You have a voice that deserves to be heard.
Unlike most Toastmasters, I did not find my voice while in Toastmasters but much earlier in life.
Just like every maiden attempt in public speaking, mine was a disaster. I stood in class one afternoon setting up my presentation material as all eyes gazed upon me. I was both nervous and excited to share my team's research on Tornados but was literally sweating and jerking involuntarily throughout the presentation. My face was flushing as I answered questions from my enthusiastic classmates. At the end of the presentation, I placed a piece of dry ice into the container and turned on the motor; the mini Tornado instantly became the limelight of the presentation. I was relieved.
Subsequently, several more attempts at presentation in secondary school did not improve my public speaking skills.
I only discovered my voice much later when I was forced to speak out during my stint as a door-to-door salesperson right after finishing my 'O' Level exams. I didn't think it was the right job after my first day but it struck me that I couldn't get hired at all the other interviews because I was inexperienced and failed to speak up. With some encouragement from a friend of mine, we decided to stick with the job and move beyond our comfort zones. We learnt from some of the best sales people, the sort that could sell you a brick. But no amount of tutorship can compensate practice as we diligently talked to hundreds of prospects each day for almost half a year.
Eventually, when I entered polytechnic, preparing and delivering presentations became an activity I would look forward to. In fact, I was offered several leadership opportunities partly because of my public speaking ability.
Eloquence was not a gift but a matter of practice and Toastmasters serve as a means to continue honing my public speaking skills outside of work. Today, I continue to challenge myself by speaking in front of larger audiences such as the first local TEDx conference and most recently the district level contest in speech evaluation.
I can't imagine what a different life it could have been if I hadn't had my short stint in sales. The ability to speak my mind and converse in a myriad of social situations has continued to open many doors for me.
Being part of the Toastmaster movement for the past 2 years, I have witnessed that members who have persisted in overcoming their speech barriers, finding renewed strength with every delivery. I hope more doors will open for you just as it did for me as you get better with public speaking. Cheers.
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Daylon Soh is an aspiring entrepreneur and continues to speak about subjects such as creativity, personal development and marketing whenever the opportunity arises. You may find out more about his work on his website,
www.playwithideas.net
