evannichols (evannichols) wrote,
evannichols
evannichols
  • Mood: cheerful

Let's Talk About ME!

Tuesday night I gave my first Toastmasters speech!  This club has nothing to do with toast (I know, I was disappointed too).  Instead, it's about public speaking.  Each meeting has one or more speakers, and a round of "Table Topics," an exercise where everyone gets a chance to speak extemporaneously for 1-2 minutes.  The prepared speeches are evaluated, and  certificates are given to those who do the best speech, evaluation, and table topic.  I mention this because I won the Best Speech certificate!  Woo hoo!  Granted, the other scheduled speaker didn't attend, so one of the other members gave a speech he had been working on, but hadn't practiced for a while.  I figure if one is going to compete, it's best to go against the unprepared. 

Speech #1 is a self-introduction, so my presentation was "Five Things You Don't Know About Me."  I'm happy to talk about me anytime, but the main reason I'm in the club is to get practice speaking in public.  I'm not terribly nervous about it, thanks to being in theater and having a job that includes presenting information to groups, so I don't have to overcome stage fright.  Public speaking is a skill, however, and all skills are improved by practice.  I could assemble a group of stuffed animals and lecture them, but there's less useful feedback.  So I'll be doing at least the first set of ten speeches, and maybe win some more certificates.  Maybe I need a trophy case to go with the Cake Contest Trophy...
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