Speakers’ Training Workshop

TALK No. 1: COMMUNICATION AND PUBLIC SPEAKING


Speaker’s Outline

I. Communication is an exchange of meaning.

• A. Two people may talk and exchange ideas, opinions or words, but if they do not mean what they say or say what they mean, the result is miscommunication.
• B. The purpose of communication is to bring two or more hearts and minds together to become one.

II. Important Facts About Public Speaking

• A. Reality: Good speakers are MADE, not BORN.
• B. Elements for effective public speaking:
• 1. Use your own style.
• Do not copy someone else’s style.
• 2. Do not read your talk.
• Avoid “manuscript speaking” or being the newscaster type.
• 3. Do not memorize the whole talk.
• a. Be personal and natural.
• b. It is possible to memorize some important segments.
• 4. Speaking does not have to be formal or so serious.
• a. Be conversational.
• b. Be serious about the topic but not overly formal in delivery.
• C. Stage fright is not unnatural.
• 1. It is normal for most people.
• a. It always seems to be more serious to the speaker.
• b. It seems to escalate the more you seek to escape it.
• c. It can be used to your advantage.
• 2. How to handle stage fright.
• a. Pray. Entrust everything to the Lord; this includes yourself and your assigned talk.
• b. Use the “Aware-Accept-Act” approach.
• c. Handle specific symptoms of stage fright as they appear in you.

III. Fear versus F.E.A.R.

• A. Fear can be real or imagined. But it is a God-given emotion to be used to serve us.
• 1. There is a healthy kind of fear. “The beginning of wisdom is fear of the Lord.” (Sirach 1:12). Fear of the Lord is submission to God. It is true humility.
• 2. We can fight fear with “F.E.A.R.” itself.
• B. “Fear” (or F.E.A.R.) for us should have a new meaning; this is as follows:
• 1. FAITH – Dependence on God. Dependence on elders. Being men and women who trust God amidst trials and difficulties.
• 2. ENTHUSIASM – Much earnest and fervent feeling about the Lord. A strong conviction of what God is doing and what God asks us to do. Zeal and passion to do God’s work in and through CFC Singles for Christ.
• 3. ANTICIPATION – Hoping for the best to come instead of being anxious. Realizing beforehand that God called us and will use us as his instrument, and therefore expecting that something good will happen to our listeners and their lives.
• 4. RESPECT – God called us and therefore we need to respect him. We also need to respect our listeners and our elders who have allowed us to serve in this ministry. We need to prepare for the talk, realizing the privilege of being invited to preach his word.

IV. Planning Your Talk

• A. Study the expanded outline of the talk.
• 1. Read the expanded outline a few times.
• 2. Understand the goal/objective (This usually is to inform and persuade the audience.).
• 3. Accept and internalize the talk content.
• B. Seek input from your elders/leaders.
• 1. Learn from their wisdom and experience.
• 2. If any point is unclear, take it up with them.
• C. Analyze who your audience is.
• 1. Inquire from the team leader about age, social status, academic level, cultural background.
• 2. Adopt your manner of presentation to the audience (i.e., expressions, examples, more or less of sharing than teaching, etc.).

V. Preparing the Talk

• A. Pray and offer your efforts to God.
• B. Read and internalize the expanded outline of the talk.
• 1. The expanded outline is the talk itself. Resist the temptation to do extensive research and input more material into the talk, no matter how interesting. This might just obscure the basic message of the talk or overlap with other talks.
• 2. Become comfortable with the contents and the flow of ideas.
• C. Jot down and prioritize all the examples, stories and sharings for your talk.
• 1. Supporting points easy to comprehend. Add just enough, not too many.
• 2. Credible and interesting. Current and relevant.
• 3. Avoid controversies, arguments, and the criticism of others.
• D. Write your introduction.
• 1. The opening of a talk should be:
• a. Positive. Do not apologize. Be enthusiastic.
• b. Concise. Be brief. Do not ramble or be long-winded.
• c. Relevant to the main talk itself.
• d. Be able to show continuity from the previous talk (if any).
• 2. Methods of Opening a Talk
• a. As a question. One that can be answered by a “yes” or “no” or a show of hands.
• b. State an impressive fact. Something unusual but interesting.
• c. Tell a story. Current and relevant and easy to visualize.
• d. Present the goal or objective.
• e. Preview the topic. A bird’s eye view of what can be expected.
• f. Make an emphatic statement.
• g. Give a sharing.
• h. Quote a Bible passage.
• E. Flesh out the talk.
• 1. Insert examples, stories, statistics and/or sharings. This makes the talk more interesting.
• 2. Link points from one to the next.
• 3. Do not depart from the outline.
• F. Mark the important points of your talk outline.
• 1. Use characters large enough to read.
• 2. Indicate key parts only; the exact words you will begin with.
• 3. Highlight the exact positions where you will insert sharings, examples, etc.
• G. Write down your conclusion.
• 1. You can ruin a nice talk by having a weak conclusion.
• a. Do not ramble on (E.g., “And another thing I failed to mention …). Have a decisive conclusion.
• b. Do not just stop abruptly (E.g., … and that’s all I have to say.”).
• 2. You do not always have to end with a Bible passage, but may quote one if appropriate.
• 3. The conclusion should be challenging.
• Create a desire to hear more and look forward to the next session.

VI. The Talk Itself

• A. If anything is unclear, consult your CFC-SFC elders. Do not just presume on what the appropriate meaning of the text is.
• B. Some tips in giving a good talk:
• 1. Be conversational in tone.
• 2. Use normal language, avoiding pious phrases, King James English (thees and thous), and churchy jargon (edified, sanctification, etc.).
• 3. Make simple, not complex, points. Make them clearly stated, not hinted. Say what your are saying.
• 4. Don’t moralize or preach. Don’t talk down to your listeners.
• 5. Avoid arguments, controversies, and criticism of others.
• 6. Base the talk on the Bible. Quote the scriptures, paraphrasing them if necessary to make your point.
• 7. Use examples and stories from your own experience.
• C. Keep the talk disciplined; that is, within the goals set for the session.
• D. The talk should be for a duration of about 45 minutes. In any case, it should not be less than 30 minutes nor more than one hour.

TALK No. 2: PRACTICING AND DELIVERING YOUR TALK


Speaker’s Outline

I. Practicing for Your Talk

A. Make each practice one step closer to the actual talk.

1. Have a sense of approaching the goal.
2. You will notice that you will become less and less inhibited.

B. Finish each practice.

1. Otherwise you might have a strong intro but a weak closing.
2. You will gain experience in explaining your points in different ways.

C. Time your practice.

D. Strive for a conversational tone.

1. Imagine you are talking to a friend.
2. Use the first person, not the third.

E. Envision the audience’s response.

1. Anticipate the five most likely questions and answer them in your talk.
2. Play on times of laughter, challenge, emotional tugs, etc.

F. Remember: More practice makes for better delivery.

II. Approaches in Practicing Your Talk

A. Warming-up

1. Mental draft: Run through your presentation in your mind; meditate and reflect.
2. Speaking draft: Write your notes down on paper.
3. Standing draft: Practice actually delivering your talk.

B. Evaluation and Feedback

1. Mirrored draft
2. Taped draft
3. Live audience draft (family, SFC household, unit head, etc.)

C. The Final Draft

1. Practice rough spots.
2. Practice with revised notes.
3. Finalize draft/actual talk.
4. Dress rehearsal.

III. Delivering Your Talk

A. Verbal Delivery (Your words and how to say them.)

1. Show enthusiasm.

 This will make up for a number of other deficiencies.

2. Draw empathy.

a. Manifest the care you have for the audience.
b. Show that you can see things from their perspective.

3. Know your personality. (Control yourself.)

 Ability to be intimate with the audience.

4. Control your voice.

a. Volume. Including proper use of microphone.
b. Speaking rate. Practice pausing.
c. Pitch. For stress/emphasis.

5. Control your words.

a. Select your words carefully.
b. Pronounce your words correctly.
c. Enunciate clearly.

 Avoid slurring and mumbling.
 Exercise jaw and mouth.

B. Non-verbal Delivery. Between 60% and 90% of all interpersonal communication is non-verbal.

1. A smile increases trust, aside from giving you a confident image.
2. Eye contact

a. Enhances a perception of sincerity.
b. 38% of all audience perception of a speaker’s meaning.

3. Use gestures.

 Adds emphasis and stresses your points.

4. Walk around.
5. Watch out for your mannerisms.

 Doing other things while speaking.

C. Do not inject humor if it is unchristian, negative or colored (green or brown).

IV. On the Day of the Talk

A. Stay confident in the Lord.

1. Greet the day with anticipation.

a. “Lord, thank you for this day.”
b. “Make me an instrument of your love.”

2. Do something special.

a. Visit the Perpetual Adoration Chapel.
b. Treat the family out.
c. Sing songs to the Lord.

B. Minimize unrelated pre-talk activities.

C. Get ready for the session itself.

1. Wear your favorite clothes.

a. Comfortable.
b. When in doubt as to attire, dress formally to show respect for the audience, the situation, and for yourself as speaker.

2. Arrive early.

a. Familiarize yourself with the venue.
b. Test the microphone, speakers, and acoustics.
c. Check how the emcee will introduce you to avoid embarrassing intros.
d. Be prayed over by the team.

3. Pray and offer your efforts to God.

V. Just Before Being Called to Deliver the Talk

A. Relax while you wait.

 Do slow, deep breathing and shake any tense muscle.

B. Don’t make any significant last-minute changes.

 While being sensitive to the work of the Holy Spirit.

C. Listen closely to how you are introduced.

 Add or correct the introduction.

D. Spring from your seat when called.

1. A slouched, lousy posture will be noticed.
2. Have a snappy and brisk approach.

E. Greet the audience.

 Establish eye contact and smile.

F. Minimize pre-talk activities (fumbling for notes, arranging the mike, etc.).

 Keep your notes well-organized and handy.

G. Pause and begin.



Annex A



HANDLING STAGE FRIGHT



1. Speechlessness

a. Warm up prior to the talk.
b. Hum in a low tone.
c. Take a breath.
d. Focus on a familiar face.

2. Racing

a. Pause for a moment.
b. Summarize.

3. Headache

a. Take some food before the talk.
b. Take aspirin.

4. Stiff or Shaky Muscles

a. Identify which muscles are shaking and then shake off.
b. Walk around.
c. Bend your waist; lean on the edge of the rostrum.

5. Shortness of Breath

a. Take a deep breath. Series of breaths.
b. Stretch your arms.
c. Make yourself yawn.

6. Excessive Sweating

a. Have a hankerchief available.
b. Loosen up your collar; have comfortable attire.
c. Have a glass of water ready.

7. Dry Mouth

 Have a glass of water ready.

8. Pounding Heart

a. Hold a long deep breath.
b. Do long slow breathing.

9. Cracking Voice

a. Stretch your neck, clear your voice, and take a deep breath.
b. Pause and sip water on the side.

10. Shifting or Rocking Body Movements

 Grip the lectern in front of you.

11. Twitches (Irregular Muscle Spasms)

a. Rub the muscle or stretch that area of the body.
b. Face away from the audience.

12. “Aaahhs” and “Uuuhhmmms”

a. Practice to have none. Be aware of it.
b. Think before you speak.

13. Blanking Out (Forgetting what to say.)

a. Pray immediately but silently.
b. Acknowledge you forgot.

 It is OK to say “I lost my thoughts; what was I saying?” Do not feel embarrassed.
 Have a CATCH ALL phrase, a line that will make your comfortable. “It seems I lost track of my notes …”

c. Refer to your notes. Glance at the next point, then proceed.
d. Summarize and stop.

 Restate the last point or refer to the points already discussed.
 If you are close to the end, summarize and then conclude.



Annex B



HANDLING QUESTIONS


In case there is an open forum after the talk, the following may be useful in handling questions:

1. Repeat or rephrase the question.

a. Especially if the question was not heard by many.
b. This also gives you a chance to organize your thoughts.

2. Compliment a tough question.

a. This can help defuse any hostility there might be.]
b. Admit it if you do not know the answer.

3. Put your answer in its proper framework.

a. Qualify your answer if necessary.
b. Do not drift too far from the subject at hand.

4. Answer the question clearly.

a. If possible, it should be clear whether it is yes or no. If a clear yes or no is not possible due to the circumstances, state you qualifications and premises clearly.
b. Do not attempt to bluff.

5. Check the clarity of your answer.

a. “Did that answer your question?”
b. If necessary, do a follow-up clarification.

6. Keep control of the session.

a. Serve as “gatekeeper”, i.e., control who speaks or not, and for how long.
b. Direct the session where it ought to go.

 “Let’s hear from our other brothers.”
 “We will discuss that later on.”