Beyond Competent Communicator: The Advanced Manuals

The Advanced Communication manuals train you for different speaking situations that you can encounter outside the club environment.  There are 15 Advanced Communication manuals each of which includes five speech projects. The individual projects focus on a single, specific theme to help Toastmasters improve their communication skills in a particular area.

You can order them either individually or the complete library – speak to the VP Education for further information.  When you have completed one of the Advanced Communicator manuals the VP Education can submit an application for an award.

You can browse an overview of each of the manuals below, including a summary of the five speech projects:

Speaking To Inform

Do you want to tell others about a new product, an important discovery, ways to enhance the uality of one’s life? By completing the projects in the the Speaking To Inform manual, you’ll learn to effectively communicate your ideas.

The five speaking projects are:

1. The Speech to Inform
2. Resources for Informing
3. The Demonstration Talk
4. A Fact Finding Report
5. The Abstract Concept

Public Relations

Everyone benefits from the ability to present a good public image. Projects cover preparing a speech that will generate a favorable attitude toward you and your product, company or service, presenting a positive image of yourself and your company or organization on a radio talk show, persuading an audience to accept your viewpoint, addressing a hostile audience and communicating with the public during a crisis situation.

The five speaking projects are:

1. The Goodwill Speech
2. The Radio Talk Show
3. The Persuasive Approach
4. Speaking Under Fire
5. The Crisis Management Speech

Facilitating Discussion

Group discussions are common, and this manual provides instruction in facilitating the most common types of discussions. Learn about moderating a panel discussion, facilitating a brainstorming meeting, leading a problem-solving discussion, handling challenging people during discussions, and helping a problem-solving group achieve a consensus.

The five speaking projects are:

1. The Panel Moderator
2. The Brainstorming Session
3. The Problem-Solving Discussion
4. Handling Challenging Situations
5. Reaching a Consensus

Specialty Speeches

Speakers are often called upon to give different kinds of talks. This manual contains information about giving the most common ones, and it covers impromptu talks, preparing inspirational speeches, selling a product, reading out loud and introducing a speaker.

The 5 projects are:

1. Speak Off The Cuff
2. Uplift the Spirit
3. Sell a Product
4. Read Out Loud
5. Introduce the Speaker

Speeches By Management

Managers encounter a variety of speaking situations in the work environment. This manual offers instruction in giving briefings, preparing and presenting technical speeches, motivating a team, giving a status report and speaking to a hostile group.

The five speaking projects are:

1. The Briefing
2. Appraise with Praise
3. Persuade and Inspire
4. Communicating Change
5. Delivering Bad News

The Professional Speaker

Professional speakers can give a variety of presentations to a variety of audiences. This manual offers guidance in preparing and presenting a keynote address, an entertaining speech, a sales training speech, a seminar and a motivational speech. Includes information about marketing yourself as a professional speaker.

The five speaking projects are:

1. The Keynote Address
2. Speaking to Entertain
3. The Sales Training Speech
4. The Professional Seminar
5. The Motivational Speech

Technical Presentations

Presenting technical information in a way that doesn’t bore the audience is challenging. Learn how to prepare technical briefings, design and present a proposal, talk about a technical subject to a nontechnical audience, present a technical paper and enhance a technical talk with the internet.

1. The Technical Briefing
2. The Proposal
3. The Nontechnical Audience
4. Presenting a Technical Paper
5. Enhancing a Talk with the Internet

Persuasive Speaking

Successful people know how to influence and persuade others to accept their ideas, products or services. Projects cover selling a product, making „cold calls,” preparing a winning proposal, convincing an audience to at least consider your side of a controversial issue or subject and persuading listeners to help bring a vision and mission to reality.

The five speaking projects are:

1. The Effective Salesperson
2. Conquering the „Cold Call”
3. The Winning Proposal
4. Addressing the Opposition
5. The Persuasive Leader

Communicating on Video

Video presentations require special preparation and attention to details. Learn how to present an editorial, appear as a guest on an interview program, be the host of an interview program, conduct a press conference and use video to train.

The five speaking projects are:

1. Straight Talk
2. The Talk Show
3. When You’re the Host
4. The Press Conference
5. Training On Television

Storytelling

Everyone loves a good story! A good story enhances your speech and makes it memorable. This manual offers instruction in telling folk tales, personal stories, stories with morals, emotional stories and stories about historical events or people.

The five speaking projects are:

1. The Folk Tale
2. Let`s Get Personal
3. The Moral of the Story
4. The Touching Story
5. Bringing History to Life

Interpretive Reading

Reading words written by someone else requires a special set of skills. Projects include reading stories, poetry, monodramas, plays and famous speeches.

The five speaking projects are:

1. Read A Story
2. Interpreting Poetry
3. The Monodrama
4. The Play
5. The Oratorical Speech

Interpersonal Communication

Everyday life presents challenging communication situations. Topics in this manual include conversing with ease, negotiating, handling criticism, coaching someone to improve performance and expressing dissatisfaction effectively.

The five speaking projects are:

1. Conversing with Ease
2. The Successful Negotiator
3. Diffusing Verbal Criticism
4. The Coach
5. Asserting Yourself Effectively

Special Occasion Speeches

Special events present special speaking opportunities. This manual provides instruction in giving toasts, speaking in praise/giving a eulogy, „roasting” someone and presenting and accepting awards.

The five speaking projects are:

1. Mastering the Toast
2. Speaking in Praise
3. The Roast
4. Presenting an Award
5. Accepting an Award

Humorously Speaking

Every speaker benefits from using humor. Learn how to begin a speech with a humorous story to get listeners’ attention, end a speech with a humorous story, use humorous stories and anecdotes throughout the body of your speech to emphasize points, incorporate jokes into presentations and prepare and present an entirely humorous speech.

The five speaking projects are:

1. Warm Up Your Audience
2. Leave Them With A Smile
3. Make Them Laugh
4. Keep Them Laughing
5. The Humorous Speech