Public Speaking

[AD]

Hi Folks,



I am a new member to this forum and also a new person to this fantastic city. I have spent the initial 30 yrs of my life in bombay/mumbai and later 5+ years in bangalore, before my career brought me here...



I am also a member of an active community group here called Hyderabad Toastmasters Club.



For those who may not know, a toastmasters club is a social non-profit making international organisation focussed towards helping the members develop the art of public speaking. More information about this organisation can be found easily at http://www.toastmasters.org



It was hard for me to believe, that while Bangalore has 30+ toastmaster clubs - there are only a handful in hyderabad. NONE of these were community-based (i.e - open to general members of the public). Thats When i got in touch with some enthusiastic people interested in starting a community club and joined hands in the effort.



We now have about 25-30 active members already. To know more about the current activities - I invite people serious about improving their public speaking skills to visit the link below :



http://www.toastmasters.meetup.com/18



At the meetup.com site - You would need to register as a member (almost like you do at Fullhyderabad) and check out the events link to view upcoming meetings. You are most welcome to attend our meetings as a guest. At your first meeting - you would see and meet people, who have got transformed through this forum and are today very successful in their respective careers. The next meeting held every fortnight is on 23rd July. More details at the link above.



I have often felt the absolute necessity of such forums in the context of our Indian education system - which often does not focus on a proper 'finishing school' for all students. I trust and hope you also benefit from this forum.



Please do participate in the poll below and let me know your opinion. Thanks for reading this and your participation in the poll.



best regards,

Ajit

[Ar!e$]

Hi AD welcome 2 hyd and to the boards..

[lonewolf]

I didn't know India had any Toastmaster chapters. But its a good thing they are there now because our academic curriculum rarely focuses on public speaking. Our presentation skills are comparatively bad when compared to people from other countries. I remember this desi girl who was giving her MS Defence with her back facing the audience, and then one of her committee members interrupted her and said "Please look at us when you talk. Its rude to show your back to the audience".

[AD]

Hi Lw,



Well there are a bunch of toastmaster clubs in india. Bangalore hosts 30+ - Chennai has a few i know of - Mumbai / Pune and our hyderabad needs to catch up a bit.



Hyd has 3 corporate clubs chartered and 3 more corporate clubs in the making - Ours is the only one that is community based.



Existing clubs are Cordys / ISB/ Infy - To be chartered are TCS / Conseco / Continuum and another one being planned in codelinks.



We should be chartering around August 2005 too. Lots of folks cringe at the very thought of speaking in public.

The fact is you cannot do without it in any career.



Your example of how the lady was rebuked for being rude is apt. At toastmasters our focus is to improve confidence in steps by focussing on first removing stage fright / helping organise the speech / drawing attention to body language / appreciating need for vocal variety / usage of humour / usage of props to make an impact / usage of the right words and finally teaching the art of persuasive speaking that can inspire any audience into action.



I sorely wish more and more people from the indian industry benefitted from such forums. The difference in comm skills is acutely felt when someone were to visit US for the first time. Most Bachelors from US are well equipped with these skills and though Indians have more knowledge - they suffer more due to lack of confidence and inability to make their voice heard even in a small group of 10 people.



Ajit

http://www.toastmasters.meetup.com/18

[lonewolf]

Thats great AD



Do they have the UM counter in the Toastmasters in India too?

[CtrlAltDel]

AD, i have enrolled at the site provided and also at the yahoo group.



i wud surely attend the next meet on 23rd and wud love to meet you all there.



to other FHDBians: i suggest u guys too join up! this is very useful to all of us!

[AD]

Hey guys - thanks for your interest.



And yes welcome to the toastmasters group.



As regards the UM counter - i guess you are referring to the 'AH Counter'.

The job of an 'Ah counter' is to count the number of 'Ah' / Um / Oh or 'filler words' you use in your speaking.



Its interesting you ask this question - because people dont normally observe themselves doing this in their nervousness.



I am sure you would have observed people who are not experienced often tend to even use words like -'you know' or 'like' or 'basically' very often. A larger reason for that is the discomfirt we have being 'silent' in front of an audience.



But the fact is "silence' can be such an effective tool while doing public speaking !!! Strange - but if you were to see an experience toastmaster - you will see how well he uses silence to make his point. allow the audience to register what he is communicating and even to emphasize what he said.



Hope this answers your queries.



Br

Ajit

[lonewolf]

As regards the UM counter - i guess you are referring to the 'AH Counter'.
The job of an 'Ah counter' is to count the number of 'Ah' / Um / Oh or 'filler words' you use in your speaking.

Its interesting you ask this question - because people dont normally observe themselves doing this in their nervousness.

I am sure you would have observed people who are not experienced often tend to even use words like -'you know' or 'like' or 'basically' very often. A larger reason for that is the discomfirt we have being 'silent' in front of an audience.

Yes Ajit, it is called the "Um" counter in the UK, and maybe in the US too.



I haven't been to any Toastmasters yet though I plan to.



I belong to a group based on the McGuire Programme which is for people who stutter. They have regular 4 day workshops in the US, UK and Australia and the focus is not just to recover from stuttering but also be an eloquent speaker. Many McGuire graduates join Toastmaster clubs and other public speaking clubs, and win awards. For instance, in the last workshop in Washington DC this May, we had a new student, a Russian lady. After the 4 day course, she joined her local Toastmasters club and actually won an award. Now she leads the club regularly.