In seventh grade I decided to participate in student government and run for student council. To run, I had to give a speech. I worked with my mother and uncle to write my very first speech. I wanted it to be serious but they thought humor was more appropriate. We compromised and wrote a speech that described my qualifications for the position and also used humor to make me seem friendly and relatable. My delivery of this humorous speech- flopped. I had other kids laughing at me for the rest of seventh and eighth grade. The mocking even followed me to high school.
My fear of public speaking wasn’t caused by voices in my head. I hadn’t developed a phobia or an irrational fear. I became afraid of speaking in public after I experienced the cruelty of mocking and name calling from other children. I never tried out for plays and I dreaded school presentations. My senior year of high school, when I was expected to be on a stage in front of over a thousand individuals, my anxiety crippled me and marked the beginning of what would be more than a decade of fear, social anxiety, and illness induced by speaking in front of people.
In 2010, my inability to speak to groups of people began holding me back professionally. My boss was unable to utilize my knowledge and expertise fully because the thought of presenting information to an audience caused me to panic, cry, and miss work days. During an employee evaluation, it was recommended that I consider Toastmasters. I rejected this suggestion. If Public Speaking classes in college and my therapist couldn’t help me conquer my anxiety, how in the world was some self-help adult education going to do it? I resisted and years passed.
In 2017, I had the opportunity to interview for a job that would have been a dream come true for me. I was passed over for the opportunity. The job had a public speaking component that would have required me to speak before an international community of about 200 professionals on a routine basis. I did not take this rejection lightly. I started approaching life with a new-found conviction. I was going to conquer my fear once and for all.
I replayed the employee evaluation where my supervisor had suggested Toastmasters to me. I went to the organization’s website and found out that there were meetings taking place at my place of business! I joined my first Toastmasters club in October of 2017. I began participating regularly and the improvement in my self-confidence is simply astonishing.
The articles in this blog are about my journey within Toastmasters. I want to talk about the meetings and help set expectations of what you may see or experience when you go to a meeting. I want to demystify the organization so you know what a Toastmaster is. I want to share some of my own speech craft thoughts and experiences. Most importantly, I don’t want you to wait seven or more years to discover tools and help that can change your life for the better.
