Innovations

The Big Sweat
Fear of Public Speaking

Norm Englund

It was a fairly large class that afternoon. But even so, the instructor began by asking each person to stand up and give their name, the department they worked in and tell a little bit about themselves’. Just my luck, as I was at the back of the class to the right, I had to wait out the introductions of about thirty people. With each introduction, as it got closer to me, my nerves increased and I start perspiring. What would I say? What would they all think of me? Finally, after what seemed like an eternity it was my turn. In a very nervous voice I began, “My name is Norm Englund and I …

Sound familiar? In polls taken through the years, public speaking is always among the greatest of fears among people; even greater than flying or dying. Like many people I shared this fear and inwardly wished that I could overcome it. I wished that I could stand up in front of a gathering of people and confidently and comfortably present a message; one that my audience would find witty and valuable, leaving many of them thinking, “Wow, I wish I could do that.” Well the good news is that you can! Toastmasters is an international club that was created to help people all over the world to overcome their fear of public speaking.

In January of 2004, as I was finding myself in public speaking situations more and more in my job, and obviously uncomfortable with it, I was encouraged to look into a Toastmasters group that met every Tuesday from 12:00pm till 1:00pm in Schmitz Hall. Before committing to, and subjecting myself to such an uncomfortable environment on a weekly basis, I decided first attend a few meetings as a guest, to see if I really wanted to do this. What I found in just three meetings was remarkable. First, I was in an environment with about twenty people who shared the same fear as I did. But in a very casual, non threatening way, they were all helping each other overcome their public speaking fears. Every person in the room was a participant in some speaking role, with those having the least experience having very small roles and those with greater experience with more significant roles. There was a lot of laughter, some very personal and interesting speeches, some fun speaking games and a great deal of positive, yet constructive input to and from all participants. But what really amazed me was to see first hand the individual development of several people within the group within just three weeks. I could see them gaining confidence, making eye contact with people, using hand gestures and body language to emphasis points, learning how to project, organizing speeches better, using visual aids and learning how to think on their feet better.

After three weeks, I became a member of the group, and after a few months and several speeches behind me, I found myself in front of groups of people delivering my messages with humor and confidence, without getting nervous and sweaty: pretty much everything I had sought to come away with from Toastmasters. But the part that really makes me a believer is that not only did I recognize my own growth in this area, but that many other people apart from Toastmasters have commented on how much I have grown in the last several months as a public speaker.

If you are among the many who have the dreaded fear of getting up in front of people and talking, this is an organization that I highly recommend. If you are interested in seeing how a Toastmasters meeting goes, but are unsure about making such a commitment, I would encourage you to attend an upcoming meeting as a guest. For details you may call either Diane Cooley at 543-8682 or Kyra Worrell at 616-0305.

Toastmasters hosted a Brown Bag Lunch Showcase at the Ethnic Culture Center in June. The Showcase was set up as if it were a regular meeting to give spectators an idea of how regular meetings are conducted. We saw many of you there, and we hope to see many more of you at the weekly FM Toastmasters meetings starting Tuesday, September 12th.