1/8 Gains From Toastmasters: Get Comfortable Speaking

Tweet

This is the 1^st of 8 posts sharing on why I like being a member of Toastmasters (TM) International.

What do you think is the #1 reason one becomes a Toastmaster?

     Trying out speaking in front of a camera.

Year 2016 vs 2020

Communication skills are definitely important to us. I’ve always admired people who are composed and magnetic as they speak. They seem to enjoy speaking and the audience seem to enjoy listening to them. Furthermore, there are those who, wherever they are at,  and whatever they are doing, even  while doing the most ordinary things like waking up, having breakfast, just sitting and meditating, they can just reach for a camera and speak into it naturally.

 

During my uni days, whenever there was a class presentation. I would definitely panicked. I couldn’t sleep properly for days thinking about it. Putting up most info on slides, so as, if I blanked out, I had something to fall back on. I made beautiful presentation slides with animations. I memorized the information, and if I did not, I made sure, I had backup on the slides.

 

So when I came back from my 1 month’s travelling in Western Europe, I looked up for a TM club. I went to one in KL, one in PJ, and then found one nearer to home at Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in Bukit Jalil here in Malaysia. I liked the one in AFC and returned several more times. I saw advanced speakers speaking and I was in awe. WOW! I'd like to speak like her! 

 

8 years later, here I am still a member of Toastmasters, but with Super Speakers Toastmsters Club in Kinrara, Puchong. Watching myself speak in the mirror, I still feel that I have a big room for improvement. While I was awarded the best speaker here and there, it had not been consistent. Back in 2017, I was crowned the 3^rd place winner in an International Speech Contest at the division level. That felt really good. 

I am still the shy girl but I feel more confident now. Having regularly taking up evaluation role  at TM meetings, I tend to evaluate speakers I see on YouTube, Tedtalk or even at work. Good evaluation is an essential skill to help others improve in an positive and encouraging manner, while evaluation which is not properly conveyed may not be well received.

My friends, if you can relate to my problem, unable to express yourself like I still do every now and then, I hope you have found a solution for yourself. If not, do let me know. I would be happy to help you learn about Toastmasters and how it can help you, like how it helped me. You’ll be learning at your own pace, on your chosen path, speaking among encouraging people who want nothing but to see you improve.

Interested to check out our next meeting?

Follow our Facebook page at ‘Super Speakers Toastmasters Club’

 

 

This is my 1^st  of 8 gains as a member of Toastmasters International. Stay tuned to find out the other 7. 

*A.S's current location*

Day/ Date: Sun/ Dec 5th, 2020

-Just like everyone, A.S is thinking when she could be on a plane again. :)

A.S appreciates you as an audience to her blog. She welcomes you to drop in more often, share your thoughts and interact with her here at cyberspace. The posts may be a little behind but she promises to close the gap as much as she can, as she gets limited internet access and the time to update.

Be a fan today to get instant updates the soonest the next post is published!

It's EASY. At the right-most column of this page, you may either choose to:-

1. Receive blog updates by mail

2. Read her up-to-date posts at your MyYahoo, Google, etc. homepage by subscribing thru the links.

3. Read her up-to-date posts on your Facebook wall by 'Like'-ing the fan page A.S created specially for this blog (Scroll down page to search right-most column)

4. If you are a fellow blogger, link to her blog with the HTML code provided.

Thank you very much and A.S hopes you enjoy your stay here. ;)