Do you sometimes tend to speak too fast during presentations?

🙋🏼‍♀️ in this video, Kristin Siegel explains how joining Munich Business Speakers- a Toastmasters club- has helped her to vary her speaking pace and vocal variety

👀Curious? Wanting to find out more about our club in general? Then be our guest, we meet the 1st and 3d Thursday of the month 🤗

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Internationaler Redewettbewerb

🚨Save the date🚨 Am 3.03 findet wieder unser Contest statt: Internationaler Redewettbewerb in Englisch und Redewettbewerb auf Deutsch 🗓

🚀 Eine großartige Erfahrung sowohl als Wettkämpfer als auch als Organisator oder Wettbewerbsrichter 

🏆 Wer bei den jeweiligen Wettbewerben gewinnt, vertritt unseren Club auf Area Level und tritt gegen die Gewinner:innen anderer Clubs an.


👀Curious? Wanting to find out more about our club in general? Then be our guest, we meet the 1st and 3d Thursday of the month 🤗
#MunichBusinessSpeakers#Toastmasters

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Learn how to make your anxiety a positive feeling for public speaking!

👉 Link: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/munich-business-speakers_joining-munichbusinessspeakers-helps-you-activity-6888802836784660480-y6TX

Are you feeling anxious whenever you need to present a subject in front of several people – especially at work? 🙈😱

In this video our president Jason Franklin indicates how joining #MunichBusinessSpeakers has helped him manage his anxiety and make it a positive feeling 🙌✅

Are you wondering why a public speaking club such as #MunichBusinessSpeakers could be valuable to you? Then be our guest and see for yourself 😄☀️
#toastmasters

Mentorship: Learn from (but especially with) others

Are you eager to improve your public speaking skills with someone more experienced ? 🎓🎤 
#munichbusinesspakers mentoring program is a great opportunity to do that! Naomi & Estelle have been working together and really much enjoy the process 👭🏼

Want to find out more about mentoring and public speaking 👏🏼? 
Then be our guest ! We have hybrid meetings so you can either join online or offline 💯 
#publicspeaking#mentoring#toastmasters

Great speech: Three ideas to help us achieve a more positive mindset

Peter Hall recently inspired us with three ideas to help us achieve a more positive mindset ☀️

From going to bed with your 3 things that you are grateful for, avoiding negative people and turning misfortunes and failures into a positive narrative, Peter gave a 7 minutes speech describing what has worked for him personally 🎤

Want to hear other great speeches? Then please be our guest ! 🤗 At our club you can join either in person or online via zoom: our meeting are hybrid 💯

Welcome to the new officers!

Today starts officially the new Officers Team Munich Business Speakers 🥰

President & VP Membership: Jason Franklin
VP Education: Anoop Kodakkal
VP Membership & Treasurer: Kristin Siegel
VP Public Relations: Estelle Places
Secretary: Nina Ivana Kallweit
Sergeant at arms & Last President: Naomi Susan Isaacs – international charisma consultant

Welcome to the new team and wishing you all the best for this year 🚀

Stay tuned for further informations regarding our club 🤗 #toastmasters#publicspeaking

Last meeting was very special 👌🏼:

Naomi Susan Isaacs – international charisma consultant was for the last time this year our president. Thank you so much to you and your team 😚
Her last words will remain: “You need to care about people. Your real job as a leader is to show appreciation for your team and involve everyone to make decisions” 💯 

Also, last night was the kickoff of our hybrid meetings ‼️ 
Obviously, the experience was very special 🍾

& We are all very much looking for further evenings 😄 

+ Welcome Stephanie Wolf within our community ! 

Stay tuned for further information regarding our club 🤗 #munichbusinessspeakers#toastmasters#publicspeaking

“Practice, practice, practice” – Interview with Meisam

Meisam is our past previous president. A lot of people remember his journey with the Munich Business Speakers. One member recalls “I was able to observe how, over time and practice, a timid young man gained confidence and developed charismatic stage presence.” Meisam continued his journey to this day with us. Today, he tells us about his major breakthrough  as well as the complementary effects of improtheater on public speaking.

 

Personal Journey

Meisam, how did your journey start ? 

 It started around 5 years ago. I was so scared to talk in front of people. Then I told myself that I have to finally deal with this issue. I searched on the web “how to get better in public speaking ” and  I found  Toastmaster in one of the results. I went further and visited a club. Later on I got in contact with an ex member of the Munich Business Speakers. She gave me the contact details, I visited one of the meetings and then decided to join.

How did it come that you later got interested in impro-theater as well?

The element of being spontaneous was something that I was missing in Toastmaster. Surely we have the table topic section, but it was not enough for me to practice spontaneity on stage. At the same time I had some personal issues going on. My therapist adviced me try impro theatre. The idea to finally overcome my fears greatly motivated me to go to my first impro workshop and I loved it.

As our Immediate Past President you already implemented impro-theater ideas in our meetings. Can you tell us about some of them and the effect it had on both members and guests?

Sometimes I missed the atmosphere and connection we have in our live meetings online. So I decided to bring in some games that we do in improv. I always got positive feedback both from guests and members when initiating the exercises. Some guests even told me for them it was a first time experience which they didn´t encounter in any other club.

 

Best Practice for Anxiety Management

I know that you once asked us to do something impro-like in one online meeting and I almost “panicked”. Can you give some advice how to overcome this initial fear of improvising?

Giving advice is something that a Guru does 🙂

From my own experience the root of this “panic” stems from being afraid of making a mistake. What I learnt with improv is that our judgement is what makes a mistake a mistake. If you do something and you think ” Oh I did a mistake, and now people are judging me” , this thought is actually the source of you feeling judged.  In reality, people around you don´t realize that you made a mistake. In the context of publics speaking or improv, they think that it is another way of acting. And even if it was a mistake, e.x. you forget your line, most people won´t mind. When one is able to realize this, the panic just disappears, poof. Of course, it is easier said than done, because we are not used to think like that. It needs Practice and Practice and Practice to reach that point.

 

When it comes to anxiety management for prepared speeches, what would you suggest as some first steps to feel more comfortable on stage?

My personal experience is that body posture plays a major role. Nowadays my routine before I go on stage is as follows: I go somewhere quiet, open my arms, make myself big and let my brain think “hey, I am that big”. Then I go to the stage and I have this, what I call “Bigness” with me. On stage, I use my body posture a lot. I walk and move, because I believe it helps to come out of ones restricting mind. If you apply this idea you may experience same results as I do and you feel free, talk free and let your emotions flow free during your speech.

Improv games for online meetings

We are now faced with the challenge of hybrid or even online only meetings and how to connect despite the physical distance. We already discussed some improv-techniques you used at some of our meetings. Are there further, new ideas you can share with us?

 Yes, there is one game especially suited for online meetings, called “expert interview”. It goes as follows:

  • Choose two people, every one else has to turn off their camera
  • The audience gives suggestions about a interview-topic
  • The interviewer asks questions about the proposed subject which the interviewee answers

Key is to choose a funny subject, e.x. the interviewee is expert in elephantology or in sleepwalking. After both finished the interview (4-5 minutes) a new pair can be choosen.

For hybrid meetings, things get more complicated. I do not know yet which games can be used there.

“Public Speaking: eine ganz normale Sache” – Interview mit Raphael Schildgen

Raphael Schildgen ist Coach für Public Speaking und Breakdancer.  Dieses Jahr wird er bei TEDx in Kufstein auftreten und erzählen, wie er anhand dieser beiden Leidenschaften anderen hilft, ihre Ängste vor öffentlichem Reden zu überwinden.  Am 17.09 wird Raphael diese Rede bei unserem Club-Meeting präsentieren. Vorab ein Interview über seinen Werdegang, Wünsche für die Zukunft sowie wirksame Tipps, die öffentliche Rede zu verbessern.

 

Was hat dich dazu gebracht, dich mit Public Speaking zu beschäftigen?

Damals im Ingenieursstudium hatte ich viele Ingenieursfreunde. Ingenieursfreunde haben die Angewohnheit, die Welt in kleinem oder sogar atemberaubendem Maß verändern zu können. Allerdings bekommen Sie ihre Ideen meistens nicht verständlich auf den Punkt gebracht. Um ehrlich zu sein, fing der Weg zur Rhetorik bei einem Bierchen in der Bar an. Ein Freund fragte mich, ob wir nicht mal in diesen Rhetorik Club gehen wollen. Gesagt, getan. Dort wurde ich gefragt, ob ich nicht auch mal kurz auf die Bühne möchte. Gewagt, getan. Ab dem Moment hatte ich Feuer gefangen!

 

Wie haben sich die Anfänge im Public Speaking für dich gestaltet?

In meiner ersten Rede hatte ich einen Blackout, tausende Fachbegriffe und einen unanständigen Witz zum Leid der Frau in der ersten Reihe. (Sorry nochmal dafür!) Doch mit jedem Mal wurde es besser. Insbesondere dadurch, dass mir Menschen, die deutlich weiter als ich waren, wertschätzend ihr konstruktives Feedback gegeben habe. Hauptsache dranbleiben!

 

“Durch seine langjährige Bühnenerfahrung als Breakdancer weiß er, welchen bedeutsamen Einfluss die richtige Haltung auf die Wirkung und Präsenz auf der Bühne hat.” Wann hast du diese gedankliche “Verbindung” gemacht, wie sehr die Regeln von Breakdancing sich auch auf Public Speaking auswirken?

In einer der ersten Breakdance-Trainings mussten wir alle nach einander uns alleine vor die Gruppe stellen und selbstbewusst sagen, wer wir sind. Was erstmal einfach klingt, war für viele – und auch für mich – erstmal eine wahre Herausforderung! Der erste Move im Breaken ist die sogenannte „B-Boy Stance“: eine Haltung, in der man mit verschränkten Armen seinem Gegner selbstbewusst gegenübersteht. Dieses Mindset ist die Basis eines jeden Speakers.

 

Erzähl uns etwas von deinem Weg, europäischer Meister im Public Speaking zu werden.

Noch als relativer Rhetorik-Novize hatte ich die Ehre, die Rede der beiden amtierenden Europameister in Vorbereitung auf die Weltmeisterschaft in unserem Rhetorik-Club zuhören zu dürfen. Der eine war ohnehin professioneller Redner seit vielen Jahren. Klar gewinnt er die Europameisterschaft! Aber der andere war Comicbuch-Autor – ein in meinen Augen eher unscheinbarer und introvertierter Mensch. Nach seiner atemberaubenden Rede habe ich ihn gefragt, wie er es geschafft hat, mit dieser Basis die Europameisterschaft zu gewinnen. Er sagte mir den zündenden Startfunken: „Ich hab einfach mal gemacht“.

 

“Durch seinen Hintergrund als Ingenieur konnte Raphael für sich ein System entwickeln, mit dem es ihm gelang, in kürzester Zeit hochkarätige Reden zu halten” Kannst du uns Einblicke in dieses System geben? 

Im Wesentlichen sind es 3 Schritte. Die Basis ist die Authentizität – schließlich wollen wir ja nicht wie der kleine Junge oder das kleine Mädchen klingen, das angestrengt ein Gedicht vorliest. Danach kommt die Redeeffektivität, in der wir uns ein konkretes Ziel für unsere Rede setzen. Was sollen die Zuhörer danach fühlen, denken oder machen? Wir optimieren die komplette Rede genau auf diesen einen Zweck. Die Spitze der Pyramide bildet die Rhetorik mit all ihren Techniken. Das Ironische ist, dass die meisten Menschen wegen der Spitze zu mir kommen und dann erstmal realisieren, dass sie gleich zwei Etagen übersprungen haben.

 

Was würdest du Toastmaster´n mitgeben, die gerade damit beginnen, sich mit dem Thema Rhetorik auseinanderzusetzen? 

Die Bühne ist der Platz des maximalen Wachstums – nicht der Sitz im Publikum. Trau dich auf die Bühne und vergleich dich nicht mit anderen. Die einzige Person die du besiegen musst ist dein gestriges Ich. 

 

Welche Ziele im Bereich Public Speaking schweben dir für die Zukunft vor?

Für viele Menschen ist die größte Angst, vor anderen Menschen zu sprechen. Der größte Traum wäre, dass Public Speaking in unseren Schulen unterrichtet würde und es mehr und mehr eine ganz “normale” Sache wird. 

 

“General rule: Take control and be a cause”. Könntest du diesen Spruch auf Public Speaking übertragen?

public speaking

Ja! Wir denken, dass wir nur eine Rede im Monat oder Jahr halten. Dabei halten wir jeden Tag mindestens 10 Stegreifreden an unsere Freunde, Familie oder uns selbst. Diese Reden können unfassbaren Einfluss auf unser Leben haben. Und da Übung ja den Meister macht, halte doch mal einen Toast, wenn du das nächste Mal auf einer Hochzeit oder einem Geburtstag bist 😉

 

Danke für das Interview!

How to choose a topic for your next speech?

next speechAre you struggling to find a topic for your next speech. In this post, I will guide you through the process of selecting a topic and preparing for your next speech. If you aren´t a Toastmaster member yet, check out our schedule and sign up as a guest for our next meeting.

1. Introspection: This is the first step of your research. To be an effective communicator, you should talk about things that you are passionate about. Did you discover something new while going to the bakery? Did you meet someone
recently and found something strange, peculiar or odd about that person? These are just some of the topics you can
talk about. Your mind is full of ideas and experiences which can be shared with other people. Your unique experience
is the topic you would be most passionate about. Were you able to overcome an obstacle? In the introspection phase,
I would sit down and jot down everything that I experienced in the past weeks, the ideas I collected from the books
I read, and the amazing people I met and how that meeting left an impact on me.
2. Research: Your speech is not only about yourself. It is a medium to connect with your audience. What is it that
you want to convey using your speech. There are two types of things people care about

a. Alleviating pain, fear or insecurity
b. Pleasure, happiness and peace.

Thinking about, in which category, does your speech fall will help you in structuring your speech and connecting with your audience.

3. Writing: Great public speakers are not born, they train hard to become great speakers. One of the thing that separates them from average speakers is their ability and dedication to write down their speech. The passage of thoughts flowing from their mind to a piece of paper is a craft that needs to be trained before every speech. The transfer of thoughts helps you clear your mind and give you confidence to structure your speech in a crisp and cogent manner. The process of writing down your speech unleashes your creativity and as you sit down to jot down your ideas, you come up with more ideas.

4. Practice: Great sportsmen and athletes practice their sports everyday. It goes without saying that practicing your speech is necessary to convert an idea that was part of your subconscious mind to a splendid speech. The art of communication is all about practice, practice and practice and like we say in German

Übung macht den Meister

So sign up for your next speech and take the stage.