What is a Toastmaster?

Toastmaster! Certainly it's not a food! It's a club with so much fun and where you can build your confidence and speech skills.

Toastmaster international is a non-profit educational organization that teach public speaking skills through a world wild network of clubs. It was originated from United States by Ralph C. Smedley who dedicated to empower individuals to become more effective communicators and leaders. Now it's a world wild network clubs across 143 countries.

" Integrity、Respect、Service、Excellence" -Core Values of Toastmaster International.

Why call it toastmaster?

The founder,Smedley, named the group the Toastmasters Club; "toastmaster" was a popular term that referred to a person who gave toasts at banquets and other occasions.

Encounter toastmaster club

After coming back to Taiwan, I was an international representative in a trading company in Taipei. I tried to improve my pronunciation which leading me to the toastmaster club. I did a research and found one nearest to my neighborhood. What I found was a branch club held by students in an university. It was awesome to hang out with all these energetic twenty something.

There are all kinds of different vibes and elements in different clubs. You just have to find the one that matches you. Some clubs are held by same working area colleagues such as accountants, PwC Taiwan or technical personnel, ASUS taiwan. That must be cool to hold a meeting next to Taipei 101.

I've heard some clubs in Spain, they held their meetings in bars. Definitely dope for sure. Most important of all, toastmaster is a place you don't have to be afraid. You guys learn and have fun together. No one will judge you for trying unless you don't. Yes, there are some roles giving you credits. Let's see!

How is the meeting like?

Meetings will be held in a regular basis. It can be once a week or twice a month depend on your club. There are roles taken from members to help process the meetings. In our club we have:

TME( Toastmaster of the Evening): who picked a theme for the meeting and responsible for hosting the evening.

THREE HELPERS: Ah counter, Timer and Voter

Au counter: notes any overused words or filler sounds

Timer: Improves time management skills and assist the meeting work on schedule.

Voter: Takes votes and gathers statistics for every award. And read the "I would love to say" part at the end of the meeting.

Meeting Speaker:

3-4 prepared speech speakers. According to their level of speech, they would have different tasks and goals.

Variety Section Master:

One meeting would be divided into several parts. One variety section is when variety section master can have 10 minutes to get audiences get involved either in a game or telling them jokes up to the master.

Table Topic Master:

Table Topic Section is the most fun and excited parts of the evening. The master will choose random members and ask questions related to the theme. Chosen member should go on to the stage and answer the impromptu question for more than 1 and a half minutes but asked to make conclusion and finished in 3 minutes . Less or more than the standard time will be disqualified to the awards.

Jokingly speaking, we often call this "Don't pick me section". We all have that kind of fear to speak in front of people. But I am proudly saying, I volunteered to answer the first question in my very first meeting. Actually, I was hustled at the time, that was my first meeting and I didn't even know what a table topic is. One friend's friend who I just met that night came upon and said: hey! You seem cool, do me a favor. When my turn comes, you know, I have to heat the vibes and warm everybody up! That would be great if you volunteer and answer my question. Not to worry.First question is always the easiest. It's fun and just a little game you know. And I was like, just a little question,answer several words, right ,not big deal.Yeah!

Not a problem! (which was totally different than I thought it was about)

Anyway,I am glad that I did that! Quote to one of my teacher said " Raising your hand needs courage. And courage needs to be practiced!" By the way, the theme of the night was FEAR ! And I was asked: Kelly, what is your biggest fear? I'll leave it to next stories.

Evaluator:

Evaluators provide verbal and written feedback to meeting speakers.

Gerneral Evaluator:

The General Evaluator evaluates everything that takes place during the club meeting.

Ambassador of the conference

All forms of events are held annually to strengthen the centripetal force of a cohesive membership. Conferences and work shops gathers members world wide to join together. It's was an honor to be one of the ambassador in Spring Conference 2018 67 Dist. Let's talk about it in anther pages.

I had a good time there

Not only improving my English, I am lucky to meet these incredible people. In toastmaster, you can make mistakes. It's okay to make mistakes because we all do. Most importantly, we become better version of ourselves. It's amazing to be listened and cared. A speech is a way to spread your mind and express who you are. Preparing a speech, you discover and revalue things you never noticed. I believe in the power of words and it can change everything.

#Toastermasters #Speech #mind #spread #dist67