I live in a "Holy Huddle". I live with my Mom, I work at my church, my friends are at my church. Let's face it - I don't really have a life!
As I realized this, I decided to explore some options to expand my horizons and make some new friends. I was looking for opportunities to connect with people outside of my normal sphere of influence. I really enjoyed the Greater Impact course I took the winter of 2008. That course focuses on spiritual growth and being able to share what you're learning concisely in 2-3 minute talks in front of the class. I found that challenging and fun. In my job, I am frequently asked to speak to groups at the church and sometimes outside of our church. I have always enjoyed those speaking engagements.
So last winter I joined the Milford Toastmaster group. Toastmasters is an international organization wherein professionals and lay people can improve their public speaking abilities. Many people is my club have joined to enhance career opportunities - perhaps their job requires them to speak in front of others and a boss or manager has suggested that they join Toastmasters. Others just enjoy speaking publicly and want to get better at it.
I really enjoy the Milford Toastmaster group. There are about 20-25 members of all ages and backgrounds. We meet two Wednesdays a month. Each meeting is very regimented. There is a lighter part of the meeting first, with a word of the day and a humorous story and joke. Then Table Topics Master calls on various members to speak extemporaneously for 1-2 minutes on a preplanned topic.
Next is the prepared part of the meeting where 3 members present prepared speeches on topics of their own choice, but each one has a very definite objective depending on the skill level of the speaker. These speeches are planned to be 5-7 minutes long.
The last part of the meeting is evaluation of the entire meeting and of each speaker. Each prepared speaker has been assigned someone to evaluate their speech with the goal of giving 1-2 helpful suggestions "sandwiched" between several encouraging comments. Someone has been counting "ahs and ers". Another has been listening for grammatical errors. We note which speakers managed to incorporate the Word of the Day into their speaking. A timekeeper reports on whether or not each speaker stayed within their assigned time limits.
There are roles for almost everyone any meeting night. We have lots of fun together. We are each eager to help each other improve. I'm so grateful that our meetings always end on time or even early! Every several months there is a social event or a fun speech contest. There seems to always be a local or regional competition going on, and even international conferences that some people go to!
After my first meeting a few other women decided to meet for dinner prior to the next meeting, and a few of us have been having dinner together before the meeting every since. It's been fun to meet with these other women and learn about their jobs and personal lives. Overall I would say that Toastmasters is helping me achieve two goals: I am honing my public speaking skills and meeting new people at the same time. Speaking in public still makes me nervous but each time it gets a little bit easier - and dinner with new friends is always great!
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