Best Ice Breaker Speech, Ever.

[Michael Howe]

I hate giving speeches. At least, I always got really nervous whenever I would give one, and despite all my attempts to exude confidence, I always came off as really nervous.

Well, tonight I just got back from a Toastmaster's meeting. There, I paid my dues and officially joined the club, giving my Ice Breaker speech. (Real quick, for those who don't know, Toastmasters is a public speaking organization/club and an Ice Breaker is where you talk about yourself in your very first speech.) I used no notes, and relayed the events of the past few days to them, heavily involving my use of the Law of Attraction to start my business and to talk to people about it. I finished it off by challenging people to use the Law to bring something into their life, like that promotion they want, that raise. Or, if that was too much, just ten dollars. Upon the words "Mr. Toastmaster", a standing ovation cascaded throughout the small room. A phase frequently heard at the meeting was "Best Ice Breaker I've ever heard," and "I couldn't believe it was an Ice Breaker!" Some of these people had been going to Toastmaster meetings for years! It felt great.

Now, before this starts sounding too conceited (I think I'm already there, d'oh!), you should know there were problems: I used "now" 3 times for transitions and "so" 5 times (in Toastmasters, these are considered filler words and taboo... of sorts), and tried walking through the audience, which didn't bowl over well (I had my back turned to people, and I didn't think this would work anyway, but wanted to try it. :P).

Why do I post this here? Two fold reason: One, I hope this serves as an inspiration to others. I've always been nervous in my speeches, and here I am, using the power of intention to create confidence in myself and the courage to stand up to people and speak. I did that. I know anyone can do that, too. So go out, and push your safety zone. Push your limits. You'll find you have none.

Secondly, I just wanted to thank Steve. Thank you for showing me more about intention and reality. Thank you for helping me expand my own ideas. Thank you for helping me grow courage within myself. And thank you for introducing me to Toastmasters.

[StacyT]

Awesome, and yes - inspiring!

I have been kicking around the idea of joining Toastmasters. I know I have to just do it, and I am definitely nervous about it, which is the reason I have not attended a meeting yet. I am getting knots in my stomach right now just thinking about it!!

I am going to find a local meeting today and commit to attend the next one. Thanks for sharing!

[Sentient]

Congrats on your success Michael!

I'm very grateful that you took the time to share this with us and help inspire others!

You have 9 more best evers left, right?

[Michael Howe]

Originally Posted by StacyT

Awesome, and yes - inspiring!

I have been kicking around the idea of joining Toastmasters. I know I have to just do it, and I am definitely nervous about it, which is the reason I have not attended a meeting yet. I am getting knots in my stomach right now just thinking about it!!

I am going to find a local meeting today and commit to attend the next one. Thanks for sharing!

That's great! Just do it! It seems to be a club where only the growth oriented and friendly survive! ^.~ And If you're not, you will be soon! Really, everyone there is very accepting and are great people, and you can go as a guest. You don't have to join right away, you simply attend as a guest.

Sometimes they may call on guests for a random, 1 minute speech called Table Topics, but I repeated the question 2 or 3 times the first time I was called "What was something that you did that you thought was right, that was wrong?" (What have I done wrong?). And that's what I said, too, "For someone as perfect as I am... this is a hard question." Which got a laughs all around.

Just have fun with it.

Originally Posted by Sentient

Congrats on your success Michael!

I'm very grateful that you took the time to share this with us and help inspire others!

You have 9 more best evers left, right?

Of course.

[StacyT]

Originally Posted by Michael Howe

You don't have to join right away, you simply attend as a guest.

Yes, that is the key and is definitely what I was thinking as well. Small steps are better than no steps at all.