Scoring With Words
Public speaking.
The two most terrifying words in the English language?
More like exhilarating. For as long as I can remember, public speaking has been my No. 1 passion, somewhere up around there with writing.
This week, I gave my first Toastmasters speech for the Astrodome Area Toastmasters, down the road from The Blood Center. I didn’t have a title, so my evaluator made up a name: “Scoring with Words.” Not sure if that tells too much about the speech, but it’ll work.
So what goes on in a Toastmasters meeting?
You learn to think before you speak, since every um, ah or you know is tracked by the designated Ah Counter/Grammarian.
After the Toastmaster opens the meeting, a speech is given. Then an evaluator stands up and offers constructive criticism. The next section is called Table Topics. You’re given a topic to speak on for two minutes. The time it takes for you to stand up from your chair is the time you have to prepare. Pretty intimidating, but a good challenge. Sometimes you work better under pressure. The group votes on the best table topic speaker. The meeting ends with comments from the general evaluator, who gives her thoughts on the quality of the entire meeting.
How did I do on my speech? High marks for not using notes, not being nervous and using stories to convey who I am. My evaluator suggested I inject more humor and add pauses, since I’m a fast talker.
BloggerTik said,
July 17, 2008 at 9:40 pm
How do we sign up for toastmasters? I think it would be interesting to do something like that.
I like the idea of “preparing in the time it takes you to stand up”. I think that’s key in most situations, so we might as well get good at thinking of stuff right off the top of our heads…even if its full of smoke!
josh said,
July 17, 2008 at 10:02 pm
wow, this sounds like such a great organization.
sheenatabraham said,
July 23, 2008 at 10:09 pm
Go to toastmasters.org to find a chapter near you. They are everywhere, or you can start your own. I happened to stumble upon a club, Astrodome Area Toastmasters, within walking distance of my workplace. Worthwhile!
My First Toastmasters Speech « Red Sea said,
August 4, 2008 at 10:49 pm
[...] I’ve pasted the the first Toastmasters speech I presented back on July 16. This is the script, so there was a little ad libbing here and there [...]