On the table – topics for Toastmasters.  Season 1, episode 4.

Life Hacks are the tricks and tips that get developed as a better, more effective way to complete a task.  It’s like taking a detour and finding a better route, or making lasagna and discovering you don’t have to pre-cook the pasta.

There’s a bit of deep, personal satisfaction in life hacks.  Recently, I faced a steamed-up mirror and ten minutes to dry my hair.  Rather than wait for the mirror to dry naturally, or to take a towel –or worse, my hand – and wipe it down – and then have to clean the mirror later – I realized that my car windshield defroster was nothing more than a blow-dryer – like the one in my hand at that very moment.  10 seconds later and I was looking at myself in a clean, dry mirror.  Cool!

There are websites dedicated to Life Hacks.  Google the term and you’ll find a lot of millennials talking about the tricks they’ve concocted… and some videos of people testing some of them…

We’ve put together a list of a few DTM hacks that might be useful to you today… on the table.

INTRO

I have no doubt that all of these have occurred to Toastmasters.  I’m not claiming any originality – in fact, I got this list from Nancy Secrist of Fairlawn Toastmasters in Akron, Ohio.  Nancy got her DTM this year and was working on a presentation called “DTM Hacks” at the same time I was working on an educational session for the Fall Conference called “DTM Fast Track.”  Great minds think alike – we’ve pooled our ideas and come up with a presentation with the charm of a Reese’s peanut butter cup – sweet chocolate and salty peanut butter into one beautiful piece of... Does anyone  have some chocolate?

DTM Hack 1:  Plan a theme for an advanced manual

You can do this for the Competent Communicator, I guess, but ten speeches on the same topic seems a bit over the top.  How would you do an icebreaker and an inspiring speech about any one theme?  I’m sure someone’s done it, or figured out how, but I’m going to stick to the advanced manual theme.

I was coaching a club and I hate meetings without a speech.  So for several weeks running, I was the only speaker.  I don’t recommend this, by the way.  It’s better to recruit other speakers than to take up speaking slots week after week… Back to my point.  I had the Public Relations manual and 5 speeches to give – while I was a homeschooler.  Not a lot of PR for me to do for my “job” as it were, so I created a fictitious problem. I called the first speech:  “Zoomorphic Oscillating Madibleitus Bicuspid E” for the Speaking Under Fire project.  Let me read you a bit of the speech:

The research at Stoker Institute is always geared to assist people in need of advanced medical care around the world.  Last year, promising basic research by scientists led us to believe that we could solve the problem of tooth decay in teenagers with a specialized blood treatment process.  The promising study had moved, with FDA approval, to the point of testing on human volunteers.  Vascular Arterial Mandible Protocols, Iterations A through Q, had been thoroughly investigated and our research peer reviewed in several distinguished science periodicals. Most recently, our findings were duplicated in an eastern European university.

We all agree that the release of the Vascular Arterial Mandible Protocol, Iteration R into the environment has been devastating to everyone, and we convey our heartfelt condolences to those who have lost their lives, and we continue to work on research to heal those who have been attacked.  VAMPIR victims need help, not discrimination. 

Yes, I was talking about Vampires.

Soon after,