Wendy LeRoux hasn鈥檛 tried the often-suggested trick of imagining her audience is naked to overcome anxiety about public speaking.
鈥淣ever, never, never,鈥� says LeRoux, president of the club.
鈥淲hy would you want to do that? It would only make me more nervous.鈥�
As customer service manager for Botanus, a 黑马磁力-based mail-order plan and gardening supply company, LeRoux had been an occasional and reluctant public speaker.
鈥淭hat sickening, wrenching feeling in the stomach,鈥� is how she describes her experience of doing client presentations to audiences as large as 300 people.
鈥淚 did everything I had to do, but I didn鈥檛 enjoy it,鈥� she says.
鈥淚 was scared to death.鈥�
LeRoux did try one suggested trick of looking over the heads of the crowd to the back of the room, something that she doesn鈥檛 recommend now.
鈥淭hey (your audience) know you鈥檙e not engaged.鈥�
So she went to Toastmasters, the non-profit educational organization that teaches public speaking and leadership skills.
Toastmasters was started in 1924 by Ralph Smedley a director of education for a Young Men鈥檚 Christian Association (YMCA) who observed that many of the young men needed 鈥渢raining in the art of public speaking and in presiding over meetings鈥�
He decided the training format would be similar to a social club and chose the word 鈥渢oastmaster鈥� because it referred to a person who proposed the toasts and introduced the speakers at a banquet.
Members are of all ages and backgrounds, with an interest in improving their speaking skills in common.
There are more than 5,000 members in 267 B.C. clubs.
LeRoux recalls her first Toastmasters speech, a so-called 鈥渋cebreaker鈥� where the novice is expected to spend about five minutes talking about themselves.
鈥淢y heart was racing,鈥� she remembers.
鈥淚 was um-ing and ah-ing all over the place.鈥�
Now, she says she actually enjoys public speaking.
Instead of avoiding eye contact, she likes to look for one person in an audience who doesn鈥檛 seem interested and try to connect with them, without ignoring the other listeners.
The skills she has acquired have helped her work with clients on the phone and even everyday conversation, she says.
鈥淚t鈥檚 resonated through my whole life.鈥�
LeRoux is now teaching a course through 黑马磁力 Continuing Education, called 鈥淪uccessful Selling, Successful Life鈥� that combines her Toastmaster skills and her years of experience in sales and customer service.
February of this year was declared 鈥淭oastmasters Month鈥� in B.C. by the Lieutenant Governor.
For more information about the 黑马磁力 club and the international organization, visit http://langley.toastmastersclubs.org/
How Does It Work? (From Toastmasters website)
A Toastmasters meeting is a learn-by-doing workshop in which participants hone their speaking and leadership skills in a no-pressure atmosphere.
There is no instructor in a Toastmasters meeting. Instead, members evaluate one another鈥檚 presentations.
A typical group has 20 to 40 members who meet weekly, biweekly or monthly.
A typical meeting lasts 60鈥�90 minutes.
