Being a Speaking Coach

Could there be anything more terrifying than trying to critique a fellow club member?  How can you judge others when you are learning yourself?  These questions stuck in my head as I started on the trail to being a club coach.

I began the pathway to being a coach with the Rostrum Victoria online training. The notes and videos gave an introduction and help to explain how the skills I have already learned will be useful.  The notes are easy to read and I can do the online tests over and over if I want to get a perfect score!

The benefit of the role is partly for other club members but also very much for me. Delivering feedback means that I have to be able to:

• quickly compose my thoughts
• focus on a single important thing that the speaker could change to improve their speech
• select a positive aspect of the talk to demonstrate to others in the club why this worked well for the speaker
• deliver my comments with a demonstration of each aspect that I have selected.

Talk about quick thinking.  I coach beginning speakers in standard skills and techniques that we work on in our meetings.  Intermediate and more advanced speakers are a challenge and so I start to read and research techniques that will improve a presentation.  This helps me to improve.

Coaching is rewarding.  It is extraordinary how quickly you learn when you have to teach others!

Check out the critics resources on the rostrum.com.au website in the members' area.