Welcome to the August Issue of Speaking-Out-Loud write-out-loud.com's monthly E-zine to help you effectively 'talk your walk'.

If this E-zine speaks to you, then quite likely it will talk sense to your friends, family or work mates too. Please pass it along.

You might even suggest that they sign up! The page to send them to is here Speaking-Out-Loud

Remember, if you have any questions you're most welcome to ask them through my contact form. I enjoy hearing from my readers and will respond as soon as I am able.

Happy speaking,

Susan

In this Issue

If you don't have time to read the whole ezine, click on the topic that interests you. This month you will find:

• Susan's Spiel

• Getting from Fearful to Present to Excited

• Impromptu Speech Topics

• Stuttering Help

• Survey

Susan's Spiel

Getting from Fearful to Present to Excited

This month's Article is an interview with Jonathan Altfeld, NLP trainer.
Jonathan's passion is helping people to successfully overcome public speaking fear to present confidently and effectively.

He says about his training methods:

What I bring is a better method of delivery, as well as an incredibly powerful presentation skill training process for helping each person to learn to be more masterful with themselves, on stage. It isn't about acting. It's about being more of who you want and need to be, AND pairing that with good platform skills, thoughtful information packaging strategies, and effective emotional influence.

Impromptu Speech Topics
Stuck for ideas for impromptu speech topics? These are diverse, wild and whacky. They'll stretch imaginations and are absolutely suitable for your public speaking club or class to enjoy!

Stuttering Help
Do you stutter?
If you do, are you prepared to share what you've learned about helping yourself?

And lastly, if you haven't already done so, there's an invitation to complete a two minute Survey. I hope you take it because the information I get is invaluable in helping me to give you what you want.

I am always looking for ways to improve the site. If you see any errors or would like to contribute in any way, please accept this invitation to contact me through my About Me page.

Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoy this month's Speaking-Out-Loud!

Happy speaking,

Susan

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Article

How many of us have experienced that see-saw scenario? I know I have.

It was to shed light on that self-limiting pattern of 'Yes I can, No I can't' thinking that I contacted Jonathan Altfeld, NLP trainer.

Jonathan's presentation skill training focuses on developing strategies to bypass negative self-belief and replace it with success. He works with sales people, business owners, marketers, academics, negotiators; anybody for whom public speaking important. Jonathan trains frequently in England & Europe, Canada, Australia, and all around the USA.

The first of my many questions is here; bolded.
(To read the entire interview click the link at the foot of the post.)

Jonathan, you say on your website www.altfeld.com that your presentation skill training can move people from scared to present, to ready and excited. How do you do that?

Regarding moving people out of their fear of speaking, I do that in a variety of ways, because each person does their fear differently. There isn't only one form of fear of public speaking, right?

With some people, it's a 'sweaty-hands, run-away-now' full-on phobia, so that requires one sort of indirect intervention. With others, it's just a mild anxiety or nervousness that can potentially color or hurt the beginning of a presentation, and then THAT makes things worse than the fear did, so that requires a unique process or solution. With still others, it's the rampant internal dialogue asking negative questions that makes it difficult or impossible to stay on track with our material, and there are amazingly easy solutions to those patterns.

There's much more to his answer. Find out. To read the remainder and the entire interview click the link below.
Presentation Skill Training

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Impromptu Speech Topics

Here's a set of impromptu speech topics themed around books with extremely odd titles.
(Yes, the titles are real. Google 'odd book titles' and all will be revealed!)

I used them at my Toastmaster's Club recently but they'd be good for any public speaking group. If you're a teacher, use them with your senior speech class.

As a set-up I announced we were at a book fair and that we were all writers of extraordinary works and as such it was our challenge to sell our book to potential publishers. Each speaker was given a title for which they had to provide a synopsis, say who their intended audience was and why they had written the work. The results were wonderful impromptu speeches full of laughter.

• Attractive and Affectionate Grave Design
• God's Chewable Vitamin C for the Spirit
• A Theory of Shopping
• Tractors and The Men who Love Them
• Beyond Leaf Raking
• Weeds in a Changing World
• Let's Get Primitive - The Urban Girl's Guide to Camping
• Life on the Refrigerator Door - a Novel in Notes
• Born Standing Up
• Unscrewed - The Consumer's Guide to Getting What You Paid For
• Across Europe on Kangaroos
• Lightweight Sandwich Construction
• The Making of a Moron
• The Haunted Tea Cosy
• Interpersonal Violence: The Practical Series
• From Coherent Tunnelling to Relaxation

I hope you have fun with them too!

And there's more where that came from.
Click the link for another 10 themed impromptu speech topic ideas.

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Stuttering Help

Do you stutter?

How do you manage it?

Recently I was contacted through the public speaking questions section of my Speaking Out Loud page by someone who initially said they wanted guidance for getting over the fear of having to make a presentation.

I gave what was a reasonable response given the information I had. Within a short space of time there was another post by the same person. This one added the vital information that he stuttered badly.

I am not a speech therapist and had no ready answer! This led me on trail through countless websites looking for something positive to offer.
It became quickly apparent that there were no guaranteed 'quick-fix' solutions. My second post said just that, gave the links to the most authorative sites on stuttering I found and offered a possible 'work-around'.

The incident has prompted the question. If you stutter habitually and need to speak in public, how do you manage it?

What helpful tips, resources and suggestions can you share? For adults? For children? Are they similar?
I would sincerely like to know and I know that readers would value your input.

Click the link to read the question that began the search.

Fear of Speaking in front of 200 People

And if you have suggestions or comments to make, please add them.

(You'll also see another question from a reader about stuttering. This was asked on behalf of a child and in this instance I'm delighted to say, a positive outcome was reported.)

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Survey

Many thanks to those of you who have already completed this survey. It's been great to get your feedback about who you are and what you want from the ezine.
If you missed it last month and would like to add your tuppence worth please do so. Click survey to check off a box or two and write a few words. A couple of minutes is all that's needed.

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Thank you for reading the August Issue of Speaking-Out-Loud. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please feel free to contact me with any questions through the form at the foot of the Speaking Out Loud Page. I love hearing from my readers!

If you enjoyed this issue of Speaking-Out-Loud, please feel free to send it on to any friends or family. The site url to forward so they can subscribe is Speaking-Out-Loud.

Until next time,
Happy speaking,

Susan

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