In the April 2022 issue of Toastmaster magazine there is an article on pages 18 and 19 by David J. P. Phillips titled Harness 110 Speaking Skills. Page 19 begins with a large matrix titled 110 Steps of Communication that has 9 rows and 13 columns. (If that matrix had all items there would be 117 steps). Groups of columns are divided into six categories: Nervousness, Voice, Body Language, Facial Expressions, Language, and Ultimate Level. At the beginning of the article there also is a link to Toastmasters podcast #202, titled The ‘Periodic Table’ of Communication Skills – David J P Phillips.
Just a quick glance at that matrix (shown above), under Voice, reveals a big difference between a Step and a Skill. Control of Pace is a Skill, as is Control of Volume. But there instead are three Steps for Pace – Slow Pace (8), Fast Pace (9), and Base Pace (10). There also are at least four Steps for Volume – Base Volume (14), Varied Volume (15), Volume Increase (17), and Volume Decrease (18). For Pausing there are another four Steps: Unfunctional Pauses (19), Relaxation Pause (20), Strategic Pause (21), and Effect Pause (22). For Head Angle there are three Steps: Empowering Head Angle(61), Unfunctional Head Angle (62), and Standard Head Angle (63).
The seventh paragraph in the article has link (highlighted in blue as 110 core skills) to Mr. Phillips 2018 TEDxZagreb talk titled The 110 Techniques of Communication and Public Speaking, which also can be found on YouTube. But when you look closely at 3:17, you will find that he has a different set of 110 items in that matrix. Let’s take a look at them in detail, with information from the 2022 article shown first, followed by that from the 2018 TEDx Talk.
Entries for Nervousness are substantially the same. The words go with the icons.
Nervousness
Swaying 1; Swaying 1
Squirming 2; Squirming 2
Irrational movement 3; Irrational movement 3
Stroke/Figdet (sic) 4; Patting/Stroking 4
Flight/Freeze 5; Flight stance 5
Unbalanced Feet 6; Unbalanced Foot 6
Entries for Voice have differences. Prosody and Voice Climax aren’t in the TEDx Talk matrix.
Voice
Register/Pitch 7; Pitch range 27
Slow pace 8; Tempo 7 to 11
Fast pace 9; Tempo 7 to 11
Base pace 10; Tempo 7 to 11
Timbre 11;
Emhpasis (sic) 12; Correct emphasis 12
Playful emphasis 13; Playful emphasis 13
Base volume 14; Base volume 14
Varied volume 15; Varied volume 15
Up-Down talk 16; Volume decline 19
; Normal volume 16
Volume increase 17; Volume increase 17
Volume decrease 18; Volume decrease 18
Unfunctional pauses 19; Unfunctional pauses 20
Relaxation pause 20; Relaxation pause 23
Strategic pause 21; Thought pause 21
Effect pause 22; Effect pause 22
Vocal fry 23; Cord vibration 24
Elongated vouls (sic) 24; Elongated vouls 26
Filler sounds 25; Filler sounds 25
Prosody 26;
Melody 27; Melody 28
; Pitch range 27
Articulation 28; Articulation 29
Voice climax 29;
Dramatising 30; Dramatising 31
; Staccato rhythm 30
Language change 31; Language change 32
Sound effects 32; Sound effects 33
Entries for Body Language also have differences. The section about Synchronicity in the article mentions five levels (or layers): voice, body language, gestures, facial expressions, and words (aka language), but the graphic does not bother to separate Gestures from Body Language.
Body Language
Confident posture 33; Confident posture 35
Neutral posture 34; Neutral position 34
Base pace 35;
Affect 36; Ticks 37
; Amplifying posture 36
Feet 37; Feet planted 38
Hips 38; Hip position 39
Angle 39; Angle 40
Relaxed 40; Relaxed movement 41
Dramatising 41; Dramatising 42
Shrugging shoulders 42; Shrugging shoulders 43
Intensity variation 43; Intensity variation 44
Functional (gestures?) 44; Functional 45
Smooth 45; Smooth 46
Distinct 46; Distinct 47
Adapted size 47; Adapted size 48
Standard pace 48; Standard pace 49
Adapted pace 49; Adapted pace 50
Full out 50;
; Dysfunctional gestures 51
Pointing 51; Pointing 52
Volume/size 52; Volume/size 53
Regulators 53; Regulators 54
Rhythm of speech 54; Rhythm of speech 55
Signs 55; Signs 56
Imaginary props 56;
; Ideaograph 57
Drawings 57; Drawings 58
Affect display 58; Emotional expressions 59
Sounds 59; Sounds 60
Progression 60; Progression 61
Empowering head angle 61; Empowering head angle 62
Unfunctional head angle 62; Dysfunctional head angle 63
Standard head angle 63; Standard head angle 64
Amplifying head movement 64; Amplifying head movement 65
Stage presence 65; Owns the stage 66
Anchoring 66; Step forward 69
Vertical movement 67; Vertical movement 67
Power areas 68;
Horizontal movement 69; Horizontal movement 68
Bent knees 70; Bent knees 71
; Strategic positions 70
Amplification 71; Amplification 72
General eye contact 72; General eye contact 73
Sweeping 73; Swipe 74
Focus 74; Focus 75
Attire 75; Functional 76
Entries for Facial Expressions are substantially the same.
Facial Expressions
Neutral 76; Neutral 77
Matching 77; Matching 78
Dramatising 78; Dramatising 79
Mouth 79; Mouth 80
Eyebrows 80; Eyebrows 81
Forehead 81; Forehead 82
Eyes 82; Eyes 83
Self laugh 83; Self laugh 84
Straight face 84; Serious Face 85
Entries for Language are very similar.
Language
Adapted 85; Adapted 86
Flow 86; Flow 87
Strong rhetorics 87; Strong rhetorics 88
Filler words 88; Filler words 89
Negations 89; Negations 90
Repetitive words 90; Repetitive words 91
Absolute words 91; Impossible words 92
Strategic 92; Visual language 93
Valued 93; Evaluative 94
Hexacolon 94; Hexacolon 95
Tricolon 95; Tricolon 96
Repetition 96; Repetition 97
Anaphora 97; Anaphor 98
Epiphora 98; Epiphor 99
Alliteration 99; Alliteration 100
Correctio 100; Correctio 100
Climax 101; Climax 102
Anadiplosis 102; Anadiplosis 103
Entries for Ultimate Level are the same, except for the last two.
Ultimate Level
Loves presenting 103; Loves presenting 104
Role playing 104; Roleplaying 105
Total Intensity transition 105; Total Intensity transition 106
Acts out the obvious 106; Acts out the obvious 107
Present and authentic 107; Present and authentic 108
Synchronicity 108; Synchronicity 109
Contrast 109;
;Divergent 110
Visualization 110;
What is missing from his classification? Visual Aids such as Blackboards, Flip Charts, PowerPoint, Props, and Whiteboards. Under Body Language he only includes Imaginary Props 56 (like the finger phone handset shown above). In the podcast he mentions also having 136 Spices, which is where he puts Visual Aids. His total then is 246 Steps and Spices - a very long list to navigate.
UPDATE: June 26, 2022
On June 25 at The Official Toastmasters International Members Group on LinkedIn there was a comment by Yamilet Ramierez:
Richard Garber: one heck of a list, very long list. Which would you say are the most important: Stage presence, posture, volume, cadence, story line, flow and closing. Would you agree?
I don’t agree those seven necessarily are the most important. I think both the opening and closing are about equally important (primacy and recency), but neither is explicitly on Mr. Phillips list of 110 Steps. He does mention a peak: Voice climax 29, Progression 60, and Climax 101. And he mentions Flow 86.
Rather than starting from scratch (reinventing the wheel) Mr. Phillips could better have begun from the 2007 second edition of the NCA Competent Speaker Speech Evaluation Form. It has four items each for Preparation and Content and Presentation and Delivery. On the Holistic Form all eight are:
Chooses and narrows topic appropriately. Communicates thesis/specific purpose. Provides appropriate supporting material (including presentational aids). Uses an effective organizational pattern. Uses language appropriately. Uses vocal variety in rate, pitch, and intensity. Uses appropriate pronunciation, grammar, and articulation. Uses physical (nonverbal) behaviors that support the verbal message.
Then he could have expanded each item into a series of skills.
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