Well! It isn’t often you get asked to speak on BBC radio 2 on the high profile Steve Wright show but that is exactly what happened to me last week.

My book “Raise Your Glasses Please” is a book giving tips and hints for writing short punchy speeches and giving toasts at events and weddings.  It includes quotes and jokes and even limericks that you can integrate into your speeches.
Lisa Turbuck interviewed me and she was very relaxed, which was helpful, as all the activity going on around was quite distracting. I found that after taking several deep breaths and focusing on her questions that the interview jogged along nicely and I ended up enjoying myself!
She wanted to know why people sometimes dry up. I replied that if we get to the source of the fear and then work on getting people to feel more confident and relaxed they will not get into that state of mind.  Keeping a glass of water handy is alos helpful.  Then you can pause, take a sip and then resume. When taking this pause you have the chance to gather your thoughts, and the audience likewise.

Lisa asked what make’s a Best Man’s speech go well. I mentioned the three P’s - Plan Prepare and Practice.  First plan your speech well and find out some interesting or amusing stories about the groom.  Ask what hobbies or interests he has.  Find out if he ever did anything really daring or particularly unusual.  Prepare some props to give your stories more visual impact. Then practice, practice and practice again. Only when you are sure of your speech can you start to enjoy it.

As I said to Lisa during the interview, speaking really can be so much fun.
She also asked me about the Toastmaster Speaking clubs that can be found all over the world.  In the UK there are at least one or two in every major city and in London alone there are over 20 clubs.  You have a wonderful safe place to practice and get really excellent feedback on what you do well and how to develop as a speaker.  For less than £100 a year!  In 2001 I started a club in Brighton & Hove and we now have a regular 30-40 members of all ages and walks of life.  It’s a great social club too and everone is very supportive.

Lisa finished up by asking me about the best and worst speakers I had heard. I mentioned Winston Churchill as being one of the great orators and Tony Blair wasn’t bad either.  I mentioned George Brown could do with getting his voice out of his chest and that Chris Evans gets squeeky when he runs out of breath.  He speaks too fast and forgets to breathe!

All in all it was a very interesting experience and I would reccommend it. Let’s end with a quote form the book:
“Speaking in public is a lot like black coffee, very stimulating and just as difficult to sleep after”

Jackie Arnold
Voice Coach