Post: #26

Just drop in. Guests can attend for free and the groups tend to be very friendly and welcoming. See what it's like, and then ask to join. The membership fee varies per club but tends to be very reasonable. You'll get the Toastmasters manual, which contains ten speeches for you to give (with no deadline - so it's very flexible).

Once you've joined, if you aren't doing a speech you may be assigned other roles - Evaluator, Timekeeper, Grammarian, etc - which are designed to help the meeting run smoothly, help you practice a bit of public speaking, and help the rest of the group.

There is also Table Topics - where you get assigned a random topic to talk about and have to come up with something to say with zero preparation. Participation is optional. It's scary but definitely helps you get over fears of speaking in public.

After joining a gym and starting a business, joining Toastmasters was one of the best things I've done in life. You should definitely check it out!

Post: #27

sold

Post: #28

(03-19-2012 08:15 PM)Riker Wrote:  I got a job at a call center and I bother people on the phone all day. I've never talked so much in my life I can already see my game improving from all the talking and having to think on your feet.

Excellent point!

I used to work in Collections (Credit Card, Mortgage, 3rd party) and I even though I had a decent mouthpiece way but then, talking to people from ALL walks of life, ethnic backgrounds & political views gave me real-life boot camp in problem-solving real life issues.

In 5 mins, I would have listen to 20 years of financial missteps, breakups and nasty divorces (Counselor Game), console a teary eyed widow (Comfort Game), and still convince her to give me her last $800 dollars from her pension to square up her past due mortgage (Pimp Game).

Funny, how a 9-5 grind can help you years down the line with scooping chicks and negotiating your way through life in general.