The Toastmaster: A Collection of Writings on the Toastmasters Club, Public Speaking, and Conquering Speech Anxiety

By Armani Talks

The Toastmaster is a collection of writings on the Toastmasters public speaking club. I talk about my experiences in the club and what to expect from being a member. You will get a look into how the club works to better decide if you should join.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Armani Talks
• Release date: Feb 7, 2024
• ISBN: 9798868992902

Book preview

Author’s Preface

I grew up as a talkative kid, became a shy kid, and became a normal guy.

The transition of going from shy to normal was largely due to Toastmasters.

(By normal, I mean I no longer felt self-conscious when speaking in 1-on-1 interactions, crowd interactions, media content, etc).

Toastmasters taught me that you could learn public speaking.

It just comes down to desire.

Is it the perfect club?

No.

Just like any complex system, there are flaws.

But is it a great club to get out of your house, network with others, and build your public speaking skills?

In my opinion, yes.

Notice what I said in the above line:

In my opinion.

In this short book, you will get a collection of insights on Toastmasters that I have accumulated throughout the years.

I was introduced to the club as a guest.

Then I became a member.

Became a mentor.

And eventually, became the external vice president.

The external vice president was the guy who was responsible for introducing the club to potential new members.

During my time as the VP, I was asked plenty of questions from hopeful guests who wanted to work on their speech anxiety.

Earlier, I was the one with speech anxiety.

Now as I was answering these questions, I was able to perceive public speaking from a completely different angle.

I was given a new perspective.

Most of the people had very basic questions.

Does it work?

The collection of writings in this book is to help you become familiar with the club.

You’ve been thinking about joining but keep talking yourself out of it.

Luckily, clarity will give you direction on better choosing your next moves.

Hopefully, you can get at least 1 idea that provides useful value in determining your public speaking future.

By the way, this book is not in chronological order.

So, you can pick and choose whatever resonates the most with you.

How Do Toastmasters Meetings Work?

Have you ever wondered how do Toastmasters meetings work?

You may be someone who currently has massive speech anxiety.

The mere thought of speaking in front of people has you picturing the worst.

And it doesn’t matter if the audience is a size of 5 or 500.

Same nerves began to permeate you.

But lately, this has been bothering you more & more.

You realize that being afraid of public speaking is not only holding you back personally but professionally as well.

As other people are volunteering to give talks in your company to represent who they are, you sit in the corner.

Or if you are a business owner, you have been talking yourself out of giving a speech at the next conference for months.

Even though you know you are perfectly qualified…

At a certain point, you realize that speech anxiety is bad.

But not doing anything about it is worse.

So you decide to take some action.

You do your research on the internet & stumble across this club called ‘Toastmasters.’

Automatically, you are intrigued & want to know more.

How do Toastmasters meetings work?

Who goes to these meetings?

Will I actually see an improvement in my communication skills from it?

You want some answers before you attend the meeting, I get it.

And that is what we will be talking about today.

I am the former recruitment chair and External Vice President for my Toastmasters club.

Therefore, I have heard every question in the book.

It’s time to clarify the unknown so you can step foot in Toastmasters.

Let’s teach you how Toastmasters meeting work!

The Elephant in the Room: Does Toastmasters Work?

Before we continue on, you may be wondering: does Toastmasters work??

In summary, yes.

There have been dozens of people that I witnessed with very poor public speaking skills transform before my eyes.

Toastmasters allows people with massive speech anxiety to feel comfortable in a safe space.

When you understand that everyone in the club is there for the same exact reason, you end up feeling much better.

Some people want to overcome speech anxiety. Some people want to fine-tune their pre-existing skills.

But at the end of the day, people go to Toastmasters to become a better speaker.

But I do want to be very clear.

The results that you get out of the club will solely be dependent on the effort that you put in.

Don’t think going to the club every once in a while will lead to massive improvement.

You need to be consistent with your efforts.

And once you go to a meeting, make it a priority to participate!

Now you may be wondering: how do I participate?

Great question..

How Does Toastmasters Work?

There are plenty of speaking opportunities in a Toastmasters meeting.

We will talk about the 1st tier & 2nd tiers opportunities.

1st tier opportunities are the roles of the people who