Why Join a Public Speaking Club?
Public speaking is a critical
skill for peace, social justice, and environmental activists,
and for many professionals. When we speak to groups, whether they
are large or small, we should be able to gain and hold our listeners'
attention, communicate our message, and leave a favorable impression.
But most of us are afraid of speaking to strangers. We're nervous, we
might forget what we were planning to say, we might not express
ourselves clearly. And unless we have specialized knowledge and
training, we may not be aware of some key factors in speaking
such as vocal variety, gestures, and eye contact.
A public speaking club helps us overcome your fears and builds
our confidence by providing a safe environment in
which we can get knowledge, practice, and
supportive feedback about public speaking. And it's fun!
Why Toastmasters?
Greenspeakers is a Toastmasters
club (club #3172 in district 46, to
be exact). We chose to affiliate with
Toastmasters because we were impressed with the Toastmasters
methodology. Instead of the usual classroom learning environment,
Toastmaster meetings are lively and interactive. We learn by
doing and getting feedback from peers.
Toastmasters International, founded in the 1920s, has about ten thousand
clubs like ours throughout the world. These clubs have trained
tens of thousands of speakers, including many professionals who
use their speaking skills at their job and paid speakers.
Toastmasters also provides us with an effective meeting structure
(see the sample meeting agenda in the center column), excellent
printed materials, and organizational support.
One of our founding members, Julia Willebrand, is a former president
of the SEC Roughriders Toastmasters Club. Julia recently used
her speaking skills as the Green Party
candidate for Comptroller of New York State.
Why We Formed a Public Speaking Club
Greenspeakers was formed by progressive activists and advocates seeking to
improve their public speaking skills.
Many of us had good ideas, but we found it hard to get our message out
to the public.
We needed a safe space in which to improve our communications
skills and test our messages.
By forming the Greenspeakers club and affiliating with Toastmasters,
we got what we anticipated and more. In addition to creating a safe
space in which to rehearse our messages and get feedback, we
learned specialized public speaking skills that we would never have
discovered on our own.
Why the Name "Greenspeakers"?
Greenspeakers was founded by progressive activists from the
Green Party.
Membership in Greenspeakers is open to all.
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What Happens At a Greenspeakers Meeting?
Our meetings generally start with a welcome message from the club's
President who introduces the Toastmaster for the evening. The
Toastmaster takes us through the rest of the agenda:
- Introductions: Everyone briefly introduces themselves.
- Agenda review: An experienced member explains what happens in the
different parts of the meeting for the benefit of newcomers.
- Word of the day: A member presents us with an unusual word,
defines it, uses it in several sentences, and challenges us to use it
during the course of the meeting.
- Table Topics: An experienced member reads from a list of prepared
questions and calls on members of the audience to give one-to-two
minute responses. The questions aren't difficult; they are intended
to give us a chance to practice impromptu speeches.
- Prepared Speeches: Two or three members deliver speeches that they
have prepared in advance. These speeches can be about any subject, but
they generally fall into one of ten categories defined by Toastmasters
International. Most speeches are between five and seven minutes long.
- Evaluations: Experienced members, chosen in advance, evaluate each
of the prepared speeches. These evaluations are supportive; they describe
what the speaker did well and how the speaker could improve. The
evaluations are two to three minutes long.
- Self-evaluations: Each speaker gets a minute to tell us how he or
she thought the speech went.
- Meeting reports:
- The Time-keeper has been timing every speaker, and lists
how long each of us spoke.
- The Um-counter tells us how many times each of us used filler words
such as "um," "uh," "you know," and "like."
- The Grammarian points out incorrect or awkward grammar and word usage.
- The General Meeting Evaluator reviews and gives us feedback about all
phases of the meeting.
- Business meeting: The club President returns to the podium and conducts
a short business meeting under Roberts Rules of Order. Club officers make
reports, new members are inducted, and club policies are sometimes discussed.
- Announcements: Everyone is invited to briefly announce events of interest.
These events may or may not be related to the Greenspeakers club.
- Voting and Prizes: We vote for the best impromptu speech during Table
Topics, the best prepared speech, and the best evaluation. Each of the top vote-getters
receives a prize.
- Final Go-Around: We go around the room and each person briefly gives us
feedback about the meeting.
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Do You Have to Prepare For Your First Meeting?
No. You will get several opportunities to address the meeting, but
we won't ask you to speak for more than a minute or two at a time.
During our introductions, you can tell us your name and a little about
yourself. Each introduction is about 15 to 30 seconds long.
During the Table Topics section of the meeting (see the center column
for a description of Table Topics), we'll encourage you to try answering
an impromptu question with a one-to-two minute response. This is optional.
If you prefer to just listen to others, you can do so.
You are welcome to make a brief announcement during the Announcements
section, and you can tell us what you liked and what you
didn't during the Final Go-Around.
For most of the first meeting, you'll observe and listen. We want you to be
comfortable with the format of our meetings before you to take on meeting
roles or deliver prepared speeches.
How Long Will It Take Before You See Improvement?
You can't take a pill that will make you a better speaker. The
benefits that you receive from Greenspeakers will be
proportional to the effort you make.
If you attend three or four meetings and participate actively by
answering Table Topic questions and giving a prepared speech, you
will become aware of some areas in which you are already a
satisfactory speaker and other areas in which you need to improve.
Knowing your strengths will give you confidence; recognizing your
weak points is the first step on the road to eliminating them.
The Toastmasters printed materials will also make you aware
of some of the factors that audiences react to (unconsciously).
For example, when you speak in public you should make eye contact
with your audience. That means you can't read your speech off of a
printed page and connect with your audience. Once you understand
the importance of eye contact, you can start to reduce your use of
notes. The best speakers don't use printed notes at all.
What Does It Cost?
There are no required fees. We pass the
hat at each meeting to pay for the space we have rented and copying
costs; you donate as much or as little as you want.
If you choose to, you can become a member of Toastmasters International
for a fee of $47. (Scholarships are available for those who need them.)
By joining Toastmasters International, you will get a set of printed
manuals that explains the Toastmasters method and contain many helpful
suggestions for improving your public speaking. You will also get a
subscription to a monthly magazine from Toastmasters.
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