There are prudes & hippocrites everywhere!

Last October during a Toastmasters humorous speech contest I decided to do a speech on the subject of issues of old age. Medical science has done extensive research on many aspects on the normal functions of the human body during the aging process. A few weeks ago while at the Doctors office with my wife GG. We talked to her doctor (who was female) about different aging issues. One of those issues happened to have been on the subject of passing gas. Her response was that it was normal for every human being to pass gas an average of 10 times a day. In fact she went on to say that if that did not happen several health problems could result. I then asked her if that action increased with age and she said yes. I researched the subject extensively and found that to be true. So in preparing for my participation in the humorous speech contest I pondered the question of whether to talk about this subject or not. And what would the appropriate language to use that would not ruffle someones feathers.

After a lot of diliberation and discussion with others that I had a lot of respect for I decided that would take the challenge of presenting this issue on. Knowing that using some 4 letter words ie (fart) might be offensive to some people I decided to go with the word TOOT. It drew the picture of what I ment but was not in my mind offensive. In fact it was funny (based on audience reaction & my discussion with others). But as luck world have it, assigned to be a judge in that contest was an individual whose lack of flexability cost me the chance to win the speech contest. With all of the "obscence material in movies, in books, on TV and even in some TM speeches I thought I was on pretty solid ground. but this person found the use of the word "TOOT" offensive. They even went so far as to try to make a big deal of it during a judges training session a few months later. I found their reaction immature and childish to say the least. Have we gone to far with "political correctness and other moral issues that that we cannot discern acceptable from unacceptable. Some individuals cannot keep an open mind? Maybe they should excuse themselves from taking any position (like judging) that has an influence in other people lives. We cannot and should not force our opinions on others. These same people snicker at blue humor and gossip about others but cannot see the humor in something natural. I was presenting real issues that every person over the age of 50 has to deal with. And if we cannot make fun of ourselves we have no right to have opinions of,or make comments about others.

During the past 16 plus years as a Toastmaster, during speeches I have heard the words, "poop, fart, pee, butt & boobs" used in addition to insinuations to the use of certain hand/finger gestures towards other people during driving incidences and guess what, the audience laughed. Since when did the word "TOOT" become the number one word on the America's Most Wanted list???

Freedom of speech is one of the reasons that our forefathers went to war. Yes I agree that there are issues that we should address for the over all moral good of our children and the nation but, let's be reasonable and open minded. Both Mother Nature and God have a sense of humor, thats why the Goony bird and politicans were created.

Use this link and pull up "The Geezer Effect" Oct 14, 2011

http://www.youtube.com/user/mrbobfreel

If they don't remember your opening you did "not" connect.

Several times over the last 5 years while evaluating an advanced speaker during a toastmasters club meeting I have asked the audience "What was the speakers opening"? and have gotten no response. I then would give them a memory jogger to see if they remembered, what the opening was, still nothing. The truth is the speakers opening was not memorable. It did not connect with the audience. So what makes a memorable opening? Is it Mr Chairman, fellow members, and friends (oh what a boring start (no connection, no excitement, blah, who cares)). What was the "Take Away Value" in that opening? NOT MUCH. I boils down to who is your audience? Are they engineers, doctors, lawyers,brick layers or a mixture? Some times you cannot tell. But normally your audience is made up of 3 types of people. Auditory People - These are the type of people who learn by what they hear when they bring up memories it the sounds they remember first. They make up (25%) of your audience. The words that you might use in your opening and closing for these type of people are: Hush, Ring, Utter, Tell, Shout, Scream, Clear - just to name a few. These are the people who need you to TELL them what to do. A sentence in your opening for these types of people might be. Ladies and gentlemen give me your ear, the secret I'm about to tell you will change your life. Visual People - These are the type of people who learn, believe, and process information that they can see. These people remember things in pictures. They make up (35%) of your audience. These are the show me people. Some of the words you would use in your opening and closing statements for these type of people are: Imagine, Visualize, Illustrate, Focus, Watch, Look, Picture. A line in your opening for these types of people might be: Imagine you are sitting at your desk when suddenly ___________. These are the types of people like slides. Kin aesthetic People - These are the people whom when they learn or bring up memories they remember how they felt. These are the note takers. These people make up (40%) of your audience. These people relate learning and remembering based on feelings, taste, touch, smell. Words you might use in your opening are: Smell, Stir, Touch, Carry, Feel, Taste, Hot, Freezing. Your possible opening sentence might be: Get a load of this or Remember how it felt when_______________. Close your eyes, you're in the kitchen of your favorite cook, you take a deep breath. You smell your favorite dish baking in the oven? The aroma floats tantalizingly under your nose. Your mouth begins to water! Words you might use are: Smell, Stir, Touch, Carry, Feel, Taste, Hot. When we speak to each other the percentage of how we communicate is: 7% Words 38% Tonality 55% Body Language That's 93% of our communications have nothing to do with the words we say. It has more to do which the tone in which we said. And our body posture, gestures, eye contact. What I am saying is that our priority when writing/preparing a speech to impact the majority of our audience would be: (K) Kin aesthetic first, (A) Auditory second, (V) Visual third. Rodger Jones an authority on Leadership has this example; This is an example of how you might use the K,A,V criteria when preparing your speech. This is an important day! I walked (K) into your office this morning with a feeling (K) of anticipation, and as I sit in front of you now I am excited (K) about the opportunities that exist for us to grasp (K) together. I am hearing (A) from all quarters, the needs your people are stating (A) - we know they need to hear (A) answers. Together we can paint a picture (V) for them of the future - develop a vision (V), so that they will be able to see a clear (V) way forward in the new organization. I realize that during an average conversation most of us would not talk like the paragraph above, but it demonstrates my points. When you use this process when preparing you openings and closings you have a stronger chance of connecting with your audience. After all it's the openings and closings our audience should remember. If they don't we did not connect and there is no "Take Away Value"? If there is no take away value why should they listen to you at all?????? I am reading a great book on body language called: The Power of Body Language How to succeed in every business and social encounter Written by: Tonya Reiman Published by: Pocket Books (I bought it at Barnes & Noble) Remember it's not just what you say, it's how you say it, and the body language you use when you say it. In the coming weeks I will talk about the words in openings. I'm Bob Freel and that's "What I've Learned".