Toastmasters

[acidboy]

Any Toastmasters Club members here? I've always wanted to work on my public speaking skills, and I found a chapter here that practices both English and Mandarin. I plan to sit in their next meeting, and I was just wondering if there are any members here, and what should I expect if I do decide to join. Thanks guys.

 

[Toiletduck]

I think there were a few posters in CE who mentioned their lives were changed by joining toastmasters.... Got me interested, took a look at the chapters in HK, (a whole bunch of them here!) and maybe will sit through them sometime!

 

[Thomas]

I've been a member for two years now, it was a decision I had put off for years but when I pulled the trigger I was glad I did. My public speaking skills were okay thanks to b-school and the various presentations I did, but TM got me at the front repeatedly which made the difference in setting my comfort level.

Now, there's a lot more to it than just 'hear hear' or 'salud' (toasts). The core of the program revolves around prepared speeches. Your beginning manual lists 10 speeches (generally 5-7 minutes) - the first 2/3 of the manual gets you at the front and focuses on various speaking mechanics - the words you choose, body language, vocal variety, props, etc, while the last 1/3 of the manual pulls it together with a speech to educate, one to persuade, and your last one is to motivate your audience.

After each speech (later in the same meeting) you'll receive a formal evaluation from a fellow member (it's not pass/fail, but rather what went well, and something to improve). You'll also receive feedback from other members, sometimes you'll have a stack of short notes to go through with their thoughts/encouragement.

So, the first part of each meeting is the prepared speeches, the third part of the meeting is the evaluations. Between speeches and evaluations is the impromptu speaking, called Table Topics. That's a Q&A format, no preparation. 1-2 minutes of speaking off-the-cuff. Some members dread this while others look forward to it. In short, you might connect with half your questions and the other half make you look like Miss South Carolina. No problemo, every person in the meeting has had the same experience. As an out, you may opt to speak off the cuff about a topic of your choosing if you just cannot get your mind around the question.

So, that's the speaking portion. I'll post about leadership in a bit.

 

[jkennett]

This sounds like something that Bush could have used before entering office... On that note, has anyone else ever watched the House of Commons debates? The quickness of replies and thoughts are spectacular at times in their rapid-fire debates. The toastmasters classes just reminded me of this.

 

[Thomas]

Leadership is the other aspect of Toastmasters. When you arrive at a meeting, you should be given a copy of the agenda. The meetings tend to follow the agenda fairly closely, give or take a few minutes here or there.

As you attend the meeting, you're given roles to perform (and yes, you do get advance notice most of the time). Maybe you time the speeches, or perhaps you watch the grammar to note clever turns of phrase, or count ballots and hand out awards. You should get guidance from the senior members before each role, and most of the time I make sure a senior member sits by a first-timer, but that's at my club. They are all speaking roles. I know it doesn't sound exciting, but it makes you mindful of these things while you're up there speaking. As you develop, you start to lead these roles as general evaluator or meeting toastmaster.

At the beginning, you'll have examples of people who are proficient at running the meeting, and perhaps some who are not so proficient, or as I prefer to say, 'in process'. You'll deal with these folks and learn from them, because in a few months, you'll be leading your own meeting, lining up the speakers (actually, that's usually done for you - you just confirm with them), publishing the agenda, writing your opening comments and introductions, and running the meeting.

This, by the way, is a model for how most productive meetings are run. You'll learn to communicate well before the meeting to make sure people are on board with you and ready to perform their duties.

In general, a lot of members who've been around a while are called on to run meetings or training sessions at their workplaces. One in particular runs his firm's board meetings and MC's their anniversary celebrations. Many members end up climbing the ladder at their workplace a bit quicker, partly due to their increased communication skills, and partly due to their ease in leading people.

 

[acidboy]

Thanks guys, specially Thomas. I just emailed the club that I'm interested in sitting through and asked if I can join them in their next meeting.

 

[The Deacon]

Thomas's detailed info was spot on! Toastmasters is an experience you will not regret for a minute. I too put off joining for years but once I did it, my progress was quite profound.

 

[Thomas]

Originally Posted by acidicboy

Thanks guys, specially Thomas. I just emailed the club that I'm interested in sitting through and asked if I can join them in their next meeting.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.