Destination Success: Toastmasters builds skills, confidence, friendships

Sinara Stull O'Donnell is a professional speaker and writer through Springfield-based SinaraSpeaks. She is the author of "Be The Star Of Your Life: Are You Ready For Your Close-Up?"

About 20 years ago, I made a life-changing decision. I was at a book-launch party for a friend of mine and ran into a friend of his who told me he had met my friend at a Toastmasters meeting. Are you still with me? This was typical networking.

My contact talked up the group, and I agreed to attend. Then, I found out the bad news. This particular Toastmasters club met at 7 a.m. in Glendale, Calif. I was living in Santa Monica at the time, and that meant I had to get up at 5:30 a.m. to get to the meeting on time. No way! My new best friend, Ernie Weckbaugh, was very persuasive, however, and said, "Just come once."

That "once" has been a 20-year adventure involving clubs in Glendale, Santa Monica, Simi Valley and Springfield. I have gone to breakfast, dinner and meetings at company locations.

One of my first calls upon arriving in Springfield was to the local Toastmasters club. The person answering my questions was Marlene Chism, now a great friend.

So, what is this group that got me up at 5:30 a.m. and has kept me coming back for more than 20 years?

Toastmasters International is a 195,000-member club with 9,300 clubs in 80 countries. The organization was founded in 1924, and its purpose remains the same: to help members speak more effectively. The format is very nonthreatening. There is participation of some kind at every meeting, but formal speeches proceed at the member's own pace. For more information go to www.toastmasters.org.

Rebecca Baker, president of the Springfield Toastmasters Club, joined in Peabody, Mass., and transferred to the Springfield club. Baker is a nurse in her professional life. She initially joined Toastmasters after a back injury. She was unable to do physical work, so her boss decided that she would make educational presentations. She joined Toastmasters to improve her speaking skills.

Baker said that Toastmasters has helped her in communication with other medical staff as well as patients. "It is advantageous for anyone to join Toastmasters," Baker said. "There are so many things to learn about communicating, both privately and publicly. One of my favorite things is to watch as a Toastmaster transforms from their first speech to their third or fourth to their 10th. Sometimes you cannot believe you are listening to the same person! We call it watching people to get their butterflies to fly in formation!"

When I first moved to Springfield from California, I felt I had butterflies of a different sort. I was lonely. Although my parents lived here, I didn't have any friends, and since I was working from home I wasn't meeting people in the workplace as my husband was. Returning to Toastmasters changed all that, and I made friends immediately.

It was also in Toastmasters that I gained the confidence to begin speaking professionally. Many people have asked me why I still attend Toastmasters when I am now a professional speaker. The answer is very simple: I have never attended a meeting that I did not enjoy and learn something.

Twenty years ago, I made a life changing decision, which has become a lifelong decision. Here are 10 reasons you should join Toastmasters:

you will improve both your off-the-cuff and prepared speeches;

you will make both personal and business connections;

you will become a better listener;

you will learn to conduct meetings that are on time and are organized;

you will learn speaking etiquette;

you will be motivated and enthralled by the information you learn from each speaker;

you will understand how to overcome stage fright;

you will increase your self-esteem through speaking confidence;

you will learn how to evaluate another in a way that is both kind and helpful; and

you will have fun.