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I'm a big fan of toastmasters (it gets mentioned towards the bottom). First they get you to deal with nervousness. Then they train you. It's amazingly painless.

by ojbyrne 18y ago

I'm a big fan of toastmasters (it gets mentioned towards the bottom). First they get you to deal with nervousness. Then they train you. It's amazingly painless. All with an organization that very much resembles open-source, UGC, etc.

wallflower 18y ago
If you want to learn how to speak without doing potentially stressful presentations in front of audiences that matter (professors, bosses) or spending $$ on Dale Carnegie courses or not-too-effective audiences (your cat), I highly recommend Toastmasters. Toastmasters is highly effective because most everyone there wants to help you improve your public speaking skills. It is an environment for learning and failing without consequences. You can't learn public speaking without an audience, and the Toastmasters club audience is probably the best audience for newbies starting out (e.g. the experienced speakers there emphathise and help you because they were in your position months or years ago) If anything, you will learn to stop using fillers (umming/ahhing). Pauses ... can be so much more effective). Why? Because someone at each meeting sits there and counts everyone's verbal fidgeting. What can't be measured, can't be improved. Add in public shame and that goes a long, long way. To this day, I am shocked at people two/three levels above me who obviously never worked on their verbal or even non-verbal tics. If you practice, Toastmasters builds unconscious competence in eliminating certain things that may distract the audience (umming, arm swinging, clapsed hands). The best part of Toastmasters is called Table Topics - where you have to give an impromptu answer to a question. 1-2 minutes. Like some public speaking opportunities are, off the cuff and unrehearsed. After every speech you give, members will write encouraging comments and feeback on little slips of paper. I still have those little slips of paper in an album somewhere. They still make me feel good. Our club had a video camera - I had all my speeches videotaped. Wow, the camera does not lie - my posture sucked and I rocked my arms [all distractions from your speaking]. And, it is clearly visible to see the progress you make from speech #1 (your icebreaker) to #10. I highly recommend finding a club that you like (not all clubs are alike) - especially one where no one from your workplace will be (a freer environment to learn public speaking). I dove into the Toastmasters program. I put a lot into it (VP Membership, mentoring, contests) and got a lot from it. Lastly, I've made some friends (mostly entrepreneurial) through TM that I would not likely have encountered in my normal life. TM brings together some pro-active individuals. Book recommendation (the best book I've found on public speaking - great because it has so many different viewpoints/perspectives) : http://www.amazon.com/Speaking-Secrets-Masters-Techniques-Professional/dp/0937539228 http://www.amazon.com/Speaking-Secrets-Masters-Techniques-Pr...
- ojbyrne 18y ago
  Sure sounds like open source. Many eyes, comfortable/safe environment, continuous improvement. My club (http://ottawatoastmasters.com http://ottawatoastmasters.com) has another impromptu speaking opportunity called "As I See It" which is closer to actual debating than Table Topics (2 people argue for a topic and 2 against, there's a 1.5 minute preso from each, then a 30 second rebuttal from each). I'm totally addicted to that part.
  - wallflower 18y ago
    I like the way it melds impromptu with non-impromptu (quick prep, speech, then rebuttal). I'm not active with my club anymore (moved out of geo area/moved on) but I will send on that suggestion. Have you ever done a Table Topics dinner? Dinner at a restaurant and each person has to speak for 2-3 min. while the dinner is being served.
    - ojbyrne 18y ago
      Not yet. I've done a fair amount of public speaking, but I'm new to toastmasters. What's amazing is that after 3 months of weekly meetings, I'm actually enjoying what I saw before as something scary and challenging. I think, frankly, that it's just about repetition. At digg, they trotted me out twice a year, and there was a ton of pressure. Now I talk every week, and I feel comfortable, and it's fun.
jmtame 18y ago
The ONE thing I never liked was the corny part where they did joke of the day. It's not funny when you're there trying to give a joke. It's like asking someone to tickle you. Other than that, Toastmasters is really good. Don't need it if your school gives classes, but it never hurts. By the way, I can vouch for Owen's speaking abilities =)
- ojbyrne 18y ago
  Owen blushes and is curious of where you saw me. Given the geography, I'm guessing Reflections/Projections. I was weak then! Coincidentally I did joke of the day for the first time last week and mostly concur with your opinion. Probably the best speaking experience I gained was when I stood up in front of 57 students twice a week for a full semester. With the power of life or death (aka A-F) comes responsiblity.
  - jmtame 18y ago
    Yep, R|P. It was a good talk from what I remember, although they conveniently make videos of those that you can watch again later.
    - ojbyrne 18y ago
      I've been scared to watch it. But I loved that conference, basically because there was less pressure, and it had really interesting but offbeat speakers, namely Steve Yegge and Randall Monroe (xkcd.com). I felt privileged to be there but not pressured to perform.
    - ojbyrne 18y ago
      Also I should mention, since it's been part of the whole toastmasters motivation and stuff, and since everyone here seems to enjoy me talking about digg, I'm giving a _keynote_ at dpc (Dutch PHP Conference) in June entitled "Digg: The First Two Years": http://www.phpconference.nl/ http://www.phpconference.nl/ It should be pretty good, because I'm totally beyond the control of Digg PR. Though I will try to be fair and balanced about what actually was a great experience.
AngelaE8654 18y ago
I agree. The toastmasters are excellent at getting people to be more comfortable in front of groups of people. They've been doing this for DECADES. I'm not even sure how long, but it's been a long, long, time. <a href="http://angelasdiscountmarket.com/angela.html http://angelasdiscountmarket.com/angela.html">Angela&#60...; <a href="http://www.goarticles.com/cgi-bin/showa.cgi?C=1151743 http://www.goarticles.com/cgi-bin/showa.cgi?C=1151743">B...;

by ojbyrne 18y ago

wallflower 18y ago

If you want to learn how to speak without doing potentially stressful presentations in front of audiences that matter (professors, bosses) or spending $$ on Dale Carnegie courses or not-too-effective audiences (your cat), I highly recommend Toastmasters. Toastmasters is highly effective because most everyone there wants to help you improve your public speaking skills. It is an environment for learning and failing without consequences. You can't learn public speaking without an audience, and the Toastmasters club audience is probably the best audience for newbies starting out (e.g. the experienced speakers there emphathise and help you because they were in your position months or years ago) If anything, you will learn to stop using fillers (umming/ahhing). Pauses ... can be so much more effective). Why? Because someone at each meeting sits there and counts everyone's verbal fidgeting. What can't be measured, can't be improved. Add in public shame and that goes a long, long way. To this day, I am shocked at people two/three levels above me who obviously never worked on their verbal or even non-verbal tics. If you practice, Toastmasters builds unconscious competence in eliminating certain things that may distract the audience (umming, arm swinging, clapsed hands). The best part of Toastmasters is called Table Topics - where you have to give an impromptu answer to a question. 1-2 minutes. Like some public speaking opportunities are, off the cuff and unrehearsed. After every speech you give, members will write encouraging comments and feeback on little slips of paper. I still have those little slips of paper in an album somewhere. They still make me feel good. Our club had a video camera - I had all my speeches videotaped. Wow, the camera does not lie - my posture sucked and I rocked my arms [all distractions from your speaking]. And, it is clearly visible to see the progress you make from speech #1 (your icebreaker) to #10. I highly recommend finding a club that you like (not all clubs are alike) - especially one where no one from your workplace will be (a freer environment to learn public speaking). I dove into the Toastmasters program. I put a lot into it (VP Membership, mentoring, contests) and got a lot from it. Lastly, I've made some friends (mostly entrepreneurial) through TM that I would not likely have encountered in my normal life. TM brings together some pro-active individuals. Book recommendation (the best book I've found on public speaking - great because it has so many different viewpoints/perspectives) : http://www.amazon.com/Speaking-Secrets-Masters-Techniques-Professional/dp/0937539228 http://www.amazon.com/Speaking-Secrets-Masters-Techniques-Pr...

ojbyrne 18y ago
Sure sounds like open source. Many eyes, comfortable/safe environment, continuous improvement. My club (http://ottawatoastmasters.com http://ottawatoastmasters.com) has another impromptu speaking opportunity called "As I See It" which is closer to actual debating than Table Topics (2 people argue for a topic and 2 against, there's a 1.5 minute preso from each, then a 30 second rebuttal from each). I'm totally addicted to that part.
- wallflower 18y ago
  I like the way it melds impromptu with non-impromptu (quick prep, speech, then rebuttal). I'm not active with my club anymore (moved out of geo area/moved on) but I will send on that suggestion. Have you ever done a Table Topics dinner? Dinner at a restaurant and each person has to speak for 2-3 min. while the dinner is being served.
  - ojbyrne 18y ago
    Not yet. I've done a fair amount of public speaking, but I'm new to toastmasters. What's amazing is that after 3 months of weekly meetings, I'm actually enjoying what I saw before as something scary and challenging. I think, frankly, that it's just about repetition. At digg, they trotted me out twice a year, and there was a ton of pressure. Now I talk every week, and I feel comfortable, and it's fun.

jmtame 18y ago

The ONE thing I never liked was the corny part where they did joke of the day. It's not funny when you're there trying to give a joke. It's like asking someone to tickle you. Other than that, Toastmasters is really good. Don't need it if your school gives classes, but it never hurts. By the way, I can vouch for Owen's speaking abilities =)

ojbyrne 18y ago
Owen blushes and is curious of where you saw me. Given the geography, I'm guessing Reflections/Projections. I was weak then! Coincidentally I did joke of the day for the first time last week and mostly concur with your opinion. Probably the best speaking experience I gained was when I stood up in front of 57 students twice a week for a full semester. With the power of life or death (aka A-F) comes responsiblity.
- jmtame 18y ago
  Yep, R|P. It was a good talk from what I remember, although they conveniently make videos of those that you can watch again later.
  - ojbyrne 18y ago
    I've been scared to watch it. But I loved that conference, basically because there was less pressure, and it had really interesting but offbeat speakers, namely Steve Yegge and Randall Monroe (xkcd.com). I felt privileged to be there but not pressured to perform.
  - ojbyrne 18y ago
    Also I should mention, since it's been part of the whole toastmasters motivation and stuff, and since everyone here seems to enjoy me talking about digg, I'm giving a _keynote_ at dpc (Dutch PHP Conference) in June entitled "Digg: The First Two Years": http://www.phpconference.nl/ http://www.phpconference.nl/ It should be pretty good, because I'm totally beyond the control of Digg PR. Though I will try to be fair and balanced about what actually was a great experience.

AngelaE8654 18y ago

I agree. The toastmasters are excellent at getting people to be more comfortable in front of groups of people. They've been doing this for DECADES. I'm not even sure how long, but it's been a long, long, time. <a href="http://angelasdiscountmarket.com/angela.html http://angelasdiscountmarket.com/angela.html">Angela&#60...; <a href="http://www.goarticles.com/cgi-bin/showa.cgi?C=1151743 http://www.goarticles.com/cgi-bin/showa.cgi?C=1151743">B...;