Final Thoughts.
Another reason it took time to make my final posts is I wanted some distance from the sting of not winning 1st place. That disappointment surprised me. I guess the competitive fire that burned hot during my windsurfing competition days of yore is still as intense now as it was then.
I consider myself a better evaluator than before I started this journey. In fact, it has unexpectedly led to a sales speech coaching opportunity! It shows you just never know...
It's been a great journey and I hope my documenting it will be of aid in your evaluations. It has been pointed out to me that I've just made it harder for me to compete for next year by sharing. However, my 19 year career as a software developer and 3 years of windsurfing competition has ingrained in me the belief that you become better when your compeitition gets better. It is my hope to compete against some of you in the 2010 District F Speech Evaluation Contests.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
District F Championship Round - Part 5 of 6
I asked Philippa Burgess (Evaluation Contest Target Speaker) for her thoughts on why I took 2nd place rather than 1st.
Philippa said I was the only evaluator that pointed out that she was giving a persuasive speech that did not achieve its goal. She said that provided clarity for my constructive criticism. However, I didn't mention the obvious mistakes that all the other evaluators pointed out, such as making better use of her props and the stage. If I had taken only a few seconds just to list the obvious mistakes that might have made the difference between 1st and 2nd place.
Philippa said I was the only evaluator that pointed out that she was giving a persuasive speech that did not achieve its goal. She said that provided clarity for my constructive criticism. However, I didn't mention the obvious mistakes that all the other evaluators pointed out, such as making better use of her props and the stage. If I had taken only a few seconds just to list the obvious mistakes that might have made the difference between 1st and 2nd place.
District F Championship Round - Part 4 of 6
I asked the other two winners of the contest to add their thoughts to mine on preparing their evaluation before taking the stage. Here are our answers...
Barbara Gordano - 3rd Place:
"Well, had I known I was speaking I would have mentally prepared! You see, I wasn't scheduled to participate in the Evaluation on the day of the contest; the winning Evaluator who beat me in the prior competition - for one reason or the other - did not turn up...lucky me! Jumping into the contest at the last minute was my greatest mental hurdle; it took all (of my) large sums of energy to keep my nerves at bay and I did so by constantly reminding myself to stay focused on the mission at hand - giving the best Evaluation to help my fellow Toastmaster grow."
Me - 2nd Place:
"For me, it was tough as this speech was not as clear as the speeches I evaluated at the Area and Division levels. Then it hit me. The reason the speech was not clear was because the speaker was not clear on what she wanted to accomplish with this speech. This was a persuasion speech mixed in with an information speech. Because of this the speaker did not achieve her goal, which was to take action. This insight was at the heart of my evaluation."
Julie Tang - 1st Place:
"Before the contest began, I reminded myself that I needed to select 2-3 strengths, and at least 2 things that the speaker could improve on. I also knew that my speech needed an introduction, a body and a conclusion. As I was taking notes, I wrote down strengths when I saw them and areas that the speaker could have done better on. One thing I didn't do was write every little thing down. I was quite selective on what I wanted to write down; otherwise, it would be too overwhelming for me. For the areas that needed improvement, I asked myself, "What advice would I give her that would benefit her the most?" and "How would I model that for her?" When we were brought outside to formulate our thoughts and organize our speeches, I carefully examined what I had written down. From there, I mentally made revisions that would give the biggest impact and rehearsed the outline of my speech as best as I could."
Barbara Gordano - 3rd Place:
"Well, had I known I was speaking I would have mentally prepared! You see, I wasn't scheduled to participate in the Evaluation on the day of the contest; the winning Evaluator who beat me in the prior competition - for one reason or the other - did not turn up...lucky me! Jumping into the contest at the last minute was my greatest mental hurdle; it took all (of my) large sums of energy to keep my nerves at bay and I did so by constantly reminding myself to stay focused on the mission at hand - giving the best Evaluation to help my fellow Toastmaster grow."
Me - 2nd Place:
"For me, it was tough as this speech was not as clear as the speeches I evaluated at the Area and Division levels. Then it hit me. The reason the speech was not clear was because the speaker was not clear on what she wanted to accomplish with this speech. This was a persuasion speech mixed in with an information speech. Because of this the speaker did not achieve her goal, which was to take action. This insight was at the heart of my evaluation."
Julie Tang - 1st Place:
"Before the contest began, I reminded myself that I needed to select 2-3 strengths, and at least 2 things that the speaker could improve on. I also knew that my speech needed an introduction, a body and a conclusion. As I was taking notes, I wrote down strengths when I saw them and areas that the speaker could have done better on. One thing I didn't do was write every little thing down. I was quite selective on what I wanted to write down; otherwise, it would be too overwhelming for me. For the areas that needed improvement, I asked myself, "What advice would I give her that would benefit her the most?" and "How would I model that for her?" When we were brought outside to formulate our thoughts and organize our speeches, I carefully examined what I had written down. From there, I mentally made revisions that would give the biggest impact and rehearsed the outline of my speech as best as I could."
District F Championship Round - Part 1 of 6
Sorry it took awhile to put out the final posts for this blog. I had to wait on the other winners and the target speaker for their thoughts.
Here is the breakdown of the final 6 posts of this blog:
Part One: Background Information and the Target Speech
Part Two: Video of 3rd Place Evaluation
Part Three: Video of 2nd Place Evaluation
Part Four: Mental preparation of top 3 finishers
Part Five: Thoughts of the target speaker, Philippa Burgess
Part Six: Final Thoughts
The District F Speech Evaluation Contest had 8 contestants, each representing a different Division within the District. District F covers all of Orange County and the southern half of LA County.
The target speaker was Philippa Burgess, a member of Warner Brothers Toastmasters, in District 52.
The winners for the contest are Julie Tang, 1st place, myself 2nd place and Barbara Giordano took 3rd.
The target speech was titled "The Power of the Teleseminar" and was from 5 to 7 minutes. In her speech, Philippa used a movie clapboard as a prop to introduce herself as a member of Warner Brothers Toastmasters. She also used a phone as another prop.
Here is the breakdown of the final 6 posts of this blog:
Part One: Background Information and the Target Speech
Part Two: Video of 3rd Place Evaluation
Part Three: Video of 2nd Place Evaluation
Part Four: Mental preparation of top 3 finishers
Part Five: Thoughts of the target speaker, Philippa Burgess
Part Six: Final Thoughts
The District F Speech Evaluation Contest had 8 contestants, each representing a different Division within the District. District F covers all of Orange County and the southern half of LA County.
The target speaker was Philippa Burgess, a member of Warner Brothers Toastmasters, in District 52.
The winners for the contest are Julie Tang, 1st place, myself 2nd place and Barbara Giordano took 3rd.
The target speech was titled "The Power of the Teleseminar" and was from 5 to 7 minutes. In her speech, Philippa used a movie clapboard as a prop to introduce herself as a member of Warner Brothers Toastmasters. She also used a phone as another prop.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Practice, practice, practice - Part 2 of 2
I went to the Speakers Bureau in Garden Grove. I had the chance to evaluate two 20 minute speeches.
First speech was inpirational. The main thrust of my evaluation was organization. The speaker gave a personal story on how he overcame a motorcycle accident where he was told he would be in a wheelchair the rest of his life to having just put 200 miles on his new motorcycle. He talked on using that accomplishment to help others overcome physical handicaps. He also talked on healing his own hernieated discs through exercise.
He had a lot of material and that was the problem. There were 3 speeches wrapped in one. My recommendation was for the speaker to ask this question: "What do I want my audience to do after hearing my speech?" The answer would guide him in organizing his material.
The second speech was a "how to" speech. It was how to generate energy in your presentation through connecting to your audience. The speaker began with a story of visitng the WWII memorial to the American Soldier in Bastogne, the famous city featured from the Battle of the Bulge, as a young child. She contrasted her first visit with her father to her second visit to the memorial with her mother by how her mother helped her emotionally connect to the sacrifice made by the slain soldiers.
The story demonstrated how developing a connection increases the energy in an experience. The speaker then talked about how to increase you ability to make a connection through 4 different connection activities. She then wrapped up with an exercise using 7 volunteers to demonstrate a connection activity.
The speaker is a wonderful storyteller and an accomplished speaker. My evaluation's focus was on two things:
1. Transistion from personal story to the 4 connection activities and
2. Organization of material in each connection activity. My recommended format was:
a. Benefit(s)
b. Activity description
c. Activity examples
These two speeches provided excellent practice for the upcoming District Championship. I'm thankful to the Speakers Bureau to giving me the opportunity to practice.
First speech was inpirational. The main thrust of my evaluation was organization. The speaker gave a personal story on how he overcame a motorcycle accident where he was told he would be in a wheelchair the rest of his life to having just put 200 miles on his new motorcycle. He talked on using that accomplishment to help others overcome physical handicaps. He also talked on healing his own hernieated discs through exercise.
He had a lot of material and that was the problem. There were 3 speeches wrapped in one. My recommendation was for the speaker to ask this question: "What do I want my audience to do after hearing my speech?" The answer would guide him in organizing his material.
The second speech was a "how to" speech. It was how to generate energy in your presentation through connecting to your audience. The speaker began with a story of visitng the WWII memorial to the American Soldier in Bastogne, the famous city featured from the Battle of the Bulge, as a young child. She contrasted her first visit with her father to her second visit to the memorial with her mother by how her mother helped her emotionally connect to the sacrifice made by the slain soldiers.
The story demonstrated how developing a connection increases the energy in an experience. The speaker then talked about how to increase you ability to make a connection through 4 different connection activities. She then wrapped up with an exercise using 7 volunteers to demonstrate a connection activity.
The speaker is a wonderful storyteller and an accomplished speaker. My evaluation's focus was on two things:
1. Transistion from personal story to the 4 connection activities and
2. Organization of material in each connection activity. My recommended format was:
a. Benefit(s)
b. Activity description
c. Activity examples
These two speeches provided excellent practice for the upcoming District Championship. I'm thankful to the Speakers Bureau to giving me the opportunity to practice.
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