Toastmaster Project : Research and Present

Two weeks ago I did my second prepared speech in Toastmaster. The goal was to research and present. I prepared a solid speech on social impact bond, but it was only a half-success.
Last week I was the evaluator of another “research and present” prepared speech. Now that I’ve been in both sides, speaker and audience/evaluator, and done both: receiving and providing feedback, I have summarized some learnings for the Toastmaster research project.
- Start with what your audience care.
eg. We are our choices. It is our choices, rather than our abilities, that show what we truly are. So what if we could reflect our personal values in the investment we made? Like investing in Social Impact Bond (SIB)?
Don’t start with what your idea is.
eg. Let me give you a general idea of what Social Impact Bond (SIB) is.
2. Starting with a story could be a good idea. People are more or less “statistic-phobia”, and the expectation of a research project speech usually starting with statistics scares your audience. By starting with a story with some personal touch would ease their anxiety, and make the speech less dry.
3. Resist the temptation of sharing everything with your audience.
4. Diverse source is preferable: institute statistics (to add credibilities), eye witness (so that audience could better relate to the issue), etc
5. Use visual aids (eg. PowerPoint/Flipchart) when necessary. I intentionally challenged myself not to use visual aids, because I have been quite good at visualization but definitely have room for improvement when I can’t rely on visual aids. However, when the subject is so technical as Social Impact Bond, your audience come from very diverse backgrounds, and you only have 5–7 minutes for this complex subject, even if (you thought) you have minimize the usage of abstract statistics, trust me, you will need a few slides to make it through.
6. Ending. Rather than:
eg. I hope this speech has helped you better understand Social Impact Bond.
Call for action. It’s a stronger ending.
eg. For those of you who are looking for investment that brings both personal and social benefits, Social Impact Bond is something you could look further into.
Night!
