the Upside of the Downside Pt. III / III

Text and Photographs © Ralph M. Ferraro, MSW 2013

The day after my presentation – the day after not placing in the top three, I felt good, my energy was increasing. I felt renewed.

The feedback from the night before was beginning to bloom in my head. I needed to improve the organization of my speech based on the time frame. I had tried to weave three stories into my talk – the Sunday morning dilemma, the apparent divergent paths and the importance of searching for beauty and meditating on it. It dawned on me after talking with Gwen, that given the time frame, I was presenting too much material in too short a time frame. If I was giving a three hour presentation, the three stories could have been woven into the presentation in a smoother flow. Given the 7 minutes, I would have presented better if I had focused on the importance of the two key elements requried for placing one's intelllectual energy and emotional energy in a good feeling place, namely meditation (breathing) and searching for and focusing on the beauty that is within our experience.

The Upside of the Downside ~ Part II

The Upside of the Downside (continued ~ Part II / III)

I finished my presentation but alas … The international speakers were the first part of the program. The waiting to see who would be 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, began.

The Upside of the Downside

My Journey in the SpringToastmasters Contest

Part I / III

Part I - Delivering the Speech

Part II - The Decision - to be presented on  4/24/13

Part III - The day after the contest - to be presented on 4/26/13

Photos taken by Gwen Perez  - Photos and text © Ralph M. Ferraro, MSW 2013

Toastmasters every year sponsors an international speech contest. I was excited because I wanted to share my story about how I resolved my dilemma, share a secret about beauty and show some of my beautiful photographs. 

Karol Ward presents at TEDx New York Inauguration

 My colleague and fellow Toastmaster, Karol Ward presents at the TEDx Inaugural event.
Her talk was "Finding Your Inner Voice."

Photographs and Text © Ralph M. Ferraro, MSW 2013

TidBits from Les Brown's workshop

Les Brown has had a number of challenges to overcome in his life to achieve the success that he is experiencing.

Some of his key advice includes:

1. Never tell a story without a point and never tell a point without a story.
1. a story builds a bridge to the person or audience
2. it is a non-threatening way to engage the audience.
2. He also believe in walking the walk - if you are going to suggest strategies to a person he believes You need to experience the experience - 
1. if is what you learn from your experience that can be helpful to others

Let me know what you think of these points or if you have any questions.

Ralph

Ralph presenting his book "Flashes of Light" to Les Brown

I presented my book "Flashes of Light" to Les Brown thanking Les for a great two day workshop on public speaking.

Les taught us great techniques and positive affirmations throughout the two day (9 hrs @ day) workshop.

Les seemed to read the vibration from each table and give positive feedback and affirmation to each person who spoke.