Welcome to Capital City Toastmasters!!
If you are looking for a place to improve your communication and leadership skills you have found it. In fact, you have found the place. Toastmasters has been training people in the art of public speaking for over 85 years. What started as a single club in the YMCA in Santa Ana, California has exploded into over 13,000 clubs in 116 countries. Toastmasters is a highly organized, incredibly successful, and internationally acclaimed organization.
I joined Toastmasters in 2008 because I was sick and tired of being afraid. My whole life I knew that I had this fear but I never faced it. Then one day my latent fear dealt me a painful blow of shame. I was at a retirement party for a family friend. Towards the end of the dinner engagement the microphone was being passed around the room of nearly 200 people. My friend’s wife, sitting at our table, asked me to share a funny story but I politely refused. I knew if I stood up to tell the story my hands would shake, my voice would quiver and I would make a fool of myself. “No thanks. I’ll pass.”
But my friend’s wife persisted, until out of frustration she asked her husband to get up and tell the story. He did indeed tell the story and used me for the punch line. He twisted the account into a tall tale and literally ridiculed me in front of a room full of my peers and people whom I respected. He was goading me into taking the mic, but I was too afraid; so I did nothing. When my friend was done making me into laughing stock, I was so mad I thought it would come to blows. So I sat on my hands and fumed in an impotent rage. As time passed, I realized that I wasn’t really mad at my friend, I was mad at myself for being afraid. I didn’t want to be afraid anymore.
So I joined Toastmasters to overcome my fear of public speaking. The truth is I still get a little nervous when I speak in public, but I am so much more able to communicate clearly and confidently. What I gained from joining Toastmasters far surpassed my wildest expectations. Being able to speak in front of small and large groups, or even with assurance in front of important people, has opened doors I didn’t even know existed. Since joining Toastmasters… I toasted my brother at his wedding (that is a story all by itself); I was promoted at work (now somebody tell my boss to give me a stinking raise!); I gave a 40 minute technical presentation at an important execute conference and the list goes on… I was even asked to speak and to pray at my grandmother’s funeral. All of this was possible because I chose to walk through those doors at Capital City Toastmasters and face my fear.
When I finally did join Toastmasters one of the things that gave me the most comfort was seeing people of various different abilities. There were people as nervous as I, which made me feel at home. It would have been horrible if I were the only person in the room who was nervous! But there were also people just getting the knack of it and still people who were absolutely amazing. This made me realize that it was possible to go from being the guy frozen with fear to the guy who steps up to the mic and speaks with confidence.
You are welcome to come down and join us anytime—guests are always welcome. Capital City Toastmasters is a safe place where you can chisel away at your fears, learn to communicate more effectively, and develop friendships that last a lifetime.
Brian Monroe– CC, CL
President, Capital City Toastmasters