The Journey

I am NOT going to talk about the toastmaster’s movement tonight; you probably know more than I do. Instead, I shall share my journey so far, with you.

The past year, had been a year of immense learning for me, because I joined and became the charter Vice President of Education in this club. I could still remember the struggles of setting up the club as if it was yesterday.

At one point, we almost couldn’t get enough interested parties to form the charter club. So when we finally submitted the papers in September 2003, the whole lot of us absolutely beamed with pride.

During the club’s charter night last year, then division D governor Michael Rodrigues told us that the journey had in fact, just begun. This is an in-house club, and we most definitely will be facing a different set of challenges ahead of us.

As the year wore on, the club lost some of her charter members and gained some new members. We even lost 50% of the Executive Committee members.

The whole burden of leading and growing the club fell solidly onto the remaining 4 members. Soon, Leonard, Felix and I were double-hatting, triple-hatting, just to make sure that the meetings went smoothly.

In between the meetings, we were conducting membership drives, trying out lunchtime meetings and organizing speechcraft sessions. The guys basically took care of the logistics while I took care of the agenda and filling of the various appointments with Angela’s help.

Frankly, it was painful being VPE. For the past year, I had to beg the members to take the first step forward and to continue practicing their public speaking skills, literally.

Almost every single time, even before the meeting started, I was on my way to find the appointment holders and speakers for the next meeting.

Only once. Only once, we let the meeting slip. The president was on a business trip, no one responded that they were coming, I did not have speakers or appointment holders; all I had were the evaluators whom we had invited. We cancelled that meeting.

While begging members to fill up the slots and the various appointments, it dawned on me that there was no SINGLE pitch that worked, even for a simple call for personal development.

We had members who wanted to only do the 10 basic projects and not take up any appointments for various reasons.

We had members who were so happy filling the various appointments that they didn’t do any project speeches at all.

We had members whom we have never seen since the first meeting, but they gladly pay the membership dues and continue to be a toastmaster.

What actually drives them to attend meetings, take up the various appointments and better their skills? Believe me, I’m still finding out.

I’ve learnt my lessons, some the hard way.

Lesson number 1: Team work helps a long way. Without that solid teamwork, we couldn’t have pulled the whole stint off. We were relying on one another, filling for each other if someone couldn’t make it, we shared each other’s burdens.

Lesson number 2: shit happens. Apply the 90/10 rule. We can’t control what happens sometimes, but we can control how we react to the situation. Rules are set for us to follow, but we have to exercise flexibility and creativity at the same time.

Lesson number 3: It’s not one-size-fits-all. What works for one, may not necessarily work for another. We had to come up with various tactics and techniques, more than we ever had to do anywhere else.

It’s amazing how being in the toastmaster environment sharpens both your verbal and leadership skills. Trust me, there’s so much to learn, from the official protocol, to rules governing the human to human interaction.

If you are still considering picking up the application form or continuing the membership, please do so. I assure you that it will be money well spent, if you keep an open mind.

My journey in toastmasters continues, even after stepping down as VPE, after completing my 10 basic projects. All of us, you included, have worked so hard to come so far. Let’s keep the fire going, and continue our endeavor in pursuing communication and leadership excellence. I’ve shared my journey, and I hope in time to come, you will share yours with us too…

Toastmaster of the Evening.