Resources For Improving Your Public Speaking

We live in an age where it is easier to learn than ever before. The Internet provides at your fingertips information on just about any subject you would like to research. I don't need to look further than my own house for examples of this. My 16 year old son learned to play guitar by watching YouTube videos. One of my other kids has been teaching himself advanced Adobe Photoshop skills, also off of YouTube.

Great public speaking tips and examples are also only a Google search away. Test me on this. Pull up your favorite search engine and type in "Public Speaking Tips". Better yet, do that same search in YouTube if you really want to find interesting video clips to watch.

I've found that listening to speakers outside of club meetings is a great aid for improving my speaking ability and confidence. In the comfort of my own living room I can practice speech evaluation techniques by making notes about what went well, what didn't go so well, and how I would change the presentation for more impact. These notes can then be applied to my next Toastmasters presentation.

Below you will find a small sampling of the many resources available. Review them at your leisure for ideas about your next speaking project.

TED: Ideas Worth Spreading

TED is an organization dedicated to the spreading of ideas through the spoken word. It's sister organization, TEDx, holds local and regional conferences where you can apply to speak on any number of topics.

Toastmasters International - YouTube Channel

The Toastmasters International YouTube channel has a number of teaching videos as well as competition speeches for review.  In case you weren't aware, District 25 also has it's own YouTube channel.

Toastmasters International - Podcast

Toastmasters International hosts a regular podcast that can be found here online or via iTunes. 

Public Speaking Blogs

Prefer to read about public speaking? This blog post contains a list of over 100 blogs being written on the topic of public speaking. I haven't exhausted the entire list, but there are several with good material.

P.S. Don't forget to congratulate Shannon and Ana for achieving their latest education milestones!

Jeff Wright, CC