Socially Speaking

Years ago, on a whim, and because I was curious and also thought I could use the skills which it would hone, I joined a Toastmasters Club.

I was provided with all the information for dates, times, and cost of the evening, and on the night in question I, very shyly, arrived at the high school, where the little sports pavillion was the perfect venue for the evening.

I was welcomed heartily by Roger and Jeanette, who introduced themselves and then bombarded me with a series of questions about myself, and it only took about five minutes for me to feel right at home in the midst of all the members who I was introduced to.

Not knowing what to expect I was then thoroughly looking forward to hearing what was on offer, and I was in for a treat that evening, with some top notch speakers on the agenda for the evening. I sat in rapt awe of these people, each in turn standing up and producing speeches from novice to expert and all I could think was "wow, this is definitely for me".

Needless to say I immediately made enquiries after the meeting about becoming a member and filled in all the necessary forms and received my introductory pack with great enthusiasm.

My first speech was my own introductory speech. I had to tell my fellow Toastmasters a little about myself and I had to do so within the alloted four to six minutes time afforded for this speech. I went home and immediately started working on my speech.

Having been blown away by the "ice breaker" speech which I had heard Roger make on my first evening at Toastmasters, I knew he was going to be a difficult act to follow. He was one of two new members who had presented their ice breaker speech on the night. The first speaker had presented a typical "I was born and grew up in, etc." speech, but Roger had adopted a far more charismatic approach (while also including important aspects of his life) and had left the entire audience wanting more - which I am pleased to say we were all to get in the future from him.

I approached my ice breaker speech from a completely different angle and I must admit I was extremely pleased with the results, as were the other members who were to hear my speech on the night, and most importantly the evaluator who listened to my speech and provided the feedback.

I must admit I stood with a stomach full of butterflies the entire time that I made my speech, but Toastmasters are quick to assist with getting rid of those "butterflies", which is just one of the skills and services they provide.

Sadly, due to financial constraints I am no longer a member of Toastmasters, but I hope to be able to rejoin in the near future and make use of the services they provide.

I would recommed that anyone who has anything to do with communication in any form whatsoever find a club in their area and attend a meeting. Toastmasters are an international organisation and are known for their "skills development" when it comes to making speeches and presentations. But this is not the only thing which an individual can learn from Toastmasters. As they say "a Toastmaster wears many hats" and there is a wide variety of skills to be learned from this wonderful organisation.