A Toastmasters meeting is a learn-by-doing workshop in which participants hone their speaking and leadership skills in a friendly atmosphere. A typical group has 20 to 40 members who meet weekly, biweekly or monthly. The average meeting lasts 60 – 90 minutes.It's also a place where you can go and practice delivering your speeches in front of an audience. The goal for toastmasters is to become confident in speaking in front of an audience and practice on delivering their content clearly and crisply so the audience can understand you. Really, the main goal is to learn how to speak in front of an audience with confidence. It's a confidence builder. I've done many speeches in front of a bunch of people but I was curious about doing this toastmaster thing a few years ago when I was living in New Mexico. And sure enough there was one in the town of Alamogordo where I lived. I met some new friends there and had the opportunity to pick a topic to deliver my speech. The first few was about educating the audience about hearing loss and communication issues. And later gravitated towards more general topics and themes not related to deafness. It was a neat thing to do that and the chance observe and listen to other toastmasters when they had their chance to speak. The cool thing is that after a speech we the opportunity to help the speaker by giving some constructive and positive criticisms on how to improve their speaking. I often gave advice on not about speaking loudly but rather learning how to project one's voice better. There is a difference between talking loudly versus projecting one's voice.
Since my move away from New Mexico I am in the process of finding a nearby Toastermaster club and I expect it to be a bigger group of people. And perhaps a better chance on meeting people with hearing loss. The one back in New Mexico was a small group and all were hearing people. About 7 people.
But believe it or not there is a website for toastmasters with a hearing loss. In fact, it's common to see once in a while people who are deaf or hard of hearing use their speaking skill at Toastmaster clubs such as this group of deaf/hh teens.
When OSST members Rick Kominowski and Terry Bedard coordinated a Youth Leadership Program (YLP) for a group of deaf teens, they had no idea what an impact this Program would make! This YLP, generally developed by Toastmasters International and sponsored by OSST, was adapted for a group of orally-speaking deaf teens from a support organiza-tion called Hear Here Hart-ford, (www.hearherehartford.org). Who would have thought that 12 teens from all over Connecticut and Massachusetts would travel great distances to come to six weekly meetings on a Monday night—all to de-velop their communication and leadership skills! Each teen gave two different speeches; evaluated each others speeches; and participated in impromptu speaking contests judged by mentor volunteers from Hear Here Hartford. Many experienced Toastmasters volunteered as well by giving educational modules to teach various communications skills such as impromptu speaking, listening, organizing thoughts, and using positive body language. Leadership skills were also developed by allowing each teen to assume roles such as toastmaster, grammarian, and timer.Also, an interesting history in what HHH did.
Does this sound like a typical Toastmaster meeting? In some ways, it was— but the teens definitely made it their own. They chose different themes for each meeting like a Hawaiian theme; costume dress up; 60’s; mismatch; and sports theme. At the last YLP meeting, each teen gave a speech in front of parents, as well as volunteers from Toast-masters and Hear Here Hartford (HHH). Each received a certificate from Toastmasters International evidencing the successful completion of the YLP. As the Pro-gram drew to a close, the teens commented on how they wished the meetings would have lasted longer because they were enjoying them so much. What the adults all noted was the dramatic progress each teen made over such a short time!
Several HHH teen members who participated in the 2008 HHH Youth Leadership Program spoke at the AG Bell National Convention in Orlando on June 26th along with HHH President, Terry Bedard.
Inspirational speakers at Hear Here Hartford include:
Kathy Buckley, comedienne and author, who entertained our audience while sharing her views on overcoming the challenges of hearing loss.
Patrick Holkins, a Harvard student, discussed his road to acceptance of his hearing loss and how he developed self-advocacy skills.
Miss International, Jayna Altman, inspired our teen members with her message of positive empowerment.
Josh Swiller, a Yale graduate who wrote the book, The Unheard: A Memoir of Deafness and Africa.
Angus McCusker inspired our Chapter members when he shared his life experiences as a cross country ski racer in the Deaflympics.Speaking skills come in all kinds and levels of ability. Some strive to use their speaking skill by improving it. Some strive to make better use of their oratory skill by facing their fears in front of an audience. Or polish their leadship skill by speaking. And that's great. It's a way to develop a skill in order to conquer keep their fear, embarrassment, lack of confidence, or simply the need to improve oneself. There is nothing wrong with using your oral and listening skills. There's nothing wrong if people with hearing loss choose to and prefer to speak. Toastmasters Club is an excellent place to go and practice speaking in front of an audience. It isn't as easy as it sounds. But give it a try. Share what skill you have and not be embarrassed!
