Toastmasters Speech Series: Your Guide to the First 10 Speeches
This is the first article of the Toastmasters Speech Series — a collection of articles which examines the fundamentals of public speaking.
For Toastmasters and non-Toastmasters alike, these articles show how you can graduate from speaking fear to inspiring your audience.
The format for the series will be one article for each of the ten speeches which comprise the introductory Toastmasters manual — the Competent Communicator Manual.
- The Ice Breaker
- Organize Your Speech
- Get to the Point
- How To Say It
- Your Body Speaks
- Vocal Variety
- Research Your Topic (coming next)
- Get Comfortable With Visual Aids
- Persuade With Power
- Inspire Your Audience
For Toastmasters and Non-Toastmasters Alike
If you are a Toastmaster, this is your guide through the first ten speeches. For each speech project, we’ll look at tips, techniques, and wherever possible, written and video examples of speeches which demonstrate the goals.
If you are not a Toastmaster, consider this an introductory public speaking course. Each of the 10 speeches covers one fundamental skill for public speakers. This is the solid formula on which the Toastmasters program is based. If you’ve never joined Toastmasters or taken a public speaking course, this series will be a primer for you.
Overview of the First Ten Toastmasters Speeches
As the articles are published, each of these will turn into links to those articles.
- Speech 1: The Ice Breaker — The first speech of the Toastmasters program is about introducing yourself to your peers, providing a benchmark for your current skill level, and standing and speaking without falling over.
- Speech 2: Organize Your Speech — Introduces the basic concepts of organizing a speech around a speech outline.
- Speech 3: Get to the Point — Clearly state your speech goal, and make sure that every element of your speech focuses on that goal.
- Speech 4: How to Say It — Examines word choice, sentence structure, and rhetorical devices.
- Speech 5: Your Body Speaks — Shows how to complement words with posture, stance, gestures, facial expressions, and eye contact.
- Speech 6: Vocal Variety — Guides you to add life to your voice with variations in pitch, pace, power, and pauses.
- Speech 7: Research Your Topic — Addresses the importance of backing up your arguments with evidence, and touches on the types of evidence to use.
- Speech 8: Get Comfortable With Visual Aids — Examines the use of slides, transparencies, flip charts, whiteboards, or props.
- Speech 9: Persuade With Power — Discusses audience analysis and the different forms of persuasion available to a speaker.
- Speech 10: Inspire Your Audience — The last of ten speeches, this project challenges the speaker to draw all their skills together to deliver a powerful inspirational message.
Sample Written Speeches and Speech Videos
Each article will include several examples of real speeches written and delivered by Toastmasters.
The purpose of including these samples is not to say “Look, here’s the right way to do this project.” In fact, there is no single “right way.”
Instead, I hope these sample speeches will provide ideas and inspiration for you as you search for relevant topics from your own life experiences.
Next in the Toastmasters Speech Series
The next article in this series addresses Speech 1: The Ice Breaker.
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Comments for "Toastmasters Speech Series: Your Guide to the First 10 Speeches"
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Excellent work !!!
Keep it up.
I’ll see how I can contribute.Cheers,
TM Shashi -
This is very good information. I found this since I was looking for information on Toastmasters. I’m definitely going to be joining.
I can’t wait to see the rest of the speeches get posted.
Thanks
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Please could you let me know when you are doing the rest of the manual?
These are very helpful.
Thanks
Jacqui -
Excellent info – now one doesnt need to read the CC Manual – everything’s here on a click…
Keep up the gud work
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I found your articles and links to the examples and your analysis very helpful in my project speeches ( 1 to 4).
However you have not gone beyond Project 4. Recently I gave my Project 5 speech (Your Body Speaks). The text is available at http://toastmasterspeeches.blogspot.com/2009/04/project-5-speech-ragging-learning.html.
Please feel free to refer it in your article if you think it is worthwhile. -
Well, I guess they gave up on the CC series, I’ve been checking back for months and months waiting for number 5, in the meantime I have completed 3 and 4 in my own club, I guess I’ll trudge on through 5 with no extra help… I’m getting more confidence, so I guess I don’t need it.
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It will be really great if this series is resumed. Meanwhile I guess for the ones who are seeking tips on Project 5 (Body Language) and Project 6 (Vocal Variety) can refer to Speech Preparation series #7
http://sixminutes.dlugan.com/2008/03/08/speech-preparation-7-staging-gestures-vocal-variety/
It proved to be really useful for my Project 6 speech.
http://toastmasterspeeches.blogspot.com/2009/05/project-6-speech-michaels-story.html -
This is very great Blog. I find so many useful resources here. Could you please continue the toastmasters post series
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Here is an an example of Project 7 speech – Research Your Topic. Recently we had general elections in India and we used Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). I did some research on the process of electronic voting and the EVMs based on which I gave this speech.
Here is the link http://toastmasterspeeches.blogspot.com/2009/06/project-7-speech-electronic-voting.html -
My Project 8 Speech ( Get comfortable with visual aids) was inspired by 3 short articles in Paulo Coelho’s book “Like the Flowing River”.
It was all about the wisdom we can gain from common day to day objects. I used a currency note, a pencil and some bananas as props. The speech was very well received in my club. Here is the link to the same http://toastmasterspeeches.blogspot.com/2009/07/project-8-speech-wisdom-wisdom.html -
Sponsor a Girl Child. This was my topic for Project 9 (Persuade with Power Speech). I talked about Nanhi Kali a project in India which is doing a yeoman service in securing the sponsorships for educating girls from underpriveleged sections of the society. I have been associated with this project for last 10 years and in my speech I tried to persuade the Toastmasters to sponsor at least one girl. The speech was well received. Here is the link
http://toastmasterspeeches.blogspot.com/2009/09/project-9-speech-sponsor-girl-child.html -
I’m almost afraid to delve into any more of these videos as I’ve looked at quite a few already and they scare me. Because speakers don’t seem to realize that speaking is performing and so their voices are week, their energry is low, their speech sounds memorized but here goes.
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Barbara:
Don’t forget that many of the Toastmasters members in these videos are taking their very first public speaking steps. It’s okay that they are not yet polished speechwriters or speakers. That’s why have committed themselves to improvement through Toastmasters.
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