I am meeting a strange woman at King’s Cross Station, London today – strange in the sense that she is unknown to me – to research another hopefully gripping instalment of a book I am writing. All will be revealed in due course.
I’m hoping we can find somewhere quiet and discreet to conduct our interview with my MP3 recorder. Her story is tragic, heartbreaking and totally fascinating.
When I return home it will be time to head into Cambridge for the Speakers Club, part of Toastmasters International, where I shall be evaluating a speech. My evaluation will then be evaluated. The whole evening is based on evaluations aimed at encouraging nervous speakers like myself and these are done along the lines of recommendation, praise and recommendation.
My personal challenge with public speaking is not to rely on learning a speech off by heart, but to ad lib so I can confidently present a well structured speech without rehearsing each word parrot fashion.
Each speech has a different challenge and the one I am observing must emphasise body language and engaging an audience with eye contact.
Toastmasters is a safe and encouraging environment for anyone like me who dreads public speaking and I heartily recommend it. It really has made a terrific difference to my confidence.
Secret meetings… Sounds fun 🙂
The art public speaking is indeed an art.
I’d be terrified at public speaking ellee. And onlyh just caught up on your post about John Sargeant – go for it John, I say!
I was in London yesterday. Shame I didn’t know you were. We could have had a quick coffee or something.
Or perhaps meeting two strange women in one day might have been a bit much!!?
I did enjoy Toastmasters and the speech I had to evaluate was on a really interesting subject, climate change. Only the speaker believes that seas are receding rather than rising and that climate change is a load of media mumbo jumbo. I had some fun with that. The challenge here is that it did make me stand up and speak from an unrehearsed speech. I know I need more of this, and to get used to pauses too and learn how to make them effective.
I have booked my next speech where the emphasis will be on vocal variety. Because I will not be reading from a script I have written I learnt, I won’t be able to update my toastmasters speech on my website. It’s going to be about a cruise I had with my family a couple of years ago and the unusual people we met.
I’m concentrating on my book today. I will write another post soon. There is so much I want to say, but I must prioritise. If I start blogging, the day has flown by and I find I have accomplished very little from my to-do list.
ciao 🙂
P.s. Reluctant blogger. I would loved to have me met you. What a shame I didn’t know.
Does it need to be safe or is it best to take great risks, Ellee? To put yourself out on a limb, so to speak?
[…] Ellee Seymour – MCIPR, PRESS CONSULTANT, JOURNALIST, POLITICAL AND … […]
[…] Ellee Seymour – MCIPR, PRESS CONSULTANT, JOURNALIST, POLITICAL AND … […]