My 1st Rule Of Toastmasters: More Stage Time

When a speaker cancels last minute, snag the slot, take the stage, do your best, unpack the 2-1/2 Star result, as you would for a 5-Star outing.

It’s called “Take The Stage” because nobody gives it to you — in Toastmasters and in life — the stage is there for the taking. Failure to Take is just that.

Yesterday a speaker cancelled last minute. So, I took the stage last minute. Less than five minutes of planning. I’m like, “What’s fresh in my mind and has some heat associated with it? Ahh — I’ve got it — yesterday’s sales meeting!’

Herewith is the confusing, non-linear result.

Notes/Questions/Reminders To Self

• Retitle: Situational Persuasion

  • We are not all salespeople as such. But, we can all benefit by mastering some basic persuasive techniques.

• Drop the confusing opening reference to Antifragility

• Why is the core subject matter of this speech not part of every curriculum at every level?

• The speaker before me gave a speech about a book called GRIT written by Angela Duckworth, a MacArthur Genius with a Wharton Ph.D. in Psychology.

• When I challenge a fellow member to “Sell me this pen?” he actually responds immediately with the question: “Do you need a pen?” He literally does what I am criticizing my sales team for not doing. But, I am so inside my head writing while speaking, that I completely miss it.

• Spend more time ratcheting up the tension, and by extension, the humor, by spending more time comparing men to women and vice versa. Walk right into the fire. Fully commit to the premise that men are more likely to go for the kill than women. Then add that women are more likely to get the details right. Lots of fodder for humor here, especially in this quasi-corporate setting when people are not even allowed to think about the differences between men and women, much less actually speak about it on the fly.

---

JOIN US!

• You Are Invited To Audit A HiFi Speakers Toastmasters Meeting

  • If you live in San Diego, I would love to meet you at one of HiFi’s weekly meetings in Carmel Valley (92130). Meetings are open to all, and free to attend, with or without advance notice. Bring a friend!

    • HiFi Speakers’ Official Site

    • Location: 12790 El Camino Real, 1st Floor, San Diego, 92130

      • Plenty of free parking.

    • Meeting Time: Every Thursday, 12:00-1:00

      • If this is your lunch hour, bring a sandwich. Please time your bites carefully, so when the laughs hit you do not pass Jersey Mike through your nose.

        • You have been warned.

~Mark Whitney, President, HiFi Speakers