Talk to YourselfBring Your Speech to

Life

David Reed, DTMDistrict 55 Toastmasters

2014 Fall Conference

Holiday Inn Express

Austin Midtown

What just happened?

• How many characters were there?

• Could you clearly distinguish between the characters?

• Who were they?

• What did they look like?

• How many lines of dialogue were there?

• Was there any narration at all?

• How much narration would have been required to replace the dialogue?

• Do you want to know what happened before AND after?

Why replace your speech with dialogue?

• Say more with fewer words.

• Say more in less time.

• Deliver a heavier emotional impact.

• Be more relatable to a broader audience.

• Be more memorable.

• Spend less time memorizing your speech.

• Keep your audience awake and engaged!

What is a dialogue?

• Two or more characters speaking to one another.• Not necessarily successfully communicating!

• Dialogue v. Monologue

• How many characters is too many?

• What are examples of characters in a speech?

• Are you a character in your speech?

To Create a Character: Change two things.

Voice

1. Tone

2. Pitch

3. Rate

4. Volume

5. Quality

6. Accent

Body

1. Position

2. Orientation

3. Posture

4. Pose

5. Gesture

6. Movement

7. Prop

Your turn! #1

• Situation: Riding in the backseat on a family roadtrip.

• Sister: “Hey! Stop touching me!”

• Brother: “I didn’t touch you. Touched me first!”

Your turn! #2

• Situation: A job interview that isn’t going well.

• Interviewer: “So, tell me. When did you stop beating your wife?”

• Interviewee: “Um. Er. What? Come again?”

Your turn! #3

• Situation: A dark alley in crime-ridden Gotham City.

• Bad Guy: “Hey, who the heck do you think you are?”

• Vigilante: “I’m Batman.”

Your turn! #4

• Situation: A moonlight beach in the Caribbean.

• Him: “Sweetheart, will you marry me?”

• Her: “Seriously? You propose to me with HER ring?”

Your turn! #5

• Situation: The principal’s office.

• Principal: “What do you have to say for yourself?”

• Student: “Well, I, uh, like, didn’t mean for, um, that to happen. . .”

Things to consider

• What is your storyline?

• Why do you need a narrator?

• Who are your characters?

• What is your setting?

• What is the point of your dialogue?

What questions do you have?

Dirty little dialogue secrets

• You are not on the witness stand.

• Nobody knows the Real Story™—except you.

• In order to better “tell the truth” you must adjust the facts of your story to better support your point.

• There MUST be conflict and emotion.

• You must simplify your story to point where YOU think it’s boring. Your audience will NOT think it’s boring.

• If it’s trite and it works, it’s not trite. Jerk tears from your listeners whenever possible, if you dare.

• Dialogue is the one place where vernacular is GOOD!

David Reed, DTM

• I’m not cheap, but. . . I am available to coach you as a speakerin San Antonio or Austin for a nominal fee.

• david@wanted2speak.com

• 425-765-0487 mobile