Chamber members get lessons in public speaking
If you suffer from stage fright and someone suggests you should picture the audience being naked, you should seek advice elsewhere because it doesn’t work.
That’s what Gina Frazier, owner and president of Deva Industries, told those who attended the monthly Chamber of Commerce Business luncheon in the Dolphin Room at Fishbone’s Restaurant at the Shell Factory on Wednesday.
Frazier was speaking on behalf of Toastmasters International, a nonprofit educational organization that helps people’s communication and public speaking skills.
Frazier said that everybody at some point in their lives will be called upon to speak, whether at a business meeting, wedding, award presentation or the like. So you must be prepared.
“It will sneak up on you when you least expect it. If you’re not prepared or comfortable, it will hit you like the flu,” Frazier said. “It can infest your body with this dull, aching pain where you want to crawl into bed and pull the covers over your head.”
Frazier got the group thinking by asking a table talk question that read, “Roses are red. Violets are blue. If you were invisible, what would you do?”
She didn’t have them answer, but it proved a point. Many admitted it would make them wish they were invisible, though chamber president Al Giacalone answered, “It would make my wife leave.”
Frazier said the secret is practice, much like learning to play a sport or musical instrument. Toastmasters gives people the chance to hone their skills in a non-threatening environment.
“You can make mistakes and get over your fears. You can work on things like looking people in the eye, projection, getting over the ‘Umms,'” Frazier said. “You then choose a track such as humor-speaking and negotiation.”
Frazier’s favorite techniques are storytelling and metaphors and got that point across by telling a story about a speech she had to make to women in Jordan.
“Through the use of stories, I was able to relate to them and get points across. They are a powerful tool when you’re speaking. They’re not just something you tell your kids at bedtime.”
It was the first luncheon since the board of directors accepted the resignation of executive director Chris Jackson, who resigned last month.
Giacalone said the chamber would continue without an executive director in the interim, but would begin the search for a replacement sometime in the spring.