Prestations are so nerve-wracking 😪😔💔😖

I GOTTA start talking to myself out loud more. My public speaking skills are going down the drain 🤣

me when I win my public speaking competition and get to go to nationals!!!

How I Used Google’s NotebookLM and Gemini to Supercharge My Toastmasters Presentation

If you’ve been in Toastmasters for a while, you know the drill for a standard speech: you pick a topic, write your draft, practice, and present.

But the process is a bit different when you are asked to present an educational module. Toastmasters has two main educational collections: The Better Speaker Series, which provides instruction on basic speaking skills, and The Successful Club Series, which addresses the subject of quality club meetings.

Presentations in both series require 10 to 15 minutes to deliver. The challenge? You download the manual and are greeted with a short, two-page outline. You are instructed not to read it word-for-word, but rather to use the points to build your own speech using your own words. Staring at that brief PDF and wondering how to stretch it into an engaging 10-minute presentation can be daunting.

Recently, I decided to deliver “Keeping the Commitment,” a module that examines A Toastmaster’s Promise and how members benefit from upholding its principles. Instead of staring at a blank screen, I decided to enlist a little AI assistance using a “round trip” workflow between Google’s NotebookLM and Gemini.

The result? One of the smoothest presentation preps I’ve ever had. Here is exactly how I did it.

Step 1: Building the Knowledge Base in NotebookLM

NotebookLM acts as a personalized research assistant that grounds itself only in the documents you give it.

I started by uploading the official Toastmasters PDF manual for “Keeping the Commitment.” To give the AI a broader understanding of presentation best practices, I also loaded in a few other resources. Then, I used NotebookLM’s built-in web search feature to pull in some fresh, additional context about club engagement and leadership. Suddenly, my Notebook had a complete, expert-level understanding of the exact topic I was presenting on.

Step 2: Drafting the Script with Gemini

Once my research was organized in NotebookLM, I didn’t want a robotic summary—I wanted a speech that sounded like me.

I jumped over to Gemini and connected it to my NotebookLM project. I prompted Gemini to generate a full 8 to 10-minute speech script based on the curated knowledge base. To make it personal, I fed Gemini a few anecdotes to weave into the framework. For instance, to illustrate the importance of a positive, friendly environment, I had it contrast the incredible, “standing-ovation” welcome we give guests at Southern Dutchess Toastmasters with a surprisingly cold environment I’d experienced at a local magic club over the last two years.

Because Gemini was drawing from the official outline, it perfectly blended the Toastmasters educational standards with my personal stories and my perspective as a Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM).

Step 3: Back to NotebookLM for Slides & Infographics

Once the script was finalized in Gemini, I loaded that completed script back into my NotebookLM project. This is where the real magic happened, thanks to some recent updates to the platform.

First, I realized my presentation needed a strong overview slide to summarize what A Toastmaster’s Promise actually is. I used NotebookLM’s ability to generate infographics, prompting it to summarize the promise visually. It did a wonderful job, and that infographic became the perfect opening slide for my deck.

Next, I prompted NotebookLM to generate the rest of my slide deck based on the script. To make sure it didn’t just give me generic bullet points, I used a highly detailed prompt that looked something like this:

“Based on the uploaded script ‘Keeping the Commitment’, please generate a detailed Slide Deck. Aim for approximately 10 to 12 slides. Make the tone professional and encouraging. Ensure the three fundamental maxims (Participate, Interact, and Maintain Club Quality) are the pillars. Include a slide specifically for 'The Standing Ovation Welcome’ and the Magic Club Anecdote. Detail the importance of proactive role-signing and District Leadership. Finally, include a 'Call to Action’ slide regarding Social Media promotion and Goal Setting.”

What makes NotebookLM’s slide generation feature incredibly powerful is that once the deck is generated, you can go in and view each slide individually. If a slide isn’t quite right, you can ask for specific changes on a per-slide basis without messing up the rest of the presentation.

Once I had every slide looking exactly the way I wanted, I just clicked a button and downloaded the whole thing directly as a PowerPoint presentation.

The Result

I opened the downloaded PowerPoint, made a few minor aesthetic tweaks, and I was ready to go. The slides perfectly matched the flow of the speech. When it came time to present, the speech flowed naturally, the audience was engaged, and the core message of A Toastmaster’s Promise hit home.

The takeaway? AI isn’t here to write our speeches for us—it’s here to act as a sounding board, help us expand on brief outlines, and handle the tedious parts of slide design so we can focus on what really matters: connecting with our audience.

If you want a seamless prep experience without needing a degree in graphic design to get your point across, give NotebookLM a try. You don’t have to be a slide-deck wizard to create a visually compelling presentation—just bring your expertise and let the AI handle the heavy lifting. I think you’ll find it to be an incredibly useful addition to your speaking toolkit.

Living_the_Promise

Today I got to be a speaker at the Chester Brunch event of Joanna Scott-Aspray’s amazing The Cheshire Club! Thank you so much to Susan Vonledebur for giving me the opportunity, to Lucy Allan for facilitating the event on the day, and to Steve Judge (the headline speaker - who got us drawing our goals!) for being so supportive and signing my book too! Did you know I collect signed 1st editions?

And thank you to all the attendees, each incredibly special but too many to mention, for their patience and support.

You may or may not know that public speaking, in fact talking to anyone at all, can be a challenge for me. After having over 6 months of chemotherapy about 10 years ago, I still have a touch of chemo brain (otherwise known as cancer related cognitive impairment). It’s fairly logical it happened as my chemo needed to reach all parts - even my brain - to save my life. But learning Cymraeg (Welsh) is actually helping my chemo brain to improve. I make less mistakes when speaking in English now, and less typos too.

Only once in my 15 minute talk did I say the wrong word, nothing like Tourettes, I said the wrong number (ironic for a qualified accountant, hey!). Someone questioned it so I had the opportunity to correct myself. And I kept going, engaging with my audience.

I had been given a “member spotlight” and people expected me to spend my 15 minutes talking about my art. But at the Cheshire Club there’s a lot of care for each other among the members, and for the visiting guests too. So I decided to talk about what we all had in common instead and to share my thoughts on how to run a successful business, community interest company or charity, with leaflets beautifully printed for me by Vikki Wray of Bollington Printshop.

I think I made the right choice.

Thanks!

Sam aka LymphomaLass xx

ALT

Many presentations fail not because of bad ideas, but because they try to fit too much into too little time. When speakers rush or overload information, audiences struggle to absorb the message and engagement drops. Structuring content around clear priorities and realistic pacing helps ensure key points are understood instead of lost in delivery.
Learn more: https://lucasproductionsusa.com/time-a-potential-presentation-killer/

How Authors Land Speaking Gigs: Boosting Visibility & Thought Leadership

Publishing a book opens doors but one of the most powerful opportunities it creates is the chance to speak on stages, panels, and events where your voice can reach even more people. This article from The Book Leader breaks down how authors can leverage their book to land speaking engagements that boost visibility, credibility, and thought leadership in their niche.

From crafting a compelling speaker profile to pitching the right events and showcasing your expertise, these strategies help turn your written authority into real-world impact and connections.

👉 Learn more click here

Have you ever thought about speaking at events related to your work or message?
What topic would you love to speak about if you had the chance?

Famous Forensic Competitions

Can You Dig It?

Making myself uncomfortable

7. Public speaking

Now that I have a final draft of my obituary I am going to make a YouTube video reading it out loud.

A fitting first long-form video for a Scorpio rising.

I was called upon to make 2025 the year I finally post to my YouTube channel, and answered the question of what I have been pouring myself into creatively. Overall, I’ve been pouring myself into making myself uncomfortable, into rising to the challenges and performing the best I can in good faith that everything will be okay.

None of these challenges are unique, but my experience with them is. I battled with my necrophobia to write this obituary, then read it and posted it to the wide internet for anyone to watch.

In the process, I conquered my issues with hearing my own voice.

[ My Obituary (Video) ]

unfortunately my forensic science teacher decided we needed a public speaking element to our class so not only do I need to be stuck in a room with my ex who is the equivalent of 2020 personified but ALSO i have to say words to people i don’t want to look at

Lewat kelas “Public Speaking for Entrepreneur: Biar Ngomongmu Gak Biasa-Biasa Aja”, kamu diajak upgrade cara bicara biar lebih percaya diri, jelas nyampe, dan didengerin audiens, buat presentasi, jualan, pitching, sampai konten.

🎤 Dibimbing langsung oleh Bayu Veda, penyiar radio, public speaker, dan kreator dokumenter bisnis Pecah Telur, yang dulunya juga pernah gugup dan canggung saat ngomong di depan umum.

🎥 Yang kamu dapat:

✅ 27 video materi full HD

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Kunjungi link dibawah untuk daftar kelasnya🤝🔥

Toastmasters Meeting Summary: January 19, 2026

The January 19th Toastmasters meeting was a success, marking our first meeting at the new location, the Emanuel Christian Uniform Church. The theme for the evening was Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP).

Key Announcements from President Kevin:

* The District’s Jam Jam event and Officer Training, scheduled for the past Saturday, were postponed due to snow and will be rescheduled.

* Happy Birthday to Janice! (A cupcake will be celebrated at a future meeting).

* An upcoming Officer’s Meeting will be scheduled to plan our biannual Grab Bag Meeting, where roles are pulled from a hat, requiring all members to be prepared for any role, including giving a speech.

* Kevin will give a presentation at the next meeting explaining the Toastmasters Pathways program and the Distinguished Club Program (DCP).

* The club has reached Charter Strength with 20 registered members and is currently a Distinguished Club!

Prepared Speeches:

We enjoyed three excellent prepared speeches:

1. Bruce  delivered his speech, “2026 the Year of Confluence,” exploring the confluence of cosmic consciousness, exopolitics (UFO/disclosure), and Bible prophecy, specifically suggesting 2026 as a significant year based on a reading of Daniel 12:12.

2. Melissa delivered her Icebreaker, “My Why,” a very personal and inspiring speech about finding her voice, overcoming a past of silence, and her goal to inspire others by sharing her story.

3. Janice  presented “Escalator Escapades,” a humorous and relatable recount of a trip to the mall with her two elderly relatives, highlighting the importance of street smarts over book smarts.

Meeting Roles & Reports:

* Toastmaster: Ulric kept the meeting moving with UAP-related facts and insights.

* Word of the Day: Confluence (used successfully by Bruce in his speech and by a Table Topics speaker).

* Timer (Matthew): All prepared speakers and Table Topics participants adhered to time limits, with the exception of the speech evaluations. Bruce was at 7:10 (5-7 min), Melissa at 5:15 (4-6 min), and Janice at 5:41 (5-7 min).

* Ah Counter (Bruce): Reported on common verbal crutches.

* Joke Master (Joe ): Lightened the mood with a joke about marriage and a horse.

* Table Topics Master (Ruth, online): Led a fun impromptu session with questions about sci-fi, first contact with an alien, and the decision to visit an alien home planet. Participants included Kevin, Francisco (Guest), Sarah, and Melissa.

* General Evaluator (The Toastmaster): Praised the meeting’s theme, the full participation in roles, and the overall productivity.

Evaluations:

* Joe evaluated Bruce’s speech, praising his visual aids and progression, suggesting improvement on the opening and reducing direct reading from notes.

* Kevin evaluated Melissa’s Icebreaker, calling it wonderful and personal, commending her smile, vocal variety, and the memorable line “broken crayons still color.” Suggestions included extending hand gestures and avoiding admitting to nervousness.

* Janice's speech received impromptu feedback from Kevin, Joe, Alex, and Ulric, focusing on pacing, projection, and enhancing “call-back” humor and the “I’m the smart one” theme.

Upcoming Events:

* Area Humorous Speech Contest: Saturday, January 31st at 12:00 noon at the East Fishkill Library. All are welcome to attend and support Janice as our representative.

* District Conference: April 24th & 25th in Waterbury, Connecticut.

* Next Club Meeting: February 2nd. The location will be confirmed.

Thank you to everyone who took on a role! It was truly an “out of this world” meeting!

ALT

Being confident and clear in your presentation can make all the difference between being heard and being ignored. Small elements like posture, pacing, and audience engagement shape how your message lands. This guide shares practical ways to enhance your presence and connect with your listeners effectively.
Learn more: https://lucasproductionsusa.com/put-your-best-foot-forward/

Y'all *please* please take advantage of public speaking classes. I learned my slides for a little presentation the night before presenting and, through just a couple rounds of practice, looked like I memorized my content a week ago. I didn’t even write my slides, I’m just that good at making it brief and entertaining and highlighting the right details, and projecting my voice.

Meanwhile the three stooges with me who all also learned their slides the night before, all read off said slides, littered their parts with “ums” and “uhs,” and could not be heard by the back of the room.

It’s embarrassing.

Do not sleep on social sciences. People scoff when I say I’m a communications major and yet the STEM folks were talking with their backs to the audience.

Whelp it’s been a while since I’ve had to spend hours in public at a time. This is my second week. Classes are going fine. I noticed I still don’t really interact with men at all, I don’t mean to avoid them. In Public Speaking we were supposed to ask the speakers questions, and I just couldn’t bring myself to talk to any of the men. Or even really look at them when I was speaking. I did relatively well, I was just barely 15 seconds over my speaking time. I answered all of the questions posed after in detail, from everyone who asked. I am not nearly as scared as I was semester after last (when it occurred) or even last semester. So I believe it’s going back to normal. The fear is subsiding. I guess I just have to work on… idk potentially it could be misandry?

Today I kind of wiped the floor with an individual presentation, only the 4th to go out of the class but I’ve got 3 public speaking classes under my belt and I’m a communications major surrounded by business folks practicing what’s essentially board meeting presentations.

Only one who didn’t utter a single “um” or “uh” including our teachers. I had a ton of tone and cadence variety to keep my audience listening, I got near full audience participation in one part, and I bait-and-switched them perfectly, taking what they thought would be political (today is an anniversary of Roe v Wade) and turned it into a life lesson about interpreting subtext, taking everybody by surprise.

Halfway through I saw my teacher in the back pointing up at the ceiling–talk louder, so I did. I was very aware of my voice and any shakes, of how flushed my face probably was. Unavoidable.

And when I had to prompt them all for feedback my takeaways were these two comments:
1. I looked down/at the floor a lot. To which I could not say “Yeah babe that’s the autism. I knew it and could not look up consistently no matter how hard I tried” and just rolled with it.

2. “You left us too soon!” said one of my classmates, because I not only embraced brevity, but did so with an entertaining twist.

Constructive criticism is mandatory, so a lot of the comments were nitpicks. Nice nitpicks, but largely inconsequential. Other people said I sounded super confident, and that I blew it out of the water.

My goals were the following: Impress them, tapdance down the line of controversy, show them who they’re competing with, and be memorable.

And I did.

To everyone who struggles with public speaking: Just do it. A whole lot. Go sing karaoke to temper those nerves. Get used to the sound of your own voice by recording it and playing it back. Speak about things you’re confident in, so you rely less on scripts and notecards.

I’m not good at public speaking because I wanted to be. I got put into positions where I just had to do it, and at one point I adopted the “fuck it we’ll do it live” mindset because I don’t half-ass anything.

I didn’t just come up with a presentation, I had a very specific impression I wanted to leave my audience with. I picked Roe v Wade specifically because I knew people would think I’d be about to soapbox, and the whole room felt it when I flipped that script to individual responsibility of interpreting the rules, not a whisper of actual abortion discourse.

I killed it, and now everyone else has to follow me and either be like me, or like the guy before me who wrote a dissertation on his topic that bored people to tears. Well researched and presented, but very much disrespecting people’s time.

Most speakers do this without realizing… and it kills confidence instantly.

Touching or leaning on the lectern makes you look tense.
Strong speakers keep posture open and let their voice carry authority.

Here’s how to look confident on stage:
• Keep hands free for natural gestures
• Step away from the lectern sometimes
• Maintain eye contact
• Use pauses instead of leaning

Have you seen presenters grip the lectern?

More tips here: https://lucasproductionsusa.com/never-touch-the-lectern/

one word that i have loved since i was maybe thirteen but never get to use is “whilst” (which if you’re unfamiliar, is almost the same thing as saying while, but it implies more of a contrast)

BUT i recently got to use it in a speech! and there’s no real point to this post, but i do think it’s important to find fun in things that are relatively mundane. it makes life better to look forward to that which is entirely ordinary

Public Speaking

For thus says the Lord, who created the heavens (He is the God who formed the earth and made it, He established it and did not create it a waste place, but formed it to be inhabited),

“I am the Lord, and there is none else. I have not spoken in secret, in some dark land;…“

(Isaiah 45:18-19)

Jesus answered him,

“I have spoken openly to the world. I always taught in a synagogue and in the temple [area], where all the Jews habitually congregate; and I said nothing in secret. Why question Me? Question those who have heard what I said to them. They know what I said.”

(John 18:20-21)