Chatham-Kent Toastmasters club improves your public speaking and leadership skills in a fun way
It all began six months ago when I finally dared to attend a Toastmasters club meeting in Toronto (club #911145/Bay & Adelaide Speakers Club). I learned about Toastmasters from my brother-in-law Mohammad Meimandi who happens to be my best friend too. Mohammad was a member at the time. He is still an active member. He suggested that the club could help me improve my public speaking skills. A trip to Toronto lead to a visit to their club. It was love at first sight. Members from every walk of life were involved in different activities of the meeting. The speeches were really interesting. The crowd was friendly, and some of the members were amazingly skillful.
For those of you who are not familiar with Toastmasters I should mention that Toastmasters International is a not-for-profit organization which helps the members enhance their public speaking and leadership skills. Every Toastmasters club consists of some members who take different roles voluntarily. The roles help them enhance their personal skills and conduct the club business. They deliver prepared speeches, impromptu speeches (off-the-cuff speeches), evaluate other speeches, conduct table topics (impromptu speaking section of the meetings), chair the meetings, run competitions at club or higher levels, and so on. It is an effective and fun way to improve yourself.
When I got back home to Chatham, I thought to myself that I need to find our own club. I was hesitant though. The majority of Chatham population are native speakers. I was worried that I might not be able to benefit from a group whose mother tongue language is English. They do not face the same problems that I face after all. I have limited vocabulary, struggle with following correct grammatical rules, and do not pronounce every word correctly. My accent is also different. I was worried that they might pull my legs because of my accent.
I soon proved to be wrong. I googled “Chatham-Kent Toastmasters” and found the club’s website. I then contacted the president of the club Louise Stallaert. She was very friendly. She invited me to attend their upcoming meeting. She explained that I can attend up to three of the meetings as a guest. She also mentioned that their meetings take place at GreenField Ethanol plant board room every Monday from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm.
I attended the meeting with a friend Seyed Hajimirza the next Monday. We were greeted warmly by Pat Zimmer the former president of the club and Louise Stallaert. Other members were also very friendly. To my surprise the mother tongue language of some members was not English. That was a relief for sure.
I was convinced to join and actually signed up the very next week as a member. I have had many achievements since then. I got appointed as the Vice President of Education for our Toastmasters club (#608382). I also managed to complete all of the speeches – 10 to be exact – of the “Competent Communicator” manual and awarded the CC certificate. I am currently on my way to get my “Competent Leadership” and “Advanced Communicator Bronze” certificates. This has been a great experience for me. I am now a lot more confident in public speaking. I can speak in front of a large group of people with rare uses of Ah’s and Um’s and filler words. I have also learned a lot of new words and phrases from my fellow Toastmasters.
I would like to finish this post by thanking my fellow Toastmasters who helped me improve my communication, public speaking, networking, and leadership skills. It is because of you that I joined “Cultural Coalition of Chatham-Kent” as a board member. It is because of you that I feel more welcome in our small cozy charming Chatham.
If you are a Chatham-Kent resident and would like to know more about Toastmasters you have up to three clubs to choose from.
- Chatham-Kent club – Mondays 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm
- Chatham on the Thames club – Thursdays 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm
- Union Gas club (Union Gas employees only)
You may attend any of the clubs as a guest for up to three times. If you need more information about any of these clubs or Toastmasters as a whole leave a comment below. I will provide you with further information. You may alternatively click here for contact information of Chatham-Kent clubs.
Don’t hesitate! This is a great opportunity that you can’t afford to miss.
Persian post (not a translation)
Hi dear friend!
how is your day?
I am living Narmak area in Tehran city where You know well and I found it out these kind of communications have helped ppl over there specially who has non-English maternal language to make democracy, learned flexibility and how tolerant each other and live their own pleasured life to the fullest under law flag.how do their best at moment and find happieness over there even when their dear family may be so far away!
Thank You for let us to know more about the high level life style existing over there may help us to make our better world togeather!
after all sorry for my broken language I found it here internatinal so dare to speek English
be joyous,cheers
Shahrokh
Hello Shahrokh,
Thanks very much for leaving a comment here. No worries about your communication skills. Keep up the good work and visit me more often.
Cheers
[...] من مطلبی را در خصوص تجربه شخصی خودم با Toastmasters به زبان انگلیسی نوشته ام. همه خوانندگان را به مطالعه این مطلب و بخصوص نظرات سایر Toastmasterها در زیر آن جلب می کنم [لینک]. [...]
Al,
Thank you for this great article! You really capture what Toastmaster’s means to a lot of people. It’s not just improving communication skills in a safe environment, it’s also about widening horizons – meeting new people and getting to know topics and people you may have never met otherwise.
This article made me proud to be a Toastmaster.
Thank you.
LB
Hi Leah,
I quite agree with you. You mentioned an important point.
Thanks for your feedback
Hi Al,
Using various means to communicate the reason why people enjoy Toastmasters is an excellent idea. Kudos!
I would like to assure anyone reading this page that, while Al is very motivated and is quickly doing speech after speech, people who join are able to advance at their own pace.
Some members of the club who’ve been involved for longer than Al still haven’t done as many speeches. (Myself included.)
That’s the beauty of the club, people are allowed to move along at their own pace … when their comfort level allows them to feel ready to tackle the next challenge. That being said, Al, our current V.P. of Education, is right there to encourage us; especially through his own actions and activity.
I also want to note that another benefit of being a Toastmaster is enhancing one’s listening skills. I have found that to be very helpful to me in my career. Being able to focus on what people are saying, to ensure that the complete message is received, is a valuable skill.
I hope to see new members at a Chatham-Kent Toastmasters meeting. We’ll welcome all newcomers the same way that we welcomed Al and Seyed, and those that have joined since them. We’re a growing club, … come see why!
Lori
Hi Lori,
Well said. These are good points that people need to keep in mind: “Progress in your own terms and at your own pace”
Thanks
Good Afternoon,
Toastmasters, what can I say that you have not already covered! I am very proud to say that I am a chartered member of 3 clubs (Chatham-Kent, Downtown on the Thames and the Canadian Club) and it gives me such a warm feeling to be associated with so many very energetic people that want to take their destination into their own hands to succeed! Thank you for sharing your personal life experiences, just as you have shared them in your many speeches. I am personally looking forward to hearing your next one. Congratulations Al on becoming a board member of the “Cultural Coalition of Chatham-Kent”. It is people like yourself that make Chatham-Kent and Toastmasters a place to live, grow and have fun!
Pat
You certainly made my day. You are a valuable asset to Chatham-Kent and our club. It is an honour to receive such a good comment from our Citizen of the Year.
Thanks Pat.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Alireza Parsai, Joanne Martin. Joanne Martin said: A Testimonial for Toastmasters: http://www.aparsai.ca/english/?p=37 [...]
Hello,
I am a fellow toastmaster and I am commenting on this posting at your email request. I agree that Toastmasters clubs are welcoming, which also drew me to them. I hope your excellent description and enthusiasm draws new members to your club. Our club, like yours, also welcomes non-native speakers. Perhaps in a future posting you can talk about some of the speeches you have given, their topics, and what it was like for you to prepare and deliver them. I bet people would enjoy hearing about that (I would). Also, may I mention a typo? (I’d want someone to tell me, just like if I had toilet paper sticking to the bottom of my shoe)–crowed should be crowd. Thank you for writing this!
Hello Debbie,
Thanks very much for the correction. I quite agree with. Your comment clearly shows how supportive the members of Toastmasters are. We are just like a large family who love to help each other being better speakers. I will write more about my Toastmasters experience in the future. Thanks for the suggestion. Please visit me again.
Cheers
As a Canadian who has also had the experience of living overseas for a time – in Australia – like Al, I found Toastmasters to be a great place to meet people, to learn the culture, and to make friends. Now back in Chatham, I am delighted to see a number of newcomers like Al who have joined our local Toastmasters club. Al is a great asset to the club. He has progressed very quickly in his skills and, in addition, as VP – Education, has gone a long way to help others to develop their skills as well. Personally, I have learned a great deal from him, and have been quite moved by his passionate speeches. Toastmasters? It’s not only a safe and friendly place to develop your speaking skills. It’s a way to build community!
Joanne,
You made my day. Thanks very much. It is because of people like you that I love what I’m doing.