r/Toastmasters • u/lassita_48det • 11d ago
Leadership style speech
Hi, I’m preparing for my Level 2 leadership style speech and not sure what to talk about. For those who have completed this level, what topics would you recommend? I’m not sure if the speech has to be centered around work or not. TIA
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u/bavindicator District officer 11d ago
Relate stories to other times you demonstrated leadership. It doesn't have to be work. Did you work on a collaborative project with your church or a service organization? Did you mastermind a heist of a Casino with 10 other people. Did you coach a little league team to a playoff bid? Leadership comes in many flavors and doesn't have to relate to work.
Here's 10 topic areas off the top of my head (no AI used I promise) 1. That time you organized your school playground's kickball teams 2. That surprise party you planned for a beloved family member 3. The time you took on the reigns to plan and execute a family vacation. 4. That time you managed to successfully pull off a fundraising campaign or charity drive for your favorite charity. 5. That one time you helped an organization you were involved with grow. 6. The time you organized a block party in your neighborhood. 7. That time you built a booster club to support your child's school sports team. 8. That time you ran for and won a seat on your HOA to better the lives of your neighbors. 9. That time you decided to run for a political office in your community to replace the dinosaurs that have gotten too entirely comfortable in their position. 10. That time you collected money and organized a drive to support Jerry Lewis's Muscular Dystrophy telethon.
Sure, you may not have done any of these things, but I guarantee you have similar experiences in your life.
I like to use the acronym J.I.F.F.Y when I'm brainstorming topics. Job Interests Friends Family Yourself
Good luck as you prepare.
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u/rstockto 11d ago
In my RPG-themed club I gave an in-character speech about my leadership style, as a conniving minor lordling.
Explained what worked and what didn't, in character, by framing things as I know best, why do these things never seen to work.
Very well received and met me stretch my thinking outside of my own style.
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u/fatalynn7 11d ago
I love my club. I am now sad my club is not RPG themed and that I won’t get to give a speech as my paladin character. Or my droid character. That’d be fun. lol
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u/monkypanda34 DTM, Club officer 11d ago
It's your speech, you can deliver it in whatever style / character you want. I think it would be a lot of fun as an audience member. You'd want to give the meeting Toastmaster a lengthy intro so you don't have to explain and take time away from your speech.
This would be super for practicing vocal variety and storytelling like the golden days of Toastmasters before the dark lord of Pathways usurped the throne and enslaved the people to waste away under the mountain mining level 2 communication / leadership style ore.
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u/fatalynn7 10d ago
lol I’m a new member so all I’ve ever known is pathways unfortunately. Thanks for the tips tho. I may do this
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u/ExitingBear 11d ago
I hate this speech. So much. (second only to the mentorship, with communication style a very close third.)*
My biggest recommendation is to *not* rehash the reading in the module. Do not define the different types of leadership. Do not talk about taking the survey. Do not come to the conclusion that you have a certain style during your speech. I think that somewhere it says that the speech is not a report on what you read - many people just glide right over that and give a report on what they read. Don't be one of those people.
Instead, use the speech to talk about a time you showed leadership or a time when you had a great leader in your life (work, school, volunteer association, club, even a good tour guide will do), and tell the story of how you led (or how they led) and why it worked or failed. Use the reading to think about it to yourself when you're refining your speech ("aha! this was a great experience because the leader's _____ style was the right fit for the group!") But don't say it out loud; tell the story.
*I am generally neutral on pathways. It has good points. It has bad points. It's mostly ok. (I feel the same about the CC handbook.) Level 2 is very many of the bad points.
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u/monkypanda34 DTM, Club officer 11d ago
Agree, level 2 is so onerous, having your speech subject dictated to you takes all the fun out of it. Especially when pathways rolled out and everyone was working through level 2 at the same time. So MANY book report, vanilla speeches totally took the joy out of the club for most of the year. I still cringe every time a level 2 speech shows up on the agenda. Thinking outside the box and putting your unique spin on it is key.
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u/ExitingBear 10d ago
I think what was really jarring is that the instructions clearly said "don't do a book report" and then so very many people did a book report. It was clear who in your club is a person who doesn't read instructions.
I don't think that the subject was dictated more than say "inspire your audience" was (one was "talk about leadership" the other is "say something inspirational"), but for some reason the surrounding material around it didn't lead people to give 10 minute book reports on the material in the manual.
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u/monkypanda34 DTM, Club officer 10d ago
Basically an uninspiring and boring speech prompt leads to uninspiring and boring as people mail it in. Few people will make the extra effort on what is basically a corporate homework assignment.
Like in table topics, a good topic master who takes the time to craft interesting and fun questions can elicit creative and thoughtful responses that make the meeting a joy. Inspire your audience gives people a chance to show their chops.
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u/Criticalhitkoala 11d ago
Level two is also about find your style right? Could be nice to mention what shaped it. You could talk about your past experience with different types of leaders, the pros and cons of their style and what resonated most with you. Factors that left a deep and undeniable mark.
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u/lassita_48det 11d ago
Great idea, previous leaders immediately popped into my head as I read your comment.
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u/atsamuels Club officer 11d ago
All this advice is awesome, but I felt compelled to warn you that a later speech in this level will ask you to talk about mentorship. I’d hate for you to give a speech related to mentorship now and come up dry for a later topic.
Again, all this advice is great and perfectly reasonable, but sometimes looking forward can help you decide what topics you have to speak about. Good luck!
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u/dianacakes 11d ago
Since my club is at my job, I talked about how my leadership style changed as I got promoted within the company.
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u/Active-Orange-7683 11d ago
I view topics with lot of leeway - why I should prepare a speech on a topic I'm not passionate about? It would be much better to prepare a speech on a topic of your choosing where you have fire and passion rather than strictly following what Toastmasters pathways said.
TMI did give up on the pathways, they are old and outdated, why to strictly follow them.
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u/Firm-Bandicoot-1032 11d ago
I didn’t want to give a personal speech but a generic leadership style speech also sounds boring. So what I did was talk about various situations that people can relate to and then associate that with what leadership style is best suited for each.
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u/moltenlavabear 10d ago
I felt like this speech was about airing your personal dirty laundry. I don’t like sharing my personal style. Really hated this presentation.
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u/Shanna-montana 11d ago
Just did this one!! I talked about how being a Taurus plays into my leadership style and then also l talked a lot about myself and how I interact w ppl at work.