Written by Bill Morgan | 1 February 2011

It is sometimes the most challenging thing we do every meeting.

Choosing the Word of the Day is deceptively hard. If you use an obscure word from Elizabethan England you will not get much participation. If you choose a word with negative connotations people are not attracted to using it.

Although the grammarian usually has no trouble actually selecting a word, it’s imagining how it CAN be used that makes it so challenging.

When you had to pick a word out, you probably opened a dictionary and thesaurus and selected one at random. You can go to to an online dictionary (try http://dictionary.reference.com); there it not only gives a word, it allows you to be emailed one automatically!

Remember that getting everyone to use the Word of the Day begins with some simple steps:

• Pick a word that is in common usage.
• It should have more positive connotations than not
• It can be widely used, which means adjectives and adverbs are best.
• A great Word of the Day is like a delicious dressing on a salad – it makes a wonderful speech even better!

Written by Bill Morgan | 25 January 2011

Who actually doesn’t exhibit the flight or fight response while giving a public speech? Virtually no one is immune from these responses which are hard-wired into our limbic system. Author and speaker Scott Berkun attributes the fact that humans are naturally afraid when standing alone in front of a crowd because of our prehistoric heritage. So let’s go back 10,000 years. Would you feel safe standing alone on a plain, where you would be vulnerable to predators or rival tribes? That’s what puts your autonomic nervous system into overdrive!

Now let’s return to the present day. How ironic that we feel less safe delivering a speech while we think nothing of barreling down the freeway in a two-ton hulk of metal at 65 miles per hour– mere inches away from other cars and trucks.

So that leaves us with the question. Can we unlearn our fears? The answer is a qualified yes. We have all survived driver’s training to become confident drivers, without the nervous feelings we usually felt when first driving. Any difficult task certainly takes practice and time. We can tackle anything if we have an environment of safety and with helpful supporters who accentuate our positive attributes.

Does this sound familiar? Good. Well you’ve already taken the first step – attendance at your friendly neighborhood Parker Toastmasters club.

Since the fight or flight response is physical, let’s look at what you can do to ameliorate your nervousness.

• Exercise – light to mild exercise reduces your blood pressure and produces calming endorphins
• Water – hydration combats the dry mouth that is often felt by newcomers
• Practice – for any prepared speech repeated practice allows you to be more confident about what you are going to say, and frees up your energy to control the non-verbal parts of your speech
• Positive visualization – imagine receiving applause and accolades while delivering a speech. Imagining something can evoke the same physical responses as if you have actually lived it. This retrains you to know the positive feelings of elation, satisfaction and happiness.
• Breathe – remember that you can control your breathing with larger and slower breaths. This can calm you as you face your audience – and your fears!