I concede… not so fast.

"I concede." These were the only words I could say, when I could no longer continue my speech at a Toastmasters Division Contest. I had made this presentation dozens of times. I had won my club and area contests and now was competing at a high level. I was confident and felt good about knowing my presentation. I had drawn the sixth speaking position out of six speakers. My competition was awesome, yet I knew my speech was too.

The Toastmaster called my name. I felt a rush of excitement and shook the Toastmasters hand as I walked to the front of the room. I paused …and then began my speech. It was going well. I could see the smiles of friendly faces and felt the good vibe in the room. And then for no explainable reason, I lost my train of thought. I paused and for a second …, remembered where I was and then continued on. It was a good recovery. The pause was a bit longer than normal, yet it did not feel too unnatural. And then BAM!!!. My mind went absolutely Blank.... Frozen…. I paused again. I looked at the audience. I walked across the stage and the words I knew so well escaped me. I could not think of anything to say.

I know I was in control of all my other faculties. My breathing was good. I felt fine physically. My mind just stopped working. Wow. I was like a blank slate. A longer pause... The only thing I could do was to acknowledge and accept I could not go on any farther… today. I sat down. I was disappointed in my performance. And then, only in a Toastmasters contest , in a room full of peers, I was graciously given a round of applause.

The experience was like the scene in Forrest Gump. Forrest is running across the country with his followers, as a bumper sticker salesman runs alongside Forest and asks for some help with a saying for his bumper sticker business. Just then, the bumper sticker salesman points out that Forrest has just stepped in a pile of dog stuff. Forrest replies, "It happens", the man retorts, "What, the stuff you stepped in?” (expletive deleted), to which Forrest replies, "Sometimes". The man is inspired to create the "Common Substance Happens" bumper sticker. Sometimes it does happen, even to the most practiced and confident of speaker.

Like Forrest Gump, I felt like running, yet I could not. My run this time had ended. However, like the bumper sticker salesman, I was inspired. Inspired to come back to compete again. As tradition has it, at the end of the competition all the speakers are asked to step to the front of the room and be interviewed by the Toastmaster. This allows time for the vote counters to do their work. I was the second competitor to be interviewed. I was asked my club name and how long I have been a Toastmaster. I answered, yet before the Toastmaster could continue with her next question, I interrupted and asked the audience one question. “Do you think there is Viagra for public speaking? I sure would like to speak longer next time.” The audience laughed and I made a humorous recovery of my somewhat bruised ego.

On the drive home it was quite and I was reflective. I started to recite my speech. It came out perfectly. Darn, I wish I could have remembered it for the contest. It was a good speech. Part of my speech had a quote by Calvin Coolidge, 30th President of the United States. He said, “Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated failures. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.” As President Coolidge suggest I will press on and be more persistent and determined next time.

What’s the Timbre of your next presentation?

I enjoy listening to live music. Whether it’s in an intimate club setting like Nissi’s in Lafayette, Colorado or a spectacular outdoor venue such as Red Rocks Amphitheater in Denver. Music is created when elements such as form, harmony, key, melody, rhythm and texture all come together to produce sounds that can be dynamic and create colorful tones. Yes, I said colorful tones.

Did you know color was a part of music? Musicians know color or timbre (pronounced "TAM-ber") represents all of the features of a musical sound that do not have anything to do with a sound's length, loudness or pitch. Here’s an idea. When you write your next speech or give your next business presentation think about using more colorful timbre?

Far too often you write your speeches for the page and not ear of the audience. How can you capture your audience’s attention and keep them interested? Vocal Variety will provide the drama, however the words you use in your presentation will give you an opportunity to attract the audience, engage them and then connect. I suggest using more colorful words as an element that will add value to the listener’s ear. Writing with timbre in mind will give you the opportunity to use your dictionary, thesaurus and wiki’s to build your presentation with more powerful word play.

Below are some words used to describe timbre from a Musicians point of view. Many are interchangeable and some may have different meanings yet each help describe the idea of timbre. Say each of the words below out loud. Use vocal inflection to emphasize how each word sounds. Note: you may wish to check the room before you do this. Someone may be listening and think you are going off the deep end.

Brassy, Breathy, Bright, Clear, Dark, Flat, Focused, Harsh, Heavy, Light, Mellow, Piercing, Reedy, Resonant, Rounded, Strident, Unfocused, Vibrato, Warm.

Can you hear how these words add impact? Add these and other descriptive words as often as you can. Find the best, most elemental word to get your point across and then add the colorful seasoning that will have the biggest impact. The greater the timbre, the more you write with the ear in mind. Paint your next presentation with more colorful words.

Inspired by the work of Catherine Schmidt-Jones at Connexions http://cnx.org/content/m11059/latest/

Connexions is one of the most popular open education sites in the world.

It's Free

“Flags Up” at the 63rd Conference on World Affairs at the CU campus in Boulder. At the first panel, I attended, I overheard someone say, “It’s nice this is all free.” The event’s publicity even states, “All Events Free and Open to the Public”. Don’t kid yourself. Nothing is free. Most of us are being coerced by government to pay taxes for the use and maintenance of the buildings at CU, the gas to heat the buildings, the lights to see the speakers and the sound system to hear them. Someone, most likely you, produced something, someplace, and was paid for your production and that wealth was transferred to others, to make this event ultimately happen.

On the other hand, there are corporate and individual sponsors who donated funds, un-coerced by government to allow this “free” event to take place. I thank them. They underwrote the transportation for the speakers. They provided the speakers food and a place to stay. They gladly gave their wealth in return for something of value, the speaker’s ideas and time. The better model for a free society is the later. People freely giving their wealth to make a wonderful event like this happen. There is a proper role for government, that of protecting individual rights, not holding “Free Events, Open to the Public." Perhaps this is why so many feel entitled to your money, it's free.