Ice Breaker: Level 1 Project

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Your Assignment
• Assess Your Skills Before
• Competencies
• You and Your Goals
• Prepare and Present
• Remember Your Outline
• Connect with the Audience
• Techniques for Practice
• Relax, Breathe, and Enjoy
• Overcome Anxiety
• After your Speech
• Evaluating Yourself
• Review and Apply
• Complete Your Assignment
• Assess Your Skills After
• Project Checklist

Introduction

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You may have participated in an ice breaker activity at an event sometime in your life. These are activities that are designed to help people relax and get to know one another. Ice breaker activities that are well-designed and well-executed engage an audience and encourage them to invest in the success of the event.

This project marks the beginning of your Toastmasters journey. It is your opportunity to introduce yourself to the group and share something about yourself.

This project culminates in you giving a 4 to 6 minute speech, the first one that all Toastmasters present to their clubs.

As you work through this project, you will learn how to recognize skills you already have, build upon those skills to foster confidence, and identify areas for improvement.

You will learn to distinguish the basic elements of speech structure and utilize rehearsal techniques that balance preparation and spontaneity.

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Your Assignment

Purpose: The purpose of this project is to introduce yourself to the club and learn the basic structure of a public speech.

Overview: Write and deliver a speech about any topic to introduce yourself to your club. Your speech may be humorous, informational, or any other style that appeals to you.

For all assignment details and requirements, review the Project Checklist.

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Assess Your Skills Before

Directions: Evaluate your current skill level by rating each statement. Statements are followed by a multiple-choice, numerical rating scale. Determine the appropriate rating based on your skills today. You may select one and record your ratings in a separate document.

Statement 1 of 6: I am confident and calm when speaking in front of groups.

• 1 Developing
• 2 Emerging
• 3 Accomplished
• 4 Excel
• 5 Exemplary

Statement 2 of 6: I understand the structure of a basic speech.

• 1 Developing
• 2 Emerging
• 3 Accomplished
• 4 Excel
• 5 Exemplary

Statement 3 of 6: I am aware of my strengths as a communicator and leader.

• 1 Developing
• 2 Emerging
• 3 Accomplished
• 4 Excel
• 5 Exemplary

Statement 4 of 6: I am aware of where I need to improve my communication (listening, thinking, and speaking) and leadership skills.

• 1 Developing
• 2 Emerging
• 3 Accomplished
• 4 Excel
• 5 Exemplary

Statement 5 of 6: I have clear communication and leadership goals.

• 1 Developing
• 2 Emerging
• 3 Accomplished
• 4 Excel
• 5 Exemplary

Statement 6 of 6: I recognize how this project applies to my life outside of Toastmasters.

• 1 Developing
• 2 Emerging
• 3 Accomplished
• 4 Excel
• 5 Exemplary

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Competencies

The following is a list of competencies that you will learn and practice in this project.

• Recognize the elements of a basic speech structure.
• Balance preparation and spontaneity when delivering your speech.
• Demonstrate self-confidence when speaking in front of an audience.
• Identify your communication and leadership skills.
• Define communication and leadership goals.

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Organize Your Speech

Your Ice Breaker is a story about you. The four elements of a good story are:

1. Interesting topic
2. Opening
3. Body
4. Conclusion

Give your speech an opening, body, and conclusion to effectively communicate your overall purpose.

Begin by introducing yourself. In the body of your speech, share information you would like your fellow members to know about you. Conclude with a funny or interesting anecdote that relates to your desire to become a better speaker and leader.

If you have completed an Ice Breaker before, focus on your goals for your current path.

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Prepare and Present

Write your speech, memorize the opening and conclusion, and rehearse everything else until you feel comfortable. Ideally, this will give it a natural and spontaneous feel.

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Remember Your Outline

Create notecards or an outline with a few bullet points from your speech on one page. This makes it easier to remember the main points of your speech, and you can refer to it when presenting to your club. The goal is to remember your outline and not read your speech word for word.

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Connect with the Audience

Effective speaking requires you to look up from a written speech and connect with your audience. Your presence and connection with the audience members increase the possibility that your message has impact.

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Techniques for Practice

Before you give your Ice Breaker, set aside time for practice. There are many ways to practice. Following are a few examples. Choose a technique that works for you or develop one of your own.

Rehearse with Friends or Family

Rehearse your speech in front of friends or family to get feedback. Listen to constructive feedback and implement productive comments that could possibly work for you.

Record Yourself

Record yourself giving the speech and watch the footage. Do not be overly critical. Concentrate on constructive responses.

Use a Mirror

Practice in front of a mirror. The feedback is immediate and you can make adjustments as you go.

Practice Sections

Divide your speech into sections. First, practice your opening. Then move on to the body of your speech, which will include the main points you want to cover. Finally, practice your conclusion. When you feel comfortable with each section, put them all together.

Time Yourself

While you practice, remember that your Ice Breaker is 4 to 6 minutes in length. Time yourself. If you are running too close to the time limit, make sure all of your points are relevant and on-topic. If you are running short, re-examine the content and elaborate on topics that are under-represented.

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Relax, Breathe, and Enjoy

Check your pacing as you begin. If nervousness or fear begins to get the better of you, stop, breathe, and relax. Your fellow Toastmasters want you to succeed and begin your journey in a positive way.

Timing

When you present your speech before the club, the timer will use a signal device or cards as you speak to keep you informed of how much of the allotted time remains.

Pacing

You'll soon become aware of whether you speak faster or slower in front of an audience and can adjust your time accordingly.

Organization

Whether you end early, on time, or over your allotted time, use the experience to enhance your understanding of how to organize and time your speech.

Review

If timing was an issue (whether you took more or less than the allotted time to deliver your speech), review the reasons and be aware of why they occurred.

Moment to Moment

After your speech, take time to write down if you became nervous and lost your place, repeated a section, or had to pause for laughter. This is all part of the learning process.

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Overcome Anxiety

Fear and anxiety are typical for first-time speakers. If you're feeling this way, review your goals and focus on your reasons for joining Toastmasters. Remind yourself that your club meeting is a safe, supportive environment established as a place to practice communication and leadership skills. In meetings, you are encouraged to try new things, learn from the evaluations you receive, and celebrate your successes.

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After your Speech

You receive feedback from your evaluator before the club meeting is finished. The evaluator gives your verbal evaluation in front of the club, and provides you with written feedback in the agreed-upon way.

Listen to your evaluator, be courteous, and be open to feedback. Thank your evaluator and consider all feedback as you work toward your next project and speech. Depending on the practice of your club, you may receive written evaluations from the other members. It is helpful to save these evaluations for future reference. After the meeting, ask your evaluator questions to clarify anything you didn't understand. Talk to your mentor to gain additional feedback you can use in future speeches.

You can read about the evaluation process in The Navigator, but it is helpful to review some elements outlined in this section. The Navigator is included in your compressed path file.

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Evaluating Yourself

When your speech is complete, take time to think about how well you did. Regardless of your feelings, (relief, excitement, nervousness, or a combination of emotions) be proud. You took a chance and challenged yourself. It may be helpful to meet with your evaluator to discuss feedback or ask any questions that you have.

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Review and Apply

Directions: Before you complete the assignment, take a moment to read through the following questions. If you are not able to answer them comfortably, review the project.

• What are some strategies you can use to balance preparation and spontaneity when delivering your speech?
• List your strongest communication and leadership skills.
• What communication and leadership skills do you want to develop?
• List your immediate goals for communication and leadership.
• What are the elements of basic speech structure?

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Complete Your Assignment

Now that you have read through the project, plan and prepare your speech or report.

1. Review: Return to the Your Assignment section to review your assignment.
2. Organize: Use the Project Checklist to review the steps and add your own. This will help you organize and prepare your assignment.
3. Schedule: Work with the vice president education to schedule your speech.
4. Prepare: Prepare for your evaluation by reviewing the evaluation resource for this project, which is available to you as a Microsoft Word document in your path materials. Use this link to access the evaluation resource now. Share the document with your evaluator before your speech. To be sure the evaluation resource returned to you can be read by assistive technology, ask your evaluator to complete the Microsoft Word document on their device and email it to you after the meeting.

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Assess Your Skills After

Directions: Complete this self-assessment after you complete your assignment. Evaluate your current skill level by rating each statement. Statements are followed by a multiple-choice, numerical rating scale. Determine the appropriate rating based on your skills today. You may select one and record your ratings in a separate document.

Statement 1 of 6: I am confident and calm when speaking in front of groups.

• 1 Developing
• 2 Emerging
• 3 Accomplished
• 4 Excel
• 5 Exemplary

Statement 2 of 6: I understand the structure of a basic speech.

• 1 Developing
• 2 Emerging
• 3 Accomplished
• 4 Excel
• 5 Exemplary

Statement 3 of 6: I am aware of my strengths as a communicator and leader.

• 1 Developing
• 2 Emerging
• 3 Accomplished
• 4 Excel
• 5 Exemplary

Statement 4 of 6: I am aware of where I need to improve my communication (listening, thinking, and speaking) and leadership skills.

• 1 Developing
• 2 Emerging
• 3 Accomplished
• 4 Excel
• 5 Exemplary

Statement 5 of 6: I have clear communication and leadership goals.

• 1 Developing
• 2 Emerging
• 3 Accomplished
• 4 Excel
• 5 Exemplary

Statement 6 of 6: I recognize how this project applies to my life outside of Toastmasters.

• 1 Developing
• 2 Emerging
• 3 Accomplished
• 4 Excel
• 5 Exemplary

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Project Checklist

This section includes tasks you will need to complete for this project. Please remember, your project is unique to you. You may alter the following list to incorporate any other tasks necessary for your project.

1. Schedule your speech with the vice president education.
2. Write your speech.
3. Rehearse your speech.
4. After you have completed all components of the assignment, including your speech, return to the Assess Your Skills After section to rate your skills.

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Ice Breaker Video Transcript

This video transcript includes Toastmasters members talking about their experience completing the Ice Breaker project.

Description: The video begins. A talking head narrator addresses the viewer.

Narrator: Every Toastmaster begins their journey with an Ice Breaker speech. As you prepare to deliver yours, you may find yourself wondering what the experience was like for others. We spoke with a few experienced members who talked about their Ice Breaker and shared tips that will help you.

Description: Toastmaster Sharon Nacino smiles as she addresses the viewer. She is an Advanced Communicator Silver and Competent Leader from the Presidents Toastmasters Club in the Philippines. Text appears on screen that reads, "Know the club environment."

Sharon: When you're giving your Ice Breaker speech and you're terrified, it's okay. So my advice is just relax, because Ice Breaker's all about your personal story. It's all about you introducing yourself to the world. And if you, if you get nervous, if you get nervous, you don't know what to say, it's okay because you're in the Toastmasters' environment and Toastmasters is a really positive and nurturing environment. So just do it and enjoy the process.

Description: Toastmaster Mark York smiles as he addresses the viewer. He is a Competent Communicator and Competent Leader from the Cargill Toastmasters Club in the United States. Text appears on screen that reads, "Worry less."

Mark: If I were to give my Ice Breaker speech again, I would worry about it less. Coming into it, I thought it, it should be perfect and in the end, I realized people don't join Toastmasters because they're great speakers. They join Toastmasters to become great speakers. So I would go into it and not worry about it, and see what happens.

Description: Toastmaster Tom Ware addresses the viewer. He is a Distinguished Toastmaster from the Dundas Club in Australia. Text appears on screen that reads, "It is ok to be nervous."

Tom: I've done an Ice Breaker speech twenty times. I've done, studied off the manual twenty times and the very first time I did it was, I was 36 years of age, it was in New Zealand. And I can remember the name of the speech. I called it, "Ware's Wanderings." and it was pretty superficial. All it was about was where I was born, where I was raised, what countries I'd lived in, and this type of thing. And I remember I was so nervous that I can't remember what I said afterwards. My legs were trembling, and all I remember is the applause and people said, "Well done, Tom."

Description: Toastmaster Jan Vecchio smiles as she addresses the viewer. She is a Distinguished Toastmaster from the RSL Toastmasters club in Australia. Text appears on screen that reads, "Don't forget to breathe!"

Jan: If I could do my Ice Breaker speech again differently, I would not write it out word for word and have nine pages of text. I'd write it out in dot point and I would rehearse it. And I'd learn to breathe before I delivered that speech because I think then my audience would appreciate the timing factor and also the content that I had to deliver.

Description: Toastmaster Patti Titus smiles as she addresses the viewer. She is a Distinguished Toastmaster from the Justice Masters club in the United States. Text appears on screen that reads, "Smile and have fun."

Patti: If I could do my first Ice Breaker speech over again, the main thing that I would do is smile more. I think it's important to smile because that helps you connect better with the audience. It also helps you relax and have fun while you're telling others about yourself, which should be your favorite subject.

Description: Toastmaster Deepak Gulati addresses the viewer. He is an Advanced Communicator Bronze and Competent Leader from the Dubai Toastmasters Club in the United Arab Emirates. Text appears on screen that reads, "Be yourself."

Deepak: I think there's a lot to be terrified as an Ice Breaker because you're not probably known to the dynamics of public speaking and you know that a lot of eyes are on you, as the first speaker and you would want to perform. So, you could make a lot of mistakes over there, but the one thing, a number of advices that I would want to give to an Ice Breaker is to be yourself, be, be in touch with your mentor. Make sure that you take advice from your mentor because you're drafting the speech for the very first time, you don't really know the transitions of the speech. So make sure that you are in touch with your mentor and someone who can guide you through that, how exactly your speech has been written and then how exactly it can be delivered. Basically, you need to be yourself. Don't worry about how is everyone going to judge you because you're going to be there on that very stage for the very first time. So just let it loose and be yourself.

Description: The narrator addresses the viewer.

Narrator: Apply these tips to help you relax and enjoy presenting your Ice Breaker. If you'd like more advice from experienced members, keep in mind that there's a wealth of knowledge in your own club. Talk with experienced members you enjoy listening to and ask them to share their Ice Breaker tips.

Description: The video ends.

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