Congratulations
Congratulations to all the passers of Social Work Licensure Examination held last February 2022: Rhoda A. Alvarado, Marmolejo A. Alipio, Jr., and Renalyn S. Sison.
CSAV welcomes Southland College Kabankalan
Congratulations
Become A Public Speaker Through Toastmasters
By Rose Anne Picante
As humans, there will be a point in our lives when we need to face a crowd and deliver a speech. However, most of the time, we want to step back and hide behind the curtains because we are afraid of judgment from other people. We have this self-doubt which makes us feel insecure about the things that might go wrong while giving our speeches. As beginners, that’s perfectly normal but with practice, you will learn that public speaking is a fun and adventurous journey.
I, for one, am afraid of public speaking. Why? It’s because you have to write a speech and deliver it not in front of your friends but front of a sea of strangers. Pretty scary right? But that’s where you would get the most sincere response from your speech. Another thing that makes me afraid of public speaking is my insecurity about my looks. I don’t have the confidence to face others like other people but thanks to Toastmasters, I am finally overcoming my stage fright and lack of confidence.
Toastmasters International. It is a non-profit educational organization that teaches people public speaking as well as leadership skills. I believe this is your first time hearing about this organization as well. Honestly speaking, most people have no idea that this public speaking organization actually exists and already helped a lot of professionals build their careers as public speakers. I, for example, also didn't know about Toastmasters until my uncle who is a Toastmaster District Director introduced it to me way back in 2018. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to continue my Toastmaster journey because of my far location until last October 2021 when First Farmers’ Toastmasters Club President, Ms. Celeste Ganaba reached out to me. Seeing that we are currently in a pandemic situation and the club meetings are now done through Zoom, I talked to my aunt and uncle about my membership so I can start my Toastmasters journey.
My first meeting with the members after 3 years was heart-pounding. I enjoyed the meeting, especially the Table Topics session which is the “Impromptu Speaking” part of the meeting. It was fun and the members were friendly but I wasn’t expecting Toastmaster Celeste to ask me about my thoughts on the meeting. As I am not that confident in my English, I was nervous. Not only am I facing public speakers, but people who are also working professionals. Seeing that I am the only student in the club made me feel anxious.
However, as the meetings every Tuesday night went on, I gradually relaxed and was already able to take on some meeting roles such as the Timer. After a month, I was finally able to deliver my speech which is called the Ice Breaker Speech. To tell you, it was a nerve-wracking experience delivering the speech on zoom but I know that the pounding of my heart would have been doubled if I delivered it in front of them and not just on my screen. Thankfully, I was able to get great feedback from the Evaluators who are also members of the club whose role is to evaluate the speeches of the members. This only proves that Toastmasters International is a great organization and a community to harness your public speaking skills.
After my Ice Breaker speech, the club meetings went on until one night, Toastmaster Celeste asked me to join a contest. Every year, each club of Toastmasters International around the world would gather to compete. Toastmaster Celeste and other members of the First Farmers Toastmasters Club asked me if I wanted to compete in the Area 2 Contest. I was hesitant at first since I’m still new and I still have a lot to learn but they said that it would be a great experience for me. And it was indeed an amazing experience! Our club was able to bag all the awards and I won 2nd place in the Table Topics session. As of the moment, all of us are preparing as we advance to the next level which is the Division Contest this March 26, 2022, where we will compete with other Area winners.
From a shy person to a confident speaker. Toastmasters International is such a great way to start your public speaking journey. And even though my public speaking skills are not yet that developed and I still have a long way to go, yet, with continuous practice and with the help of my club members, I believe that I will be successful in my public speaking journey.