has anyone ever participated in TOASTMASTERS?

[Darth-Baiter]

i'm okay with public speaking.  first time on stage, i kid you not - my doctor prescribed me something.  

 

i have since gotten much better.  but we call can and have room for improvement.  Toastmasters.  anyone?

[A-Jay]

"Public Speaking" was part of my job description.

What helped me the most was:

Knowing my audience (both Small & Large)

Knowing the subject matter - Cold.

Practice, Practice, and more Practice, in the mirror and / or on video if you have it.

(helps Identify and eliminate verbal / physical tics)

Being myself.

Learning to project my voice.

An absolute necessity for a large audience outside. 

(I was a Drill Instructor for 8 years)  

Eventually 'nervousness' turned into 'focus'.

I miss the adrenaline rush I got from all that. 

A-Jay

 

 

 

[Kev-mo]

I went to an event with a co-worker/friend of mine years ago to check it out. He was giving a speech and I was just interested in what it was all about. Based on my exceptionally limited exposure I would recommend it.

[Junger]

A shot of whiskey before a speaking event, and I can't shut up, my version of Toastmaster.

 

Kind of more serious, avoid "uhms", "you know", and other filler words. A slight blank silence sounds way better than using a lot of filler words, record yourself speaking and you'll see it's night and day when you remove them and just talk slower or have small gaps between thoughts.

[TnRiver46]

I’m from east TN so people can’t understand what I’m saying anyway 

[deaknh03]

On 4/24/2023 at 4:44 PM, TnRiver46 said:

I’m from east TN so people can’t understand what I’m saying anyway 

But you play a mean banjo 

[TnRiver46]

4 minutes ago, deaknh03 said:

But you play a mean banjo 

it would be a lot cooler if I did!!!

 

[Glenn]

Yes, I went to toastmasters.  It helped in many ways.

[DaubsNU1]

Back in the day did many presentations, gave two "keynote" addresses at end-of-year banquets for groups 100+, got to introduce concerts and comedians to auditorium of 1,200+. I was young enough not to know...

 

Now I do get a bit anxious when addressing large groups. I am out of practice. 

 

Friend told me that nervous and excited are essentially the same bio-chemistry in your body....if are anxious or nervous...physically saying out loud, "I am really excited" will help. And it does.

[CountryboyinDC]

I approve the dues payment for some of my subordinate employees to maintain membership in Toastmasters (it's not a ton, like $100 per year).  It's not magic, but nothing training is.  It doesn't seem to help with the folks who have trouble with English anyway, usually because of where they're from (e.g. non-English speaking country or Appalachian Virginia).  It definitely doesn't help if don't show up to the meetings regularly.  My takeaway is that you should really have a well-vetted public speaking class first, then join Toastmasters to practice and hone those skills.  In those cases, I consider it money well spent.

[TnRiver46]

1 hour ago, CountryboyinDC said:

 folks who have trouble with English anyway, usually because of where they're from (e.g. non-English speaking country or Appalachian Virginia).  

Watch it buddy, that’s the queen’s English 

[CountryboyinDC]

On 4/28/2023 at 6:48 AM, TnRiver46 said:

Watch it buddy, that’s the queen’s English

That's the only thing I've learned to speak fluently.