some applause for …”

•The guy who just fixed the air conditioning, the clogged toilet or the microphone that was squealing a moment before.
•The generous bartender from the party last night.
•The guy on the spotlight who is awake and able to follow me.
•The audience, for surviving three days of meetings.
•The people from Canada, for always being so nice.

Spontaneity is a skill of an experienced speaker. Your ability to risk being spontaneous in the first minute will grow with stage time. But eventually you will need to take this courageous step and trust your instincts. With that said, here’s a quick warning: Always remember you’re the outsider. Be respectful of where your clients live, how they talk and how they may be different from you. You need to be the butt of your own jokes — not your audience. Don’t use your opening for cruel or sarcastic jokes. Like your mother said, “If you can’t say something nice, then don’t say it.” And never, ever diss the person who signs your check.

Formula Two: You Are the Joke Make fun of what the audience is looking at — you! Let’s face it, when a speaker steps onstage, he faces an inherent hostility toward “know-it-alls.” The best way to curb that judgment is to engage in some light-hearted self-mockery. Having the guts to get a laugh at your own expense not only creates laughter, it creates likeability.

Here are a few steps to make light of yourself for laughs:

•Make a list of obvious physical attributes that an audience will notice when you walk onstage; for example: your weight, hairline, age, gender or clothes. Choose something that could be seen as a negative trait. That expanding waistline? It’s your punch line! Anything that makes you different can be comedy gold.

Note that none of these things should be funny, but they should all be authentic. Keep your list focused on things the audience can actually see or notice. “I’m short” is better than “I’m lactose intolerant.”

•Now make a list of the advantages of these negative attributes. For example, looking nerdy: “Ladies, why go for tall, dark and handsome when a nerd like me can fix your computer in a flash?”

Using the lists above, fill in the “I know what you’re thinking” formula: Say “I know what you’re thinking,” act out what the audience is thinking, and then give the advantages of what you’re poking fun of. For instance: “I know what you are thinking. ‘Does she realize her hair’s the same color as a bag of Cheetos?’ Well, there are advantages to having bright orange hair. On the weekends I donate my head to guide planes into the gates at the airport.”

Formula Three: The Mash-Up
This formula is excerpted from my forthcoming book, The Message of You: Turn Your Life Story into a Money-Making Speaking Career.

It’s hard to listen to speakers who drone on and on with lists of information that don’t include a laugh. “I’m from blah blah, I went to school in blah, blah, and I got a degree in blah, blah.” Boring! This is a lost opportunity for a laugh! Here is a way to introduce your credentials that I call “The Mash-Up.” Let’s say you want to tell the audience you’re a nurse and a stand-up comic. All you have to do is add the words “so that means I …” and then add the mash-up of the stereotype.

Let’s do some brainstorming:
Make a list of your ethnicity, parents’ nationalities, your hobbies and your current and past professions.

Pick two of the items you wrote and insert them into the following formula:

“You may not know this, but I’m ______________ and _____________ (or “I’m part this and part that”), so that means I ___________________________.”

For example, “My father is from New York and my mom’s from Texas, so that means … I like my bagels with gravy.” Or,

“I have a degree in astronomy and I’m an actress, so that means … I know exactly why the sun revolves around me.”

Formula Four: The List of Three Three is a magic number in comedy. Using the “List of Three” formula, a comic sets up a pattern with two serious ideas, and then adds a twist on the third. For this formula to work, it’s an absolute necessity that your first two statements be real and serious. You want to lead the audience down a path of sincerity and then surprise them with a joke! You never want them to see the funny coming. The surprise is what makes people laugh. Two easy ways to set up this formula are “Big- Big-Small” and “Small-Small-Big.”

Set Up: Big-Big-Small
“It’s a scary world out there: We’ve got terrorism, the war in Iraq, and ... Lindsay Lohan is out of jail.”

Set Up: Small-Small-Big
“There are three subtle clues that your marriage might be over: You’ve stopped sending each other love notes. You’re not kissing as much. Your husband’s new girlfriend has issued a restraining order.”

This formula saved me when I was hired to speak to a cosmetics company and I was told that management had announced there would be no bonuses that year. Management actually asked me to do “something funny with that.” That was a tough assignment! But using a List of Three helped me get a laugh. I observed that right before my keynote, the audience participated in a workshop on conceptual selling. So my list was:

“I understand that you learned today about conceptual selling. That means you aren’t selling lipstick but rather the concept of beauty. It’s not about the mascara but the concept of glamour. And I guess it’s not about the money but the concept of a bonus.”

People literally fell off their chairs. Now, that was observational humor at its most potent! The List of Three is also a great way to make your PowerPoint slides more entertaining. Break your learning points into lists of no more than three bullets, and always have the third slide be a funny surprise.

So when adding humor to your speech, first have a good message, and then look for opportunities to add laughs using these formulas. After all, laughter is the best medicine for every audience. It’s a feel-good, legal drug. It makes people happy, you don’t need a prescription to use it, and you’ll never get arrested for driving under the influence of it. But best of all, speakers who get laughs connect with their audience, win contests and get booked.

This article was originally publish at the Toastmasters International website. You can find free resources and more articles like this at Toastmasters International Free Resources .

Benefits of participating in speech contests

Is it a test? Or is it play? Have some fun on contest day!

You can enjoy speech contests 

When Nahid was asked to compete in her club’s humorous speech contest, she was mortified. “I – I’m not funny!” she exclaimed. Indeed, her manual speeches had been heartfelt and serious discussions on the meaning of life. But her fellow club members insisted that she was funnier than she realized. She decided to take up the challenge and try the contest. Much to her amazement, Nahid learned that she is more than funny – she’s hilarious. She won the club contest and found herself looking forward to the area level competition with a new sense of excitement and pleasure. Her fear of “funny failure” had been banished.

Now, when someone asks Nahid what she wants to do with her life, she responds without hesitation, “I want to be a comedian.” And she admits she owes it all to a speech contest, because it made her try something outside her comfort zone.

Speech contests present many opportunities. Those who benefit in the most obvious way are the competitors. Being a contender gives you a chance to try a new style or type of speech. The result can be amazing, as in Nahid’s case. And even if you stay with a topic that you've given before, you know you’ll have to take it to the next level in order to compete. This is a terrific way to confirm your skills.

Garry thought his evaluations were solid, but he wasn't completely sure until he won an evaluation contest. He had worked hard to make his evaluation skills shine, and the results of the contest confirmed his belief in himself.

On the other hand, it’s not always about winning. Evan was able to learn from watching expert speakers competing at higher and higher levels. He picked up several tips and tricks for performing that improved his own speeches and work-related presentations.

The best news is, speech contests benefit everyone who takes part. There are many roles to try, all offering some sort of leadership experience. You can improve skills such as organization, teamwork, written and verbal communication, and event coordination.

Of course, a lot of people are merely looking for an enjoyable way to use their Toastmasters skills. And while volunteering as a timer, counter, sergeant at arms, contest chair, or other role affords Toastmasters the opportunity for growth, adventure and a sense of team membership –you must remember that it’s also just plain fun.

And though you might not think it possible right now, there may come a time when you find yourself volunteering for the role of speech contest judge. Don’t be afraid to try it. Experienced speakers can learn so much by participating as speech contest judges. The judging criteria for great speeches is printed on the back of every Judge’s Guide and Ballot. It’s like having your own personal cheat sheet for making a good speech great. And the more experience you gain in using these criteria to judge the participants’ speeches, the better your own speeches will become.

That’s the great thing about Toastmasters speech contests. The more you put into them, the more you take away.

This article was originally publish at the Toastmasters International website. You can find free resources and more articles like this at Toastmasters International Free Resources .

Don't miss club meetings during the holidays!!

Keeping the Holidays Happy

You need your meetings more than ever!

It’s a few weeks before the end of the year and you’re falling behind in preparations. Your boss needs that year-end report, your kids need costumes for the school play, and your mother needs you to arrange her travel for the holidays.You need a 30-hour day! Some Toastmasters members try to reduce their holiday hassles by missing club meetings during these busy weeks. That’s the last thing they should do!

Remedy for the Holiday Rush 
Spending time with fellow Toastmasters is an ideal antidote to holiday pressures. As a club leader, it’s your job to remind members of the stress-busting benefits of attendance. Get the word out by email, phone call, postcard or a posting on your club’s website. By keeping up with their meetings, they’ll have the chance to:

• See friends
• Share some fun and laughs
• Discover more about their fellow members’ expertise
• Enjoy well-earned time for self-improvement
• Escape the demanding world for a while

Their schedules may be telling them that they don’t have time – but for their own health and well-being – be sure to recommend that your club members attend every meeting.

Reaping the Benefits If you happen to be a club member who steadfastly attends meetings throughout the season, pat yourself on the back. Not only have you been helping yourself, you’ve been helping your fellow Toastmasters to continue their pace of steady improvement while enjoying all the benefits listed above.

Missing In Action 
Perhaps you’re missing some of your friends from your club. They've skipped meetings and maybe sent you an email stating that they’d be back after the holiday season. What can you do? Remind them of all that you’re getting for attending this season. Send your friends an email and share the list of benefits.

More ideas 
You might schedule some holiday-themed meetings, with special treats and surprise guests. Wouldn't it be fun to get together with some former members from years gone by? Send out the invitations and prepare yourself for a wonderful reunion with your Toastmasters friends.

This article was originally publish at the Toastmasters International website. You can find free resources and more articles like this at Toastmasters International Free Resources .

Toastmaster will help you get through unemployment

Help in Hard Times

How Toastmasters training can see you through

There’s no doubt that many Toastmasters are facing challenging times. With corporate cutbacks, Wall Street woes and other worldwide financial difficulties, we’re all feeling the stress of the day. If you find yourself squeezed by some belt-tightening tactics, it’s tempting to retreat from long-term goals and instead focus on short-term survival strategies.

That may be a mistake.

Maintaining your progress toward a goal by setting a course that includes daily, weekly and monthly objectives can help you navigate your way through the troubled waters of today and prepare you for better times ahead. What better place to do this than at your regular Toastmasters meetings?

He got through it
Consider the example of Tom Oh, of Rancho Santa Margarita, California. Tom works for an interactive marketing media company in the nearby town of Irvine. Before he landed this job, he spent what he describes as “seven long months” unemployed and job hunting. It was the longest period of time Tom had ever been out of work, and rather than panic, he chose a path that set him in the direction of reconnecting with his career and his future. He decided to use part of the time constructively by joining a Toastmasters club and improving his job skills.

Tom says two things became apparent when he was out of work: First, he needed to hone his public speaking skills. Second, he had no excuse to delay it any longer. This was a job skill he knew he would eventually need again and now his time was finally free to work on it. “No excuses!” says Tom with a laugh.

Encouraged by a Toastmasters friend, Tom attended a meeting in July and was hooked. He attended only five meetings before finding a new job – but in that time he pushed himself to give two speeches.

Tom especially wanted to improve his skills in speech writing and preparation. So he made the most of the Competent Communication manual’s features allowing members to focus on certain aspects. For him, it meant working through the Ice Breaker and then the project on organization. He enjoyed putting together a speech, following instructions on how to improve its organization. Re-evaluating his work and writing a more-focused speech – even before presenting it to the club – gave Tom extra confidence in his skills.

The meetings offered Tom emotional benefits as well. During a stressful time in his life, his club activities allowed him to escape to a place of camaraderie and support. Getting to know his fellow Toastmasters through their speeches made networking fun and easy. He relished the opportunity to network with all kinds of people. Tom says, “I met people working in different industries and enjoyed the opportunity to meet a diversified group.”

And the speeches – even those that were not work-related – really affected him. “People shared about their personal lives,” he says, “with wonderful quality and content to their speeches.” He learned that these personal perspectives make speeches more compelling and engaging. “They were passionate about their subject matter. It worked for the speakers and us, the audience.”  He soon discovered the lessons learned in the club improved his job-related speaking, as well.

To his own amazement, Tom had fun and learned a lot during his seven-month break from a job. And while he says it was uncomfortable to be job hunting in a difficult economy, he looks back at his experiences in Toastmasters with fondness. His new job doesn't allow the time to attend the morning meetings of his old club. But he wonders about finishing those other eight projects in the Competent Communication manual. Who knows? Maybe he’ll start a corporate club in his new company!

She’s getting through it
Another example is Paula Harris, a “local market sales manager” with Avis Budget Group before she was laid off along with a thousand other employees in a cost-cutting measure last September. Paula joined Toastmasters a few weeks later with a plan to become more confident and an effective speaker. “I did have to do some public speaking at my last job and want to feel more comfortable and confident when I am speaking in front of others.”

Paula hopes to soon land another job in marketing or account management and is preparing herself for the position by attending club meetings. “I want to increase my self-confidence and leadership skills and feel comfortable speaking in front of an audience,” she says.

Though Paula’s journey is just beginning, she appears positive and confident when speaking in her new club. Recently, she gave her Ice Breaker speech and stood in front of the lectern, presenting her story without the use of notes. She performed well and received a round of well-deserved applause at the end. Beaming, she returned to her seat and was all smiles for the rest of the meeting. Though Paula hasn't yet taken advantage of any networking opportunities, she does see the benefit of being in the group. She says, “Everyone is so friendly and supportive that I believe this is a group I can learn from.”

With that kind of attitude, Paula will no doubt make it through this trying time and move up to the next step in her career. And with the support of her friends in Toastmasters, she will definitely be smiling when she gets there.

This article was originally publish at the Toastmasters International website. You can find free resources and more articles like this at Toastmasters International Free Resources .