Today on Morning Edition on NPR, I was inspired by this report on the use of singing for bringing patients with language-related brain injury, like Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, back to their own voices. Please listen to the full report to bring some joy to your own heart and to consider the people you know who could benefit from using singing to help their own spoken expression.
One of the key aspects that helps patients recover language is that we use both sides of our brain to sing. This reminded me of how I used singing to considerable advantage in 2011 as I completed the 5 projects in the Toastmasters Advanced Manual "Interpretive Reading". Since childhood, I've been singing along to the soundtrack of "My Fair Lady". I KNOW those words, and have an almost innate sense of the voice inflections Rex Harrison and Julie Andrews gave to deliver them with full impact. So, converting the words from sung to spoken made my speeches flow like no others I've done. I had such fun, too! No need to worry about memorizing... just focus on all the other elements I've become proficient with since joining Toastmasters in 2008.
I joined TM because I wanted to shift from general education classroom teacher to specialist, with a focus on helping children improve their communication skills. In 2008, I thought I was already a very competent communicator. WRONG! I was very good in many contexts, such as teaching a classroom of students, and communicating my ideas informally to small groups, but as a podium speaker, I was generally not riveting. To gain the basic Toastmasters "Competent Communicator" level, a member completes ten projects that, as a whole, address all the skills one needs to be aware of when presenting a speech. I became a CC in 2010.
Once a Toastmaster achieves CC, the next step is Advanced Toastmaster Bronze. In 2011, I've been working to gain the level beyond Competent Communicator in Toastmasters. There is a candy store of advanced manuals for me to choose from. Each manual has 5 speeches; to reach ATB a member needs to give ten speeches from advanced manuals. I chose "Interpretive Reading" and "Communicating on Television". In a few months, I will have the "Advanced Toastmaster Bronze" designation, as well as "Competent Leader". In Toastmasters parlance, I will be June Pecchia, ATB, CL.
P.S. On a future occasion, I'll write a bit about the parallel Toastmasters track: Leadership.
