How I Took My Public Speaking To The Next Level
I don't know who came up with that hack, but no. Just no.
What may work is Toastmasters.
Being a good communicator is an unspoken requirement in every higher-level position. We live in a world where you have to be able to articulate your thoughts well.
Toastmasters helps you with this by throwing you in the fire. Don't worry; it isn't as bad as it sounds.
Make A Meme. (n.d.). Oprah Winfrey “You Get a Car.” imgflip. photograph. Retrieved May 27, 2023, from https://imgflip.com/i/7o751vey H, meme created by the author
In Toastmasters, everyone contributes! At every meeting, you can sign up for one of the following roles: Toastmaster, Speech Giver, Table Topic Interviewer, Table Topic Interviewee, General Evaluator, Grammarian, Timer Report, and Ah-Counter Report. In the Toastmasters schedule, I describe what each role does.
The most important part of the Toastmasters experience is the feedback. So much so the people evaluating the speeches also receive feedback on their evaluations. The speech evaluations are as fun to listen to as much as the speeches because the evaluators transform them into performances through references and jokes.
The first time I went to view a session, I volunteered to answer a “Table Topic” question.
Would you rather have the perfect Thanksgiving with total strangers or the worst Thanksgiving with your closest friends and family?
The table topic portion is one of the most important aspects of Toastmasters. You aren’t always going to have the opportunity to prepare for a speech. The table topic portion tests your ability to think on the spot and give a strong answer.
I was asked to come to the front of the room to answer this question for roughly 2–3 minutes in front of ~20 people I never met before.
My answer to the question was having the worst Thanksgiving with your closest friends. We already know that the worst experiences make for the best stories.
"Practice doesn't make perfect; perfect practice makes perfect" — Sixth Grade Viola Teacher.
My teacher was ex-Navy, which explains his line of thinking. Though, he may have been onto something…