Your dog is your best speech evaluator
Why Toastmasters need to practice speeches in front of dogs
The focus of my speech was on how to handle tech-related fumbles during a live performance. I had a Google Slides presentation on my foldable laptop, large enough so people could see the images. I’d practiced vocal variety and how to work the stage. But while I was talking, one person jumped up to loudly argue on her phone. Another person complained that my photographs were still too little even in full-screen mode.
A third crowd member decided he wanted to have a semantics debate with me mid-sentence and rolled his eyes. A fourth person lost interest altogether and started texting on his phone while two more audience members looked bored out of their minds or turned to chat with a neighbor.
In all of the speeches I gave to earn Presentation Mastery proficiency in Toastmasters, this was the rudest behavior I’d ever encountered. And it took everything in me not to start cracking up laughing. Why? These audience members were carefully chosen to be part of my “Managing a Difficult Audience” speech in Level 4 of Pathways. Their entire goal was to throw me off during the speech.
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No matter how many other certification roles I’ve earned (Competent Communicator, Competent Leader, Advanced Communicator Bronze), that “Managing a Difficult Audience” speech is still my favorite one and the most useful. I wasn’t sure how often I would use these skills or if I would ever have that many rude people around during a speech, but it turns out that I needed to learn those tips more than I ever thought I would.
How did I find out? A Brittany Spaniel and a Louisiana Catahoula Leopard dog put me to the test.
The Talker. This person gives answers that are entirely too long and tends to try to dominate the conversation, often in the Q&A session of a meeting and sometimes interrupts you right in the middle of talking.
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What a dog taught me about The Talker. I was all set to have a video conference call with an attorney and explain how a blog platform worked. I’d pulled out statistics, sign-up information and case studies. I made sure to walk the Louisiana Catahoula Leopard dog ahead of time, feed her and play with her for at least 30 minutes to wear her out. She was napping when the call started.