NakedWombat
Member
I was going to post this in the Tourettes Syndrome section but I decided to post it here as Toastmasters can help many people with different matters to deal with.
I did originally join Toastmasters International for the interest of speaking and listening to speeches. This was before I was diagnosed with Tourettes Syndrome but did find that it did help with my speech and self confidence and self esteem.
You can find the website for Toastmasters International here and, you can go straight to the club finder page here.
I joined in early 2005 and during this time, I have seen and heard of people joined Toastmasters for many reasons including promotion in their chosen career, something to do, various medical issues and more.
Anxiety is one of the reasons. In my club, we have a few members who have some anxiety. One of our newer members made her anxiety and agrophobia a point in her first speech(Ice Breaker) where you introduce yourself and tell people something about yourself. She recently did her 3rd speech and you can see her confidence levels building already.
I did hear of a member in another club who was so scared that she hid behind the lectern while delivering speech. Nobody could see her but by the 10th and final speaking exercise in the first Communication book, she would talk away from the lectern and speak confidently.
Myself, I use Toastmasters for interest and because I find that it helps me manage my Tourettes Syndrome. Over time though, I have learned that I cannot fully control my TS so I adapt it into what I am doing as it acts up. An example is when I was visiting a club and I was speaking. My hands came up to clap so I caught them and pulled my hands in under my chin and stood quietly so I looked as if I was thinking what to say next. Most of the people there do not know I have TS and they would have been left to wonder what the clap was all about. It certainly helps me to learn to think on my feet.
You can count this as my Testimonial for joining Toastmasters International or another group similar such as Rostrum. During my time, I have served as on the club executive as; Secretary, Vice President Public Relations and now, I am serving as the Club President until the end of June. From July, I will be the Area 4 Governor. The Area Governor is a position which serves to guide and help clubs within your area.
I have added two YouTube clips. The first is my first advance level speech. It may be a little hard to hear without headphones. The images are photos that change.
The second video is not a speech but putting a speech together. This has a lot of examples what you do NOT do in a speech but I was putting it together for my first attempt as a contestant in the International Speaker competition. I only just missed out on representing the Area my club falls into at Division level.
I did originally join Toastmasters International for the interest of speaking and listening to speeches. This was before I was diagnosed with Tourettes Syndrome but did find that it did help with my speech and self confidence and self esteem.
You can find the website for Toastmasters International here and, you can go straight to the club finder page here.
I joined in early 2005 and during this time, I have seen and heard of people joined Toastmasters for many reasons including promotion in their chosen career, something to do, various medical issues and more.
Anxiety is one of the reasons. In my club, we have a few members who have some anxiety. One of our newer members made her anxiety and agrophobia a point in her first speech(Ice Breaker) where you introduce yourself and tell people something about yourself. She recently did her 3rd speech and you can see her confidence levels building already.
I did hear of a member in another club who was so scared that she hid behind the lectern while delivering speech. Nobody could see her but by the 10th and final speaking exercise in the first Communication book, she would talk away from the lectern and speak confidently.
Myself, I use Toastmasters for interest and because I find that it helps me manage my Tourettes Syndrome. Over time though, I have learned that I cannot fully control my TS so I adapt it into what I am doing as it acts up. An example is when I was visiting a club and I was speaking. My hands came up to clap so I caught them and pulled my hands in under my chin and stood quietly so I looked as if I was thinking what to say next. Most of the people there do not know I have TS and they would have been left to wonder what the clap was all about. It certainly helps me to learn to think on my feet.
You can count this as my Testimonial for joining Toastmasters International or another group similar such as Rostrum. During my time, I have served as on the club executive as; Secretary, Vice President Public Relations and now, I am serving as the Club President until the end of June. From July, I will be the Area 4 Governor. The Area Governor is a position which serves to guide and help clubs within your area.
I have added two YouTube clips. The first is my first advance level speech. It may be a little hard to hear without headphones. The images are photos that change.
The second video is not a speech but putting a speech together. This has a lot of examples what you do NOT do in a speech but I was putting it together for my first attempt as a contestant in the International Speaker competition. I only just missed out on representing the Area my club falls into at Division level.
