Any Toastmasters Members here?

[ud666]

I'm a member for about 1.5 years. For those of you that don't know it's a fun place to improve on communication skills and public speaking. We meet once a week. Each meeting most if not all of us will be chosen to speak for 2 minutes on a random topic assigned to us. Really puts you on the spot since you don't have time to prepare. :lol:

Then the second half of the meeting focuses on prepared speeches. Speakers get evaluated by other members at the end and its just a fun place I think. :)


You can find a club near you i'm sure if you are interested.
http://www.toastmasters.org

[charger]

Never needed to, worst speech I have ever had to do, 1 hour long impromptu speech, stating virtues of CCNA program.... Now I hate that program, but after doing that and making witty comments I feel like I could be on Whose line is it anyways

[tweedledee]

naw... i think i'll pass on this one.

was on the debating team in highschool. was ample enough opportunity to jabber away.

on a side note, there was this killer debater (when i was on the debating team) from another highschool, who was legendary. i always thought he might go for law. but when i got to university, i found out through the grapevine, he had gone into engineering at u of t.

life is funny! makes you wonder exactly who goes into law. :roll:

[Rehan]

on a side note, there was this killer debater (when i was on the debating team) from another highschool, who was legendary.  i always thought he might go for law.  but when i got to university, i found out through the grapevine, he had gone into engineering at u of t.

life is funny!  makes you wonder exactly who goes into law.  :roll:
Well, you can't go into law school straight out of high school... Several of my engineering classmates went on to law school after finishing up with engineering.

[frogger]

My roomate from first year did Comp Eng then went into law afterwards.

[ranjeet2000]

i've heard about it but never knew how to join.

[ud666]

Ranjeet, you just go to that site above, and find a club that's in your neighborhood. Then you call ahead and say you'd like to drop by as a guest. As a guest you just sit there and watch. you won't need to speak if you don't want to. At most clubs, you can be a guest as long as you want to see if it's right for you until you are ready to join. Just drop by different clubs in your neighborhood, all clubs operate a little differently since it's community based. Mabye you'll find a club with some girls that look like your Avatar :lol: Just imagine getting evaluated by your avatar.

[Zippity]

awww.. the mac one is FAR.

[wintech]

The only time I can make a proper toast is in the shower....

[smfazal]

i m thinking of going into this...i have always had problems with doing presentations when I was in UNI ...this would defintely help!

[ud666]

Yah I hated presentations when i was in Univ too. I was in business school so just about every course involved presentations, group projects and power struggles... :?

This is definately a lot more benificial and cheaper than a public speaking course that may cost a few hundred dollars. Depending on your club, you just have to pay an annual or semiannual membership fee. My club only charges like $7 a month.. and we meet once a week for 2 hour sessions. That is like a price of a cup of coffee!

Remember this is a club, not a course. Members come from all sorts of backgrounds with different experiences and everyone is there helping each other out to reach a common goal - to communicate better.

[Zippity]

hmm... i'm gonna check this out next week -- if anyone around mac wants to join me, you're more than welcome!

Club #6307 --> wed @ 7pm.

[utalking2me]

thinking of joining one.
it would definitely be helpful for the interviewing process.

[JLunar]

was thinking about it. I'd join you zippity, but wednesdays are always late at work for me. :(

Jen

[towingwidow]

Not my thing. Never had problems with public speaking. For those interested, I think it's a really cool idea.

[ud666]

Yah it will defintately help for interviews since you get to practice speaking on your toes every week. Also, you get fined $0.05 each time you use "ahhs" or "uhmms" or "you know" during speaking since these are identified as unnecessary filler words. At our club, we only charge to a maximum of $0.25 so it's not a way for us to milk profit for the club :lol:

If you guys visit a club, come back here and let me know how it was.

[tree]

i am thinking of trying it out. What is a good club to join in vancouver?

[robwc_ca]

you get fined $0.05 each time you use "ahhs" or "uhmms" or "you know" during speaking since these are identified as unnecessary filler words.

Actually, the fines are done on a club-by-club basis. Our club simply gives counts, and it's up to you to watch yourself, and challenge yourself to improve.

There are many different flavours of clubs... you'll need to shop around to find one you like. Some of them make it a social evening, while some (like the one I belong to) run it like a business meeting right after work (5:00-6:15). We cater to hitech professionals who have a relatively busy schedule.

[slice]

was a member for 2 years. Reached Advanced Toastmaster Silver and was also the president of my club for a year + faired well in area competitions. I highly recomend Toastmasters for anyone wishing to improve their public speaking skills. BTW I now sell my own corporate Public Speaking seminars. Thanks Toastmasters!