This is what I didn't learn in a
Toastmasters meeting. Actually, it happened at breakfast with a good friend at
a Bob Evans’ Restaurant. This has never happened to me that I would
deliberately talk someone out of joining Toastmasters.
On a Friday evening, I was at a
college women's volleyball game. I saw a message on my phone from my good
friend, Rick who lives in Columbus, Ohio after living in the area for many
years. Rick and I have been very good
friends since working at McDonalds’ and a parking lot in college. After a few
pleasantries, Rick asks me to an early morning breakfast on Saturday. He was in
town to do some fix up work on his house that his family still owned.
Rick owns a car dealership in
Columbus, Sandoval Buick GMC (shameless friend plugged, what the heck, he has earned it).
At breakfast, Rick tells me how
things at the dealership are going. He talked about the sales meeting he has
every day with his managers and salespeople. Then, Rick asked me about
Toastmasters. I told about the meeting and what happens during a meeting like
the 90 training tip and the speeches given by the Toastmasters.
Rick said he should try to join
club in Columbus. He said he was dealing with a lot of ums and ahs in speaking.
The feared filler words used by most people in unscripted conversation as they
tried to make a point.
Rick wanted to get rid of or reduce
his ums and ahs. I told him that I didn't believe he needed Toastmasters
because during our conversation. He really didn’t have a lot of ums and ahs. I
said the ums and ahs come from the uncertainty of knowing what will be said
next.
In normal conversation, Rick was
fine. I said “I am sure that how you speak to your managers and salespeople.
They understand what you are saying and understand the important points of the
meeting.”
I explained in Toastmasters as a
member there are speeches which come from a certain manual that outlines
different types of speeches to keep the speaker improving. Once they have done
a speech at the meeting it is gone forever unless somebody records it.
At the moment, Rick is running a
huge operation with his dealership that makes his time limited. That limited time should be spent with his
wife, two daughters, dogs and a very large extended family.
I know Rick and if he would join
Toastmasters, he would be all in and devote a lot of time to the club. That is
great but other parts of his life would suffer.
I told him that he is already a good communicator.
So, I told him the secret of reducing
the ums and ahs which is just “slowdown.” Your mind is working faster than your
mouth. By slowing down, both your mind and mouth start to work in sync
delivering a smooth speaking tone.
I've seen Toastmasters start with
19 ums and ahs in their early Toastmasters meetings. During a Toastmasters meeting, there is an
ums and ahs counter who rings a bell each time someone says an um or ah. Towards the end of the meeting, there is an
evaluator who calls on the um and ah counter who will tell how many ums and ahs
each person had during the meeting.
After hearing the bell, so many
times, the Toastmaster slows down and begin to reduce the number of their ums
and ahs. It is pretty amazing thing to experience their transformation in
reducing and in some cases eliminating ums and ahs.
Toastmasters may not be the right
fit for Rick at the moment.
Someone like you may benefit in
what Toastmasters has to offer in better communications and leadership skills.
Now time for a shameless plug.
Arthur Byrd has
been a member of Executive 408 Toastmasters Youngstown, since 2009. He earned a
Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM) the highest honor in Toastmasters in 2016.
He has been the past President of
Executive 408 Youngstown, the past Vice President of Public Relations for 408
and the past Area Governor for Area 13 in District 10 in Ohio.
For information about Executive 408
Toastmasters Youngstown. Please visit http://www.speakingclub.org
You can visit on Mondays from 6:45pm- 8:45pm at Adamas
Square, 8131 Market Street, Boardman, Ohio 44512
Also, there is another Toastmasters club in Warren, Ohio.
They meet twice a month, every second and fourth Saturday at 9am at Christ
Episcopal Church, 2627 Atlantic
Ave, NE in Warren, Ohio. (Go around to the back)
