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Pat Johnson, International President of Toastmasters International
Speeches are important to our life and career, and we must perform them well. What is a good speech?
A good speech is primarily about the audience; about meeting their needs and delivering on your purpose for speaking – whether it is to entertain, inform or inspire. A good speech uses language that listeners can relate to. It is well-researched and typically on a topic that the speaker is passionate about.
A good speech transitions from one idea to another and is easy to follow. It moves the audience emotionally by invoking fear, excitement, sadness or joy. We may not always remember specific facts or statements, but we remember how stories make us feel.
How can we become good speakers?
I, of course, suggest you join a Toastmasters club in your company or community. This will allow you to practice and gain confidence while getting timely, relevant feedback from a mentor. Stay focused on your purpose for speaking and do not digress. Create an inventory of your personal experiences to support your speech’s main points.
Watch yourself and your habits. There must be congruency between who you are, what you are speaking about and your body language. Always challenge yourself to try new techniques and to grow. Go to the place where you are uncomfortable and work to become comfortable. Work on improving yourself because you are your message.
Toastmasters International has helped people with their public speaking needs for more than 80 years. What are the main fear factors?
Fear is irrational. People are typically afraid of not being liked by the audience, losing their place during a speech, being misunderstood or not being fully prepared. Our lack of confidence will play many mind games with our psyche. It is important for the speaker to realize that the audience typically can’t tell you are nervous, so try to focus on the message and the audience and not on yourself.
How do you support people to overcome their fear, to grow their leadership and communication skills?
We provide a supportive learning environment within our Toastmasters clubs; it’s like a laboratory where we get to experiment with our communication and leadership skills through regular practice. We provide immediate, supportive feedback to one another and offer suggestions for improvement. Because we are an educational organization, the focus always remains on supporting one another through mentoring and supportive comments.
We also have training events that support the development of our skills in both communication and leadership.
Our leadership experience stretches from local club levels all the way through area, division, district, region and ultimately, international level. Some individuals may eventually progress in leadership to serve on the Toastmasters Board of Directors as part of their leadership journey.
For your 80th Toastmasters International Convention from 17 to 20 August, 2011, you have chosen Las Vegas, Nevada. Why?
Las Vegas is a popular vacation destination that typically attracts a large attendance. It is easy to get to for an international audience, and offers a reasonable price point.
You expect nearly 2,000 delegates from 113 countries. Why is the annual convention so important for Toastmasters International?
It serves many purposes. We elect new officers and directors, train our international district leaders, educate and entertain our members, and celebrate our successes. We offer educational sessions and offer a series of speech contests, culminating in the World Championship of Public Speaking.
What are the main challenges for your organization these days?
My perspective on this is the associated challenges related to the globalization of an organization that originated as a grass-roots meeting in the basement of the YMCA. We encompass over 113 countries, with members that have many cultural, language, ethnic, economic and educational differences. Another challenge would be to keep pace with the rapid growth we are currently experiencing worldwide as people line up to be part of our program. Bringing about shared values across so much diversity brings its challenges, as does the goal of consistent product.
Toastmasters International is a non-profit educational organization that teaches public speaking and leadership skills through a worldwide network of meeting locations. Headquartered in Rancho Santa Margarita, California, the organization has more than 260,000 members in over 12,500 clubs in 113 countries. Since 1924, more than 4 million people around the world have become more confident speakers and leaders because of their participation in Toastmasters. www.toastmasters.org