The title of your presentation, your teachings, your call-to-action and your visual support are some of the key elements to get right in order to build a compelling presentation. 

Dan Martell, a Canadian entrepreneur and speaker, shared his recipe for creating great speeches in 15 minutes. Here are some key takeaways we can all apply at Toastmasters: 

• Title of your talk
  Struggling to find a great title? Try searching online magazine covers related to your topic. For instance, if your presentation is about photography, try googling “photography magazine cover“.

• Teachings
  One of the best ways of  teaching something is by telling a story.
  
  First, open your story with a powerful statistic or example that can reinforce your point. For instance, for a talk on Human Resources: “People don’t quit their companies. They quit their boss.” 
  
  Then, share an experience of yours related to your point. The more vulnerable the story, the more universal the appeal. 
  
  Finally, don’t forget to end your story with a resolution or explain how the lesson learned can help your audience achieve or avoid a similar fate in the future.

• The smart way to build slides
  When creating slides, less is better. You should aim to have as few slides as possible, and for each slide, as less content as possible. A relevant and powerful image could be enough. If you want, you can also add a short but significant text.
  For instance:
  

To get all the details, we strongly encourage you to read the complete blog post: How to Create a Great Presentation in Just 15 Minutes

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(Also, if you are want more advice on preparing good slides, check out the video of a Toastmasters workshop entitled “Deliver More Effective Powerpoint Presentations”.)

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If you would like to put those techniques to practice, don’t hesitate to visit us at St. Lawrence Toastmasters in Montreal.

Here is the programme for the Toastmasters meeting of  November 4.

Have you ever wished to connect more with your audience or to be more persuasive when you speak? 

In this TED Talk, Julian Treasure explains how to talk with more empathy and how you can use your voice to create emotion.

This is a perfect reminder to refer to when preparing your Toastmasters Project 6 “Vocal Variety”. 

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Here is the programme for the Toastmasters meeting of October 28.

Élargissez votre zone de confort en améliorant vos capacités d’orateur et de leader grâce à Toastmasters.

À chaque mardi, vous pouvez visiter notre club Toastmasters à Montréal gratuitement.

Voici le programme Toastmasters de la soirée du 21 octobre 2014.

Do you wish to improve your speaking ability and have more impact in your next presentation? Or are you simply looking for continuous improvement in your leadership and communication skills? 

Come and visit us to find out how can Toastmaster help you! 

Here is the programme for the St-Lawrence Toastmasters meeting of October 14, 2014.

Félicitations à tous les participants qui ont assisté au Concours Toastmasters de l’autome du secteur 53, édition 2014.  Le concours de discours humoristique et d’évaluation a eu lieu hier au Club CN Collaborators.

Voici les heureux gagnants :

Daniel Gélinas (Président du concours) avec les participants du concours de discours humoristique, Tommy et Benoit

Concours de discours humoristique :

1. Benoit Ménard (Club Toastmasters CN Collaborators)

2. Tommy Lebel (Club Toastmasters St-Lawrence)

Daniel avec les participants du concours d’évaluation, Christine et Alex

Concours d’évaluation en français :

1. Alex Chan (Club Toastmasters St-Lawrence)

2. Christine Multidor (Club Toastmasters CN Collaborators)

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Humorous Speech Contest (left to right): Daniel, Galit, Benoit, Elodie

English Humorous Speech Contest:

1. Benoit Ménard (CN Collaborators Toastmasters Club)

2. Elodie Magni (St-Lawrence Toastmasters Club)

Speech Evaluation Contest (left to right): Daniel, Oren, Hepta, Christine, Alex

English Speech Evaluation Contest: 

1. Oren Weintraub (NDG Leaders Toastmasters Club)

2. Hepta Deslandes (Westmount Toastmasters Club)

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Les gagnants participeront ensuite au concours au niveau de la Division F, qui aura lieu le vendredi 24 octobre 2014 au Collège André-Grasset. Les détails suivront sous peu.

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Aimeriez-vous en savoir plus sur Toastmasters?  Venez nous rendre visite!

Voici le programme Toastmasters pour la soirée du 7 octobre 2014.

Nous aimerions chaleureusement accueillir deux nouveaux membres à notre club Toastmasters. 

Émilie nous explique ce qui l’a motivé après nous avoir visités à quelques occasions :

J’ai décidé de me joindre à Toastmasters pour m’aider à être plus confortable devant un auditoire et apprendre à gérer ma nervosité. Je suis en charge d’un groupe en évaluation sensorielle à mon travail, donc je devrai animer des formations dans les prochains mois. De plus, je dois parfois faire des présentations à des clients. Plus précisément, j’ai choisi le club St-Lawrence car il est bilingue et les membres sont respectueux.

Club president Nicholas Kepper welcomes our new members.

Zache has also decided to join our club. Here are some of the motivating factors for him:

I wanted to improve my public speaking in English and French so I joined the St. Lawrence club.  I was surprised to learn that it is the first club in Eastern Canada and one of the most rewarded with several of its members winning international tournaments. Although, that may sound daunting, the welcome certainly was not.  The encouragement and friendliness of this varied group of interesting people is amazing.  Great place to learn!

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Aimeriez-vous en savoir plus sur Toastmasters à Montréal? Venez nous rendre visite.

Voici le programme pour la soirée du 30 septembre 2014.

Aimeriez-vous en savoir plus sur Toastmasters à Montréal, afin de connnaître comment cela pourrait vous aider à communiquer plus efficacement ainsi que comment Toastmasters peut vous aider à devenir un meilleur leader?

Si c’est le cas, venez nous rendre visite. 

Voici le programme pour la soirée du 23 septembre 2014.

St. Lawrence Toastmaster Montreal is back for another amazing year! Come and join us this Tuesday at 7 pm as we will hold our second meeting of the year.

New to Toastmasters? Toastmasters is an excellent way to improve your communication skills and make new friends in the process. You will be able to learn at your own pace, and benefit from our experienced members. Come and see for yourself how Toastmasters can help you achieve your goals! Get details and directions here. 

Here is the programme for the Toastmasters meeting of September 16.

Vous souhaitez améliorer vos capacités à communiquer dans un environnement accueillant et amical? 

Venez assister à la dernière rencontre avant la relâche de l’été du club St. Lawrence Toastmasters Montréal. 

Nos rencontres rependront en septembre 2014. 

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Voici le programme pour la réunion Toastmasters du 17 juin.

Dear friends and members,

Please note that we will have 2 final Toastmasters meetings before our club takes its yearly summer break.  (We will then be back to our regular Toastmasters meeting schedule starting in September 2014.)

These are the dates of the two last meetings:

– Tuesday June 10, 2014 (before-last meeting)

– Tuesday June 17, 2014 (last meeting)

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Here is the programme for the Toastmasters meeting of June 10.