Ice Breaker Technique

The Ice Breaker

By now you’ve heard speeches by club members and have probably participated in Table Topics. This is your opportunity to give your first prepared talk and “break the ice”.

The best way to begin your speaking experience is to talk about a familiar subject- yourself. Of course, this subject is too broad for a short four to six minute presentation. You must narrow it by selecting three or four interesting aspects of your life that will give your fellow club members insight and understanding of you as an individual. These might include your birthplace, education of family. You could explain how you came to be in your present occupation  and tell the audience something about your ambitions. Or you could explain the effect an incident from your youth has had on your life. On speaker donned hats as she talked about her life. She wore a chauffeur’s hat as she talked about driving her children to their activities, a fireman’s hat as she discussed the crises or “fires” she encountered daily at her work, and chef’s hat as she told of her love of cooking.

Once you have the highlights of your talk in mind, weave them into a story, just as if you were telling it to friends around the dinner table. Share significant personal experienced. The more personal you talk, the warmer the relationship will be between you and the audience.

Opening, Body and Conclusion

Like any good story, your talk needs a clear beginning and ending. Create an interesting opening sentence that captures the audience’s attention. Memorize it, if necessary, and use it even if a better idea occurs to you just before you speak. Then devise a good closing and memorize it, too.

            A memorized beginning and ending enable you to start and finish your talk with confidence and ease. In any speech, it’s best to select a few main points (three or four at the most) and emphasize them by using examples, stories, and anecdotes. If you merely state a fact and then continue, most of your audience will miss the point. You should make a point, say it again in different words, illustrate the point, and then state it once more in order to be clearly understood. This is a good skill to learn. Choose your points and illustrations carefully. Too much information may overwhelm the audience.

            If you think you will need notes, write a brief speech outline on note cards, which you can place on the lectern. Refer to them only when you need them. Remember, you’re speaking not reading. Many speakers begin by writing out an entire speech, then breaking in into parts, which the a key word for each part, and finally writing just the key words on one note card.

Preparing Yourself

Now the talk is ready, but are you ready to present it? Practice the talk until you are comfortable with it. You won’t need to memorize the body of the talk, since you already know all about the subject. As mentioned earlier, you should memorize the opening  and conclusion.

            Present the talk familiar member, a friend or your Toastmaster mentor. Ask for comments. They may give you some helpful suggestions. If you have a tape recorder, record the talk and listen to it carefully, making any necessary improvements. Using a tape recorder is one of the best ways to improving your speaking ability.

            Instead of thinking of this presentation as “making a speech,” think of it as a talk before a group of friends, sharing information of interest. Don’t be afraid of the audience. They have already experienced the same feelings you’ve having. They want to succeed any they’re eager to help you!

            Appearance is important. Be well groomed and appropriately dressed for your presentation. When you look right, you feel good about yourself. You’ll then forget about your appearance and concentrate on your talk. You will have increased confidence because you know you’ve made a good first impression with the audience.

Presenting Your Talk

Once you’ve prepared and practiced your talk, relax. Nervousness is common to every speaker, no matter how experienced. In fact, you can put this nervous energy to work for you by using it to add excitement to your delivery. No one is going to notice a little quavering in your voice, and it will soon disappear anyway as you become involved with you’re saying (More information about controlling nervousness appears on page 72).

            While being introduced, take a deep breath and slowly exhale. This will help your voice sound resonant and natural. Begin by facing the Toastmaster and saying ,”Mr. (or Madam) Toastmaster,” then face the audience and say, ”Ladies and gentlemen…” or “ Fellow members and guests…” Pause, then begin with your memorized beginning.

            While speaking, make “eye contact” with various members of the audience, fist looking directly at one person for a few seconds, then looking at another, so people feel included in your talk. As you do this, glace periodically at the timer. If the red light comes on while you’re talking, move smoothly to your conclusion and finish quickly. Observe time limits whenever you speak.

            Don’t worry about what to do with your hands. Leave them at your sides if this makes you more comfortable. You’ll have opportunities to practice “body language” later.

            Finish with your memorized conclusion. Some speakers say “thank you” at the very end to signal to the audience that they are finished, but this is not necessary. Instead, after you say concluding words, nod at the Toastmaster of the meeting and say,” Mr. (or Madam) Toastmaster” and enjoy the applause.

Your Evaluation

After you finish, you’ll probably begin evaluating yourself even, before you return to your seat. You may think you left out some of the best parts. Every speaker thinks that just congratulate yourself on having delivered your first speech, then write down the things you did well and the things you want to improve to make your next speech even better.

            To supplement yourself evaluation, an experienced club member has been assigned to evaluate your efforts. Before the meeting begins, give this manual to tour evaluator so he or she may make notes on the evaluation page of this project. This gives you a permanent record of your progress. If you want the evaluator to observe something in particular, be sure to inform the evaluator in advance.

            Ask other members for additional comments after the meeting (some may give their own brief written comments during the meeting). All of these comments may not be useful to you, but you should consider them carefully. Remember, each evaluation is an opinion of how that person perceived you and your presentation. These opinions usually (but not always) will be helpful to yourself development.

Arranged by Kartika RGG