Has this ever happened to you? You're standing in front of a microphone, you've been thinking of what you're going to say all day, maybe all month. You've rehearsed it in your mind a thousand times, and now that you're here, in the moment, you open your mouth, and you say . nothing. Or, you've mastered your emotions on a highly charged topic, pledged to yourself that you'll be cool, logical, unemotional, and instead your voice is strident, shaky, and you can see the immediate diminishing returns of all your preparation on the faces of people around you.
You may be running for council. You could be a grassroots community organizer speaking at a public hearing. You might be planning to ask for a raise at work, or suggest a new method or service that could make a huge difference to your company. You could be the person at the family or group gatherings who always thinks of the funny or pithy thing to say when everyone's gone home.
Speechcrafting can help you with all of these things. A carefully researched, prepared and rehearsed speech or presentation can be compelling, demand respect, and advance your personal or organizational goals or it can just help you relax and participate more comfortably in a wider range of social settings.
Sunshine Toastmasters, the Sechelt branch of Toastmasters International, is offering an innovative, four session series on speechcraft starting Sept. 18 at Rockwood Centre. Only $79 for the series, this program teaches participants how to create and deliver a prepared speech in front of an audience of peers by the final evening. Participants will be led and assisted by competent public speakers who have walked the talk and know what it feels like to miss an opportunity to drive a message home, and what it feels like to hit it out of the park with confidence and passion. The dates for the series are: Thursdays, Sept. 18 and 25, Oct. 2, and Wednesday, Oct. 8 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. To register, email [email protected] or call 604-885-0208.
