Every Thursday evening, I exercise my privilege to participate in my Toastmasters Club. It's a place where one grows his or her capability and confidence in public speaking and leadership. (And it looks great on a resume!) But more than that, Big D Toastmasters Club has given me so many wonderful friendships and networking opporutnities in my career path and in my life's many endeavors.
I encourage all people to join a local Toastmaster's club for more than just the self-improvement, but also the comraderie that will not let you slip off into the dark without reaching out to help. The following is a column I wrote for the June 2009 edition of my club's newsletter, The Big "D" Amplifier:
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It’s a warm blanket on a cold evening. It’s a cool drink on a hot day. A home-cooked meal after a week on the road.
Big D brings the kind of dependable comfort you can only find among old friends. Many members here are, in fact, old friends. For a 60-year old club, there better be old friends!
Still, most of you, like me, are relatively new to Big D – or new to Toastmasters, period. Nonetheless, week-in and week-out, Big D offers all of its members and guests a warm greeting and a fun meeting. And after we’ve had to drag ourselves away, a great sense of ease and peace rushes over us with the knowledge that we’ve just been in the company of good friends.
Our club holds tremendous pride to contribute a massive volume of strength to the Toastmasters organization. We induct more new members than any other club in our district. The quality of individuals that progress through Big D is a P.R. campaign in and of itself.
However, of the eve of our Fall 2009 officer induction gala, let us not forget the social aspect of our club. Old friend, John Sessions, loves to promote this soiree by pointing out how this year’s event marks the 29th anniversary of fellow club veteran Cliff Hutchinson’s tryst with his wife.
Big D’s parties come naturally. You can sense their evolution at the end of each meeting. Even after two (plus) hours, we still have the energy and enthusiasm to fraternize for another half hour (plus). We genuinely like each other. And we can’t wait to get to know guests and hear ice-breaker speeches.
Diversity makes each Thursday evening unique. Everyone brings something different to the table that piques most attendees’ interest. Because of this, my favorite statistic of Big D is that, to date, not one new member has died while giving his/her ice-breaker.
This vitality allows us to continue to discover new facets to new members and offers the guarantee of not only survival, but also progression of every member into something he/she did not know was capable. But like a good friend, Big D knows the possibilities of every soul are limitless. And we encourage this in every evaluation, every hearty applause, and in the aftermath of each meeting.
The best advice I can give any new member is this: lose consciousness of yourself. You do not need to worry about what you are saying, how you are saying it, the way you posture or present yourself. You’ve already made it clear you are serious about bettering your life by attending, now let the flow of the club be your guide.
Everyone wants to see you succeed, I promise. When you enter the meeting room, everyone is your best friend. You can feel it in the positive and constructive evaluations. You can feel it in the enormous and genuine smiles on each member’s face. In the comfort of good conversation.
Let the comfort of friendship wash over you. And then you will be able to experience everything that this welcoming club has to offer. Like a good neighbor, Big D is there.
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For more information about Big D Toastmasters, please visit http://www.dallastoastmaters.com/
For more information about finding a Toastmasters club near you, please visit http://www.toastmasters.org/find/
Thanks for reading!
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