Thursday, January 22, 2009

It gives me great pleasure..........

“It gives me great pleasure”……these are the words that give so much anxiety to those preparing a wedding speech or a presentation. Whether you are there to introduce, dedicate or accept or are giving a wedding speech, your speech should leave no doubt as to why you and your audience have gathered.

Writing or giving a ceremonial speech should have an introduction; body, and conclusion.

• Create a sense of anticipation.
• Keep the general principles short
• Speak for one to three minutes depending on how well the audience knows the speaker.
• Resist the temptation to list all of the speaker’s accomplishments!
• Be relentlessly positive
• Never miss a chance to sincerely compliment the speaker.
• Humorous anecdotes are fine as long as they reflect positively on the speaker.

STRATEGIES FOR CREATING A SPEECH

Use a quote. Look for a gem of a quote about your speaker. Begin with the speaker’s organization, cause or topic. Tell the audience what it is and why it is important. Then move into your discussion of the speaker.

Check to see who has the same birthday as your speaker. You may find the speaker has something else in common with his or her ‘birth mate’. The ending is extremely important. It must build to a climax. It should summarize the speaker’s strengths, virtues, and accomplishments. And ideally raise the audience’s sense of anticipation to the point where they just cannot wait for the speaker to begin.

The same rules pertain for ‘a Mother/Father of the Bride Speech.’ - Only this time the speaker will have 20 + years of experiences to draw from. Please do not include the full 20 years. Always remember brevity is the sole of wit.

You do not want to turn all your guests into pillars of boredom while you pontificate on the virtues of your ‘little girl’. Don’t forget to welcome the groom into your family, whether you hate his guts or not! Political Correctness I think it is called.

We have a section in Toastmasters where you can give speciality speeches. These cover social. Corporate and family occasions. Some people join toastmaster for this very section. So come along to Speakeasy Toastmasters Club Meeting tonight, January 22nd at the Hibernian Hotel Mallow at 7.50 p.m. Sharp and you can practise for your next big event. To date the feedback from our guest is so good, that some guests have graduated to members.

They are making great progress and are contributing greatly to the success of the meetings. For that we thank them and we are delighted to have them aboard. We continue to roll out the red carpet for guests. You will be most welcome, and relax, you will not be asked to speak unless you wish to do so. See you all next Thursday. We have a fresh programme which holds great hopes for an enjoyable night.

Our next meetings are on February 5th and 19th.

Further details at www.speakeasytoastmasters.com or contact club PRO, Sean on 086 6054784

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