Are you keen to make your talks more interesting and memorable, so your audience ‘get’ your message and can act on it?  Would you love to be able to engage with your audience, and help them feel at ease, even when the topic is challenging?  Are you inspired and entertained by the humorous speakers and comedians you see around you, but unsure how to create that impact yourself?
If so, the Bradford Speaks “Humour Night” is for you!

On Wednesday August 7^th, we will be joined by not one but TWO experienced Toastmasters – Kate Trafford and Jean Stewart – who can help you to…

• Add humour to your talks for impact and comic relief.
• Find the courage to take small risks, so you can grow and learn as a speaker – and have fun along the way.
• Discover your own unique style of humour, so you can be funny and still be YOU!

When? Wednesday 7^th August, 18.15 for 18.30 start.
Where? The Midland Hotel, Forster Square, Bradford, BD1 4HU (free parking available)

Kate Trafford is a Master Coach and trainer who loves to help her clients experience effortless and authentic success.  She has been a member of Warrington Toastmasters for over 5 years and, in April last year, committed to working through the ‘Humorous Speaking’ Toastmasters Advanced Manual because she was “totally not funny, but wanted to be”!  In September, as a stretch outside her comfort zone, she entered the Toastmasters ‘Humorous Speech Contest’, winning through the Club, Area and Division contests, and eventually taking Second Place at the District Finals in Norwich!  Kate will present her winning speech ‘Welcome to the CFA!’ and then share what she learned during her Contest experience.

Jean Stewart is the published author of two books, “How to Make Your Presentations More Memorable” and “How to ensure business failure”, known for her quirky sense of humour.  She been a member of Toastmasters in Doncaster for over 7 years, and is about to achieve one of the highest accolades, Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM).  Jean will draw on her extensive experience giving corporate presentations – and stepping up to the ‘Open Mic’ in Comedy Clubs – to provide us with a wealth of information on what makes people laugh and how you too can add humour to your talks.

18 months ago, had you told me that one of my favourite hobbies would be being part of a public speaking group, I would never have believed you.

In the past, I’ve had to give presentations as part of my studies and in my field of work. From the moment it was scheduled into my diary, I was filled with dread. The “I wish time would slow down so I don’t have to do this” type of dread, the type of dread that would make my heart race, my face go red and make my voice waver. Once on stage I would speak at 100mph to get it all out and done with, then sit down, totally unsure and unaware of how my message had been received. This is such a lost opportunity as everyone has something amazing to share, they just need to unlock that potential and learn to “get it out!” to deliver a really striking message.

What changed? I realised that public speaking is such a key skill that pops up in SO MANY areas of life, not just scheduled slots at events / conferences / assemblies. I also wanted increased confidence in those moments in a meeting when the chairperson turns to you and asks “what do you think?”, or being amongst friends over dinner and trying to persuade them en masse to do something with you or for you, not to mention job interviews in front of a panel. I wanted to discover that elusive secret to speaking confidently on the spot!

 

How the Toastmaster’s Pathway programs develop you as a speaker

Last week I (voluntarily, happily and with great enjoyment!) completed my final speech of a level one Toastmasters “pathway” – a structured development programme of five levels, which allows you to chose a focus area to develop in. My chosen pathway programme is Persuasive Influence which contains lots of interesting projects designed to develop my public speaking and leadership with a focus on influence. During level one I spoke about topics I’m passionate about including environment, well-being and travel, with each speech ranging from 5-7 minutes.

What did I learn during level one of my first toastmaster pathway?

– To own the stage – the coaching I received encouraged me that an area to develop on was to take up more space when I was up front. I learned some great stagecraft techniques to add emphasis to my speech content.

– To structure a speech in a way which takes the audience on a journey and inspires them to action. I received some great insights on how to start, to connect sections, to deliver a message and then how to close powerfully.

– To use pace and tone of voice to add interest and emphasis to particular areas of my speeches. Who would have known you can be in control of deliberate pauses in order to build emphasis, before coming to Toastmasters I was worried a pause would make it look like I didn’t know what I was talking about!

A bit about my journey: 

Whilst searching for public speaking courses/groups, I came across Bradford Speaks and decided to invest in developing myself. I found the group to be so friendly, fun, welcoming and supportive – where members help and coach each other. It’s a misconception that a public speaking group is full of highly-polished, perfect speakers –  we really are a group of all abilities. You don’t come to a public speaking group because you are a perfect speaker (there is no such thing!) – you come because you are on your own personal journey and you want to keep learning and improving.

I’m now looking forward to getting stuck into the level two programme. If you are interested in coming along to try us out, please drop us an email on admin@bradfordspeaks.co.uk : We look forward to seeing you!

Come along and find out more about Bradford Speaks and Toastmasters International at our Open Evening.

We have a meeting full of speakers and activities that will demonstrate the power of public speaking and how it can impact your life improving your communication skills, your confidence and your employment opportunities.

Thousands of people around the world have worked through the Toastmasters International development programmes and this has turned their lives around.

Over the last two years we have had similar successes with our members in Bradford who have had to provide presentations to peers, attend networking events on behalf of their company and attend interviews for new jobs.  They have all enjoyed a boost in confidence through public speaking and being able to take on these tasks with great success.

Our open evening is for you to come along and find out more so let this be a first step on your journey of personal development.

See you on 19th June 2019 at 6.15pm.

RSVP admin@bradfordspeaks.co.uk  to confirm your attendance.

We are living in a time that our employers, our clients, our online community and colleagues within our voluntary projects, to name a few, expect us to speak more, not just speak but present, argue and persuade. Where are we going to learn these skills now, youtube, online course, one-day training course or a frequent and dedicated club who will allow you to learn and practice in a safe and friendly environment?

I recently went to a networking event where people had to stand up and introduce themselves and their business….whoa…. what? You go to something often and have to speak and you don’t think it might be important to develop that skill.  How do you know you’ve done a good job,  how do you when you’ve done a bad job, probably when it’s too late and you don’t get enough business.  Then you say ‘…that networking group didn’t work for me…’  IT’S NOT THE GROUP!

There are some great tips, training, examples and ideas online but I came across a few one-day courses priced at £795, £995  and so on… Bradford Speaks gives you a year’s membership with roughly 22 meetings per year, 2 hours per meeting giving approximately 44 hours of learning and practicing for £120….no it’s not a typo….it’s true.

Don’t waste any money or time – Join today and start now CLICK HERE

I’m not a big fan of quoting The Guardian but every now and then they do come up with something that makes sense such as this article on Public Speaking (surprise surprise!).

Not only are there some good references but a few tips too, enjoy.

Read the article here… 

Wednesday 18th July

Just a reminder that our next meeting is on Wednesday 18th July at 6.15pm for 6.30pm start at The Midland Hotel, Bradford,  it would be great to see there.

I came across a piece on the internet about how Warren Buffett conquered his fear of public speaking CLICK HERE

Our agenda for the next meeting includes:-

• Prepared speeches by members.
• and our amazingly popular TABLE TOPICS section (impromptu speaking).

Bradford Speaks is a public speaking group providing a perfect environment for members and visitors to learn and develop their public speaking skills.

This subject line was just one of the topics in our impromptu speaking session this evening as well as what would you do and why if you won the lottery and the best birthday ever.

The speakers, all first-timers, did an amazing job being able to speak between 1 and 2 minutes on their respective topics.

Impromptu speaking gives speakers a great opportunity to develop their capability and thinking skills to formulate speeches quickly and deliver them with confidence.

‘It’s not how you handle yourself when you are prepared, that demonstrates your leadership, it’s how you handle yourself when you are least prepared…’  Peter Khoury

Here are just some examples of speeches that may be asked of you when you might least expect it:-

1. Introducing yourself at networking events.
2. Filling in for a late speaker.
3. You are asked to give a toast at a company party.
4. You get asked a question you did not prepare for while on a panel.
5. Job interview questions from left field.
6. You are interviewed by a reporter.
7. You get pulled into a meeting to give an update.
8. There is unexpected push back on your ideas at a company meeting.
9. Say a goodbye speech to a departing employee.
10. Your college refers to you in the middle of a presentation for input.

Thank you to all who came along and made this evening a great meeting….albeit very warm 🙂

We are so excited this week because we have a couple of prepared speeches by members.

Meeting starts at 6.30pm at the Midland Hotel.  Looking forward to welcoming you.

Tonight we had four people who took on roles for the very first time.

This meant that members had the opportunity to speak and lead their part of the meeting.

For two people it took preparation before the meeting and exercising their listening skills during the meeting. The evaluation roles required a great deal of courage and as much confidence one can muster.

It was fabulous to see these two people face their fears and step up to an uncomfortable position and test themselves.

Joining Bradford Speaks has allowed these people to follow a program of developing their speaking skills as well as speaking and leading at meetings which tonight is a turning point for some of our members.