Toastmasters

Toastmasters International (TI) is a nonprofit educational organization that operates clubs worldwide for the purpose of helping members improve their communication, public speaking, and leadership skills.

I went along to a Toastmasters meeting a couple of weeks ago with some people from work. 

Although I hope to retire REALLY soon, I thought being able to articulate what I am saying more clearly would be good, as well as being a social activity which doesn't involve drinking!

The meetings are run 'by the members for the members' and there seemed to be a good mix of experienced people as well as newbies (like me). There is a reasonably standard format with scheduled talks as well as a section called 'Table Topics' which ensures that pretty much everyone speaks and gets some feedback.

Table Topics are impromptu speeches. The purpose of the Table Topics section is to help members think on their feet and speak on a given subject for between one and two minutes. It also allows speaking opportunities for those who are not programmed for other roles on the Agenda.

The Topic Master (a different member each week) states the topic and then the name of the person to speak. So you have NO TIME to think about what you are going to say.

In theory I like the idea of this and it could be fun - I enjoyed what others came up with. However under the stress of standing up in front of LOADS (10? 15? but looked like 1000s) of people I didn't know, my brain totally failed to work which intensified the stress. I had wondered before hand if I might just burst in to tears which can happen in stressful situations, but thankfully not - I did manage to say something which is a good start.

The theme of the meeting was the Olympics (a subject I am broadly uninterested in). My topic was 'What would you say to team GB to motivate them' - or something like that. The stress I felt meant I cannot remember clearly the question or what I said. You have 1min30 and there are green, amber, red lights that indicate where you are in the time - I have totally no memory of seeing them although I am sure I did.

All the speakers get feedback, including the people who give the feedback. The feedback I got was very kind and gentle as it was my first time. Someone did mention that I wring my hands which I have now noticed I do when I am nervous about what I am saying at work and other places too. I will have to go back until I have fixed this, as I have become very aware of it and it puts me off what I am saying. What ARE you meant to do with your hands?

Overall enjoyed it and looking forward to going back and doing better!

Sadly (thankfully!) no photo for this entry!