I have always been impressed by people with great speech gifts. A politician, a CEO or a toastmaster. I am not afraid of speaking up, but I do not always feel like my words are flowing. This week, I have been stepping up my game! I attended a 24 hours intensive course in rhetorics.
If you have read some of my previous blog posts, you know that I am a lot about learning and development. A few years ago, I attended a sales course. The course was actually quite crappy, but one lesson stood out. It was about rhetorics. I was so inspired and have always wanted to explore it further. The last 24 hours I did!
The course
I went to the best and signed up for a 24 hours intense course with RetoRingdal. Rhetoric guru Kjell Terje Ringdal, himself, super recognized actor Trond Espen Seim and rhetorician and creative artist Andreas B. Johansen guided us through the seminar. From the first minute we were given challenges. Before lunch was over, everybody had held one or two speeches about today´s choice of shoes, our «thing» or ourselves. It continued with lectures, practical exercises and lots of feedback in the seminar room and during meals. By the end of the first day, I had talked in public maybe ten times, holding speeches or introducing other speakers. I was «so» lucky to be the chosen toastmaster during dinner.
My top 5 lessons from this course
- Different ways to structure speeches, in order to make my thesis and arguments very clear and use of symbols (Very useful, but it requires solid preparations!)
- An easy way to structure a speech if you are put on the spot and not prepared, talking about the past, the present and the future (A-ha, this is the trick, I have observed others have been doing with great success)
- The importance of being authentic and be yourself
- Tips and tricks when it comes to holding speeches
- How to balance between reason and emotions
The importance of being open minded
Another value from courses like this, is meeting others with the same interests and challenges. I found it incredible how well we got to know each other in only 24 hours. The many short speeches where people presented different areas and anekdotes from both their personal life and professional life opened up discussions.
When attending a course like this you must be open and contribute and be interested in others.
The energy created from this interaction is unique.
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Have a great week,
Cecilia 🙂
PS: 2500 have read my post about battling motherhood and career! Have you?