Speakers who at one time couldn’t imagine presenting in front of a group of people were put to the test last week.
Six Big Rock Pioneer Toastmasters Club members went head-to-head in the annual humourous speech and table topic contest at the Okotoks Public Library Oct. 1, acting as if they had never had a fear of speaking in public.
Shelley Hoye remembers a time before joining Toastmasters in Ontario 15 years ago when the thought of standing in front of a group of people made her nervous.
“I just didn’t have self-confidence,” she said. “I was shy and introverted. I went to 10 meetings before I joined and during my first speech I’m sure I was 5,000 shades of red.”
Anyone watching Hoye’s flawless delivery about her childhood dream to teach would never guess her previous insecurities. She won the table top competition and will advance to the area level, competing against four Toastmasters members south of Calgary.
“The table top is the most nerve wracking,” she said. “You don’t know what they are going to ask you and you get five to seven seconds to think about it.”
Hoye attributes Toastmasters members in Ontario and Okotoks for overcoming her fears. She plans to begin a club in High River, where she lives.
“It’s a supportive group,” she said. “It’s always constructive criticism.”
Hoye said it’s been a few years since her last speech competition and decided to give it a whirl again.
“I competed once or twice before, but I hadn’t done it for a while and I thought why not?” she said. “You need to stretch yourself once in a while.”
Also prone to stammering and turning red before joining Toastmasters was Brent Hopkins, who won the humourous speech competition.
The Okotokian was born with Irlen Syndrome, a perceptual processing disorder that inhibits the brain’s ability to process visual information. Hopkins never imagined he would one day be able to speak in front of a group of people.
“I’m just learning my speaking voice,” he said. “I don’t know yet what I’m capable of doing.”
Hopkins decided to join Toastmasters a year ago after taking a Speech Craft course in Red Deer.
“I wanted to overcome my nervousness,” he said. “When I started toastmasters a year ago I couldn’t say my name.”
Much has changed for Hopkins with help from his Toastmasters friends and mentors.
Each meeting he’s bettering himself and is excited about his progress, he said. He placed first in last spring’s international speech contest and tied for fourth in the area competition.
Jackie Blight, the club’s vice-president of education, was a judge at last week’s contest.
“It’s tough, but it’s less pressure than being up there,” she said. “The competitions are very serious.”
Blight said Toastmasters helps people get over their fear of public speaking and encourages them to take on various roles in the club that help them become leaders, while working at whatever pace they’re comfortable with.
Wendy Gudzus, the club’s vice-president of public relations, said Toastmasters members work through a series of books that focus on speaking, communication and leadership with the help of experienced members.
“Most people who come to us just know that they want to be better communicators,” she said. “They don’t only realize through that whole process you become a better communicator and speaker, but you also develop leadership skills so you can run meetings and run contests.”
Throughout the process, members are given suggestions to improve with their speech and leadership skills.
“We are a very uplifting club,” she said. “We want to have people come in and enjoy their speaking experiences. It is a learning experience for people to get through that process of being nervous. They become a Toastmaster to come out of their shell, be better people and learn how to articulate themselves as speakers.”
The local club has 20 members from Okotoks, Black Diamond, Turner Valley, High River and Blackie who meet in Okotoks three times monthly.
In 2014, the club achieved Presidents Distinguished, the highest recognition a club can receive from Toastmasters International.
Toastmasters uses a points system to rate club performance and Big Rock Pioneer Toastmasters scored nine out of 10.
To learn more about the club go to bigrockpioneertoastmasters.com
Those interested in being a part of a Toastmasters club in High River can email [email protected]
