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Toastmasters is a good idea
By Larry J. Pitman

The purpose of this article is to convince you that joining Toastmasters is a good idea. If you don't know, Toastmasters is an international voluntary organization dedicated to building effective communication.

For most of my life, I have not been eager to get in front of a group to speak. In fact, even though my work as a manager and a teacher required it, I did not do anything to acquire the skills needed to communicate well to an audience.

A friend in San Francisco did me a great favor when he suggested that I attend a Toastmasters meeting. What I found was a group of intelligent, caring people who were helping each other to learn the basic skills of public speaking, leadership and listening.

The meetings were a pleasure to me. The focus is on learning by doing. Every meeting gave me an opportunity to participate in one way or another. When I gave a speech, another member, in a very professional way, gave me a useful evaluation so that I could improve.

I, too, learned when another spoke, both in terms of the technique of the speech, but also the content. Since Toastmasters attracts people from many professions, the topics of the speeches introduced many new ideas to me.

Sure I still get butterflies when I appear before a group. The difference is that now I know that I am prepared. I know that I have the skills to communicate with my audience and engage them in a subject that I care about.

I realize also that I still have much to learn. I look forward to the opportunity to do so with my friends in the Toastmasters Club.

There are two excellent groups in Lima, both operate in the English language. If you are interested in learning more, call me at 247-4011 or write me at larryjamespitman@hotmail.com.

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