how to write an ice breaker speech

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How to Write an Icebreaker Speech

Last Updated: February 1, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Christopher Taylor, PhD . Christopher Taylor is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of English at Austin Community College in Texas. He received his PhD in English Literature and Medieval Studies from the University of Texas at Austin in 2014. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 480,844 times.

An icebreaker speech is any kind of speech that introduces yourself to an audience. You can give an icebreaker speech in a lot of different contexts: when you're accepting an award, toasting a couple at their wedding, or making a business pitch. Choosing the topic of your icebreaker, carefully drafting and editing your speech, and practicing it before you give it can help you write a successful icebreaker speech.

Icebreaker Speech Template and Example

Choosing the Topic of Your Icebreaker

• For example, if you're accepting an award, you'll want to introduce yourself to the audience. A chronological account of your life tells your audience where and when you were born, the first memory you can remember, and where you went to college.

• For example, if you're giving your speech at a business meeting, you might want to focus on your most impressive business-related accomplishments.
• If you're giving your speech in an academic setting, you might want to highlight your academic accomplishments, including degrees and certifications.

• For instance, if you are a veterinarian , you might talk about your first pet, your first job caring for animals, your decision to become a veterinarian, your current practice and your current pets.
• This is also a great approach if you're writing a wedding toast. Focus on your friendship with the couple (or just one of them) and how it has influenced your life over time.

• For example, if you're a surgeon , you might talk about your most difficult case and how it led you to pioneer a new technique. If you're a military veteran, you might talk about being in combat and how it changed you.

Drafting Your Icebreaker

• 1 Brainstorm what you want to say. Now that you have an idea of a topic, write down everything you want to include in your speech. Be sure to introduce yourself first. Organize the information chronologically as you plan to say it, then go through and cut out any unnecessary or irrelevant information.

• For example, if you're giving your speech at a business gathering, you could start with a quote from the company's founder.
• If you're giving a wedding toast, it's generally best not to joke—what you think is funny can sometimes come across as mean or embarrassing to the couple getting married.

• For example, if you're giving a speech that focuses on when you became a doctor as a key moment in your life, your first body paragraph might talk about how you liked helping people as a kid, the second paragraph might talk about your decision to go to medical school, and the last paragraph might talk about what it felt the first time someone called you “doctor.”

• For example, if your icebreaker speech has been about how you became a doctor, you could end by saying something like "Little girls who help clean up their friends' 'booboos' on the playground grow up to be doctors. Thank you so much for having me. Have a great day."
• You could also say something like "If you want to be a doctor, remember that there is nothing more important than a passion for helping people and a commitment to hard work."

Preparing for Your Icebreaker

• You don't have to memorize the speech, but it should be clear that you know what's coming next while you're speaking.

Community Q&A

• Don't forget to introduce yourself! This seems like the most obvious thing to include in your speech, but a lot of people forget when they're nervous. Your audience needs to know who you are! Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://virtualspeech.com/blog/tell-story-delivering-presentation
• ↑ https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wm-publicspeaking/chapter/topical-organization/
• ↑ https://icebreakerideas.com/writing-icebreaker-speech/
• ↑ http://toastmastersd17.org/resource/icebreaker-speeches/

About This Article

To write an icebreaker speech, start by choosing a topic, which could be a chronological account of your life. Then, brainstorm all the points you want to make in your speech, keeping in mind that the speech shouldn't be longer than 4 to 6 minutes. You should begin with an introduction where you introduce yourself to the audience and include a fun quote or joke you can relate to so you grab their attention. Then, write 3-5 body paragraphs based around the theme of your speech. Finish with a 30-second conclusion where you thank the event's organizer and sum up your main theme. For tips on how to prepare to give your icebreaker speech, keep reading! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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Icebreaker speech for Toastmasters

Help to master your icebreaker step by step (with examples) from topic choice, to preparation, to delivery

By:  Susan Dugdale  

Congratulations! You've made a decision to become a better communicator and joined Toastmasters International, the worldwide educational organization specializing in communication, public speaking and leadership skills.

And now you have an icebreaker speech to prepare! ☺

Use the page index to find what you need quickly

• What is a Toastmasters ice breaker speech? - Its time allocation and purpose
• How to find a topic and structure your speech - 5 ways to find a topic you really want to talk about, with examples
• How to brainstorm to easily generate ideas to fit your topic, with an example
• How to take the ideas from your brainstorm and transform them into the words you'll actually say. Before and after examples for each of the 4 main points forming the body of the speech, and the transitions between them.  
• How to write the conclusion of your icebreaker , with an example
• How to write the introduction, with an example
• An example icebreaker speech - full text, with audio
• What to expect of yourself when you give your ice breaker - 5 tips to help
• How your icebreaker will be evaluated - an explanation of the evaluation process
• Links to official Toastmaster icebreaker resources   

What is a Toastmasters ice breaker speech?

Essentially the icebreaker is an introductory speech of 4 - 6 minutes long. *

It's the first prepared speech you give as a member of a Toastmaster's Club, and the first project on your chosen Toastmaster Pathway. ( For more about the eleven Toastmaster Pathways. )

What's the purpose of an icebreaker speech?

The purpose of the speech is twofold.

• For the club members its purpose is to help them get to know you. They want to find out who you are as a person and what your speaking strengths and aspirations are. That will help them, help you reach them.
• For you, the speaker, the main purpose is to  begin the process of becoming a competent, confident communicator. That is, learning to be comfortable while out of your comfort zone, sharing and being your authentic, beautiful, vulnerable self in front of others. Your icebreaker marks an official starting point on your quest to become a better public speaker, regardless of the Pathway option you have selected. It's the first assignment on all eleven of them!

* When I gave my own ice breaker speech, I think I set a new club record: 9 plus minutes long! Way, way over the time limit.

I attempted to share the complete, and fascinating, story of my entire life! (I'm exaggerating, but you get the picture.)

I hadn't realized a sliver, a small slice, was all I had room for because I hadn't timed myself when I practiced my speech at home. Luckily for me, they were very kind about it.

Return to Top

What will the topic of your icebreaker be?

Below are five ways of finding a topic for your first speech. The one you choose will also help you structure your speech. 

The subject matter of your icebreaker is simple. It is about you: who you are.

You'll find it's reasonably easy to tell which way, or method, of the five will be best for you. It's the one triggering a rush of ideas and personal stories.

The topic you settle on should be one you feel comfortable talking about in front of the people at your Toastmasters club, whom as yet, you don't know very well.

1. Chronological - a timeline

A chronological topic is a timeline of carefully selected past experiences that have shaped your life from birth to the present time.

For instance, a potent childhood memory - one that you can still see, hear and feel today, followed by something from your high school days or your college years, and then maybe something about significant friendships/relationships, hobbies or interests and a workplace event.

2. How I got here

This topic is about looking back, isolating, and sharing the series of events leading to you standing in front of a Toastmaster audience giving your icebreaker speech.

For example:

• being asked to be best man at a friend's wedding, delivering the speech adequately but not as well as you would have liked 
• wanting to speak up at work but lacking the courage to do so 
• realizing that not addressing the anxiety you felt around speaking in public was holding you back from many of the things you wanted to do.

3. Themed ideas 

These are topic suggestions united by a common thread.

Pick one that resonates and see where it takes you. Ideally you want three main points - all of them linked to the theme you've chosen.

• Values - 3 important things I value most in my life
• Seasons - Winter, Spring, Summer or Autumn (Fall) - activities, food, nature...
• Love - my 3 greatest loves - food, family and music
• Family - what family life means to me - acceptance, shelter, challenge
• Celebrations - Christmas, birthdays, weddings, graduations - what they mean to me
• Travel-journeying - local, national, international - what it means to me, what I've learned, interesting people I've met
• Heroes - the different people who have inspired you - who they are, how they inspired and why
• Sport - the role of sport in my life, the different ways it has made who I am for better or for worse
• Friends - snapshots of the role of friendship in my life from the time I was a little kid to now
• Dreams - what they are, how they've changed - refining and reaching them
• Challenge - the 3 biggest challenges in my life so far
• Sayings/quotations I live by - For example, "This too will pass" - 3 examples of times when "This too will pass" was the reminder needed.

4. Topical ideas for your icebreaker speech

This is a series of snapshots (topics) illustrating different and significant aspects of your life.

For instance:

• your passion for organic gardening,
• the pleasure you get from volunteering in your local high school's holiday program, and
• how you have learned to live with a chronic health condition like myalgia encephalomyelitis (ME)

5. The event - a pivotal, life changing event

The core of this method is a major happening - one that completely disrupted and overturned life as you knew it.

Events affecting many:

• a natural disaster - an earthquake, a fire, flooding, or a cyclone that destroyed where you lived.
• a man-made disaster - a war, terrorism, a chemical or oil spill, transport failures, building collapses, arson...

Or a personal event affecting a smaller group of people, yourself and those close to you:

• the unexpected loss of your job
• the death of someone important to you
• becoming dangerously ill
• being the recipient of unexpected good fortune
• being in an accident, and the path to recovery
• meeting a mentor who opened your eyes to your own potential...

This speech has two parts: before the event, and, after it. 

What will you talk about? Brainstorming to pull together ideas 

Once you've chosen a topic, your next step is to begin generating the ideas you think you may like to cover in the main part of your speech - the body. The easiest and best way I know to do that, is to brainstorm.

How to brainstorm ideas for your icebreaker

Put your selected topic prompt in the center of a blank page or document just as I've done in my example above. Then free write.

Jot down all the ideas that come to you as quickly as you can, giving each of them their own space. Note as much as you need to trigger the thought or memory about it again, if you decide to use it.

Don't write full sentences or stop to get the spelling right.

If you need help to get going, try asking yourself 'how', 'when', 'why', 'what', 'when' and 'who' questions about your chosen topic.

For example: How did I get here? What happened? When did it happen? Why did it happen? Who was involved?

When you feel you've exhausted all the possibilities, stop. 

Reviewing and selecting your material

Review your ideas. Then select the 3 or 4 strongest, and most suitable of them, remembering that you:

• only have 4-6 minutes to speak,  
• still have to flesh these points out, 
• need to add transitions to move smoothly between them,
• and haven't added an introduction or a conclusion yet.

Some, even though you might like them, may have to go! 

What you choose will become the main points you make in the body of your speech.

An example icebreaker speech - step by step

In my step-by-step example below, I've used the prompt or topic suggestion 'how I got here'.  

How to get from brainstorming to a first draft

To illustrate the process of getting from brainstorm notes to a first draft of the body of your speech I've used the same points I put into the image of an example brainstorm above.

I've put them into the order I want to speak about them. Now they need more detail and transitions between them to enable the audience to follow you easily as you move from one point to the next.

To make the changes I made easier to see I've given you the 4 main points unworked, (as they are in the brainstorm image), and followed that with their reworked form.

Between each main point there's a transition - a sentence or two connecting them together to make it easier for listeners to follow. 

Once the first draft of body or heart of the speech is done, we'll move to adding the conclusion and the opening or introduction.

1st main point from brainstorm - unworked 

Best man at mate's wedding - tried to wing it. Jokes fell flat. Forgot several of the points I wanted to make. Rambled on a bit.

1st main point reworked

"A while ago, my best friend - the guy who has seen me through good times, bad and ho-hum in-between times since we were kids goofing around on skateboards being super cool, asked me to be his best man at his wedding.

A great honor! Yeah, I'll do that. All good, I said.

And it was, until it came to the speech.

To be honest, I procrastinated and left it too late. I did read a whole lot of other people's best man speeches and I made myself some notes about what I thought would be good to share. I even found some jokes which I thought would be great to use.  

But did I practice?

No. I kept putting it off, telling myself I wanted to be authentically spontaneous. And I was, but not in the way I wanted. I forgot most of the points I wanted to make. Worse, I rambled on, and the jokes went down like lead balloons.

You know that saying about there being no such thing as a failure? That it's an opportunity to learn? That was one of those."

Transition between the 1st and 2nd main point

"The next, and second reason I'm here is the result of a reassessment of what I've been doing and where I'm going in my working life."

2nd main point from brainstorm - unworked

Have avoided applying for jobs I was interested in because they involved having to make presentations. Realize I am limiting myself.

2nd main point reworked

"It's a long story, and luckily for you, too long for a brief icebreaker speech. The short version is being honest with myself about why I've been avoiding applying for positions that would both fit and extend my skillset. These are jobs I know I'd enjoy! And I know I'd do well. 

So why haven't I applied for any of them?  Because they involved having to make presentations, having to speak in front of others. I was limiting myself out of fear."

Transition between the 2nd and 3rd main point

"And that fear, is what brings me to my third reason."

3rd main point from brainstorm - unworked

Have felt nervous about speaking in public for as long as I can remember. Hated having to make speeches at school. Used to feel sick, stammer, and blush when I made a mistake.

3rd main point reworked

"I've felt nervous about speaking in public for as long as I can remember.

I hated having to make speeches at school. I remember dreading going back after the holidays because inevitably the teacher would set a speaking task: 'what I did on my vacation' or 'what I love most about Christmas'. Begging to be allowed to say home did not work. My tough love parents would have none of it.

So, there I'd be standing in front of my classmates doing my best to not visibly shake, speak without stammering, or blush when I made a mistake."

Transition from 3rd main point to 4th main point

"I'm sharing this rather unflattering picture of myself as a person anxious to avoid being the sole focus of everyone's attention because I know, it's well passed its use by date."

4th main point from brainstorm - unworked

Want to speak up in meetings:  at work, at my kid's school etc,  want to contribute my ideas, to speak confidently and be listened to. Also want to set an example for my kids.

4th main point reworked

"Protecting myself by NOT doing something I rationally know will benefit me, and others, is no longer an option. I want to step up and speak up: at celebrations for family and friends, in meetings: at work, at my kid's school, and other places in the community. I want to contribute my ideas, to speak confidently and be listened to." 

Adding a conclusion to your icebreaker

Now that we've finished with the first draft of the body of the speech we're going to work on the conclusion. (After that we'll add the introduction.)

To end your first speech strongly,  briefly, sum up your major points and, if you wish, pop in a call to action or use a quotation before returning to your opening idea to close.

For more on how to memorably end a speech : 3 examples of strong conclusions (with audio), plus examples of weak endings: ones commonly used because the speech has not been adequately thought through and rehearsed.

In addition to the conclusion itself you need a transition to it to prime listeners the end is coming soon.

The transition below, foreshadows the close of the speech.

Transition from 4th main point to conclusion

"Now, with your help, I want to be the change I want to see in my world, for myself, and also for my kids. I want to set them an example they'll be proud of."

The conclusion or closing statement 

"Fellow toastmasters, thank you for being here for me. Thank you for listening. I've survived! The ice is well and truly broken, and my journey has begun."

Adding a greeting and an introduction to your icebreaker

Now let's move to the beginning: the introduction.

What can you say to grab the audience's attention immediately?  Ideally when you open your mouth to speak, the first thing that comes out of it has them riveted! They are all ears, leaning forward in their chairs, eager to know more. 

Your opening is an opportunity to make a great first impression, but how do you do that?

The answer to that, is that you experiment. Perhaps you try one or two, or even three openings before settling on one of them.

Think about the purpose of this speech. Think about how you felt about getting ready for it? Put some of those thoughts down, and then play with them.

The introduction I've prepared below came from thinking through the body of the speech. It contains references to public speaking anxiety, and because this is a first speech in front of people who have clearly survived the ordeal of giving their own icebreaker speeches, I decided to use that experience. It's easy to understand and relate to!

It opens with a rhetorical question which immediately engages the audience. That's followed by an invitation/instruction to further that engagement by nodding in agreement. And finishes thanking them for their response.

For more on opening a speech effectively: How to write a speech introduction| 12 of the best ways to start .

Immediately following the introduction is the transition taking us to the first main point in the body of the speech.

(Note how the word 'survival' is returned to in the conclusion. It returns listeners to the starting place - completing the circle.)

Introduction to this sample icebreaker speech 

"Would you be surprised to know I nearly didn't make it here tonight?

I wonder how many of you experienced a moment or two of panic before giving your icebreaker speech. Just nod to let me know."

{ The speaker   pauses - and looks around at the audience nodding their heads. }

"Thank you, that's very reassuring. You've survived, so probably I shall too."

Transition to body of speech and first main point.

"I am here wobbling rather nervously in front of you for three main reasons which I'll share with you.

Here's the first."

The complete icebreaker speech example

And now here is the whole speech - introduction, body and conclusion without all the section headings, explanations and asides. I've given it a title: 'Stepping up to speak out'.

It's 617 words long and will take approximately 4 minutes to say depending how slowly or quickly you speak.  (For more on the number of words per minute in a speech .)

Listen | audio of example ice breaker speech 

If you'd like to listen to a recording of it, click: " Stepping up to speak out" . The voice you'll hear belongs to me: Susan .

Stepping up to speak out

Would you be surprised to know I nearly didn't make it here tonight?

I wonder how many of you experienced a moment or two of panic before giving your icebreaker speech. Just nod to let me know. {pause - look around}

Thank you, that's very reassuring. You've survived, so probably I shall too.

I am here wobbling rather nervously in front of you for three main reasons which I'll share. 

Here's the first.

A while ago, my best friend - the guy who has seen me through good times, bad and ho-hum in-between times since we were kids goofing around on skateboards being super cool, asked me to be his best man at his wedding. A great honor! Yeah, I'll do that. All good, I said.

To be honest, I procrastinated and left it too late. I did read a whole lot of other people's best man speeches and I made myself some notes about what I thought would be good to share. I even found some jokes which I thought would be great to use.

But did I practice? No. I kept putting it off, telling myself I wanted to be authentically spontaneous. And I was, but not in the way I wanted. I forgot most of the points I wanted to make. Worse, I rambled around in circles and the jokes went down like lead balloons.

You know that saying about there being no such thing as a failure? That it's an opportunity to learn? That was one of those.

The next, and second reason I'm here is the result of a reassessment of what I've been doing and where I'm going in my working life.

It's a long story - too long for a brief icebreaker speech. The short version is being honest with myself about why I've been avoiding applying for positions that would both fit and extend my skillset. These are jobs I know I'd enjoy! And I know I'd do well. 

So why haven't I applied for any of them?  Because they involved having to make presentations, having to speak in front of others. I was limiting myself out of fear. 

And that fear, is what brings me to my third reason.

I've felt nervous about speaking in public for as long as I can remember.

I hated having to make speeches at school. 

I remember dreading going back after the holidays because inevitably the teacher would set a speaking task: 'what I did on my vacation' or 'what I love most about Christmas'. Begging to be allowed to say home did not work. My tough love parents would have none of it.

So, there I'd be standing in front of my classmates doing my best to not visibly shake, speak without stammering, or blush when I made a mistake.

I'm sharing this rather unflattering picture of myself as a person anxious to avoid being the sole focus of everyone's attention because I know, it's well passed its use by date. 

Protecting myself by NOT doing something I rationally know will benefit me, and others is no longer an option. I want to step up and speak up: at celebrations for family and friends, in meetings: at work, at my kid's school, and other places in the community. I want to contribute my ideas, to speak confidently and be listened to.

With your help, I want to be the change I want to see in my world, for myself, and also for my kids. I want to set them an example they'll be proud of.

Thank you for being here for me. Thank you for listening. I've survived!  The ice is well and truly broken and my journey has begun. 

What to expect of yourself - 5 tips that may help

1. ask for help - talk to your mentor.

If you want help to get started, ask for it. As a new member you will have been assigned a mentor, usually one of the club's senior members.

Your mentor is someone you can talk to about any concerns you may have. Don't be shy. They've volunteered to help people like yourself. They expect and want to. Ask.

2. Be real in your expectations about yourself 

Don't expect yourself to be stunningly eloquent, effortlessly amusing and assured. While there's always an outside chance you may be, commonsense says otherwise.

This is the beginning of your Toastmaster journey, and beginners generally have things to learn. That's why you're here and preparing an icebreaker!

It's more than OK to be where you are. It's wonderful. Because you've made the commitment to become a better speaker.

3. Use a little self-deprecating humor

If you can, use a bit of humor. Don't take yourself so seriously you lose sight of the potential to poke a little gentle fun at yourself.

Self-deprecating humor used carefully lets your audience know you see and understand yourself. It creates connection. You'll be laughed 'with'. 

For example: "My goodness, what fun I've had with this icebreaker! My fridge has never been so clean. Three times in the last two weeks.

My bedroom closet has been sorted. And I've devised an amazing, color-coded filing system for all the useful brochures we collect whenever we go on vacation. They were higgledy-piggledy in a box covered with dust on the top shelf in the garage. 

I stun myself with what I'll do when there's something important, new and challenging to be done."

Please do not publicly beat yourself up

Healthy self-deprecating humor is not publicly parading what you perceive as your heinous physical, character, or mental flaws, and whipping yourself for them. That will disturb your audience.

No one likes to hear or see a person set themselves up to be laughed 'at'. It's very uncomfortable.

4. Rehearse - practice your speech

Run through your speech out loud several times and then,  once you're familiar with the flow of it, record it and/or video yourself using your phone.

When you play it back, you'll hear, and see, where you need to make adjustments, and you'll find out if you've got too much to say or too little. 

You have between 4 - 6 minutes to make your speech. That's approximately somewhere between 480 words if you are a slow speaker and 960 words, if you speak for longer and at a faster rate.

If you find your speech is over the time allowance, or under it, you'll want to sort it out well before you go to your club meeting.

If you're inclined to get anxious about presenting, rehearsal will help. Because you've 'done' your speech multiple times before delivering it for the club members, you'll feel less pressured. For your own sake, please make the time to practice. 

For more: How to practice public speaking | 9 'fabulously' (☺) effective ways

5. What to do if you 'um' and 'ah', and get flustered

Losing your place in your notes or cue cards, if you're using them, or something as simple as mispronouncing a word, might be enough to trigger a rush of panicky feelings.

In a situation where we already feel pressured, our hyper-sensitized mind can quickly turn minor blips into major stumbling blocks.  The very best thing you can do for yourself is to stop. Take several very large deep breaths , and then, keep on going.

Please do not apologize. You have nothing to apologize for. You are a learner, a beginner, and beginners make mistakes. That's how we progress.

The people at your Toastmaster club fully understand that giving your icebreaker speech can be daunting, because they've been where you are. They're on your side! They want to help you achieve your public speaking goals and will do everything they can to help. 

How your icebreaker speech will be evaluated

Part of the value of joining a Toastmaster's Club is getting constructive evaluations of each assignment you complete. That starts with your icebreaker.

An experienced fellow club member will be asked to watch and listen carefully as you present your first speech. Their task is to take notes which they will use as the basis of a verbal evaluation they'll deliver later in the meeting. * (You'll also receive a written one from them at the end of the meeting.) 

Put any anxiety about being evaluated aside

If you're nervous about being evaluated, particularly about getting personal feedback in public, don't be. You will definitely not be pilloried, laughed at or made to feel inadequate in any way.

Toastmasters love icebreaker speeches and the people who give them. They go out of their way to ensure their new members are nurtured and cared for. Afterall it's people like you, who keep the clubs going and successful. They need you, and they understand the delicate art of giving and receiving useful evaluations.

You, the person, giving the speech is not being evaluated. The speech you deliver is. That distinction and separation is stringently upheld.

* Part of the success of Toastmaster's is the way evaluations given. Everybody at the meeting hears them, which gives everybody an opportunity to learn from them. (And in true Toastmaster form, even the evaluations the evaluators give are evaluated! The Toastmaster ethos encourages reaching for excellence in every aspect of its operation.) 

What aspects will your evaluator be evaluating? 

If you know in advance who is going to be your evaluator, say hello, connect, before you give your speech.  Make some time to talk through the evaluation process with them.

Share what your goals are for your icebreaker, and what you'd particularly like them to watch out for. That will help reassure you that you're supported and in the right place to learn.   

The aspects you can expect your evaluator to comment on are your content and delivery.

Regarding your content:

• How well structured was it? Was there an opening, a body and a conclusion?
• Was it interesting for the audience?

About your delivery:

• How comfortable did you appear to be in front of an audience?
• Did you engage with your audience? Did you use eye content, appropriate facial expressions, gesture and body language ? 
• Did you use vocal variety effectively ?
• Did you speak clearly ?

Depending on your club, you may also get feedback (either verbal or written) from other audience members. All of it is valuable, even if you disagree with some of it!

You'll use it to help you decide what aspects to focus on in future speeches to become the better speaker you want to be. 

For more speech evaluation| giving and receiving meaningful feedback 

Links to official Toastmaster resources for icebreaker speeches 

What are Toastmaster Pathways? An introductory overview of the Pathway concept and each of the eleven paths. As an example, here's four of them: Presentation Mastery, Dynamic Leadership, Innovative Planning and Persuasive Influence. The first assignment on every path is giving an icebreaker speech. 

Overview of an icebreaker speech This link is to a video: the official Toastmaster's overview of an icebreaker speech. It very carefully segments the process into four parts - as you can see in the screen shot below.

In addition to information about each part, you'll find links to useful printable documents for example, a speech outline worksheet to help you plan your icebreaker, and a sample evaluation form.

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Toastmasters Ice Breaker Speech: How to Ace Your First Speech

Have no fear even if giving a speech at a Toastmasters meeting feels like torture to you. Presenting an Ice Breaker speech is a great way for you to make a great first impression and show the other members your personality and humor. To help you prepare for this big event, this blog post will cover the key elements of an Ice Breaker speech, tips on how to craft an effective introduction, and some fun ways to make the audience laugh. So let’s get started, shall we?

Why You Should Give a Toastmasters Ice Breaker Speech

Giving a Toastmasters Ice Breaker Speech is a great way to make a memorable first impression. Not only does it allow you to showcase your communication and public speaking skills , but it also gives you the opportunity to connect with the audience in an intentional manner. A Toastmasters Ice Breaker Speech enables you to share stories and personal experiences that tie in to the purpose of the event and set yourself apart from the crowd. Some may argue that volunteering to give an Ice Breaker Speech carries too much risk as one could easily make a mistake or stumble on their words. While this is certainly a valid concern, it is important to remember that it is natural to be nervous when speaking in front of a large audience. Additionally, any well-crafted speech will have been prepared beforehand and rehearsed multiple times; this greatly reduces the chance of making mistakes or blanking out during the actual presentation. Making mistakes while giving an Ice Breaker Speech can still occur and should be considered part of the learning process; after all, no one is perfect. Taking on the challenge of public speaking is also an excellent way to build confidence as well as demonstrate one’s ability to think quickly and improvise on their feet – these valuable life lessons will serve presenters for years to come. Therefore, it can be concluded that delivering an effective Toastmasters Ice Breaker Speech carries many benefits and should be embraced rather than feared. In order ensure that your speech resonates with the audience, proper preparation and rehearsal are essential – let us now turn our attention to discussing precisely how best to craft your Toastmasters Ice Breaker Speech in the following section.

Writing Your Toastmasters Ice Breaker Speech

Writing a Toastmasters Ice Breaker speech can be an intimidating process, especially if it is your first one. However, the key to a successful ice breaker is to craft an engaging story that captures the audience’s attention. While some may argue it’s easy to open with a joke and quickly get down to business , others assert it’s important to let the audience in on who you are and why you have something unique or interesting to share. Which approach works best? Regardless of the approach, here are four tips for writing an effective Toastmasters Ice Breaker speech: 1. Identify your goal for the speech . Is your goal to introduce yourself or get across a particular point? Pinpointing your purpose can help bring focus and clarity as your write. 2. Find ways to make yourself relatable. People always respond positively to stories that resonate with them personally, so find connections between your story and the story of others. 3. Avoid monotony and rehearsed speeches. Don’t rely solely on bullet points when constructing your speech; this often results in extended periods of silence while speaking which can bore listeners and make you appear unprepared. 4. Speak authentically and passionately, but remember to practice too! Your Ice Breaker should sound natural, not robotic — but practicing will ensure you don’t stumble over words or forget what comes next! It’s important to remember that there is no one right way to craft a successful Toastmasters Ice Breaker speech and no two speakers will deliver them exactly the same way — this gives you freedom as a speaker to be creative and authentic in how you present yourself! After all, the audience should leave knowing who you are and feeling like they’ve just had a conversation with an interesting new person. With these tips in mind, now it’s time to consider which interesting facts from your life will make this possible — such as hobbies, family history, or past experiences — which we discuss in the next section about being selective about interesting facts for your Toastmasters Ice Breaker Speech.

Be Selective About Interesting Facts

As you prepare for your Toastmasters Ice Breaker Speech, it’s important to be selective about the interesting facts you choose to share. On one hand, emphasizing unique and interesting facts about yourself can help make a good first impression. On the other hand, some audience members may feel uncomfortable if too many personal details are shared. It’s best to strike a balance between these two approaches by sharing fun, relevant stories that help to demonstrate your personality and make a connection with your audience while not revealing too much information. When selecting interesting facts to talk about in your speech, ensure that they’re memorable and convey something meaningful. Avoid generic or uninteresting topics or oversharing – instead focus on selecting facts that show off your personality and help the audience remember you. It’s also important to keep any stories or details you include appropriate for all audiences. Finally, consider using props to enhance your stories – visual aids such as pictures or objects can draw attention to key points and help keep the audience engaged. By being selective about the interesting facts you choose to share in your Toastmasters Ice Breaker Speech, you’ll be able to make a great first impression and engage your audience. Up next is how to find the right story to share – let’s get started!

Ideas for an Interesting Introduction Speech

An interesting introduction speech is key to making a great first impression. It sets the tone for the remainder of the presentation, so it is important to give the speech proper thought and planning. While there are numerous approaches that can be taken when crafting an introduction speech, two of the most popular strategies revolve around either positivity or self-deprecation. Positive introductions focus on accentuating the speaker’s best qualities and highlighting his or her strengths. This approach is especially successful for very personal speaking engagements , where emphasis is placed not only on the content being delivered, but also on the individual delivering it. As an example, a positive introduction should include elements such as: introducing yourself by name, a brief summary of your background and experience in the subject matter, a reason why you are qualified to speak on this particular topic, and why you are passionate about it. Alternatively, self-deprecating intros involve poking fun at one’s own shortcomings in order to build rapport with the audience and build credibility by demonstrating self-awareness. This type of intro usually begins with an uncomfortable truth about oneself for comedic effect — like noting one’s tendencies to procrastinate, or lack of experience in certain areas — followed by an assertion that this has led them to become more well informed on their chosen topic. The type of introduction speech chosen ought to be based on one’s own comfort level and could even take into account cultural context if giving a speech overseas. Ultimately, whichever route is taken should be about generating an authentic connection with the audience – something that will spark their interest in what comes next. Having established how important it is to make a great first impression, it is equally imperative that we consider how to further impress through creative storytelling while delivering our icebreaker speeches. The following section will explore how utilizing personal stories in your speech can result in a captivating introduction that audiences cannot help but be drawn into.

Find the Right Story to Share

When you’re delivering your Toastmasters Ice Breaker speech, one of the key elements is finding the right story to share. After all, stories are the most powerful way to connect with people and make a great first impression. The challenge, though, is to choose a story that best conveys who you are and what you want to communicate about yourself and your message. There are two schools of thought when it comes to deciding on a story: being genuine or taking a more strategic approach. On the one hand, being genuine means you’ll be sharing something meaningful but also raw and vulnerable. You might choose a story from your past mistakes so you can demonstrate how you’ve grown from them. On the other hand, being strategic allows you to craft a specific narrative that other people might connect with better. You might be able to think about how your story also relates to your audience or use humor for entertainment value. It can be difficult to decide which path is best for you since both have their merits. Ultimately, it’s best to find something that strikes a balance between the two—something authentic yet still crafted in a way that makes sense and resonates with the audience. The next step in delivering an effective Toastmasters Ice Breaker speech is making sure that everyone in the room knows what message you’re trying to communicate and how they can relate. In the following section, we’ll discuss strategies for delivering your Toastmasters Ice Breaker speech so that everyone is engaged and inspired by your message.

Delivering Your Toastmasters Ice Breaker Speech

Delivering Your Toastmasters Ice Breaker Speech is the most important and difficult step to getting your message across properly. When giving an Ice Breaker speech, there are several important points to keep in mind: be confident, maintain eye contact, and express yourself through body language . The first point to consider is confidence. Your audience will immediately be able to tell if you are nervous and not sure of yourself, so it is important that you exude poise and self-assurance while speaking. Take a few deep breaths before you begin and remember why you are here – to make a good first impression and share your goals or story with the listeners. The more confident you are as you deliver your speech, the more successful it will be. Maintaining eye contact is equally crucial for connecting with your audience. Speaker Will Schwalbe suggests making eye contact with every single person in the room, even if some are far away. By doing this, your audience will feel included and fully engaged in what you have to say. Even when looking away briefly to pause for effect or make gestures , avoid letting your eyes wander all over the room; focus them on one individual at a time instead. Finally, use your body language to express yourself clearly and effectively throughout your speech. Keep your body straight, tall and relaxed – fidgeting makes others unsure of the speaker’s level of confidence. Move confidently across the stage or podium area as needed, making appropriate hand movements to emphasize keywords throughout your speech. Utilizing movement can help convey enthusiasm for the topics being discussed – something that even experienced speakers struggle with sometimes! By following these tips while delivering your Toastmaster Ice Breaker Speech, you can be sure that you are making a positive first impression on those around you. Now that we have covered how to deliver an engaging speech, let’s move onto examining ways to overcome anxiety for an effective speech delivery:

Ways to Overcome Anxiety For Your Ice Breaker Speech

Public speaking is one of the most commonly cited fears and can be especially daunting during the first speech of a Toastmasters meeting. Taking steps to handle the anxiety of an Ice Breaker speech can make a huge difference in how effectively you start off with your new peers. It’s important to remember that everyone is anticipating this speech and eager to learn more about you; they are not there to judge or criticize what you say. Channeling your attention towards creating an environment filled with warmth may help alleviate some of the nervous feelings that go along with presenting. Before starting, take some time to consciously release any negative thoughts and inhale and exhale deeply to promote a sense of calm. Another technique for managing stage fright is to practice ahead of time – often! Visualizing yourself being successful in completing the Ice Breaker can increase your confidence level as well as provide you with an opportunity to refine your content before taking the stage. Consider also reviewing some key ideas or points throughout the day leading up to your presentation as well as imagining yourself talking in front of an audience while walking in the hallways beforehand. The importance of being prepared should not be overlooked either; having significant knowledge and notes about the topic will greatly reduce anxiety by decreasing uncertainty. Additionally, if necessary, it could be useful for those who are really nervous about public speaking to double check their materials at the venue itself via printed copies or having their smartphone handy that contains information related to their topic. Finally, there’s no shame in using props or memorable stories as tools when making a speech. Incorporating a prop into one’sIce Breaker speech gives listeners something from which to form stronger connections so they better understand your message. Adding appropriate humour and personal anecdotes whilst keeping it succinct and on point will help distract from any potential nervousness felt by both you and other attendees alike. By following these strategies, individuals can take strides towards overcoming fear whilst giving a great Ice Breaker Speech that will ensure an outstanding first impression with their future Toastmasters peers. Next, we will consider how individuals can work on further improving their impressions with pearls of advice related to delivering such public addresses like a skillful pro.

Tips For Making a Good Impression

Making a good first impression is not just crucial in personal interactions, but also during business meetings or other professional environments. To ensure that you make a lasting impression when giving a Toastmasters Ice Breaker speech, there are several important tips you should consider beforehand. The first tip is to be aware of your nonverbal communication. This can include eye contact, body language and facial expressions , among other factors. Avoid crossing your arms or slumping your shoulders, as these appear less confident and can make the audience feel uncomfortable. Instead, aim for an open posture with firm handshakes, long glances and gentle nods to emphasize the points you are making. Second, remember to dress for success. It’s important to be presentable with a neat and polished look appropriate for the occasion. Picking an outfit appropriate for the group you are addressing will demonstrate that you took the time to prepare and shows respect for the audience. Additionally, make sure to practice proper etiquette when greeting members of the audience before beginning your speech; doing so will help convey a polite and respectful presence. Third, use humor in moderation to engage your listeners. While injecting some humor into a speech can bring levity and break down barriers between the speaker and audience, it is necessary to make sure it never comes off too off-topic or insensitive. Delivering jokes with caution allows one to maintain control over their message while engaging the audience in laughter – which positively affects how listeners perceive the speaker later on throughout their speech. Finally, it is important to remain composed and confident throughout the entire duration of the speech. Avoid repeated filler words such as “um” or “uh” in order to maintain clarity while speaking; take pauses instead if needed between sections of your speech. A good measure of confidence is having well-rehearsed material and practicing ahead of time in order to smooth out any kinks you may have overlooked during preparation – ultimately leading to more fluidity during delivery of content. With these tips in mind, you should now be more equipped than ever to effectively deliver an impactful Toastmasters Icebreaker Speech aimed at making a strong personal connection with the those around you while creating a memorable introduction that sets precedence for further engagement within this organization or event!

Conclusion and Overall Toastmasters Icebreaker Speech Advice

A Toastmasters icebreaker speech is an important tool for introducing yourself to a group of people. It can make the difference between an average introduction, and having an impact in the room. To make a great first impression, it is essential to remember a few key points about creating and delivering your icebreaker speech. First, it’s important to research effective topics so that you present something original and memorable. Choose one topic that will give you plenty of material to talk about, but also help you keep your story concise and relevant. The message of your speech should be clear from the beginning and remain consistent throughout. Finally, avoid sounding mechanical– practice beforehand so that you can feel confident in presenting lively anecdotes with confidence and enthusiasm. Overall, taking the time to create a special toastmasters icebreaker speech can be a rewarding challenge. It is an excellent opportunity to showcase your skills as a public speaker. With these tips in mind, you can make sure that everyone in the audience will take away something meaningful from your presentation– ultimately making it well worth the effort.

Common Questions and Their Answers

What strategies should i use to make my speech engaging.

In order to make your Toastmasters Ice Breaker speech engaging, there are several strategies you can use. Firstly, focus on the audience by making eye contact with each member and speak in a conversational style . This will create a comfortable atmosphere for those listening. Secondly, ensure your speech has an upbeat tone and be sure to smile! People are more likely to be engaged if you appear positive and enthusiastic. Thirdly, use storytelling to add interest and color to your speech. Depending on the subject of your ice breaker, weaving in relevant anecdotes or humorous personal stories can help liven up the presentation and keep listeners engaged. Lastly, ask leading questions throughout your speech that prompt the audience to think more deeply about the topic. A few skilled questions can go a long way in increasing engagement levels!

What type of content should I include in a toastmaster icebreaker speech?

When creating a toastmaster icebreaker speech, it is important to focus on providing personal stories, interesting anecdotes, and your own unique perspective. It is important to use a combination of humor, wit, and content that is specifically tailored to the audience. Additionally, it is important to focus on content that captures the attention of the audience and conveys your personality in a positive way. Some recommended topics for an icebreaker speech include introducing yourself and background information about where you are from, describing your current interests or hobbies, talking about recent experiences or travels you have taken, and discussing personal goals you have set for yourself in the near future. While keeping these topics in mind, make sure to add creative touches to make your toastmaster icebreaker speech engaging and memorable.

How do I structure a toastmaster icebreaker speech?

A successful toastmaster icebreaker speech should have three distinct parts: an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. In the introduction you should provide an overview of yourself and your topic. This is a great time to share some fun facts and humor that will capture the audience’s interest. Also, use this section to give the audience an idea of what they can expect from your presentation. The body of the speech should outline the main points that you want to communicate in more detail. Here you will talk about why you chose your topic, what research you did, and any personal lessons or experiences related to it. Finally, in the conclusion you should wrap up all of your points. Offer up some takeaways for the audience to consider, as well as reiterating your main message. It’s also important here to thank your listeners for their attention and restate any key points that may have been missed during the presentation. When structuring a toastmaster icebreaker speech , it’s important to keep things engaging and fresh so that the audience stays interested throughout. The key is to be confident in your delivery while also being funny and informative in equal measure.

What tips can I use to overcome any nerves I might have while delivering the speech?

In order to overcome any nerves while delivering a Toastmasters Ice Breaker speech, there are several tips that you can use. First, it is important to remember that everyone else in the room is probably just as nervous as you are. This can help ease your fears, knowing that you aren’t alone in any potential anxiousness. Second, take a few deep breaths before you begin speaking. Breathing deeply helps to slow down your heart rate and steady your body as well as clear your mind. Third, try practicing your speech with someone else beforehand. Having someone listen allows you to get more comfortable with talking out loud and become more confident in what you say. If possible find someone who can provide constructive feedback; this will help you adjust the content of your speech and give you an extra sense of security when doing the real thing. Lastly, realize that this is supposed to be fun! Realize that the minute nervousness or fear dissipates once you begin speaking; the more confident and assertive you act on the stage, the better off you will be!

What topics are best suited for Toastmasters ice breaker speeches?

When it comes to topics for Toastmasters ice breaker speeches, the most important factor is to choose something engaging and relatable. That way you can increase your chances of making a great first impression. Here are some examples of topics that work well: • Share an interesting or funny story from your life • Discuss a recent accomplishment • Introduce yourself and why you joined Toastmasters • Describe an interesting hobby or talent you have • Talk about a lesson you learned recently • Share how you overcame an obstacle in your life • Explain how you plan to contribute to the club No matter what topic you choose, make sure it paints a positive picture of who you are and keeps the audience engaged . Keeping these points in mind will help ensure that your Toastmasters ice breaker speech is a success!

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Toastmasters Speech 1: The Ice Breaker

Thus, it is fitting that the first Toastmaster speech project is titled The Ice Breaker .

This article of the Toastmasters Speech Series examines the primary goals of this project, provides tips and techniques, and links to numerous sample speeches.

• The Ice Breaker
• Organize Your Speech
• Get to the Point
• How To Say It
• Your Body Speaks
• Vocal Variety
• Research Your Topic
• Get Comfortable with Visual Aids (coming next)
• Persuade with Power
• Inspire Your Audience

Why is This Speech Important?

The Ice Breaker speech has three aims:

• Introduce yourself. Your ice breaker speech topic is you – something about your life, your job, your hobbies, your unique interests, your family, or any combination of these. You are an absolute authority on this topic, and everyone in the audience will learn something about you.
• Begin to conquer the fear of speaking in front of a group. It is nervewracking when speaking in front of a new group. If you feel this nervousness, remember that a Toastmaster audience is always supportive and understanding. Nobody is grading you, and nobody will mind if you stumble through 99 “Um”s and “Ah”s. If you get up, say something, and sit down, you have succeeded in this project.
• Provide a “base line” of your current strengths and weaknesses. Some new members have no public speaking experience, while others have years of presentations behind them. No matter where you fit into this spectrum, your goal is to improve from your starting point. This first speech helps club members gauge your current strengths so that they can make specific recommendations to help you improve.

Tips and Techniques

The Competent Communicator manual has a wealth of helpful advice. You can download a PDF version of the first project from the Toastmasters International website.

Here are a few other things which may help you:

“ Nobody expects you to be a world-class orator. Just do your best. ”

• Ask for Help If you have a mentor, don’t hesitate to ask them for help. If you don’t, feel free to ask any other club member. Perhaps they can share what they spoke about for their Icebreaker. Perhaps they can help you select a topic. Perhaps you can practice it privately before the meeting. All other members have gone through the Ice Breaker before, and can provide words of encouragement .
• Practice Helps You don’t need to practice the speech 35 times, and you don’t need to have it memorized. However, your nervousness will be reduced considerably if you give it a couple of practice runs out loud (even if your only audience is you).
• Timing The recommended time for the Ice Breaker speech is four to six minutes. It may seem like a long time, but in later projects, you’ll start wishing you had much more time to deliver your message. Don’t worry too much about going under or over time. Just aim for somewhere in that range.
• Notes There are no rules on the use of notes. If you need notes, use them. If you don’t need notes, don’t. Either way, don’t worry about it. It’s okay if you read your ice breaker from a script (just try to look up once in a while), if you refer to cue cards, or if you talk without notes.
• Don’t Expect to be Winston Churchill This is your first challenge. Nobody expects you to be a world-class orator. Just do your best. Once you have established your “base line”, then you can aim to raise your skill level in future projects.
• Speak Up and Slow Down Two common effects of nervousness are mumbling words and racing through the speech. Try to avoid these, but don’t worry if you can’t help it.
• Humour Reduces Your Nervousness If you are comfortable incorporating humour into your ice breaker, go for it. The laughs from the audience will reduce your nervousness. An easy way to do this is to make a self-depracating joke at the start. (If nobody laughs, don’t worry about that either… it’s something to work on later.)
• Apologizing You may feel an urge to apologize to your audience (e.g. for uttering too many “Um”s, for losing your place, etc.). There is no need to do so! Often, the audience doesn’t notice the little glitches, and it is much better for you to ignore them too.

Topic Ideas for Your Ice Breaker Speech

Although your broad topic is yourself, there are numerous angles to take, and several ways to organize your speech.

Don’t worry too much about the organization of the speech; later speech projects (especially #2 and #3) encourage you to focus more on that. However, having said that, one of these ideas may help you overcome writer’s block.

Idea #1: Chronological

For many people, a series of chronological snapshots of their life is the easiest to write and deliver.

Example: Ravi Singal takes this approach with his Ice Breaker: Why Me? Try Me!

Example : Oleg Kagan starts at birth in his Ice Breaker speech .

Idea #2: Topical

Discuss a series of elements of your life to provide a “sampling” of your life. For example, you could open up by talking about your family, then discuss your career, and conclude with your hobbies.

Example: Bob Cain addresses his love of travel, then photography, and then his career/education in his Ice Breaker speech . (video)

Idea #3: Common Thread

Select a common thread that runs through your life, and share brief stories where this common element appears. It might be a signature phrase, a philosophy that guides you, or even something obscure like peanut butter. (i.e. imagine stories through your life where peanut butter played a role)

My own Ice Breaker speech followed this general structure. It was titled “ Andrew of All Trades – Master of None ” and touched on several examples where I have breadth, but not depth of knowledge.

Example: Steph Corwin provides a great example with her Ice Breaker titled Swimming Through Life .

Idea #4: One Key Event

Focus on one critical event which took your life in a completely different direction.

Example: Tanya Huang talks about moving continents in Made in Taiwan, Calibrated in Canada .

Idea #5: How I Got Here…

A combination of #1 and #4, explain the series of decisions or events that brought you “here”, where “here” might be the place you currently live, the job you currently have, the life you lead, or the decision to join Toastmasters.

Example: Tracy Buxton does this wonderfully in her Ice Breaker titled I used to be June Cleaver, but I’m not sure who I am now .

Example: Jill Williamson also demonstrates this approach in the aptly titled How I Came To Be Here . (video)

More Examples of The Ice Breaker

Here are a few more sample written and video speeches which may provide inspiration for you.

Written Speech Examples

• Words Have Power by Monkey Sri
• My Enduring Purpose by Benjamin
• Life is Like a Box of Chocolates by Kevin Chester Kuo
• Interest-aholic by Didier Thizy
• When I close my eyes by Shalabieh
• My Name is Shay by Seamus McInerney
• End Quote by Anna Min
• I am Not Who I Thought I Was by Michael Harris

Video Speech Examples

• 5 Years by Betsy Dewey
• No, I was Not Named After a Charlie’s Angel by Farah Ulat
• Life is a Beautiful Dance by Sharon Burt
• Loves to Hear Herself Talk by Stephanie Bryant
• Inspiration of My 9-11 Inspiration Video by Alex Johnson
• Who Am I? The Reluctant Speaker by Paul Clausell

Next in the Toastmasters Speech Series

The next article in this series examines Speech 2: Organize Your Speech .

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43 comments.

Humor in ice-breakers is rare as speakers are anxious to get off the mark. And the fear, what if humor bombs ?

However, some of the most memorable ice-breakers I have watched had a streak of self deprecating humor in them.

Here are some samplers: Title of an ice-breaker : “Past imperfect.Present tense”.

Yet another speaker : “My attitude towards life is in my blood. B(e) Positive !

There was this girl Anisha Rasquinha who said ” Man of my dreams ? Nothing grand. I don’t expect him to come on a white horse. Just a BMW will do !” I still remember these speeches simply because of the subtle humor.

Good point, CK.

Toastmasters who approach their Icebreaker speech with significant fears are unlikely to attempt humor for fear it will not register.

I like your examples of humorous speech titles. Since the title is said by someone else, there’s no fear of the humor bombing. If the audience doesn’t laugh, no problem. If they do laugh, then it is a great way to start your first speech… with the whole audience smiling already!

I think I was into my 3rd speech before I made anyone laugh… and even then it was accidental. More on that in a future article.

are all toastmasters speech that people give are uploaded on youtube?

My personal favourite of a humorous speech opener in an ice breaker goes like this

” I feel the best way to break ice is to pour whisky over it. However, I will attempt a less exciting way for about six minutes !”

He had the audience in splits right from the word go and needless to add we tried his method of ice breaking after the meeting !

Hi, I am VP-PR at Lagoon Toastmasters in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. Your resources are very useful for the aspiring Toastmaster. I will be pointing fellow members to your site regularly. Keep up the good work!

Regards, Sailesh. Discover, Develop, Distinguish.

http://www.lagoontoastmasters.com

Aha! So you, Andrew, are the author of all the icebreaker tips! Thanks for the help and encouragement. I think I’ll get a bit more sleep than I thought I would when I first became aware of the extent of my obligation. After sweating alot, I’ll do fine (and may live to tell about it).

this was very helpful

Hi. I would just like to say that all these articles and videos have helped me. Wish me luck in my icebreaker!!!!!

Thanks for the great tips and examples! Had only 2 days to put my ice breaker together and your information was invaluable. I even won best speaker 🙂

Hello Andrew, Great description, thank you. We’ve added a link to your page in one of our posts to help out future members get a better sense of this. Regards, Alex Chan St-Lawrence Toastmasters (Montreal, Canada)

My Icebreaker Speech on cherished childhood memories. http://toastmasterspeeches.blogspot.com/2009/01/project-1-speech-ice-breaker.html

Hello, this is Monkey Sri. Thanks for linking to my blog! I’ve changed the URL, so you may want to update your link: http://thebioimp.blogspot.com/2008/06/words-have-power.html Thanks!

Excellent idea to share these tips and samples! I hope you get a chance to finish the series. It prodded me to post my own Ice Breaker (another example of “Common Thread”), along with other member contributions, on our club site: http://www.chamberclub540.com/sharables.htm

I used this site extensively for preparing my first speech for ToastMasters ,which I am going to deliver today .

Thanks a ton for nice and very useful features on this site.

Please keep up this work.

Here is my first speech – http://hr-universe.blogspot.com/2009/09/toastmaster-speech-1-ice-breaker.html

Regards Santosh

I agree totally. The first few minutes in any speech are crucial. If you only just fumble your way through, the rest of your speech will not be particularly inspiring. Getting the levels of anxiety down at the beginning is key to getting a good start, and using an icebreaker to engage the audience helps them, and you. Just knowing you are an expert (“the” expert) is not enough to allay our fears, sadly. And reasoning (“I know my subject…they came here to listen to me,” etc) just doesn’t reduce our stress levels!

Hi, I love your perspective on ice-breaker speeches. It is great to hear ice-breaker speeches which give us more information on the speaker, his experiences, interests and events that moulded his personality to give it its present shape.

This article helped me deliver my “Public Speaking Triumph and Disaster Toastmasters Ice Breaker:” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55CPJ7rUd8U Good luck to everyone!

Your articles are very helpful. But when I see those ice-breakers examples, I feel like the ice-breaker I have prepared is quite pale in comparison. I also think it’s hard to incorporate humour in it. This is asking a lot for a first speech.

The examples are just that: examples. It doesn’t matter if your speech is different. Everyone will have a different ice breaker speech, and that’s fine.

Can I bring props? It’s only my second meeting and I jumped in this both feet to do the ice breaker. A big part of who I am is a woodturner and would like to bring a 2 or 3 small pieces to have on the table to showcase what I do and answer questions.. Would that be appropriate?

There’s no rule which says that you cannot bring props. If your Ice Breaker speech heavily focuses on your woodturning pursuits, then it may add value to bring in examples of this work. My advice for you would be to make sure that the speech is about yourself (where woodturning is one of your hobbies or passions) and avoid making the speech _about_ the woodturning pieces themselves (i.e. don’t make the speech about “how to turn Christmas tree ornaments”). You can certainly devote future speeches to focus on woodturning skills/examples, but the first speech should be about yourself. Make sense?

Similarly, there’s no rule against Q&A for an Ice Breaker speech, however I would advise you not to design your speech in this way… this time. While handling a Q&A is an important skill for a complete speaker, it can also be a very time-consuming component in a presentation. It would be easy to speak for 2 minutes and take questions for 4 minutes, but this would not allow you to meet the objectives for this first TM project. Try filling your available time with your speech this time. Near your speech conclusion, you might say something like “If anyone has questions about the wood pieces I showed, I’d love to talk about it after the meeting with you.” Again, future speech projects can be designed with an included Q&A in mind, but I think you will gain the most value from “pure” speaking for the first speech.

I have just joined toastmasters and am not very good at speeches. Your information has helped me A LOT. thanx!

I’ll be starting my Icebreaker session very soon. And I’m glad I found your blog! Thank you. All the contents here are very useful.

My icebreaker theme was ‘Challenge and Response’ – My life has been a series of challenges and responses. Please visit http://www.lagoontoastmasters.com for the complete script of my icebreaker speech which had won best speaker award

Thanks for the super helpful articles on each speech. Definitely helped me with my first speech entitled, “Becoming a Technical Evangelist” http://bit.ly/aliceTMicebreaker

very nice post. Quite helpful for a me as I’ve to deliver an ice breaking speech in a couple of days. Thanks for sharing

I’m wondering if there’s any chance I could access those video or article line which be shown as good example …really eager to see how did they perform this role…as I still hesitate to do my first ice break presentation…

I went to my first toastmasters meeting last night. I’m curious about the contents of the basic books that are used and was pleasantly surprised to find your link.

Thanks so much Andrew for these tips, very helpful.

I recorded my experience of doing my Icebreaker and my speech transcript here ( http://bit.ly/TQ8I5f ), and have linked to this post as it’s so useful.

This site will really help my icebreaker coz its my firsttime to deliver a speech for our oral and communication subject! Thank you!

Hi, these are good tips but lots of your links no longer work. If your still updating this blog it would be great if these were fixed as its a useful resource (and one of the first that comes up in a google search for icebreaker tips)

Going to school to be a alcohol and drug counselor had my first mock group today and pretty much mind went blank I need to get over this fear of public speaking and have more confidence in myself will toastmaster help me with this fear .and does it cost to go to your meetings thanks for taking time to read.

Hello Mr. Andrew Dlugan, Good Day! Two months before I joined Toastmaster in Kuwait and attended couple of meetings. This is really good platform for learning and gain knowledge how to stand and deliver and 100’s of audience. I shall be glad if you can send me regularly your good speeches so that I can ready and learn and pass ahead to others. Looking forward to hear from you Thanks Yunus

Hi Andrew, I am giving my icebreaker speech tomorrow and can only thank you for your insight and experience sharing this for me. I am using humor and a variation of the ‘imagine your audience naked’ joke to open and close my speech. Looking forward to it. Thanks Bren

I so enjoy this website. Thank you so much for publishing it. Often refer new Toastmasters to your website.

Regards, Margy Sneeden South Africa

I am a new member to the Toastmaster community and needed some guidance for preparing my talks. I found this website and am discovering it has rich, rich resources. The Comments below are one of the incredible sources of encouragement, wisdom and guidance. Thank you for this website, it’s invaluable!

I’m finding this helpful as I steer myself towards my first meeting in Sooke B.C

Good day I would like to become part of the toast masters south Africa currently living in Soweto south of Johannesburg,

Kindly send me details on how to join the close toast master group around.

Have a brilliant day,

Kind regards

Hello Martin,

Not sure if you found a club yet. Just in case, here is the link that should take you to the clubs close by you: http://www.toastmasters.org/Find-a-Club?q=Soweto%2C%20Gauteng%2C%20South%20Africa&radius=150

Marvin Wiley Jr.

I’m looking forward to learning mindful and effective public speaking.

Hello there,i need to get started with the course but don’t know how i should do it. BTW i live in Iran. Can somebody help me plz? Thnx

Dear Andrew

Today is my first speech an ice breaker at toastmaster event. One of my best friend had advised me to come forward at he event since he is already a toastmaster for quite some time.

I am not a good orator or a speaker at functions kindly advise me how to present a good speech in front of audience. What things have to be keep in mind while give a speech.

My wife and I just gave our Icebreaker Speeches last month. I thought hers was great; mine was okay. I did mine in chronological order.

I also typed it out and posted it on my blog if anyone is interested: https://hendrixjoseph.github.io/toastmasters-icebreaker-speech-the-story-of-joe/

Recent Tweets

The Ice Breaker, tips and links to numerous sample speeches to help you reach your goal. https://t.co/o0hdXY2WS4 #Toastmasters — @RadiantRhetoric Jan 15th, 2016

Toastmasters Speech 1: The Ice Breaker https://t.co/kNVDT6xr72 — @sgrealtynet Jan 16th, 2016

I hope this article would be useful for you. Enjoy it! 󾌵 https://t.co/1GTsEUxCZ3 — @SagradaFamiliaT Jan 16th, 2016

Share this ice breaker story with new members to boos their confidence. https://t.co/E7eYM2ekw7 https://t.co/KSzggy0rk2 — @D83Toastmasters Feb 24th, 2016

Toastmasters Speech 1: Ice Breaker https://t.co/CeTi7hbstK by @6minutes — @D51MTM Feb 24th, 2016

@ConanVenus @kyle_mullaney Read this nice article by Andrew https://t.co/gmvyogWO7K Also watch couple of #icebreaker videos on YouTube. — @evaluatespeech Feb 24th, 2016

Toastmasters Speech 1: The Ice Breaker https://t.co/QCDEAuhm92 — @ThinkSales101 Mar 24th, 2016

Early tomorrow morning is my Ice Breaker speech at the Innsbrook Toastmaster meeting. #toastmasters… https://t.co/HXjEyZMLoy — @LCrowco Apr 4th, 2016

Toastmasters Speech 1: Ice Breaker https://t.co/FLfgSdZOsQ by @6minutes #toastmasters — @tmohapatra May 19th, 2016

Nervously working on my #Icebreaker speech for my @OaklandHillsTM #Toastmasters meeting tomorrow. https://t.co/t79iLi535y — @keeliamurphy1 May 30th, 2016

29 Blog Links

Toastmasters Speech Series: Your Guide to the First 10 Speeches | "Public Speaking in Singapore" — Sep 3rd, 2008

Conejo Valley News : Join a Toastmasters Club to Improve Your Communication Skills — Nov 3rd, 2008

St.Lawrence Toastmasters Club » What’s an “Ice-breaker” speech? — Feb 3rd, 2009

Updated Toastmasters Speech Series: Your Guide to the First 10 Speeches | "Public Speaking in Singapore" — Aug 30th, 2009

Toastmasters – Ice Breaker: Waking Up In a Nation of Immigrants < ~C4Chaos — Oct 21st, 2009

Gundy Gabbers Toastmasters Blog — Nov 16th, 2009

Toast to the Master of Pot Holes « Sprout — Apr 4th, 2010

If You Can Meet With Public Speaking Triumph and Disaster, and Treat Those Two Imposters Just the Same | Kevin's Notes — Sep 21st, 2010

Competent Communicator Objectives « Calgary Toastmasters — Oct 26th, 2010

The Road to Rhyme - Farnham Speakers — Nov 1st, 2010

Effective Tools For Toastmasters | ptpltmc — Nov 9th, 2010

How A Sitcom Saved My Life | We Can Rebuild Her — Nov 24th, 2010

My family and other animals - Farnham Speakers — Feb 24th, 2011

Your first 10 speeches | Speakmasters — May 4th, 2011

Secundum Artem - Farnham Speakers — May 26th, 2011

The Ice Breaker Speech « First Oakville Toastmasters #2245 Blog — Aug 29th, 2011

Public Speaking Downtown Montreal Parler en public | St.Lawrence Toastmasters Montreal » Bienvenue à nos nouveaux membres Mathieu, Ann! — Sep 19th, 2011

Impossible Dreams? Then Double the Persistence and Double The Results | 8 Women Dream — Oct 2nd, 2011

My First Toastmasters Speech « carlos-m.net — Nov 9th, 2011

How I gave my “ice breaker” at Toastmasters | Dre@mer — Apr 22nd, 2012

Question 796 « BETWIXT AND BETWEEN — May 10th, 2012

Toastmasters Icebreaker Speech HelpShawnee Huie — Sep 6th, 2012

This Week in Toastmasters | July 22 – August 3 | Chase Polaris Toastmasters — Sep 14th, 2012

Guildford Speakers | Becky Ladley — Sep 15th, 2012

Three Examples of Ice-Breaker Speeches « Moving People to Action — Oct 20th, 2012

That One Time When I Nearly Died : Alan Perlman — Dec 7th, 2012

That One Time I Nearly Died : Alan Perlman — Dec 7th, 2012

Guildford Speakers | Social Quirk Events — Feb 5th, 2013

Ice breaker marathon on April 18th, 2013 | Toast of CIBC Toastmasters Blog — Apr 8th, 2013

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How to write an icebreaker speech

When it comes to giving an icebreaker speech, it can be both exciting and nerve-wracking, especially if it’s your first time or if you’re not familiar with public speaking. however, with proper preparation and some helpful tips, you can write and deliver a successful icebreaker speech that will engage your audience and set the tone for a productive and interactive event..

Here are some steps that you can follow to write an effective icebreaker speech:

1. Know your audience – Understanding who your audience is and what they’re expecting from the event will help you tailor your speech to their interests and needs. Are they professionals or students? What is the purpose of the event, and what do you hope to achieve by speaking to them? Knowing these details will help you create content that’s relevant and engaging.

2. Choose a topic – Select a topic that’s interesting and relevant to your audience. It could be a personal story, a current event, a funny anecdote, or a thought-provoking idea. Whatever you choose, make sure it’s something that will appeal to your audience and capture their attention.

3. Make an outline – Organize your ideas into a clear and concise outline. Your speech should have a beginning, middle, and end, and the outline should help you stay on track and keep the audience engaged. Be sure to include an attention-grabbing opening, a clear message, and a strong closing.

4. Practice your delivery – A successful icebreaker speech is not just about the content; it’s also about the delivery. Practice speaking in front of a mirror or a small group until you feel comfortable and confident. Pay attention to your posture, tone, and facial expressions, and make adjustments as needed.

5. Be authentic – One of the most important things to remember when giving an icebreaker speech is to be authentic. Speak from the heart and share your personal experiences and opinions. This will help you connect with your audience on a deeper level and make them more receptive to your message.

6. Keep it short and sweet – Finally, make sure your speech is short and sweet. You don’t want to bore your audience with a long-winded monologue. Aim for a speech that’s no more than 5-7 minutes, and try to keep it light, engaging, and fun.

In conclusion, writing an icebreaker speech doesn’t have to be a daunting task. With proper preparation, research, and delivery, you can create an engaging and memorable speech that will set the stage for an enjoyable and productive event. Remember to be authentic, keep it short and sweet, and most importantly, have fun!

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The Art of the Icebreaker Speech: Tips for Toastmasters and Real Life

Rock your icebreaker, whether it’s your first or your twentieth, why care about icebreakers.

People make an opinion about you the moment you enter the room. Giving an Icebreaker is your chance to influence that opinion.

Whether you’re joining a new company as a junior business analyst, team manager, or the Chief Technology Officer, you will benefit from introducing yourself in style.

Whether you are a brand new face to the audience or notoriously known, kicking your presentation off with a personal anecdote is a safe way to bring everyone on your side.

The art of the Icebreaker is so valuable that I dare to say that its importance is currently somewhat underestimated.

Last week, I attended a Toastmasters club meeting where one of the more experienced members was doing an Icebreaker because he was starting a new path. Before starting his speech, he expressed how annoyed he was about having to do the “rookie project” again.

But make no mistake – while the Icebreaker is the project rookies start with, it is no rookie project.

Breaking the ice is a vital skill in your professional life. And the Icebreaker project is an excellent opportunity to practice it.

Here, have a taste of it in Susan Cain’s famous TED Talk:

Even if this was the first time you’ve seen her, she’s no longer a stranger to you after the two-minute story about her first summer camp experience. Of course, executing an icebreaker with such brilliance is not an easy thing to do. But you can – if you master the art of the Icebreaker.

In Toastmasters, the format is four-to-six minutes, and the objective is as simple as to “introduce yourself.” It might seem that having very loose instructions could make things easier, but it makes them harder.

First: Avoid these five big mistakes

Let me help you from the start by pointing out some frequent mistakes people make:

• Overthinking the topic

Speaking on a general topic

Trying to say too much, rehearsing with notes, starting with an apology, overthinking.

You might feel the urge to pick the most fantastic topic – or topics – to speak about. It should be something that speaks about you and you have only 6 minutes. It should be better good! If you’re like most people, anything you come up with won’t feel good enough. That will paralyze you, delay the moment you settle on a topic, and limit your time for preparation.

Instead: Quickly write down ten possible topics you could speak about. Then, pick the one you like best. Solved. Proceed to prepare the speech.

Many people feel like they should sound wise when speaking to a group. That’s why they often talk on general topics, such as “Me and animals.”

But here’s the thing: General topics are boring. Yes, even when you talk about animals.

Instead: Be specific! It’s examples and particular experiences that are interesting! Instead of Fauna of Australia, tell us about “How I saw a Platypus fight a Kangaroo.” Now we’re talking!

Have you ever thought of writing a book about your life? A typical novel can have some 60,000 words. Your Icebreaker will be It’s six minutes – about 600 words. That is 1%.

A frequent mistake is that speakers try to say “everything important” about themselves in an icebreaker. This way, they end up trying to squeeze in too much. That makes them need to rush AND only stay on the surface.

Instead: Accept that you won’t be able to say everything. Pick just a tiny slice and tell us more about it!

It’s better than no rehearsing at all! However, the risk is that it gives you false confidence about knowing your material. If you’re planning to give your Icebreaker WITHOUT notes, you’re setting yourself up for trouble. If the first time you ride without training wheels is in a race – that race won’t end up well for you!

Instead: Use different ways to rehearse without notes:

• Talk to yourself
• Have a conversation with your friend
• Talk on video

If there is one speech where authenticity counts, it is the Icebreaker!

Avoiding this is especially important if you’re giving your FIRST Icebreaker. You might tend to endear yourself to your audience by admitting that you’re not feeling good enough (yet).

It is likely that yours is not the first Icebreaker they hear. And since many people have such a tendency to endear themselves, you will be saying something your audience has heard many times before. That is boring and won’t score you any plus points.

Instead: Skip the apology!

By skipping the apology, you give more space to what is uniquely yours and, therefore interesting – the content of your speech—the interesting things about you.

Dive into your content. Like Susan Cain in her TED Talk.

And about the fact that you’re still not feeling 100% confident? Let me tell you a secret: The audience can’t be 100% sure you’re not confident about your speaking UNLESS you confess it. So if there are doubts in your head, in your head they should stay!

Second: Choose your topic

I said, “don’t overthink it,” but that does not mean there are no considerations whatsoever.

The first one is to find common ground between yourself and your audience. For example, if you speak at a conference for vegans, you sharing your love for argentine beef steaks won’t make you popular, no matter how authentic you are in your delivery.

You don’t need to limit yourself to “what your audience wants to hear.” But you need to consider their view on your topic.

There is no “perfect” topic, but I thought I might share a handful of “Icebreaker prompts” to get you started. Here they are:

• Your favorite pet
• The city you were born in
• An unorthodox belief you have
• The things you have on your desk
• What you learned from your first job
• What you remember from your first day at school
• The #1 lesson you learned from your mum or dad

Speaking to any of those has the potential of having you share something uniquely yours. See, when you’re speaking to a new audience, this is the question on everyone’s mind: “Who is that person speaking? Are they dangerous? Can they cook? Could I date them?” Okay, maybe the last two are not on EVERYONE’S mind. But sharing something uniquely yours answers many of the questions your audience has on their minds.

When you answer your audience’s questions, you build trust. When you build trust, you make it easier for yourself to deliver your message.

Third: Relax

Your icebreaker does not need to be perfect.

If you want to deliver a brilliant Icebreaker, let me offer another perspective: The worse you perform in your Icebreaker, the easier it will be for you to impress everyone with your progress in your next speech!

Perfection is a lie. Don’t stress over something that you won’t achieve anyway. Being relaxed will help you perform better.

YOU don’t need to be perfect

This also means that you don’t need to paint yourself as a perfect character when telling stories about yourself! However, you should make sure you DON’T paint yourself that way.

Especially younger speakers make the mistake of trying too hard to impress. Most often, this backfires.

This may sound surprising to you, but it’s the truth: People tend to be jealous of those who are smarter, more successful, or better looking than themselves.

I’m not saying everyone IS jealous, but it’s a natural tendency for us to compare ourselves to others, be suspicious of those we don’t know, and appear to be better off than ourselves.

Therefore: Be careful with speaking about yourself as smart, successful, or good-looking especially when you are new to a group.

For me, this is relaxing! If I tried to paint myself in the best colors, I would be nervous about someone being able to “see-through” me and call me out as an impostor. When I describe myself as I am – including my flaws – it puts me at ease. Because when someone spots those flaws later, I can tell them: “I told you!”

Some of those strangers might be your close friends three or five years later

Presenting about yourself to a group of strangers is intimidating. But think about this – you will likely connect well with this group. Maybe you will be working and growing together for the next three or five years. Some of those people are your future best friends. So even if you fail terribly in your Icebreaker – further down the line, you will have a hearty laugh about it.

Relax, smile and enjoy. After all – you’re giving your Icebreaker only once. At least, THIS Icebreaker!

If you enjoyed this blog post, you might enjoy my other posts about Toastmasters .

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10 Tips For The Toastmasters Icebreaker Speech

This post may contain links from our sponsors. See our disclosure for more information.

The Toastmasters Icebreaker speech is probably one of the funnest speeches to give in Toastmasters.

You’re a new member. You’re excited to let the group get to know who you are. And if you’re like me, you’re nervous.

You might even find yourself struggling to come up with what to talk about for the ice breaker.

In this article, I’ve got you covered. I’ll share some tips to help you come across confident, relaxed and seasoned with your first speech for Toastmasters.

Table of Contents

What is Toastmasters?

Before I get into some actionable tips, first let me touch on what Toastmasters is.

Toastmasters International is a global company that has headquarters in Englewood, Colorado in the US.

Toastmasters was founded in October of 1924 by Ralph Smedley. And it is a non-profit company that specializes in helping people to become better communicators and leaders.

The company has a network of clubs worldwide and the focus is on public speaking.

What is The Icebreaker Speech?

The Toastmasters Icebreaker speech is a speech that members give as their first speech project.

This is usually a short speech with a time limit of 4-6 minutes.

The goal of this speech is to:

• Introduce yourself to the club.
• Share your background.
• Get your feet wet with speaking in front of people.
• Gain confidence to deliver more speeches in the future.
• Lay the groundwork for some areas of improvement.

The icebreaker speech is where you talk about a topic that you should know very well. You.

pic.twitter.com/GK0POhpFaE — Impact Marketer (@impact_marketer) December 10, 2019

You share some of your interests and aspirations. You can also tell people who you are and some of your past experiences of your life.

Tips For The Toastmasters Ice Breaker Speech

I joined Toastmasters to become a more dynamic speaker. Plus, being in sales at the time, I had a lot of presentations to give as part of the role.

Public speaking was a big struggle for me. It was embarrassing to the point where I could notice others were getting uncomfortable watching me try to deliver a presentation from the front of the room.

I had a lot of issues with public speaking , so I turned to Toastmasters. The one thing that I didn’t realize is that in the process of developing as a speaker, I also developed as a person.

I found myself succeeding and excelling in other areas of my life as I started to get public speaking handled.

Without a doubt, Toastmasters is a no-brainer if you’re in a professional role where you need to be a dynamic speaker.

But I think universally, Toastmasters will make you a more confident person and build self-esteem.

I’ve seen some people go from being quiet, shy, wallflowers to confident presenters who can’t stop talking once they’re on stage.

If you want to make this happen, it all starts with the Ice Breaker speech.

Here are some tips to help you deliver.

1) Practice

It’s a must that you practice. Practice in front of a friend or family member. And practice your speech at least 3 times to make sure you don’t go over your time limit.

2) Write An Outline

I recommend you get some postcards and write out your outline. They recommend that you don’t memorize your ice breaker.

Also, make sure your speech has an opening, body, and conclusion.

I was against using postcards of any kind to help me with my ice breaker. Looking back I think that was a mistake.

I tried to treat the icebreaker like it was my 10th speech. As if I was a seasoned speaker.

I recommend you ease into it and if you’re going to work on anything in your first speech, a great place to start is with your body language. Or pick one thing to focus on and more importantly focus on sharing who you are with your audience.

3) Open Strong

Make sure you engage your audience with a strong opener. I like to open with a question or statement.

One question I asked for my ice breaker was, “Does anyone in here know how to eat an elephant?”

I remember hearing a few chuckles and seeing smiles on people’s faces.

Then I heard one member answer the question with the answer, “one bite at a time.”

The topic of my ice breaker was success being a gradual process. Because throughout so much of my life, a common theme is early failure followed by success at some point down the road.

4) Leverage Resources

Read books, take courses and continue to work on yourself. This will not only help you with your ice breaker. But future speeches and other areas of your life.

One great book that I read beforehand was The Exceptional Presenter by Timothy Koegel. This is a solid book and really helped to set me up for success.

Most people who join Toastmasters are those who are go-getters and believe in personal development.

Toastmasters is a great platform. But to really supercharge your public speaking, I recommend adding other resources as well.

Another great resource is the Dale Carnegie Public Speaking Mastery Course. I learned a ton about public speaking there.

5) Video Record Yourself

Shoot video of yourself delivering your ice breaker. This is a powerful way to help you to relax and get comfortable before your speech.

If you look tense or uncomfortable, there’s no better person to notice that than you.

Look for things that might be little ticks in your speech (such as ahs and ums). Try to make your speech as smooth as possible and remember this is a journey that starts with your first speech.

Even though you want to look good, you still want to get better. So try to improve after every speech.

Watching footage of yourself before delivering the speech will give you an idea of how you look before it’s showtime. You’ll also be able to assess your body language, delivery, and gestures.

6) Avoid Stilted Body Language

Some things to avoid here include:

• crossing your arms.
• leaning on the podium or clutching on to it for dear life.
• T Rex arms (open up your communication and gestures).

PRO TIP: If you want to really shine in your ice breaker, I recommend that you walk out away from the lectern (On both sides) while you speak. This will help you appear confident, while also helping you to relax.

This is more of an advanced technique, but no need to wait until you have more speeches under your belt to start this. You can practice this with your first speech.

7) Include The Entire Audience

By this I mean look at everyone. Be sure to slowly scroll the room as you talk, to make sure you give every member your eye contact.

A funny thing usually starts to happen when members of the audience feel neglected. They might start to tune you out.

Doing this will help to take the focus off of you and put it onto them. And also help you to connect with your audience as if you’re speaking directly to each and every one of them.

Speak as if you’re on stage and you want every person in the room to hear you. Project your voice by speaking from your diaphragm and not from your throat.

You want everyone from the member closest to you up in the front to the last person all the way in the back to hear you clearly.

Focus on slowing down and trying to deliver for your audience. When I get nervous or anxious, I have a tendency to speak too fast and not loud enough.

By slowing down and focusing on your audience you’ll speak with impact and impress.

This was a big one for me. As I delivered my ice breaker speech, I tensed up my face and presented a face that said I was very anxious and nervous.

At the suggestion of a fellow member, I started smiling more and that helped to relax me and change my state.

Instead of being so serious and nervous, I came across as more relaxed and pleasant. Smiling made a big difference for me.

10) Prepare Physically and Mentally

Make sure you get a good night sleep before your ice breaker. Also make sure you have a good high fiber meal before and you use the restroom to prepare your body.

Try to avoid caffeine and alcohol when delivering your ice breaker.

Butterflies and anxiety are normal. Most people fear public speaking.

Visualization

I like to visualize my speech going well beforehand. I also like to get myself into a positive state and see myself delivering a flawless speech.

Visualization is powerful. The same way you want to practice out loud, you want to visualize yourself performing perfectly.

This has worked wonders for me.

Last but not least. Try not to put too much pressure on yourself and remember that your ice breaker speech is the beginning of your journey to becoming an exceptional speaker.

Becoming a member of toastmasters puts you in rarefied air. Most people are terrified of public speaking.

Your ice breaker speech puts you on the road to success in any area that you choose. For me, it was to improve as a speaker on sales calls.

But what I found was it helped me in areas of my life that I could have never imagined. Good luck with your ice breaker and most importantly have fun.

I’ll leave you with an excellent video below on how to prepare for your ice breaker speech. Enjoy!

2 thoughts on “10 Tips For The Toastmasters Icebreaker Speech”

What areas of your life changed in ways you couldn’t have imagined because of TOASASTERS? I have just joined and I’m interested to Know! Helen

I’ve always considered myself to be a total introvert. Toastmasters helped me to speak with more confidence. Whenever I had table topics or gave speeches… as members critiqued me, I learned so much about myself. Whether it be the ahs and ums, stilted body language, not smiling enough, not using enough “open” gestures. These are areas I’ve learned to have awareness around and have grown. One thing I will say though is it’s like anything else, the more you practice the better you get. And when you stop, you might find that you’re not as sharp. But all-in-all, I’m a more effective communicator because of it.

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ICE BREAKER SPEECH SAMPLE (TOASTMASTERS)

The icebreaker speech sample will help anyone worried about doing their first speech.

The first time you get a chance to do a speech in front of a crowd is a huge challenge. Especially if your audience is new to you. The amount of pressure you feel will be multiplied. Usually, when you are doing the first speech to a crowd, it is called an “Icebreaker”.

In this article, I will briefly talk about the icebreaker speech. I will share an icebreaker sample speech for you to get started.

What is an Icebreaker speech?

Icebreaker speeches are designed to help both the speaker and the audience to get to know each other. This can help you to break the ice between you and your audience.

When you join the Toastmasters Club you have to do an icebreaker speech. Usually, after you join the club, you will be assigned to a senior member (mentor) and also you have to select a pathway program.

I chose the “Presentation Mastery” pathway program. Usually, that is the recommended program if you are a new member. So in this program, they have guided steps for you to get ready for your icebreaker.

What are the objectives of an Icebreaker speech?

The main objective of doing an icebreaker speech is to introduce yourself to the other members. At the same time by completing the icebreaker speech, you will learn how to prepare and structure a public speech properly.

You have the chance to establish yourself as a member of the club. By sharing your personal stories and your goals you can form a good relationship with your club members. Remember you need your member’s help to be a great toastmaster. They are one of the important parts of your success.

Icebreaker Speech Sample

This is the first speech I delivered as a Toastmaster . I was nervous and I made a lot of mistakes. But I will share the whole speech as it is without any changes.

Fortunately, I won the best-prepared speech award for my speech. But after I got the evaluation I realized I included too much information here. Because of that, I had to speak dast to finish within the allocated time. So If you are going to read this speech make sure to structure your speech to finish within 4 to 6 minutes.

Enjoy my icebreaker speech sample.

Purpose: The purpose of this project is to introduce yourself to the club and learn the basic structure of a public speech. 

Overview: Write and deliver a speech about any topic to introduce yourself to the club. Your speech may be humorous, informational, or in any other style that appeals to you. 

Time 4- to 6-minute

Title: Saying It’s ok

Dear Toastmaster of the day and my fellow Toastmasters let me start this icebreaker by giving you a challenge. 

I hope you have a good memory.  So, I challenge you to remember my name by the end of this speech. And I’m going to say it only twice. 

The other day when I went to the clinic to get vaccinated, I had to wait in front of the nurse at the reception for a few minutes. She was beautiful in her pink uniform. First, she looked at me, and then she looked at the application I wrote. And I knew she was struggling to say my name. 

Then she started calling my name. 

” ke……..heru…….wa……raga..” 

She looked like a foreigner who tried to read Japanese for the first time. 

So I smiled and said.”It’s ok. Don’t worry. Its Kehelwala Gamaralalage Kalinga Nirosh”

As a Sri Lankan, I have a pretty fantastic, long name. When I`m introducing myself to foreigners, especially to beautiful Japanese ladies, I repeat my name several times. I consider it a fortune.  It gives me a chance to interact with people more

I was born and raised in Sri Lanka. Although I like eating spicy foods, when I moved to Japan I fell in love with Somen. My first introduction to Japan was Kyokushin karate. As a small kid, I watched my brother practising karate.  For a while, I thought Japanese people always greet each other with “oss”. 

The first time someone punched me in the face I didn’t tell It’s ok/Daijoubu desu. I Said some nasty things. and I went home and said to my father I’m not going back. My father is a tough man. He was working as a military officer.  He holds my shoulders. And said “It’s okay to get punched in the face. Because that’s how life works. But it’s never ok to quit.” 

The next day I punched the bully without any fear. Unfortunately, my mom got mad at me for getting into a fight and my father got scolded for giving bad advice.

Anyway I started to say “It’s ok” to challenges and

At the age of thirty, I got a chance to study abroad. I chose Japan. leaving my family and home was one of the hardest decisions I made. But I said to myself “It’s ok”.

living in a foreign land without your family and friends is difficult and it’s a challenge. 

But I like challenges. I usually watch TED talks and inspirational speeches. When I watched Toastmaster Dhananjaya Hettiarachchis’s speech it motivated me to challenge myself. 

So I decided to join a Toastmasters club and sent emails to several clubs. I got two replies. One was short and the other one was long. I read the long email and decided to join that club. During the first meeting, I tried to find someone looks like me. But I was the only foreigner. At the end of the meeting, they held a chat time and asked me so many questions.

So I asked myself “Am I ready to join this club? I am the only foreigner here. I can’t speak fluently”

But I said to myself “It’s ok。”

My fellow Toastmasters, here I am, doing my first Icebreaker in front of prestigious members of this club and I feel happy. This was possible because I decided to say “It’s okay” to the challenges I faced.

This life is full of challenges. But by saying it’s ok to your worries, to your negative feelings you can turn those challenges into opportunities. No matter which age we are or which background we are from let’s make our life more colorful by saying it’s ok.

As for the challenge, I know some of you couldn’t remember my name. For that, I say It’s ok. Because we have enough time to get to know each other. And I thank you all for making me feel welcome in this club. 

Over to you Toastmaster of the Day.

Icebreaker speech is the chance to introduce yourself to your audience. It helps anyone to break the ice between them and their audience. In Toastmasters, you can follow the icebreaker assignment. It will help to structure your icebreaker speech properly.

Icebreaker is the best opportunity to make a great impression. So grab the attention of your audience, share your life story, and tell them your goals.

Here I shared my first speech. This Icebreaker speech sample will help you to get an idea. If you need any other information leave a comment below and subscribe to our newsletter.

Good luck with your icebreaker speech. You can do this. Be brave. Speak without fear .

Check out these 3 Icebreaker Speech Examples for you to get more comfortable with the idea of doing your own.

6 thoughts on “ICE BREAKER SPEECH SAMPLE (TOASTMASTERS)”

I’m looking forward to learning more….

Thanks Barbara. Good luck on your public speaking journey.

Thanks Rithu.

This help me a lot!

Thanks. Keep working towards your public speaking goal. Good luck. 

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PATHWAYS 101: How to Get Started - Your First Speech "The IceBreaker"

1. Navigate to Toastmasters International and Select Login

Navigate to  Toastmasters International  and select 'Login' from the menu at the top of the page

2. Login with Your Email and Password

3. Select the Pathways Menu Tab

4. Select the Basecamp Sub-Menu Entry

5. Select the Transcript Menu Tab

6. Select the Open Curriculum Menu Button

7. Select the IceBreaker Launch Button

8. Select the Begin Arrow

9. Use These Arrows to Navigate Forward and Backward Through the Lesson Slides

10. Open the Directions Sub Menus at the bottom of the presentation window and read the directions at each Step. Remember you'll have to close this Directions Sub Menu Before Your Navigation Arrows are Available Again

11. There's over 20 slides before you get to the Finish of the IceBreaker Lesson Set. Some are checklists, some are interactive with 1-5 ratings selections. The more time and effort you put into these sections the more you will get out of them. Check off all of the checklists and fill in the 1-5 rating bubbles. Once you've finished checking off all of the lessons and slides and tutorials you can print your IceBreaker Evaluation Form and schedule your Icebreaker Speech with your Club VP Education (having a folder to keep your completed Evaluation Forms in is nice to help keep track of the Speeches you've given)

12. when you've reached the last slide, you can start looking back through the slides.

13a. To complete the Project in Basecamp navigate back to this IceBreaker Launch Button in Step 7 and use the dropdown menu in the Launch Button to mark the Project as Complete.

13b. alternate instructions to mark the level complete: use the dropdown menu in the open curriculum button from step 6 and select 'view training details'. in the tiny print on the training details page you should see the icebreaker project as a row entry with an option to 'mark as complete'., 14. close the browser window when you want to leave the lesson.

15. Closing the Browser Window that had 'The IceBreaker' lesson will return you to the Open Curriculum Window for your Path. Select 'Launch' for the lessons on 'Evaluation and Feedback' and 'Researching and Presenting' to complete them just like The 'IceBreaker'. 

Popular resources.

The Skill of Crafting the Perfect Speech Evaluation

Hrideep barot.

• Public Speaking , Speech Writing , Toastmasters

When I was asked to give a speech evaluation, I thought to myself, “How difficult can this be? All I have to do is give some feedback.” And we ALL are GREAT at giving feedback, aren’t we? We’re great at solving the problems of other people.

But have you ever faced a situation where you have given someone “amazing” feedback and you wonder why they don’t listen to you or apply what you have recommended to them? Since most of us come from a background of criticism, I quickly realized that giving a speech evaluation is not really the same thing as giving generic feedback. Giving a good, helpful evaluation is not that easy.

A speech evaluation does not refer to a “sandwich” of commendation, mild recommendations followed by thoughtless encouragement (“Good luck in your next speech!”). A true speech evaluation refers to the ability to truly understand a speech and say things of value which actually help the speaker improve. At the end of it, that’s what public speaking is all about – saying something of value and helping someone improve.

How do you start a speech evaluation?

Rhetorical questions.

An easy way of connecting with the audience is to start your evaluation speech by asking questions. The question can be as simple as, “I thoroughly enjoyed John’s speech and could definitely relate to it. Wasn’t it?”

Quotes: A simple and effective way to start an evaluation. 

For instance, Abraham Lincoln once said, “It’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years”. Dear fellow Toastmasters and guests, after listening to Jack’s speech I understood what it feels like to lead a purposeful life and add “life to the years”. 

Another technique to start your evaluation speech is by adding lighthearted humor at the beginning of the speech. 

For instance, if a speech is based on the speaker dealing with perfectionism, you could start your evaluation with, “After hearing Liam’s speech, one thing is clear to me…I will never go drinking to a bar with Liam, the perfectionist because the bar will never be set high enough.”

Cringy? I know…

Which is why it’s important to know your audience. You’ll be surprised how many times this line has people giggling for the remainder of the evaluation when delivered in front of the right audience. 

References from the speech

Starting your evaluation speech with references from the speech not only makes you credible but also positions you as a good and attentive listener. However, it should be kept in mind to use these references in a creative way to make you stand apart from the rest. 

For instance, for a speech on ‘Go Green’, the evaluation speech can begin with, “Toastmaster Jake has not only taught us to reuse, reduce and recycle but has also effectively used the principles of reuse, reduce and recycle in delivering speeches. He has reduced unnecessary stage movement, reused his vocal variety to create maximum impact and recycled our enthusiasm to go green.” 

Finding the perfect speech opening line can be challenging as it needs to be attention-grabbing, quirky, and also give the audience a motive to listen to the rest of your speech. Read our extensively written article on 50 Speech Opening Lines (& How to Create Your Own) l The Ultimate Guide to get ideas on how to start your evaluation speech. 

Before the speech

An evaluation is as good as the amount it actually helps the speaker you are evaluating. And to truly help the speaker, we must first understand what they want to be helped with.

Before the speech, approach the speaker, introduce yourself if you haven’t done so already and ask them if there is anything specific you would like them to observe in your speech. Perhaps there have been some constraints that the speaker may have faced in the past that they have addressed in this speech.

Knowing these things not only help you connect with the speaker but also raises your credibility in the eyes of the speaker. Think about it, if your evaluator came up to you before your speech and asked you these questions, wouldn’t you be happy that she is taking that small extra step to ensure that her evaluation is actually valuable to you?

This small step will help you be an effective evaluator even before the speech begins.

During the speech

It’s not about you.

When we are asked to evaluate on stage, the idea is to not only to help the speaker of course but also to let the other audience members benefit from the evaluation. But we should keep in mind that a speech evaluation (while it is technically a speech) is not your time to shine on stage. And many of us, myself included, tend to forget that. We tend to make our evaluations like speeches in itself.

And don’t get me wrong. There is nothing wrong in delivering an entertaining or well-spoken evaluation. The only thing to keep in mind is that our focus should be on one question only – how do I help the speaker improve? Your focus on delivery should not over-power the main reason of a speech evaluation, which is – to evaluate.

However, when giving an evaluation, don’t ignore the rest of the crowd. While your focus should be on your speaker, you should not ignore the rest of the crowd as well.

So instead of addressing just the speaker by saying “Your speech was structured really well”, you can address the entire crowd and say, “The speaker had beautifully structured her speech”.

Keep the Evaluation simple

This ties back to the previous point – we are not evaluating to impress anyone. It’s all about expressing your honest opinion of the speech in a fashion that best helps the speaker. So, there is no need to use big fancy words and try to show off about the things you know so well.

The most effective evaluations are simple. Because simplicity helps the speaker relate to your evaluation and they are much more likely to apply your recommendations when they truly understand them.   

Where did you connect with the speech?

While evaluations tend to focus on the technicals of public speaking, we should not forget about building a connection with the speaker and her speech.

I learned this by one of my mentors. He told me, “When you go on stage to evaluate a speaker, the first few seconds should be spent on informing the speaker how her speech related to you. It will help establish a degree of credibility and validation to show that you really connected with the speech.”

For example, if someone spoke about sports, I would probably start off by saying that I too am a sports enthusiast and really connected/related to what the speaker said.

Any statement like this, even if it’s downright simple, which helps you connect with the topic, idea or message of the speech, will help.

Speak less, but with impact

Evaluations are supposed to be crisp and concise in nature.

The reason for this is that we do not want to overstuff the speaker with a whole bunch of recommendations which they will find hard to remember and apply.

Evaluation is most effective when it addresses one or two key areas that can be improved upon and specific actions the speaker can take to improve upon it.

So, focus on just one, two, or at the most three key areas your speaker can improve upon along with specific examples and call to actions as to how they can improve.

Validate your evaluation with appropriate reasons

The difference between a great evaluation as compared to a novice one is ‘ reasons’ .

When providing a recommendation or a commendation to someone, it’s important to back them with reasons and examples.

For instance, if an evaluator tells you that they did not like your speech ending and you should improve upon it, that’s not very helpful, is it?

But what if your evaluator tells you something along the lines of, “Your speech conclusion was something that could be worked upon. When you ended your speech, it seemed very abrupt. I personally, was not sure if the speech had actually ended or not. Maybe next time, you can try and make the ending a lot more evident – maybe end with summarizing the major points in your speech and a specific action that you would like the audience to take. It will help make your conclusion much stronger while helping the audience remember the major points in your speech.”

Wouldn’t this be way more helpful than simply saying, “I did not like the way your speech ended. You can improve upon it,”? We are not here to throw random opinions.

So, when you provide a recommendation, follow this process – state what can be improved upon, why it requires improvement and recommendations on how they can improve. It will make your argument much stronger and much more valuable.

The same process should be followed when giving a commendation as well. Don’t simply state what you liked about a speech. State why you liked it and maybe give a few examples from the speech to reinforce your point.

For example, instead of saying, “I liked the way you used voice modulation”, it would be more helpful to say something along the lines of, “I really liked your use of voice modulation. For instance, when you transitioned from the happy moment of your speech to the sadder moments, your tone of voice reflected that mood which helped create a much deeper impact.”

Know your speaker and their familiarity with public speaking

The evaluations that have helped me the most are the ones that address what I can improve upon with regard to what level I am on in my public speaking journey .

This is crucial.

If a speaker is giving a speech for the first time in her life, it wont make sense to tell her to improve her body language or voice modulation. Since she is new to the stage, it’s only natural that her body and voice will take time to adjust to the stage. The evaluation is just not helpful in that case.

Instead, if you can point one or two specific points that you believe a new speaker can improve upon, it would be so much more helpful.

For instance, when I gave my very first speech, my evaluator did not tell me to use more hand gestures or to be more “dynamic on stage”. That would not have been the most helpful advice considering I was so new to public speaking. He instead gave me one simple recommendation – to smile more.

Apparently, I was frowning a lot throughout my speech. “A few smiles will help lighten the speech up”, he said. This was useful to me. A simple recommendation, but one that I can easily work on and apply with regard to the level I am on in my public speaking journey .

Conclude on a positive note

Always conclude the evaluation on a positive note. I know, this is typical. But it really does help. Especially for new speakers, it leaves them feeling encouraged.

Ending on a positive note does not mean “I wish you all the very best for your future speeches.” It means reinforcing the fact that the speaker has taken the right decision by showing the courage to go up on a stage and speak. They are also much more likely to apply the feedback that was given to them if the evaluation ends on a positive note.

Don’t forget to enjoy the speech

While evaluating a speech, it’s easy to get lost in the evaluation process. You might be taking down notes, you might be trying to come up with what the speaker is doing right or wrong, etc. In all of this, we forget something very important – to actually enjoy the speech.

This does not mean you don’t take down notes. It simply means you don’t have to be so engrossed in taking notes that you miss a lot of what the speaker is saying.

I’ve seen this happen a few times – where an evaluator is just writing, writing and writing while her speaker is on stage. Then, when she does go to evaluate – she has missed out on a large portion of the speech simply because she was too caught up in taking down notes as opposed to actually listening to the speech.

Try to enjoy the speech, absorb it. It will help you understand the true essence of the speech that go beyond content and delivery. Then, your evaluation will be so much more effective and relevant .

After the evaluation

Effective evaluators do not consider their job done after they have delivered their speech evaluation. After the evaluation ends, go up to the speaker and ask her if she related to the evaluation. Ask her if there was something else she would like to know in terms of what she could improve upon or what she did particularly well.

This helps clear any miscommunication as well as gives you the opportunity to provide further comments that you could/did not say in your evaluation speech.

Speech Evaluations at Toastmasters

If you’re wondering how to deliver an evaluation in a Toastmasters meeting, the same tips apply. In Toastmasters, to give a valuable evaluation, despite the points stated above, you must also keep the speech objectives as the core focus of your evaluation. If someone is delivering a speech where their objective is related to speech structuring, don’t spend time commenting on their body language or tone of voice.

How long are speech evaluations in Toastmasters?

You typically have 2 to 3 minutes to give an evaluation in Toastmasters. Use them effectively and make sure your comments are in line with the objectives of the project your speaker is delivering.  

Evaluating an Ice-Breaker speech

An ice-breaker speech is the first speech a Toastmaster member delivers.

To gain in-depth knowledge about what exactly is an icebreaker and how to write one, read our article on Delivering a Fiery Icebreaker at Toastmasters: Holistic Guide & Sample Speeches as it contains the A to Z details of an icebreaker.

The first thing to keep in mind when evaluating one is that it is the first speech, as mentioned above. The speaker is probably coming on stage for the first or second time. Their main job which added the most value to them was simply coming up on stage and attempting to deliver a speech.

Even if the speech was absolutely terrible, the fact that someone decided to tackle their fear of public speaking is an achievement in itself. So commend them on that.

Make them feel good that they finally came upon a stage. A good chunk of your evaluation should focus on what they did good and how they can leverage their strengths. I am by no means saying that you should be fake or overly positive about this.

But ice-breakers don’t call for harsh evaluations because the speaker did what he/she was supposed to do – go up on stage and introduce themselves.

When evaluating an ice-breaker, the major mistake I see evaluators making is providing very generic feedback that can be applied to any speech.

Things like body language, voice modulation, stage movement, eye contact, etc. are not things to suggest to improve for ice-breakers. These things are life-long public speaking learnings which take time to be worked on. When someone is delivering their first speech, of course, they won’t be proficient with their body or voice.

So it does not make sense to suggest these pointers in an ice-breaker evaluation. So what do you talk about?

Reflect on their speech small tweaks they can make to their speech to make it better right from the get-go. That means providing recommendations which won’t take them time to implement. Small tweaks that they work on right away to improve their speech can be amazingly helpful.

For instance, if a speaker spoke about her life journey – don’t tell her that she could have used the stage better. Tell her that she could have probably added more depth into her speech by telling the audience about one major event that got her to be the person she is today.

It’s something the speaker can improve upon from the get-go.

Here’s a great example of Toastmaster evaluation from a champion evaluator:

To know more tips about evaluating an icebreaker, read our extensively written article on How to Evaluate an Icebreaker? (Tips and Sample Evaluation) .

What to expect when you are getting evaluated?

We understand a great deal about evaluations when we get evaluated ourselves. When you’re about to be evaluated by another speaker (especially at Toastmasters) don’t expect some life-changing advice.

I mean, don’t get me wrong. The evaluation can prove to be very valuable.

But the thing is you might not always know who your evaluator is. Unless they themselves are credible speakers, the evaluation provided can be incorrect or downright useless.

When being evaluated, have an open mind. But also use a filter.

If you know the speaker giving the evaluation is not very credible, still hear them with an open mind. But make sure you go to a speaker you look up to who would be present in the audience and ask them for a personal, informal evaluation as well.

Another thing to keep in mind is that an evaluator is usually always good-intentioned. They will be wanting to help you but might provide you light criticism as they feel they may hurt you.

So if you felt the evaluation was a bit too “nice”, if you want raw and honest feedback, go to your evaluator after your speech and ask them in person – is there anything else you could improve upon? Tell them that they can be blunt if they like – in the end, the more honest the evaluation, the more you can grow as a speaker.

Apply this to your evaluation as well. When you provide an evaluation, think about it as if you were the speaker. What would you benefit the most from hearing? It will help you give a more relevant and action-driven evaluation.

Speech evaluation sample script 

Speech being evaluated:

Hello everyone, and Hello to ______ (name of your speaker) in particular. I remember reading this somewhere, “And suddenly you just know it’s time to start something new and trust the magic of beginnings.” This is your magical beginning, [NAME]. Congratulations on taking your first step. 

Getting to your evaluation…let’s start with the commendations. Your speech was enjoyable. I especially liked how you began by explaining to us the perils of having a lesser-known name. As someone who has the same last name, I could totally relate to that bit. Using self-deprecating humor right at the start is a very powerful technique to ease the audience into listening to you and staying with you throughout the speech. Well done with that.

I also liked the humility used in your voice. Even when the achievements were being stated, it was balanced well with your mistakes and an understanding of the fact that even when things are going well, they can go dark at any time. 

Humour and humility are your strengths that stand out right off the bat. It’s something that we need to hone further to amplify. 

Getting to your recommendations…

There seemed to be a consistent pace in your voice. This can lead to monotony. A simple to stop that is to sprinkle in a few pauses. Considering that you used the literary device of self-deprecating humor a couple of times, it could have been paired with pausing. This would have generated a greater impact.

That was something technical. But on a more fundamental level, the purpose of an Icebreaker is to introduce yourself to the audience which you did but instead of just dropping snippets of your life and whetting our appetite, what you could have done is shared one, two or three key stories from your life.

A good speech always consists of interesting anecdotes. You could have spoken about an incident from school perhaps where your lesser-known name got you into some funny situation.

You could have also elaborated on the aspect of how you fell in love with music, maybe talk about your first tryst with it. We would have loved to hear about how you helped build your college’s first music society as well. You see, three narratives and you would have left us mesmerized.

But these are things that come with time. Right now, the speech was delivered with ease and didn’t seem like it was done so by a first-time public speaker. 

I believe that if we continue to focus on your strengths and add in some powerful elements of pausing and narrative structures, I have no doubt that you will be able to take your speech from good to great.

All the Best and looking forward to more speeches from you.

Beyond the stage

Learning to become an effective speech evaluator is something that helps build a critical skill when it comes to communication – the art of criticism . Sometimes, even if your intentions are good, most people are thin-skinned and can get easily upset when they receive criticism.

But applying the principles of speech evaluations – focusing on the other person instead of yourself, validating your positive and negative points with reasons, concluding on a positive note – the way you communicate criticism to your boss, colleague, subordinate, etc. can be very, very effective.

Remember, giving criticism is a skill. It can be mastered through practice and speech evaluations are an amazing way to practice just that!

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How to write an amazing icebreaker speech.

An icebreaker speech is the first speech that you give and help yourself unfold in front of the other members.

It is nothing but the written form of yourself. It gives us an insight about your life journey so far, your struggles of life and lessons you learned from them. Actually it let us know about your past, present and also about your future. We get to know about your job and your hobbies. You may also talk about your family.

So it’s solely your call which part of your life you want to share with us. You are the person who can decide the content of your speech.

Here are some of the themes that you can incorporate while writing an ice breaker speech.

1) Start in Chronological Order:

This is the one of the easiest way for many first time speakers as it gives them an easy track to continue their speech without any obstacles. Because if someone knows you the best so it is you yourself. And in this order, you speak as you grew up in your life. So it’s like revising yourself verbally in front of others.

For writing, you just have to sit at a place, start recalling your life in a chronological order and mention some of the major incidents happened in your life that has a good impact on your life and you think people would also love to know about them. 2) Go Topic wise and keep explaining each one: If not all the details in chronological order, one can even choose only a few topics to talk about. Like if you want you can simply talk about an incident of your life and then end with saying your ambition in life. Or you may simply talk about your family and hobbies in a bit detail.

3) Choose a common philosophy or an element that has remained in every walk of your life:

Select a theory or a philosophy that you can consider as a common thread that runs through your life and has remained constant every time along with short stories when that element appears. It may be a phrase that is justified every time, or a conclusion that you get every time.

4) An incident that changed your life or left a real impact on you:

You may have gone through any such incident that gave your life a completely new turn or has a major role in making you what you are today. It may be referred as the turning point of your life. Narrate such a incident because you may easily draw the attention of your audience as we love to listen such wonderful experiences from real life.

Significance of an ice breaker for any speaker:  You get to introduce yourself and let others know about you. This is your chance to come out from the crowd and leave an impression on your fellow members. You will be surprised to see how easily you will get some motivating friends after you are done with your ice breaker speech. So this is your chance to earn some companions for your long journey of public speaking. Your first encounter with your stage fear: Since this is your first encounter with your biggest fear, that is the stage fear, so you don’t need to worry much. Actually this is the phase everybody has gone through and nobody is going to mind if you do some mistakes or forget somewhere or break the flow. Just read your Ice Breaker speech for a few times to get the confidence required. Moreover, if you forget anywhere, remember it is you who have written the speech, so play smart and pick up from the next remembered line.

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Like to travel? Talk about a few of your adventures.  

Are you a foodie?   Tell us about your favorite meal to eat, to cook, fav restaurants, etc.

Talk about how you have changed since your last (or even first) Ice Breaker.  

What are you hopes and dreams for the future?

Who were the important people in your life?

My life as told by scars.

Important numbers that define me (DOB, SSN, ra #, US Army, etc.)

The person who inspired you the most and why it made you who you are.

Funny things that happened to me,

Serious moments in my life

Talk about your schooling

What do you do at work (which is the most boring for folks unless it is unique)?

I was found under a cabbage leaf…

Who says you have to tell the truth? How about: This is the Life I would Have Preferred." Why will tell them something about you.

It's a chance to do a speech with a topic that you choose - well, the topic is something that reveals a bit of you and that is so broad that you do have a choice - there are so many aspects to highlight, perspectives to pursue and pivotal moments to inspire that you do have quite a broad choice of what to talk about.

My pet peeves or my pet causes.

Why you like to do what you like to do.

The future me.

Make something up, then admit it was a Tall Tale.

What you want to learn from the path and introduction of the path you are working and how it relates to you

I pretended I was a ‘Bitcoin’ and gave an icebreaker about who I was - slightly off spec but a bit different.

Make it like a sequel .... talk about how or what has changed since your last ice breaker ...You can talk about what you have learnt, what new skills you have developed ....

Key events and experiences in speaking (or leading) that led you to Toastmasters

A motto you believe in, how and when that had effect on your life

Stories from your childhood

Professional career outline (as you might give in an interview)

Things you are grateful for, each one saying something about you, your life or family

Your experiences in Toastmasters and what you've gained

What’s led you to choose the path you have and what you hope to achieve

What are your goals in life and what’s your plan to get there?

5 things that make you laugh and cry.

Practice improving a previously delivered story – learn to tell it better!

“A day in the life of...” it can be very focused or very broad.

A member did an ice breaker about how to get a book published.

One was a job interview for a specific position and I answered the question "Tell me about yourself".

A photo and a quick point about each year in school from K to 12. Have some fun with it. There is so much about yourself to share!

My growth in a hobby (other than Toastmasters!)

My favorite song from each decade and why…

One of the best ice breakers I've ever seen was a new lady who brought in three items from her past and spoke about where she was in life at those times and how they related to her current journey in the world. So powerful and emotive

Change the point of view--What my dog can tell you about me.

If my life were a movie it would be....

If my life were a song, what instruments would play?

If my life were a feast, the foods included would be: (feed your club)

If I were a painting.

Here's what my sister would tell you about me.

The piece of clothing that could tell you the most about me.

My boss would tell you this about me...

Let me show you what I can do - a demo speech

My dream is to: let me tell you about my future.

All the names that I’ve been called throughout my life.

Hats I’ve worn. Use a hat to symbolize different areas of your life – mother, nurse, military, mentor, work-related, etc.

Have you moved a lot? Use the zip codes where you have lived to talk about yourself.

What makes me different? Talk about areas of your life that make you different from others: you lived in a house without electricity, you graduated high-school at 15, you’ve traveled to ‘x’ number of countries, you love big-band era music, you are a trivia buff, you sipped a grade, etc.

Bring in items that represent different facets of your life and talk about them.

Use an acronym to describe your life.

Bring in photos from various periods in your life and talk about them.

Bring in a tax return and relate your life found on the return.

Bring in a purse or wallet and talk about items in them and let people get to know you that way.

List favorite movies/songs and reflect on your life when they came out.

Bring in personal items (souvenirs, yearbook, report cards, diplomas, postcards, etc. – and tell what they mean to you.

Compiled by Eileen Grodziak for District 38 with contributors from the Pathways Discussion Facebook Group: Angela Nuss, 1-3; Bill Slach, 4-12, 14; Kenneth Candell 13; Brenda Morris, 15-18; Lisa Boyd, 19; Cindy Osborn, 20; Laura Fagan, 21; Richard Tandon, 22; Julie Kenny, 23-31; Julie Kertesz, 32; Cleo Lanai, 33-34; Kris Pool, 35-36; Jeff Brown, 37-38; Joy Acey, 40-50. Frank Storey, D18, 51-60.

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