Make Time For Audience Interaction

November 3, 2014-Executive 408

This week, I was scheduled for a speech and decided to speak on customer service.

I am doing the Competent Communicator manual for the second time. This was my second speech from the manual. I'm not going in the order in the manual, so I'm picking topics that I'm interested in. Then, I choose the project that goes with it.

 This speech, I went with Project 9, Inspire Your Audience. My speech title was How To Be Out Of Business In 365 days. I talked about customer service with a situation that I experienced. One afternoon, when I was at the counter at a fast food restaurant, the counter person said nothing to me like “May I Help You?” just nothing. I stood there thinking do I give this person my order or not.  I called the situation, The Stareoff. The counter person and I just stared at each other for a long time. Not a good customer service moment.

My Toastmasters audience chuckled as I made a reference to the playing of the theme from Clint Eastwood's movie, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly as The Stareoff continued.

Also, I talked about learning about customer service as a paperboy. I saw heads nod as they could relate. As the speech went on, some people were reacting and making comments as I was speaking, which is totally fine because I knew the audience is actually listening. It is alright to interact with the audience. That interact can last a few seconds or more especially, if you asked the audience a question and wait on their response.

What I didn't expect was more direct interaction during the speech which took a few more seconds as I let the audience expressed their points.

In a 5 to 8 min. speech, seconds count.

During my practice time for the speech. The original speech time came in at about 9:40. I needed to trim 1:40 which I did. Goodbye, another personal story and a relevant fact.

In the final practice, I was ranging between 8:10 to 8:20, which is what I could live with.

During the timers report, when she said my speech time was 9:20. I knew I had timed the speech out. Then, I realized that I had allow the audience to interject their comments.

What I've learned is to put some leeway time in the speech for the audience to clap, to interact within the speech and to give an answer to question I may ask. Especially, if it is a topic that they can really relate to.

Despite, the overlap of time, I knew the audience was listening. Something all speakers want.

The Word of the Day that I learned was Divergent-moving apart, going in different directions.

Art Byrd has been a member of Executive 408 Toastmasters Youngstown, since 2009.

He has achieved his Competent Communicator, Advanced Bronze, Silver and Gold. Competent Leader and Advanced Leader Bronze. He is working on his Advanced Silver.

Currently, Art is the Area Governor for Area 13 in District 10 in Ohio.

Word of the Day and Mr. Williams

In Toastmasters, I am constantly learning. Over the next several weeks, I will blog about what I have learned at Toastmasters meetings with Executive 408 Toastmasters in Youngstown, Ohio and Warren Toastmasters in Warren, Ohio.

Oct 18, 2014

Executive 408

I learned a new meaning of enthusiasm. Our meeting didn’t have a lot of people attending that night. Some roles had to be filled.

It felt like the air was slowing leaking out of the meeting.

 This meeting, my role was “Word of the Day.” I glanced around and thought, we are in need of an up-tempo word.

I chose the word “awesome.”

As I walked up to the board for the word, which I had written before the meeting started.  Someone said, What is the word,? Art Byrd.”

I laughed because one of my childhood heroes, Mr. George Williams, who owned a flower shop, would yell out his delivery van to me, “What is the word?, Arthur Byrd?

This would happen anytime he saw me.  I remembered I never had a word for him as he turned the corner in our neighborhood and zoomed down the road.

Each time, Mr. Williams said “What the word? Arthur Byrd,” to me. I felt like a million bucks because this nice and generous man who had known me, since I was like seven years old, still thought enough out his busy day to say hello to me.

I told the club, a very brief story of Mr. Williams and his catch phrase.

I said I dedicated that night’s word “awesome” to Mr. Williams because he was awesome even though he is gone now.

After the word, the air seemed to go back into the meeting. The club members and visitors seemed fired up to have a great meeting and it was.

I learned that enthusiasm, a personal story and a great Word of the Day can turn around a Toastmasters meeting.