Toastmasters and the Art of Public Speaking

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Inspired by my recent uncharacteristic spontaneous bout of public speaking, I realized that I would really like to get more comfortable being in front of a people in public, so I took in a meeting at my local Toastmasters group.

In this group anyone can attend the meetings as a guest for free, but to be able to take the most advantage of the situation, to make speeches or participate in key roles, you need to become a member. The cost is about $10 a month for a weekly hour and half meeting.

What I was expecting was a group dedicated to giving prepared talks in public but I was surprised to see the diversity of situations that the members practiced and that the club’s curriculum was designed to help you conquer.

Things got started with a round of introductions, which I have done a thousand times in business meetings, but something about the atmosphere of this particular Toastmaster’s club [it's called "Business & Beyond"] made me realize that I have largely wasted these precious opportunities by not seeing them as a chance to give a 20 second commercial for yourself. Something to draw people into your “brand” and make them want more of you.

During the rest of the evening there were many other chances to engage in the art of presenting in public.

There was a master of ceremonies, yes someone actually did give a “toast” for the evening. Another person presented a talk entitled “How To Make an Electron Microscope” in the traditional 5 minute talk format.

Then there were people providing feedback on the talk and because there was club elections the candidates did 2 minute speeches on why the members should vote for them.

There was a fantastic variety of ways to conquer the nerves of public speaking but by far the most nerve racking, yes even more than the 5 minute talk, was what they called “Table Talks.” In this section, a presenter has prepared 5 questions on a topic of his choice. He stands at the podium and gives a minute or 2 of background on the topic.

Then he selects a person at random from the group and asks them an open ended question about the topic. There had been a change of premier in our province the week before, so all the questions were related to that topic. The person chosen must stand up and deliver a 2 to 3 minute talk which answers or comments on the question they are asked.

I was petrified. First off, I didn’t even know that we got a new premier, so that was a big lesson on it’s own…in the world of business it pays to be a least slightly tuned in to local politics. Secondly, it definitely takes me some preparation time, preferably more than 10 seconds and without a room full of people staring at me, to formulate a proper talk. Yes, these talks were evaluated [casually] for proper structure [beginning, middle and end] and posture and the dreaded “UM” count.

Thankfully, being a guest I didn’t get called on. But this particular exercise was a real eye-opener. It was just like the elevator pitch, only you don’t even get the chance to choose the idea you are pitching.

Summary

Toastmasters is a great way to conquer the fear of public presentation. It offers just the right balance of fear and anxiety [if it was a room full of your friends I don't think the learning would be a great] and a supportive atmosphere. After all you know everyone there is going through the same thing, and when you see how fantastic some of the leaders are at presenting their ideas clearly and convincingly with zero preparation…well it’s inspiring.

It was also apparent to me that the skills being learned here were pretty much essential to where I want to go with my business and career. I had secretly hoped that I would be able to be able to run a real business and still remain a wallflower über shy geek…but that doesn’t seem very realistic any more.

Last week I was at another business seminar and I wanted to ask a question. The question was a bit lengthy and normally I would have been nervous even to do that in front of 30 or 40 people, but I was surprised to see that I didn’t feel any anxiety at all. It seems that public speaking really is like anything else; a skill that can be learned and improved with practice.

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