Hot
Topic Archive
April
2007
Achieving
an 'A' in communication for your volunteer program
By guest Hot Topic author Dale
Rees-Bevan
"I
would rather die than stand up and speak in public,"
is the faltering battle cry with which we represent
our organisations. Most of us go through life with
the view that you either can or you can't. Speak in
public, that is. It's high time we changed that perception
and realized that, as with so many things in life,
it's a skill that can be learned, worked on, acquired.
The
value we bring to an organisation depends on our communication,
and more specifically, our public speaking skills.
This is particularly true for volunteer program managers,
who are often responsible for making presentations
in the hope of attracting new volunteers to their
program. If we can represent our organisation competently
and enthusiastically, we can contribute more powerfully.
Achievement depends on getting an A in Communication
Skills !
Here
are some "A's" in Public Speaking to mull over:
Advocacy
Whether
you're on TV or at a friend's BBQ, you are your organisation's
best advocate at that time and place. So, when you're
asked what your organisation does, or why you got
involved, you should have an articulate and inspiring
answer ready.
Preparation
is the key to good public speaking, so why not have
your pitch ready for the next occasion? That means
today, because you don't know who you're going to
be chatting to later on and if they might be able
to help. If you've prepared your pitch, then you might
be about to entice another great volunteer, or secure
a fantastic sponsorship.
An
ideal short speech should have a story which hooks
the listener. When I talk about the school programmes
for public speaking, I tell the story about Daniel
who was not an academic, who couldn't sit still in
class and who was in trouble with the police - on
a weekly basis. However, once he started attending
our public speaking workshops, he discovered he could
hold an audience and could articulate his ideas well.
His confidence increased, he began to take school
more seriously and in fact, was chosen to represent
his school in the final competition. His mother phoned
us up sobbing, saying "It's the first time Daniel
hasn't been in trouble and has actually succeeded
at something."
Hook
with a story
So,
take an individual story, incident or example of how
your organisation has touched a life. Let those you
are speaking to learn directly of the impact volunteer
work in your agency makes through a real life example.
People respond to a story more than they do facts
and figures, and need to imagine the impact on one
person before they can see the bigger picture.
Three
main points
Now
you have them hooked, you can move onto telling them
about the bigger picture of your organisation and
try to narrow it down to three main points.
These
could include:
. The
number of people you support
. The
size of the projects you run
. The
number of the geographical areas you operate across
. The
amount of funds you raise (and require)
. The
most significant outcomes you achieve
Whatever
you think best describes the impact of the work that
your organisation does.
Connect
with your audience
Finally, sell
it to the individual you're talking to. Summarise
the effects in terms THEY can feel. If you're on TV,
make an appeal for sponsorship AND volunteers, explaining
how each would contribute. If you're talking to an
individual, outline what skills they could bring to
the organisation. If neither applies, simply radiate
the enjoyment you experience and the satisfaction
you get and use the opportunity to practice your pitch.
At the very least, you might have inspired a small
donation from the individual!
Appreciation
Having our
colleagues appreciate our contribution is a huge step
towards the operation of an efficient and enthusiastic
team.
Public speaking
is a skill that teaches us to marshal our thoughts
and express ourselves in an organized and comprehensive
manner. So often we'd like to pay a compliment, but
aren't sure how to put it across well. We have birthday
parties, staff drinks, leaving parties, joining parties
and we muddle through with a clumsy, half-hearted
"I'd like to say a few words" which leaves everyone
cringing. These are our opportunities to show leadership
and more importantly demonstrate the value we place
on our staff and volunteers.
A little
preparation goes a LONG way. Think about precise contributions
the person has made, develop little anecdotes and
build them up to show the individual as the hero they
are. Use these opportunities to remind others why
we do what we do and what can be done to increase
our contribution. Oh sure, the individual will act
completely embarrassed, but the red cheeks are the
product of the glowing embers of enthusiasm fired
up by your praise.
Your gift
to that person and the organisation is your careful
preparation. That alone demonstrates how much value
you place on their contribution, their personality
and their skills.
Authority
How can we
expect anyone else to support our cause if we don't
represent it with authority? Our speech is our main
advertisement - our credibility, our conviction, our
understanding of the organisation - these are all
evidenced by the competence of our speaking. If we
cannot talk about our experience of the organisation
with confidence and conviction, how can we expect
others to come aboard?
Please don't
get me wrong - I don't want to frighten you into silence!
On the contrary, go back to the first A - Advocacy.
Do your preparation. Be the best advertisement you
can be. Fight for your cause - with your voice. Order
your thoughts, think of your story - champion the
work that is being done and not only will your organisation
benefit from your public speaking; you will personally
feel an increase in your own value to the organisation.
Public
speaking confidence is a process.
Every time
you present a little talk (or a lengthy seminar!)
you will make mistakes and learn from them. The secret
is to be able to look at what areas could be improved,
but not to see those as the overall measure of the
speech. Most people are happy to overlook minor glitches
and probably won't even notice that you left out some
bits of information that you wanted to include. Pick
yourself up, dust off the annoyance at the mistakes
you made and go home to practice, practice, practice
for the next one. Great orators can be made and your
time and effort in preparation will show. Success
will breed confidence and with each talk, you will
feel better and become more competent.
Let's hear
your experiences about public speaking
- Do you have any great tips
to share?
- Any significant success
stories?
- How has improved public
speaking led to more volunteers?
- What are the things that
most hold you back?
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not too late to...
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