By By KATHIE HEMPEL / Niles Daily Star
NILES – Mark Twain is accredited with saying: "It usually takes me three weeks or more to prepare a good impromptu speech."
According to Toastmasters International, public speaking is still the number one fear of most Americans.
In a land where free speech is revered, this could be a problem.
It is one teens, who attend the eight-week Speechcraft course at the Homeschool Hub and Bookstore, hope to overcome. The Niles Four Flags Toastmaster Club presents the course.
Giving his seventh speech since the beginning of the course, Toastmaster for the session, Sam Eleff, spoke on the "Game Nights" he enjoys with family members.
With enthusiasm and humorous anecdotes, he entertained his audience.
Those who were present for his first speech noted great growth in his abilities. It is progress not perfection that the teens strive for.
"The use of gestures and facial expressions to enhance your speech are important. However, you must remember they also have to be natural," Luz Aquino, guest Toastmaster for the session said.
Volunteers from the local club had volunteered each week to give a speech to the teens on the specific skill they are mastering. They also give a speech of their own on the subject of the week.
Aquino demonstrated the results of using a sad, downcast look for relating a happy event. The teens appreciated the humor.
She noted a number of other hints as she spoke on the approach needed for the last speech, "Putting it all together." The teens will conclude their formal lessons next week.
"You are now going to present what you have learned during the past weeks as a seamless whole. Preparation is very important. Logical sequence and structure should be applied to all speeches you give. Even your table topics," she said.
Aquino refers the brief two-minute impromptu speeches the group is called on to give each week of the course. In this manner their meetings reflect all the components of regular Toastmaster meetings.
Each week individual members take positions such as grammarian, ah master, joke master, lexicologist, general evaluator and Toastmaster for the meeting. All components of each person speaking are noted including those annoying "ah's" most speakers don't even realize they are uttering.
"You learn to be a proficient speaker as you do any other skill. You hone any skill by practice. Expose yourself to situations where you have to speak in public, even if it is only offering a toast at a family function," Aquino said.
To demonstrate the power of words, Samantha Tharp delivered a narrative biography on Billy Graham. Ashley Bliss spoke about three things that add and three things that detract from an individual's success in life. Tara Joyce gave an instructional speech on the challenges of logic puzzles.
"All our speakers learn to deliver their speeches during a set time of five to seven minutes. They need to address their audience recognizing guests and their peers. Each speaker shakes the hand of the emcee or Toastmaster as they arrive at and leave the podium," Kathy Joyce, organizer of the Speechcraft classes at the Hub, said.