Great idea in the October 2011 Toastmaster magazine, have a member of the club that focused purely on pauses.  Rather than focusing on the negative like the Ah Counter does, the Pause Master can focus on the positive.

Have you got rhythm?  Craig has an excellent article on how rhythm will help your speeches become more memorable.

http://www.craigvalentine.com/the-rhythm-of-speaking/

When you can’t get a compliment any other way, pay yourself one.

- Mark Twain

Sasha Dichter gives a tremendous talk that was just picked up at TED. Other than an insane amount of effort and practice, what’s his secret? He’s speaking his own story. Rather than following a map or parroting a line from someone else, Sasha is talking about his own work, his own ideas. He paces because the creative energy gives him no choice, it’s that eager to get out into the world.

Seth Godin – Like You Mean It

What this says to me is that technique is good, passion is great.

No one ever gets talker’s block. No one wakes up in the morning, discovers he has nothing to say and sits quietly, for days or weeks, until the muse hits, until the moment is right, until all the craziness in his life has died down.

Seth Godin – Talkers Block

At Toastmasters, people have temporary talkers block, but part of the beauty of the program is that people get up and “we get better at talking precisely because we talk. We see what works and what doesn’t, and if we’re insightful, do more of what works.”