Speaking with child abuse victims or with parents who have lost children as infants may sound tougher than giving a Table Topics speech about your favorite teacher in high school. But Dell deBerardinis, who speaks professionally about child abuse topics, says many of the same principles apply: connect with the audience and make them feel comfortable.
“I maintain eye contact, involve the audience when I can, and I honor and respect them,” deBerardinis told Toastmasters magazine in an article in the March 2008 issue titled “Speaking about the Unspeakable.”
DeBerardinis sometimes injects humor or her own personal stories to help establish a bond with the audience. Speakers approaching a challenging topic such as this, deBerardinis said, must always start out by educating themselves more about that topic and preparing themselves to talk about solutions.
“I maintain eye contact, involve the audience when I can, and I honor and respect them,” deBerardinis told Toastmasters magazine in an article in the March 2008 issue titled “Speaking about the Unspeakable.”
DeBerardinis sometimes injects humor or her own personal stories to help establish a bond with the audience. Speakers approaching a challenging topic such as this, deBerardinis said, must always start out by educating themselves more about that topic and preparing themselves to talk about solutions.
To read the whole article, click here and go to page 7: http://www.toastmasters.org/ToastmastersMagazine/ToastmasterArchive/2008/March/March08ToastmasterPDF.aspx
-- Perry Chang
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