Tag Archives: Toastmasters Mannheim

06 Apr

Not foolish but creative — our online meetings in April

Our meetings in April will be in “classic” Toastmasters style. You can expect interesting speeches, an extraordinary portion of entertainment in Table Topics and valuable feedback supporting everyone in improving public speaking and leadership skills.
Starting her journey with Toastmasters Amina is going to present her Icebreaker and introduces herself to the Club. Working on the path of “Visionary Communication” Ximeng is going to focus on “Effective Body Language” — for sure a challenge when using a webcam. Everyone is welcome to get better in impromptu speaking as Table Topics will be part of each meeting.
Wanna contribute with a “Creative Mind”? Choose whatever you like for a short presentation in the beginning of the meeting and train yourself to catch the audience’s attention. As usual meetings will be held with Skype and guests are welcome without any obligations. If you have questions feel free to contact us!

02 Jun

Make them say “Yes” (2/2)

As a speaker you try to convince the audience of your opinion. They should agree to the major views of the speech. Apart from the contents there are certain techniques that can be uses for to create a feeling of firm conviction. Proceeding one of the previous posts I’d like to give some more suggestions that are based on Robert Cialdini’s principles of persuasion.

Liking or “just be nice”

Have you heard that a waiter in a restaurant can increase the tip simply by adding another peppermint sweet to the bill in front of the customers? Showing sympathy to someone increases your chance that she / he will agree with your own needs. So try to buil a good relationship to your audience. How can you do so if you have just limited time in your speach? Some ideas:

  • use positive body language techniques,
  • share something personal with the audience that makes them feel special
  • show appreciation that people came along to listen to your speech.

Authority or “the prove by power”

Usually we tend to follow people in positions of authority, we feel more obliget to accept what they say. Most of us will do what our managers request us to do or agree with someone who is in a high position.
For this reason try to find a prominent and outstanding personality of your point of view or your proposal. Got a quote or an example given or experience by a well known person with best reputation? Brilliant — take her / him to strengthen your thesis.

Scarcity or “now or never”

If people have the feeling that they might miss something if not acting immediately they decide quicker. To pile pressure on customers limited stock or closing dates for special offers are announced to gain a buying decision on the spot. That way you can influence your audience if you expect them to support your idea or project. By exposing an urgent problem that can (only) be solved by your suggestion your audience will likely agree. When speaking in front of a decision-making body point out the need for a clear and positive decision.

Give it a try, working with the specified techniques will make the audience agree to the strong points and ideas of your speech!

pictures:
Jetti Kuhlemann / pixelio.de
Tim Reckmann / pixelio.de

04 Aug

Improve your public speaking skills at BASFToastmasters

Get to know Toastmasters International and the regular club meetings held on site at BASF in Ludwigshafen. During our first evening sessions we want to explain the idea behind Toastmasters and show how you can improve your public speaking skills. Each meeting will include

  • a warm up session to get to know each other,
  • Table Topics ® short impromptu speeches presented by the participants (no preparation in advance needed),
  • prepared speeches presented by experienced Toastmasters,
  • feedback on prepared speeches,
  • more information about Toastmasters International.

Meeting information:
Thu Sep 12th, 2013
Thu Sep 26th, 2013
Mon Oct 14th, 2013
Mon Oct 28th, 2013
starting at 6:15 pm for a duration of about 1 1⁄2 hours;
BASF SE, Ludwigshafen,
C104, room 240 (2nd floor), next to gates 1/2/7.
If interested, please contact us by e-mail or phone.