Billie Walter

In July of 2002, I decided to join Toastmasters.  In case you don’t know what Toastmasters is, let me give you a little background about the organization.

From a humble beginning in 1924 at the YMCA in Santa Ana, California, Toastmasters International has grown to become a world leader in helping people become more competent and comfortable in front of an audience. The nonprofit organization now has nearly 250,000 members in over 12,000 clubs in 106 countries, offering a proven – and enjoyable! – way to practice and hone communication and leadership skills.

Most Toastmasters meetings are comprised of approximately 20 people who meet weekly for an hour or two. Participants practice and learn skills by filling a meeting role, ranging from giving a prepared speech or an impromptu one to serving as timer, evaluator or grammarian.

There is no instructor; instead, each speech and meeting is critiqued by a member in a positive manner, focusing on what was done right and what could be improved.

The reason that I decided to join Toastmasters, is because anytime that I know I am going to have to get up in front of a group of people and speak, I become terrified.  If I’m only given a moments notice, it’s not so bad.  Maybe knowing about it in advance gives me the time to let the fears manifest themselves.

I knew that I was going to be giving some financial planning seminars in the near future, so I thought that Toastmasters would help me overcome my fears.

The Toastmaster group that I decided to join held their meetings on Thursday nights in a private meeting room of  a restaurant/bar that was close to my home.  Convenience can sometimes be a great motivator.   We would all have dinner and drinks while the speeches were being given.

Over the course of the next six months I gave many speeches, some prepared in advance and some impromptu.  I also acted as timer (the person who times the speeches), grammarian (the person who catches poor grammar in others speeches) and evaluator (one who evaluates others speeches).

Then I quit!

I think that Toastmasters is a wonderful organization that is helping many, many people become confident, communicators and leaders.

So why did I quit?  Every speech that I gave, I received wonderful evaluations and praise.  I would generally receive the “Certificate of Recognition” for Best Speaker of the week award.  If everyone thought that I was doing such a wonderful job, why would I give up and quit going to the meetings?  Because I was still terrified.  After giving speeches for six months, I was still just as scared to get up and give a speech as I was the first time.

I have to admit that the subject matter and the presentation of some of my speeches were really pretty good.  I also have to admit that I generally had a few glasses of wine before I got up to give my speeches.

It’s so nice to be able to share my stories with you from the privacy of my home.  Much less scary.