More Tips for Toastmasters

 More tips for Toastmasters. 

 I have given this educational Moment every 4 or 5 weeks for the past many months and I will continue periodically as it is interesting to think about tips for being a betterToastmaster. 

PAUSE:  Before Addressing your audience, pause for a few seconds/ This will gain their attention and increase impact. 

 The power of the pause is a very good tip to use at the begginign fo a speech as well as in the middle or even end. When you want too give your audience some time to think of the impact of your point a pause can be very effective

Ask a thought-provoking question. Capture the audience’s attention by asking a question they may not know the answer to. For example, “Do you know why the sky is blue? It’s a question many kids ask their parents as kids, and I’m honestly not sure I could explain it without a Google search. But I do know what will turn the sky from blue to grey, and that’s pollution.”

  Compelling or interesting questions can be a great way to get the attention of you audience!   Maybe even give a cliff hanger with the question IE: DO you all know why the Sky is blue?  We will get to that question in a moment! 

Share a startling fact. Everyone loves an interesting piece of information. Be sure to share something that audience will find surprising.

What is startling fact?  It could be almost anything. 

Example:  Did you know that hippos can't swim?!     And of course go on to explain they are so big and heavy they actually walk along the bottom of rivers and bodies of water rather than swim. 

  

Reference for tips for toastmasters:

https://www.toastmasters.org/about/90th-anniversary/90-tips

The Three R's of Preparing to Evaluate

  This weeks educational Moment comes from an article by Justin Bordessa DTM  published in Toastmasters magazine in March of 2020. 

Evaluating a speech should be more than just listening to it and quickly filling out an evaluation form. Preparation is a key ingredient, and without doing our homework ahead of time, we lessen the impact of our speech evaluations. For the past few years, I have been using a technique that centers around a three-step process I call the “Three R’s”: Reach Out, Research, and Reflect. 

1 Reach Out.

Your first step as a speech evaluator is to connect with the speaker to collect information that will help facilitate their growth and motivate them to continue to progress. Assuming the speaker is working in Pathways, find out what project they’re working on and download it from the Tutorials and Resources page in Base Camp, the online learning management system for Pathways. (Or have them send you a copy of that project’s evaluation resource.) Second, ask if the speaker has any additional skills they want you to focus on during your evaluation (such as vocal variety). Finally, ask about the speaker’s overarching goal in Toastmasters (why they joined, what skills they hope to gain). This information can also provide motivational leverage for your evaluation.

 

2 Research.

Once you know the project and the speaker’s motivational touchpoints, familiarize yourself with the learning and competencies of the project. Review the project description you downloaded. Then, read it again, highlighting main points and taking notes to ensure understanding. Reach out to seasoned evaluators in your club and your Vice President Education for additional effective evaluation strategies.

3 Reflect.

Think back on any of the speaker’s recent performances—a past speech, a meeting role, Table Topics, etc. What strengths did they exhibit? What could they have improved? What comments did they receive from other members? Having this information for the evaluation allows you to recognize any improvements in the speaker’s performance—be it an even better display of their strengths or showing more polish in making a point. Recognition of improvement is a critical element in motivating others, and a successful evaluation is a motivational evaluation.

 

By the time you are ready to evaluate the speech, you’ll have a solid foundation for providing thoughtful and valuable feedback, both verbally and in your evaluation scores. The Pathways evaluation criteria allow for specific and detailed feedback, so don’t wing an evaluation on the spot. Preparing ahead of time allows you to offer not only your insight to the speaker but also important motivation for their next speech.

https://www.toastmasters.org/magazine/magazine-issues/2020/mar/the-three-rs-of-preparing-to-evaluate

Guidance from Toastmasters International Regarding Responsible use of Artificial Intelligence. (AI).

  In the most recent leader letter it highlighted that Toastmasters has come out with guidance for the use of AI in Toastmasters.  We have talked some about AI and how it can be a very effective tool to help in many areas including Speech writing. Speech ideas and so forth. 

Leader Letter page

The following quite is from the October 2026 Leader Letter.  

"Responsible AI Use: New Guidance — As AI tools become more common, Toastmasters has established guidance in Protocol 4.0 to help members use them responsibly. The new section outlines expectations for ethical AI use, data privacy, intellectual property protection, brand compliance, and disclosure of AI-generated content. Review the updated protocol for details."

  The Section referenced in the above quote, Protocol 4.0 talks about ethical use of AI as a toastmaster.  

   I have shared in other educational moments a little about AI and how I have used it for speech ideas and having it help with Table Topics questions. AI is a wonderful tool but that is what it should be used as a tool.  You should still be the one to write and verify your speeches contents and verify the accuracy of the information etc. 

"5. Artificial Intelligence (AI)

1. Toastmasters members are responsible for ensuring that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is used ethically, transparently, and in ways that uphold the integrity of the organization and its brand.

   1. AI is a tool. It should not replace human judgment. All AI-generated and AI-assisted content must be thoroughly reviewed by a human before use.

   2. Ensure that AI-generated content:

      1. Does not include misinformation or unintended errors

      2. Makes sense in the context of its intended audience and purpose

   3. All AI-generated content must:

      1. Align with the Toastmasters core values (Integrity, Respect, Service, and Excellence)

      2. Be used in a way that reflects positively on Toastmasters International and its mission

      3. Avoid misleading, deceptive, or harmful content

      4. Comply with all applicable laws and local regulations"

         
         

         
         

         
         

         
         

         
         

         
         

         
         

Why Should I Participate in Speech Contests?

    I have participated in speech contests many times over the years, and I highly recommend that all of you consider it as well. I believe it expands your speaking abilities in several distinct ways.

  

First, it gives you a brand-new audience. We all get comfortable in our club environment, and that is genuinely a good thing! We want our members to feel comfortable giving speeches and participating as quickly as possible. However, this comfort can also lead to a bit of coasting.

I remember a year or two into my Toastmasters journey, I volunteered to be a test speaker for an Area evaluation contest. I ended up in downtown Denver, in a basement room at the RTD headquarters. The audience was considerably larger than my home club—I am guessing around 50 people. I remember welcoming back those old, familiar friends: the butterflies in my stomach. I hadn't been that nervous in a long time! But I like to think of anxiety as just extra energy, and you can direct that energy right into the performance of your speech. It was a great experience that broadened my horizons significantly. While this example was a test speaker being the contest speaker has the same implications. 

  Second, contests force you to refine and hone your material. Many times in our regular club meetings and Pathways paths, we prepare, practice, and deliver a speech once, only to file it away, never to be performed again. For a contest, you will practice that speech many times. If you win and move on to the next level, you will practice and refine it even more. It requires a level of polishing and editing that most standard club speeches just don't get.

 
Finally, it builds an even deeper level of confidence. Performing in front of larger, unfamiliar audiences builds your speaking muscles.

After being in Toastmasters for all these years, I know how easy it is to fall into "coast mode" or to just go through the motions. I encourage you all to think about participating in the upcoming speech contests. Club contests will begin this January, featuring the International Speech Contest and the Tall Tales Contest. Challenge yourself, step out of your comfort zone, and see how much you can grow!

The "Disappearing Story Tool" Interview: From Raw Memory to Speech Outline

📝 The "Disappearing Story Tool" Interview: From Raw Memory to Speech Outline

The following is a live demonstration of how to recreate the logic of Toastmasters’ deleted Story Collection tool using a simple, five-step guided interview process. You can use this exact framework on your own computer to pull a raw memory out of your head and structure it for the stage.

👥 The Guided Framework

Step 1: The Raw Spark

• The Coach: Give me a one- or two-sentence summary of a raw memory, mistake, or moment from your life. Don't worry about structure yet.
• The Speaker: "One of my first memories as a young child, I am thinking probably 3 or 4 years old. I had wandered out of the yard and scared my Dad something awful. I remember him shaking me so hard I bit my tongue. He was yelling, 'I told you to not go outside the fence!' I with huge eyes scared nodded yes and he said 'Why did you do it!' He then said, 'Get back in the yard and don't do it again!'"

Step 2: Sensory Mapping

• The Coach: What did the scene look or sound like? We need a concrete physical detail to anchor the audience in that exact moment.
• The Speaker: "The yard was a rural-looking property, even though it was in the Lakewood suburbs—it was a 1-acre lot. The fence was not much; it was a basic wire fence. I was just on the other side of that fence by the road when he found me."

Step 3: The Internal Shift

• The Coach: What was the contrast in your feelings? What were you experiencing before the panic, and what did you feel during it?
• The Speaker: "My stepbrothers and I were playing outside. They were 3 and 6 years older. They went outside the fence, so in my 3-year-old mind, I thought it must be okay if they are doing it, even though Dad said not to. I was having a blissful, peaceful moment before my Dad found me."

Step 4: Crafting the Climax

• The Coach: Pinpoint the exact dialogue and physical tension at the peak of the story. How do we bring this to life on stage?
• The Speaker: [The Climax focuses on the physical shock of being shaken, the sting of a bitten tongue, and the terrifying contrast between a towering, panicked father and a silent, wide-eyed 3-year-old child trapped by the wire fence next to the open road.]

🤖 Putting It Together

I then asked AI to put my story together into one unified paragraph:

One of my earliest memories is a blissful, peaceful moment when I was just three or four years old, playing on our one-acre, rural-looking property in the Lakewood suburbs. My stepbrothers, who were three and six years older, wandered outside our basic wire fence, and in my toddler mind, I figured if they were doing it, it must be okay—even though my dad had strictly told us not to. I followed them out and was standing just on the other side of that wire fence right by the road when my dad suddenly found me. Terrified out of his mind, he grabbed me and shook me so hard that I bit my tongue. With my eyes huge and wide with fear, I silently nodded as he yelled, “I told you to not go outside the fence! Why did you do it!” before finally commanding, “Get back in the yard and don’t do it again!”

💾 Build Your Independent Story Bank

This is just one idea of how to use Google AI to help transform your raw memories into structured stories, and then create a local folder to save these files in your own independent "story bank."

If you spend just five or ten minutes a couple of times a week recording a story or two, in no time you will build an entire personal library of narratives pulled directly from your own memories and experiences. This will prove to be an invaluable resource for you in your future speech projects!

What do I choose for a speech topic?

https://www.toastmasters.org/magazine/magazine-issues/2023/apr/back-to-the-basics-speech-topics

  This article is a great catalyst for thinking about what to speak on. I feel like the possibilities for speech topics are all around us all the time and we sometimes discount them as something no one would be interested in. I would counter that thought with People are very interested! 

 The most obvious is perhaps to pull from your own life:

•  What joys have you experienced?
•  What challenges have you faced and overcome.
•  What challenges are you now dealing with? 
•  What surprising things happened to you? 
•  What was your first car and how did you pay for it? 
•  What are you interests? 
•  Hobbies? 
•  Profession?
•  Places you have traveled?
•  People you have meet?
•  What inspires you and why?
•  What makes you laugh? 
•  What saddens you and how can you or we make it   better? 
• 
  
• What table topics questions do you think were so good you can make an entire speech from it?

I remember George Carlin the comedian had as part of his comedy routine (Especially back in the 80’s and 90”s)  He said If two or more people are doing something there is a magazine about it! He would go on to say “there is a magazine for WALKING!”  He would yell the word “walking” and emphasize how something so common has a magazine about it. It was very funny one quote was “Look here is an article “Putting one foot in front of another”.  Speech topics are like this if you do something probably that could be made into a speech! A speech bout walking? Sure maybe it could be how walking changed your life with better physical fitness or maybe some places in they world you walked!

Bottom line is You are interesting and we all want to hear about you and your life! 

 If you follow the link at the top of this post there is a video about this about 3/4 way down the page which is good,  also there is a list of other articles at the bottom of that one.   

Explorations: Online Meeting Mastery

  If you want to sharpen a few specific skills but don’t feel like committing to a whole new multi-level path right now, Toastmasters has a new option that fits the bill. They just rolled out something called "Explorations."These are shorter, targeted modules meant for quick, practical learning.

The first one is live now, and it's a solid option for anyone looking to build up their skills or help the club hit its upcoming targets. Here is the breakdown:

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• Bite-Sized Deep Dives: "Explorations" are shorter, specialized learning modules within Pathways designed for rapid skill-building without the long-term commitment of a full path.
• Three Targeted Projects: The premier module lets you dive deep into three specific projects covering how to effectively attend virtual meetings, deliver online presentations, and lead online sessions.
• Pricing: The Online Meeting Mastery exploration is available for a one-time purchase of just $15 USDon the platform.
• Easy Platform Access: You can find and buy it directly by navigating to the “Additional Learning”section of the “Choose My Learning” page inside the standard Toastmasters Learning Hub.
• Earns Full Club Credit: Completing an exploration satisfies a Level 2 slot for the club, counting as a direct substitution toward your DCP Goals 2 or 3.
• Distinct Member Recognition: While it benefits the club like a Level 2, your personal Member Overview Dashboard tracks and celebrates it specifically as a completed exploration under your “Completed Learning” history.
• Simple VPE Approval: Once you finish the projects, your club's Vice President Education (VPE) simply logs into Club Central to submit and claim the educational credit for the club.

Take the Next Step

If you want to give it a shot, log into the website, head over to Base Camp, and check it out under the additional learning section. It’s a quick way to knock out three projects and give the club a boost at the same time.

https://www.toastmasters.org/magazine/magazine-issues/2026/september/explore-online-meetings

https://www.toastmasters.org/Education/Pathways/Pathways%20Paths%20and%20Projects