Toastmasters Anyone?

[DeletedUser394]

I'm in a constant state of forward motion. Tomorrow will be my first ever Toastmasters meeting with a sizable club of about 20 people. (12-14 of them are there at a typical meeting I was told)

I'm just throwing this out there, to see if any other fastlane members have any experiences with Toastmasers that they'd be willing to share, whether good, or bad.

 

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[Bozigian]

I will be going to toastmaster soon.

I realized that I needed better speaking abilities in my english class. We would talk in a circle and I was not comfortable with it. I am not a fan of public speaking. But I will decide that I will go to be a better speaker.

I posted some questions on Yahoo A about toastmasters.

I heard this one mother who had a 14 year old daughter who was shy and she joined toastmasters and now she speaks at Washington DC in front of hundreds.

Countless other answers that I received was that it does help to improve public speaking and help you face your fears.

Many people said you will become a better public speaker in around 3-6 months if you attend the toastmasters frequently.

Had a friend in college in english class who spoke all the time and he never seemed nervous about public speaking and he said he did toastmasters and I realized that it is beneficial to join.

So best of luck to you, most likely the first time you go you will have to give a 4-6 min presentation about yourself, other wise known as the 'ice breaker'/
Best of luck

 

[Kung Fu Steve]

Funny story, at my first B&P, MJ and I were
talking about doing toastmasters or a similar group
because we both wanted to be better speakers.

I don't know what the heck he did because he got
tremendously better - I'm still working on me! I
love a little competition!!

Anyways I am a member, we have a pretty cool
"Comedy Club" - it is toastmasters with a spin of
humorous speeches, improv exercises, stand up,
monologues, we have a contest to see who gets the
most laughs - it's a good time. We have one guy
who has won the "funniest man in Minnesota" twice (?)

It's a smaller group but it's always a blast and I
get to practice my material while keeping it interesting!

Highly recommend it!

 

[MikeC]

I'm signing up for one of these ASAP.

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

I don't know what the heck he did because he got
tremendously better - I'm still working on me! I
love a little competition!!

Here is how I improved.

1) Doing videos helped tremendously -- I found videos are more difficult than actually live speaking.
2) Know the material well, and be passionate about it -- this results in you speaking from the heart, rather than memory.
3) Practice, practice, practice. Stand in front of a mirror and talk.
4) Freestyle vs Memory -- Don't speak from memory, but from the heart.
5) Interviews - Interviewing with various bloggers has helped my speaking.

 

[Runum]

Doing videos helped tremendously -- I found videos are more difficult than actually live speaking.

+1 There is a huge difference between making a video and speaking live. The camera will give you zero feedback.

I have recorded several of my classroom lessons in my laboratory (shop) at home. I use these to teach my students when I am absent from school. This is good because many times the sub teacher doesn't know what is going on. A lesson that may take 15 minutes may take 2 hours of video, takes and retakes, camera angles, background, stuttering, verbal pauses, annoying body language. It's tough to get just right. Makes me wonder how bad I look in real life.

I do like the mirror idea but remember it is backward from what people really see. The left side is on the right.

 

[DeletedUser394]

After getting back from my first 2 hour Toastmasters meeting, I'm quite confident in saying that it will also be my last.

It was rather uncomfortable, and felt somewhat like a cult. The use of the gavel, the pins you have to wear, the award ceremonies, the near constant applause.

Also, a few members were in the club for over 20 years each...and they are average speakers at best.

There was one member who was double certified DTM (or whatever the highest degree is), and he could barely put in two cohesive sentences before stuttering or relying on pauses/'umm/ahh's.

Maybe I was naive in thinking that there would be speakers with the quality/substance of a Les Brown, or a Jim Rohn. But it just baffled me how people who are there for over 20 years, are horryfyingly bad.

Don't get me wrong, public speaking is not the easiest thing in the world. Granted, after 20+ years, you should have some kind of skill!

I'll need to find another organization, that focuses less on cult and credentials, and place most of the emphasis on actually becoming great communicators.

I also paid 15$ for a crappy salad, which I'm not too pleased about

 

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[Sparlin]

I'll need to find another organization, that focuses less on cult and credentials, and place most of the emphasis on actually becoming great communicators.

or you need to create it. :fastlane:

 

[Bozigian]

or you need to create it.

You could call it

The Ryan Drake Speech Foundation.

Start a club and charge people a low monthly price. I think toastmasters charges you yearly.

 

[DeletedUser394]

or you need to create it. :fastlane:

Becoming a motivational speaker is definitely one of my goals.. Creating an entire organization around that isn't.

Have other ventures being developed right now

 

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[Sparlin]

You might try a college speech and/or debate class. I would bet you could learn something.

 

[DeletedUser394]

That's a great idea Sparlin! Didn't even think of it.

Anything that gets me engaged is what I'm looking for, and something like that should do it.

 

[livitup]

After getting back from my first 2 hour Toastmasters meeting, I'm quite confident in saying that it will also be my last.

That's too bad...

I was a member of a Toastmasters club for several years, and held two leadership positions in the club.

I think that Toastmasters has become too corporate - it has turned into a (very profitable) business, which takes away a little bit from the intent of the organization - to create better public speakers. But a LOT of what you are complaining about is done for very specific good reasons.

The gavel and the rigid structure of the meeting is done to give participants a chance to experience and participate in parliamentary procedure. If you're ever on the board of a company, a charity, a foundation, or involved with government - you will need these skills.

The clapping - well - I admit it sounded stupid at first to me too, but the first time you give a speech you will be VERY nervous. I was already a good public speaker when I joined Toastmasters, and I was still nervous. That round of applause you get after your first speech is like gold. After a while, when you get to know your fellow club members, clapping for them feels like a joy, not a task...

I guess it's not for everybody, but I got so much out of it, that I'm honestly really surprised that you had such a negative reaction. I would suggest going for a month or so to really get used to how it works, and then make the judgement.

Whatever you decide... good luck!

 

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