Welcome to the December 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.

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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

• Giving a Christmas Speech

• They Said It Christmas Quotations

• Wordy Party Games

Susan's Spiel

Giving a Christmas Speech

This month's Article is for all of you who've been asked to give a Christmas Speech and it's no laughing matter! 'Ho, ho, ho' is good enough for the man in the jolly red suit but it won't work for the end-of-year office do. Use these 5 tips to deliver a speech that will give you something to really smile about.

Christmas Quotations is the not so surprising focus of this month's They Said It. For all of you wanting some real Christmas spirit rather than the commercial buy, buy and more buy, you'll find this an interesting oasis of calm. Do you know the history of Christmas traditions? Find out here.

And lastly here's a few Wordy Party Games Public speaking can be fun especially when it's cleverly disguised as party games. There's 3 here that will have your guests rolling with laughter. They're perfect for gatherings of family and friends - just right for the holiday season.

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!

Till our next issue have a safe and happy Christmas where ever you are.

"May peace be more than a season,
may it be a way of life"
Author Unknown

Kind regards,

Susan

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Article

Giving a Christmas Speech

Perhaps you've been given the honor of giving the pre-Christmas dinner speech for your family this year.
Or may be you want to start a new tradition and be the first to give a Christmas Speech or it could be you have to 'say something' at you work or office Christmas Party.

Here are 5 tips for giving a Christmas speech that will be appreciated.
(It's a shortened version of a fuller page on preparing Christmas Speeches. You can check that out by clicking the link.)

1. Know who you're talking to
   Is it family, friend or work colleagues?
   What do they expect to hear or want from your speech?
   What tone is appropriate? Is it light? Is is serious or solemn? Could you use humor?
   
2. What do you want to achieve through your speech?
   Is the purpose to unite your listeners? Is it to make them laugh and relax?
   Once you have the answers to question 1 and 2 you're ready to consider...
3. Choosing a theme
   A theme will give your speech continuity - a thread that runs all the way through it, uniting its parts. For simplicity choose one.
   Suitable Christmas themes are: family or togetherness, gratitude, giving, hope, remembrance, faith, love, peace.
4. Prepare your outline
   Now that you have your theme - choose 3 main points or ideas. These will form the body of your speech. For each main point give an example (or two) to illustrate it.
   Next prepare your conclusion - a summary of your main points plus a strong ending. It could be a quotation on your chosen your theme or a toast.
   Lastly prepare your begining. You'll want to welcome everybody, acknowledge important guests and the occasion as well as introduce your theme.
   Once you're satisfied with your outline put it on numbered and labeled cue cards.
5. Practice
   Now try saying it out loud. Even though you've not written it out fully word for word the outline or notes should be sufficient for you to add what's needed to make it a full speech.
   Practice it through several times to get the flow right from one section to the next. Doing this is invaluable as you'll find out where the glitches are; if it's too long or too short or not linked properly.
   Incorporate any modifications, rewriting your cue cards if necessary.
   Lastly, if you can, give your speech to a couple of trusted friends or family members prior to delivering for real. Ask for feedback about length, content, tone and tweak if needed.

Click the link to see a completed Christmas Speech outline
Find out more about making and using cue cards here.

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They Said It

Christmas Quotations

I've been browsing through Christmas quotations looking for just the right one to add to a speech I've been preparing and I found this and want to share it with you.

It's a quotation that encapsulates everything I aspire to - qualities that I want to both give and receive. These are Christmas gifts that as my Granny used to say, cost nowt but give everything.

Christmas gift suggestions:
To your enemy, forgiveness.
To an opponent, tolerance.
To a friend, your heart.
To a customer, service.
To all, charity.
To every child, a good example.
To yourself, respect.
Oren Arnold

And here's a site I found hugely interesting. It gives the background to the many and varied Christmas customs that collectively make up our experience of what Christmas is.
Called The History of Christmas you can find out why Santa Claus is called Santa Claus, why he wears a red suit, where the elves came from, when the Christmas celebration was made legal in USA, (Yes, apparently it was against the law in some states and people were fined if they celebrated it.), where the Christmas tree first became part of the Christmas tradition and more.
I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

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Wordy Party Games

Here's some party games that will have people laughing, enjoying themselves AND practicing impromptu public speaking at the same time!
Don't tell them last part though. It may scare them off before they've even begun!
These are all adaptations of word games I used to play with my students. Don't be put off by that either. I know they work equally well with adults

1. One Minute Challenges
   Prepare a list of topics suitable for the occasion and the audience. You want ones that people are able to talk about easily. Examples: my favorite song, my best holiday, vegetables, the weather...
   You'll need one for each guest and a few spares. Write each topic on a slip of paper then fold it so the topic can't be seen and place on a tray. Invite a guest to select a topic to speak on for one minute.
   The rules are simple.
   
   1. What they pick as a topic they must speak on. They can't choose another.
   2. They must speak for a full minute before stopping.
   3. Once their minute is up, they nominate the next speaker to choose a topic.
   To make it more fun prepare small prizes for the best speaker, the most entertaining speaker, the most imaginative speaker, the most convincing speaker and so on.
   Get the audience involved with the voting or nominate someone to be the judge beforehand. You'll also need someone to act as timekeeper. They must begin timing the moment the speaker starts.
2. Definitions
   This is an opportunity to spout pure nonsense convincingly and a load of fun.
   You'll need slips of paper and pencils for people to write their 'words' on. Sit your players in a circle give out the paper and pencils and ask them to write a nonsense word on the paper.
   Each player will take a turn at receiving a nonsense word from the neighbor on their left.
   This word they must provide a plausible definition for. When they have completed their definition they then give their nonsense word to the player on their right.
   To encourage inventiveness and creativity ask for the history of the word and its country of origin, whether it is a noun, verb, adjective etc, what it means and an example of it in use.
   Nominate a player to begin. They then give their word to their right-hand neighbor to begin the round of definitions.
   Again, providing a small prize for the most convincing definition adds to the laughter.
3. Expert Interviews
   For this game you'll need people in pairs. One person will become the expert and the other the interviewer.
   Prepare the required number of expert topics on slips of paper which are then placed face down on a tray. The interviewer selects a topic and begins the interview with the expert.
   Their opening question or introduction lets the expert know his area.
   Example:
   'We're extrememly fortunate today to have with us in the studio, Isaac Flugelhorn. Isaac is a well known, respected and published expert on the benefits of teaching children to read underwater. Isaac, I'd like to begin to by asking when you first realised your vocation?'
   The topic was the 'benefits of teaching children to read underwater'.
   The game ends when the interviewer brings it to a close.
   The goal for the expert is to 'live' into their expertise realistically and wholeheartedly regardless of how ridiculous the topic is or how little knowledge they have on the subject. The goal for the interviewer is to draw out the expert by asking open ended questions.
   Do have fun with these.

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Thank you for reading the December 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 on my About Me 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 Christmas and Happy speaking,

Susan

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