Wednesday 17 December 2008

Toastmasters - Me, Myself & I

As a member of Toastmasters, the international public speaking group, I had to compose my first speech as an icebreaker so I thought I'd share it here with you today:








ME, MYSELF & I



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"Do you remember a time before the quilt when we used sheets & blankets? Crisp, cotton sheets – snowy white & dreamy – with that crunch because they’re so luxurious.



My mother would be upstairs making the beds, smoothing down the glossy white snow. Then you’d hear it – the scream! What could be wrong? Why was she screaming for me – as if I didn’t know!



She’d found it, a hole, admittedly a dirty great big hole, in the bottom of the sheet. How could I resist such pure cotton when my Barbie needed a wedding dress?



From a very early age, I’ve been seduced by material and that's because of the two greatest influences in my life.



The first is my grandmother who also loved material and we used to forage the markets for that special piece of fabric. We’d excitedly get the bus home then you’d hear the clip of the scissors and the buzz of the machine.





I’d have a beautiful new dress. Fabulous.



My earliest recollection, however, is visiting my own father at work in one of the last surviving weaving mills in Lancashire. It’s still there today and I don’t expect many of you have ever visited a working mill.


As you enter there’s a huge bundle of fluff with an overpowering but beautiful smell from the raw cotton. Cutting through it is a heavy stench of petrol as it leaks around the factory floor out of the looms. You enter the shed with all the looms stacked up line upon line, and you hear an almighty clackety clack.



You can’t hear a thing - that’s why the Lancashire accent is so broad and rounded: so you could see what people were saying across the factory floor.



Each loom would have these wooden slats going forwards and backwards carrying the threads, then the shuttle would shoot like a rocket through the middle. It’s like a little mouse running up and down through table legs. Fantastic and totally mesmerising.



When my father died of cancer, a week after my son was born, I decided that it was time to move out of my highly paid, professional job as a senior manager in IT to develop myself and build my career as an Interior Designer.



So, I stand before you today as a professional Interior Designer, armed with scissors ready to cut and create to my hearts content."








The speech was well received with some lovely comments:





"What a great 1st speech Gwendoline. You had so much confidence and presence."





"Well done. I felt what you were saying, you are passionate about what you do."





"Wow - superb use of the floor and expressive gestures right from the start. Great tone and variation."





"Awesome icebreaker! What confidence! You created word picture after word picture."

"That was a beautiful and colourful speech."




http://www.toastmasters.org/




















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