Shae MacMillan, of Dunedin, describes how she overcame her worst fear, public speaking.
My heart is racing like a thoroughbred horse.
My forehead has become Niagara Falls.
My mouth is drier than this piece of paper.
No, I am not sick; I just have to speak in front of a crowd of strangers.
As I stand up to face the audience, I feel like Leonidas, in his last stand against the Persian hordes.
That was me one year ago. I would sit at the back of a room, hope not to be noticed.
Avoid any responsibility for fear of failure. Never raising my eyes, in case I would be asked a question.
Now, I am the complete opposite and look for opportunity to rise and shine.
Living proof that you can beat the most dreaded fear known - public speaking.
(Research clearly establishes death as the second worst fear.)
How did I achieve this elusive antidote to terror?
I joined a Toastmasters club.
I will honestly admit, I thought Toastmasters was a cult.
A secret handshake club.
Somewhere only nerds and rejects go to talk about themselves.
This mistaken ignorance cost me dearly. Yet, now I am making up for it.
Every day I use the vast skills of communication that Toastmasters teaches.
If you put in the effort, you will reap it back a thousand times over.
Think about these for a minute: How do you convince your boss for a pay rise?How do you listen to a friend's criticism without feeling attacked?
How do you tactfully convey your opinion to a challenger?
Your answers may reveal painful reality that you lack the ability to listen or be earnest.
However, there is help available - at your nearest Toastmasters club.
You are never alone in Toastmasters.
Every new member gets a mentor and many resources to work with.
The atmosphere is always supportive, and usually light-hearted.
A club meeting lasts between one and two hours.
A typical meeting will encourage all members to practise a variety of speaking skills.
In a portion of the meeting, there is opportunity to improve impromptu speaking, called Table Topics.
The Table Topics Master chooses a subject that you respond to off-the-cuff.
An example topic could be: ''Where's your favourite place to visit?''.
This comes in handy for thinking on your feet when someone asks for your opinion.
Another section of the meeting is dedicated to prepared speeches.
Members practise their public speaking skills by giving a presentation to the club.
Guidelines and objectives for the perfect speech are provided in the Toastmaster Manual you will receive upon joining.
Step-by-step, meeting by meeting, you will grow adventurous, positive and savvy.
The proof is in the numbers.
There are nearly 15,000 Toastmaster clubs worldwide:
286 of those clubs are in New Zealand.
Before Toastmasters, I used to be a timid mouse.
Now, I am a confident lion, ready to lead and ready to roar.
Note: Readers are welcome to watch Toastmaster skills in action, at the Octagon Collective Poetry Reading at Circadian Rhythm.
I will be the Master of Ceremonies for the meeting tomorrow, 8pm.
