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Show What You
Mean
Speech No. 4 in the
Toastmasters "Communication and Leadership" Manual
Date presented: 26 Sept,1995
The objectives of this speech were:
- To learn the value of gestures and body movements as
part of a speech
- To explore the different ways of using body language
- To develop a sense of timing and natural, smooth body
movement.
Time 5 to 7 minutes.
Splashdown!
Speaking in public is said to be
the second greatest fear that most people
have.
The greatest fear of all - is death.
Each time we face up to our
fears and deal with them, we grow. At least
that is what my son
Ben tells me, as we consider the Rocky Hollow Log Ride at Dreamworld.
Whee! Splash! Oh, it looks
wonderful, and they all come back laughing.
Slightly wet, but
everyone laughs. They're having a glorious time.
"Come on Mum," coaxes Ben,
"Think of it as a growth experience."
"You've got to be kidding!" I
tell him. I've always been content to
experience my thrills
vicariously, from a spectator's seat, and yet - I can't help thinking
of an
article in a
recent Toastmaster's Magazine, "Take a Giant Step out of your Comfort
Zone."
But I couldn't take that
great a step. Just listen to the screams as they
come hurtling
down the slide. Oh, no. I'll just watch.
"It's perfectly safe," says
Ben. "Little kids are going on it - and look
at that lady.
She's even older than you."
Oh, I know it's safe. I truly
believe it's safe. But there is a vast
difference between
believing in something and in daring to experience it yourself.
Still it can't be too bad.
Everyone comes back laughing.
I don't know how I came to be
straddled across a wet seat in a hollow log
boat, but I'm
sure it's a mistake. Oh, well, looks like I'm committed now. Maybe they
should have
committed me years ago.
Ben's not worried. He hums a
little ditty as we drift into a dark tunnel.
What have I
let myself in for? I don't know where I'm going or what will happen.
There's
no way out now,
but to go through with it.
Aaah…! The boat drops down a
black hole in the darkness. I wasn't
expecting that. My
heart is pounding. If that little dip frightened me, how will I cope
with
that big slide at
the end? Oh, why did I let myself get talked into this? I get
frightened on
escalators!
What if I have a heart
attack? Who'll put out the wheelie bin tonight?
My thoughts spin in the
darkness, like a kitten chasing it's tail. Round
& round & round.
I feel the fear and I'm afraid of feeling the fear. I'm afraid of what
the
fear of fear will
do to me.
Ben seems oblivious to the
horror of the situation. "We're climbing now."
He says happily.
The boat is pulled higher and
higher and my tension rises with it. I know
I'm going to
panic. What if I pass out when we reach the top? How will I be able to
hold
on? I can see
the headlines in tomorrow's news. "Spectators watch in horror as woman
plunges to her death
at Dreamworld."
I don't want to die! Not
before I get my C.T.M.!*
Look, there's a light at the
end of the tunnel. We're almost at the top.
I hold on so
tightly, they'll probably have trouble unclenching my fists when they
retrieve my body.
We emerge in blinding
daylight and I see the crowd way down below. Every
detail is etched
sharply on my mind before I take a header into eternity.
Then we're falling! It
happens so quickly and I feel - nothing!
Swoosh! As we splash down
there is water everywhere. It's in the air.
It comes down
on my head, my cheeks, my shoulders. It feels wonderful!
And I start to laugh. It
feels like the funniest thing that has ever
happened to me. I'm still laughing as Ben helps me out of the boat.
"That wasn't so bad, was it?" he asks.
I consider for a moment.
"Well, no, I suppose not - not as bad as giving a speech, anyway....
What other rides can we go on?"
I still haven't overcome my
fear of public speaking - but I am hoping
that as I face the
fear and work through it, I will be better equipped to conquer my other
fears.
As for death, I think that
when the actual moment comes, it will be
swift and silent, like tumbling down a water slide, and I'm quite sure
that
I'll come out laughing, when I splash down on the other side.
* C.T.M. is the
Competent
Toastmaster Award earned by a Toastmaster who completes the 10 speeches
in
the Communication
and Leadership Manual
COMMENTS
This is one of my favorites! I chose this topic because I
realised I
was
naturally using gestures when I told friends about my adventure. I
enjoyed
presenting
it and everyone loved it!
MAMALADE
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