Ms. News Goat

I was miserable in my college speech class. I was fairly confident I’d never need any of that stuff. After all, why would I take a job that required speaking in front of others?

Ten years later, I still haven’t had a job that required prepared presentations, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t needed those speech class lessons.

I have had plenty of situations where I’ve been in meetings and needed to give a quick answer to an unexpected question. Or where I needed to speak up during a conference call. Or when I’ve been in an important discussion with just a few other people. And in several of those situations I found myself hesitant to speak up—or if I did speak up, I was nervous and shaky. I often came out of those situations thinking I could have done a better job. That feeling—plus the concern that this weakness would limit me more and more going forward—made me decide I needed to do something.

After reading a few of Steve Pavlina’s blog posts about Toastmasters, I decided maybe they could help me become a better communicator. That’s when I went on my search for a Toastmasters group to join. Here are a few of the lessons I’ve learned in the 6 months since I joined The Governors Club:

• Practicing aloud is important. I was hesitant to do this for my first speech, thinking it would seem silly or awkward. But my husband insisted he wanted to hear my speech. As I read it to him, it became very obvious which parts didn’t work or just didn’t flow right. Now I go through several writing, editing, and read-through sessions for each speech.
• Practicing in front of an audience can be very helpful. My husband’s input has been extremely valuable. He can identify things that need work—for example, homonyms that might be confusing to the listener. His help has reminded me how much fun a creative collaborator can be.
• I’m not that bad at this. Out of the 5 speeches I’ve done, I was voted “Best Speaker” 4 times. It has been surprising—and very empowering—to realize that people are actually interested in what I have to say.
• Feedback is wonderful. Since I’ve always enjoyed writing, I was happy to realize that speech writing isn’t that different. But communicating in person has some advantages over communicating through writing. You can really connect with your audience during a speech. If you watch their faces and body language, you get immediate feedback. You know whether they think you’re funny… or if they think you’re dragging on. This immediate feedback, plus the more structured speaker evaluation afterwards, can be very educational.
• I’m not as much of an introvert as I always thought. I was surprised when I realized this whole speaking thing was kinda fun. Once I got past some of that initial terror, I realized I was actually enjoying myself during my speeches. Could it be that I’m actually an extrovert, hidden in a shy person’s shell…? Are self-imposed labels like “shy” and “introverted” actually part of the problem?

Although I’m only halfway through the first educational goal, this experience has helped me already. I’ve been in multiple work situations where I’ve felt less timid and more eager to express my opinion. I’ve also felt confident enough to start a local crafting group. And I know there’s lots more improvement to come…

It’s a shame that I didn’t see the value in learning all this back in my college speech class. Fortunately, I’ve found an effective program to help me now. If you need help communicating clearly with others, I hope you’ll give Toastmasters a try. Who knows? You may have an inner extrovert too!