“Toastmasters International is a fabulous organization and I believe that everyone should join.”
This is according to Wayne Botha, Power point presentation skills consultant, speaker and author. He has received numerous awards from Toastmasters International, making him an expert in public speaking. We asked his views on some topics and we would like to share them with you.
In Wayne’s blog, he admits that some people tease him about his South African accent. I asked him if he thinks a professional speaker should worry about his accent and change his accent to a more respected accent such as the “BBC accent”.
This is what Wayne said,” Professional speakers do not have to worry about an accent, as long as it does not prevent your audience from understanding your words. Nido Qubein speaks with an accent, and this distinguishes his voice. Vikas Jhingran demonstrated how to turn an accent, which can be seen as a liability, into a distinct advantage during his 2007 World Championship Winning speech. Vikas took note of the way his uncle pronounces “t” and then used this in his winning speech. Vikas drew attention to his Indian heritage and exaggerated the accents, to stand out from the mostly American competitors.”
“The reason I listed my South African accent on my website is because I cannot hide it and it distinguishes me from other speakers in the USA.” He further pointed out. A native accent should not be a handicap, instead Wayne stressed that we should look for ways to use this accent to serve our audience better, perhaps by telling stories that demonstrate your accent.
According to Wayne, “If you cannot hide a feature, then sell it as a benefit”.
Then he detailed us his Toastmasters story.
”I learned about Toastmasters while reading a book by Harvey Mackay in 1994. He extolled the virtues of Toastmasters. I visited a club in Pretoria, South Africa but found it too expensive to join at the time. Fast-forward ten years and in 2004, in the USA, I saw a flyer on a notice board at my office building. I got up the courage to attend a meeting and it was hard for me to walk into a room of strangers. The people were friendly and the meetings are held at lunchtime making it very convenient. My employer pays the dues and supports Toastmasters and so I joined in October 20
During Wayne’s membership, he said he have been fortunate enough to:
a. Complete over 70 speeches from Toastmasters manuals
b. Serve as the President of Pro Speakers Advanced Toastmaster club
c. Train club officers at Toastmasters Leadership Institute
d. Serve as Area Governor
e. Serve as Vice President of Education.
f. Attend speaker boot camps with Darren La Croix, Ed Tate and Craig Valentine - all past winners of the World Championship of Public Speaking
“My home club has grown from 7 members in 2004, to 37 members in 2007 and is currently at 21 members. All clubs go through cycles of strength and weakness and this provides leadership opportunities for club officers to learn how to manage a team.
The more I am involved with Toastmasters, the more benefits I receive in a variety of unexpected areas. For example, my planning and leadership skills skyrocketed when I planned our Area Contests. It takes a lot of planning to get volunteers to fill all the roles at an Area contest, get the trophies, create the program, arrange food and so on. Toastmasters also taught me the value of building personal relationships with club members, so that you have someone to call on when you need to accomplish a task for an Area event.
“Toastmasters” has taught me to focus on talking about the benefits to someone when you are asking them to do something. This built my skills as a salesman.
For example, if you need help to fill the role of Contest Master, frame it like this “Francisco, you appear very comfortable when speaking in front of your club. Have you considered taking your speaking skills to the next level? The Area Contest is coming up in a few weeks and this is the perfect opportunity for you to develop your speaking skills. As Contest Master you will stretch yourself in a totally supportive environment and afterwards you will have accomplished yet another milestone in personal growth. You will continue to set the example for your fellow club members. I believe that you will excel as Contest Master in our Area Governor contest. Please let me know if you would like to take advantage of this opportunity”.
The approach above is far better than “Francisco, no one wants to be Contest Master at our Area Contest. I certainly don’t want to do it. Can I sign you up as Contest Master?”
Toastmasters International has drastically changed my life for the better by improving my self-confidence as
well as developing leadership and communication skills. I encourage every person to join Toastmasters and become involved in the programs.”
Wayne has a degree in Psychology. We asked him how this made an impact his communication skills. Does academic background give us a better understanding of social dynamics? Does this make one person a better communicator overall?
He pondered about this question for a long time. “I believe that my degree in Psychology has not helped me as a communicator or speaker. “Toastmasters” has helped me with pragmatic communication and leadership skills. Academic degrees do not have the high value in the USA as they do in the rest of the world.
Results are held in high regard in the USA, with or without academic degrees. I encourage anyone to pursue academic education for their own self-development, but my degree in Psychology has minimally improved my communication skills.”
For any of Wayne’s presentation skills training, please visit www.waynebotha.com