Toastmasters fosters personal growth

By RANDY BAKER

David had been out of work and was struggling with a mild bout of depression. When a new Toastmasters club was formed at his church, he thought that perhaps getting out to meet new people and standing up to give a speech or two might help. Little did he know how much. David not only became the club’Äôs second president, but he also entered and won the area speech contest. His winning speech was ’ÄúThrough The Valley,’Äù an exploration of depression’Äôs causes and effects and the road to recovery.

Patty Anderson, a local college science professor, was an active member of a San Diego chapter of Toastmasters International. She excelled in the club, earning the rank of Distinguished Toastmaster. But Patty longed for a speech venue where she could speak openly about her faith in Jesus Christ. So in 2004, she approached a pastor at her church, North Coast Church of Vista, about the possibility of starting a church-based Toastmasters club.¬Ý

early morning.

The Toastmasters experience is built on three legs of personal growth: speaking, listening, and leadership. There are important roles to play in each area in order to affect a successful meeting and a thriving club. In addition to prepared speeches, members contribute to meetings by serving as timers, evaluators, grammarians, and even ’ÄúUm’Äù and ’ÄúAh’Äù counters!

Many visitors to the Ambassadors club meetings who have previously attended other Toastmasters clubs have commented about how supportive and encouraging members are to one another. Every prepared speech has an evaluation of the speech presented by another member. Although a good evaluation always gives the speaker something to improve upon for the next time, the key goal is to be positive. The speaker should be left encouraged for having stepped up and taken on the work and challenge of delivering an original speech.

Stephens says that some of those who join the club have an utter fear of getting up to speak in front of people, while others already have well developed skills. ’ÄúBut they all have one thing in common: the desire to improve.’Äù

New members are supported in several ways. Right off, each is assigned a ’Äúcoach’Äù, a seasoned member who helps them get started and oriented to the club procedures. A training manual teaches good speech preparation and delivery techniques and guides members through their first ten speeches. Additional educational support comes from Toastmasters magazine, training conferences, and on-line resources.

Anyone is welcome to attend as a visitor, with no requirement to participate. Ambassadors Toastmasters meets on the first and third Mondays of each month from 7 to 8:30. The location is North Coast Church, 1132 N. Melrose St., Vista, in the Upper Kids Praise room. For more information, you can call (760) 458-0081.