The Seven Percent Solution

Today was a huge boost for me, although it came with a contact with a new and surprising challenge.  The scene: a club meeting of Speak Up! Toastmasters in Chapel Hill.  I presented, with some trepidation, the latest edition of my semifinal that factored in response to some of the issues raised at earlier club visits this week.  I would estimate I replaced 15% of the material.

Speak Up! is a serious club who has a surprising number of DTMs or Advanced Communicator/Leaders, and in their round robin they provided a good deal of thoughtful evaluation.  Much of the new material worked--for them at least.  Beyond that were true polishing issues: word choices, hand motions, and so on.  What was a stunner was their response to my time.  I clocked in at 7:26, and that was viewed as a serious problem.  The consensus was to cut back thirty seconds' of material: essentially 7%, or one in every fifteen words.  That doesn't sound like much, but it was a stunner for a speaker who usually shallows in his delivery (i.e. coming in closer to 5 than 7 minutes).

What helped most was the unstinting support this club gave me at a time of great self-doubt.  As recently as yesterday I was wondering if I had the stuff.  These people, among them a former district champion, performed at Toastmasters standard, lushly encouraging but not holding back on suggestions meant to get at my best.

The week ended wonderfully.  I am re-energized and in the hunt for my Seven Percent Solution.