I joined Toastmasters

[Bliss Sage]

Originally Posted by Angelique

Will you keep me posted about how it goes? I'd love to hear about it.
(On a side note, I love your new avatar. Very pretty!!)

Sure, if I do go. I'm wondering a little if there are even enough people to form a group in this town, though, so I don't know how good it would be. I came here from NYC where I went to a few meetings, and their size was moderate, but not what I would call big. And that was New York City.

I wonder, though, if they have the speeches in Swedish or English here - if it's in Swedish, then I could get a moderate challenge out of it, but if I have to speak in front of a few people in English, that's not going to motivate me very much to go.

[Oh, thanks about the avatar ]

[Brutha]

I wonder, though, if they have the speeches in Swedish or English here - if it's in Swedish, then I could get a moderate challenge out of it, but if I have to speak in front of a few people in English, that's not going to motivate me very much to go.

In Germany there most clubs are either German or English there are also few mixed German/English and French ones.

The website of the club should specify their language choice.

I came here from NYC where I went to a few meetings, and their size was moderate, but not what I would call big. And that was New York City.

New York City probably has over 100 different clubs.

Some of them will fail while new clubs get founded at the same time.

[Bliss Sage]

Originally Posted by Brutha

In Germany there most clubs are either German or English there are also few mixed German/English and French ones.

The website of the club should specify their language choice.

Then I'm afraid I found one that is in English. Not so good then...

Originally Posted by Brutha

New York City probably has over 100 different clubs.

I know, I went to one that was in Manhattan. I just figured it would be the biggest one, since it met in downtown Manhattan. I didn't get a chance to speak . But I really wanted to. It was like a dream come true - having a captive audience

[Breathe Fully]

Originally Posted by Angelique

Went to my first meeting this last Saturday and decided to go ahead and join then. I was going to wait until I'd visited a few times, to make sure it was a good fit but as soon as I walked in everyone was super friendly and personable so I just did it.

I didn't do it so much to get over the fear of public speaking although it's a little intimidating. I did it so that I can build my courage to be more authentic and to be more organized in my communication. I'm pretty sucky at putting my true self out there most of the time and am looking to change that.

Got invited to participate in the impromptu mini-speech contest. (They call it "Table Topics") It was a rush. I was waaaaaaaaay more nervous than I had anticipated. My legs were shaking! But it was alright and I ended up winning the contest, which was nice. I think they were partially biased to the newbie going up there though. Some people even said I seemed comfortable up there. Ha! I could have sworn they saw my legs violently convulsing....

So I'll update this post now and then as I go along, in case anyone's thinking of going.

Great Angelique!
Congratulations!

Just the fact you enrolled and attend the first meeting is a milestone for your PD

[Lifeisamazing]

Originally Posted by Angelique

Yes! Exactly. The first manual you work through focuses on each of the points you made here. That's great that you were eventually very confident! What I've noticed is that I can tap into the confidence I've gained in other areas of my life and apply to my speaking.

I imagine maybe your fitness passion (and confidence!) might spill over into this area too, especially if you were to give speeches about fitness. It's amazing how easy it is to get up there when you give messages you've already been giving to people around you. Good luck!!

Thanks for these comments!

How has your progress been from the first experience until now? Maybe you can even give it a subjective rating.

[Johnny Jay]

I love Table Topics. I kill it EVERYTIME!

Cheers

[Angelique]

Originally Posted by Bliss Sage

I wonder, though, if they have the speeches in Swedish or English here - if it's in Swedish, then I could get a moderate challenge out of it, but if I have to speak in front of a few people in English, that's not going to motivate me very much to go.

I wish I could add more, but I think Brutha knows better than I do on this one. I've never been to a club outside of Texas. I do remember talking to one friend from Belgium that goes to a club that is bilingual, Dutch and English.

Originally Posted by Breathe Fully

Great Angelique!
Congratulations!

Just the fact you enrolled and attend the first meeting is a milestone for your PD

Thank you!

Originally Posted by Lifeisamazing

Thanks for these comments!

How has your progress been from the first experience until now? Maybe you can even give it a subjective rating.

Speaking only-
First experience: 3
Now: 7

I started off soft spoken, going a mile a minute, with plenty of filler words. Now, my volume is better, I've slowed down quite a bit, and my "uh's" are going down but I'm still using crutch phrases (ex: "you know"). I also feel very comfortable getting up in front of everyone. The first couple of times my knees were actually shaking. I didn't think that could actually happen. Ha!

My mental organization for speaking has improved. It used to be hard for me to structure my message because I tried to fit in too much information.

The enthusiasm has always been there. (Did I mention I love talking to people? ) My challenge now is to move past mediocrity instead of remaining there, comfortably.

Leadership and Organization-
First experience: 1
Now: 5

This is my weaker area. Organizing things for a team will be a challenge, especially now that I have an officer role. Leading meetings will be interesting. I have done something similar before for work, but I'm very rusty and there's room for plenty of improvement there.

Originally Posted by Johnny Jay

I love Table Topics. I kill it EVERYTIME!

Cheers

Cheers to you, too! That's awesome!

[MyEyeIsOpen]

Good job joining, Toastmasters is a great organization!

I recently stopped going because I feel like my club can no longer help me grow, but it was a great experience while I was there, and I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to hone their speaking skills.

[roman100]

Great thread, very inspiring. Public speaking isn't really on my agenda at the moment but Toastmasters sounds like a great idea, i'm going to find out where my local one is.

[Angelique]

Originally Posted by MyEyeIsOpen

Good job joining, Toastmasters is a great organization!

I recently stopped going because I feel like my club can no longer help me grow, but it was a great experience while I was there, and I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to hone their speaking skills.

Thank you!! Yes, there's peripheral benefits too. It's been helping me to structure my writing, too.

Originally Posted by roman100

Great thread, very inspiring. Public speaking isn't really on my agenda at the moment but Toastmasters sounds like a great idea, i'm going to find out where my local one is.

Awesome! Well, tell me all about here if you feel like it.

[roman100]

Wow! There's a group in my town, that makes it easier.
Need more evenings in the week though, just started a regular dancing night, maybe i can alternate haha.

[Bliss Sage]

I just went to the one in the Swedish town where I am. It was ok. It was as I expected - quite small, sorely disappointingly in English, but the people were of such a high caliber, so I want to keep going. They were very nice and had my kind of mentality - there was a speech about yoga, one about courage and I was given a table topic about Time's Men of the Year, in which I focused on the computer, which I don't think should have gotten the title. I think they liked it, especially as one guy seemed to be quite interested in me after the meeting...

Wow, it's fun meeting people in real life .

[Angelique]

Originally Posted by Bliss Sage

I just went to the one in the Swedish town where I am. It was ok. It was as I expected - quite small, sorely disappointingly in English, but the people were of such a high caliber, so I want to keep going. They were very nice and had my kind of mentality - there was a speech about yoga, one about courage and I was given a table topic about Time's Men of the Year, in which I focused on the computer, which I don't think should have gotten the title. I think they liked it, especially as one guy seemed to be quite interested in me after the meeting...

Wow, it's fun meeting people in real life .

Well, hot damn. Look at you, Bliss Sage. Table Topics already. Nice!

Originally Posted by roman100

Wow! There's a group in my town, that makes it easier.
Need more evenings in the week though, just started a regular dancing night, maybe i can alternate haha.

Cool. What kind of dancing are you doing?

[Bliss Sage]

Originally Posted by Angelique

Well, hot damn. Look at you, Bliss Sage. Table Topics already. Nice!

Lol. Well, I had gone to the meetings in NYC and was chafing at the bit to get a table topic, but they let all the members do table topics and then had no time left for visitors - every time.

This meeting only had 13 people and like 4-5 guests, and only the guests were given table topics . Not only that, but I opened my big mouth and said to someone "In New York, they didn't give any time to prepare their thoughts, they just went right up and started talking after reading the topic." So...I was told to go first lol.

[Angelique]

Originally Posted by Bliss Sage

Lol. Well, I had gone to the meetings in NYC and was chafing at the bit to get a table topic, but they let all the members do table topics and then had no time left for visitors - every time.

This meeting only had 13 people and like 4-5 guests, and only the guests were given table topics . Not only that, but I opened my big mouth and said to someone "In New York, they didn't give any time to prepare their thoughts, they just went right up and started talking after reading the topic." So...I was told to go first lol.

Still, it's one thing to want to go up there. It's another thing to go up there and actually do it. Kudos to that. On another note, I just had a nice vision of beautiful Swedish men giving speeches..in those accents. Okay, I'm officially envious now of you now.

[Lifeisamazing]

You've made a great progress there, Angelique, for sure.

This was my third time as a guest today. I think I'm going to become a member in the next meeting.

Today I just enjoyed the whole meeting, the people and myself. I commented a lot on other people's speeches, I volunteered for a table topic, which apparently everybody liked a lot (it was about my happiest day - I opened my speech by saying that my every day is a happy one, otherwise there would be no reason to live). I felt much more confident today, I was able to structure my thoughts quicker and I noticed that I had an amazing contact with the crowd, which was probably the main reason why I felt relatively confident. I merely looked at every face during my talk and seeing their faces made it very satisfactory.

I'm seeing amazing benefits already. I'm planning/hoping to get to know a few people better and talk to them moreoften even privately. The club has some incredible people.

[Bliss Sage]

Originally Posted by Angelique

Still, it's one thing to want to go up there. It's another thing to go up there and actually do it. Kudos to that. On another note, I just had a nice vision of beautiful Swedish men giving speeches..in those accents. Okay, I'm officially envious now of you now.

Lol. There weren't many beautiful Swedish men, and I personally don't care for the Swedish accent in English .

But you should have seen the young, gorgeous, giant Danish professional handball players at the youth hostel I was staying at this week - and they were walking around half naked . They looked yummy!

[Lauren]

Angelique and LifeisAmazing,

Congrats on being part of Toastmasters. I am a huge fan...having been part of a club for 2+ years.
Angelique, it is so impressive how your scores increased on Communication and Leadership.... due in part to the effort you have put into it!

TM is a place where you get what you put into it. If you encounter a small club, then volunteer to help VP of Membership to make it bigger.
Some clubs have mentors assigned to the new members. The mentors are veteran TM who can help with coaching beyond the meeting evaluation, specifically on vocal variety, gestures, movement, etc.

Also, check out Youtube...search Toastmasters...where you can see lots of videos posted of Contest winners, etc.

My opinion.... for right around $100 per year.. it is the best value to help with speaking, speech crafting, communication in general and leadership skills.

Rock on!
Lauren

[Angelique]

Lifeisamazing- Man, that sounds really great. You seem to be getting ahead on the nervousness part. Perfect.
How did it go at your 4th? Are you a member?

Bliss Sage- I want to go to Europe. Seriously.

Lauren- Thank you! And thank you for the tips. (Hey. You live close to me. Texan? Or Texan-in-the-making?) Feel free to post your experiences here, too.

Update:

Didn't make it to my 9th speech yet. Had an emergency to attend to that day.
I won't make it to finish my CC this month, but it's on for next month for sure.

Went to the training for my position. This is the second time I take this class. The guy giving the class is a no-fluff teacher, I loved it. He gave a bunch of good advice and ideas. We were even given a CD with loads of resources for our club.

The training they provide around my area is top notch. I'm completely biased since I don't know what they do in other areas. But here, the classes are extremely helpful and they even provide lunch for us. It was especially great when I went the first time because all the acronyms were a little confusing. (CC, CL, ACB, DTM...etc..etc..)

There's so much to learn, at first it seemed overwhelming. Now, I'm feeling more confident about my position. I'm just going to keep reading the resources until I build my intuition for it.

[AshNZ]

This thread inspired me to research Toastmasters clubs in my area. My first meeting is next week and will probably join then. Thanks all who participated in this thread!

I consider myself a decent public speaker. I've done few presentations at uni with good results. This should be a good challenge.

[Angelique]

Originally Posted by AshNZ

This thread inspired me to research Toastmasters clubs in my area. My first meeting is next week and will probably join then. Thanks all who participated in this thread!

I consider myself a decent public speaker. I've done few presentations at uni with good results. This should be a good challenge.

Nice! You're right on time for contest season. If I remember correctly, it's at the same time all over the world. Let me know how it goes.

[AshNZ]

Originally Posted by Angelique

Nice! You're right on time for contest season. If I remember correctly, it's at the same time all over the world. Let me know how it goes.

Cool, should be fun. I talked to the head lady on the phone and she seemed wonderful. Will keep you updated in this thread

[Angelique]

Finished my CC on Feb. 26th! Just got my CC badge today and I've already received my free two manuals in the mail. I got to admit, it felt pretty damn good to see the, "CC" pin on my badge.

I volunteered to be the chairperson for our open house event. I figured it was appropriate for me to do it since I'm VP of Membership. Sadly, we had very few guests..my two guests! We might do another one. If we do, at least I'll know where to put most of my energy this time..publicity!

We've got a wave of tenth speeches going on. Today was the 4th person to finish in the last few months, including me. Seems like everyone is moving along their speeches faster than usual, which is sweet because everyone's getting funnier as they relax more.

[taylor]

Congratulations on your CC Angelique! I'm happy for you. I know that takes commitment.

[Angelique]

Originally Posted by taylor

Congratulations on your CC Angelique! I'm happy for you. I know that takes commitment.

Thanks, taylor!