Learning Public Speaking with Toastmasters

A few months back, it was my first time to get invited to give a talk. I personally believe that I have to start somewhere and that was a good place to start.It was a privilege to get invited to talk and after that seminar, I decided to improve on my skills.

I was in search for a place where I could learn to talk in public. After doing a little Google search, it just gave me some weird results like "English language school", "Language partner", etc. It's not what I want. I wanted to learn how to speak in front of a public, not have an english conversation.

This is the point where I remembered a friend of mine telling me about Toastmasters. My first impression? I thought it was a wine tasting club or something. Next in line, I thought it has something to do with sailing or similar to those yacht clubs.

I was wrong. Toastmasters is the place I was looking for. I was willing to pay back then for tuition to learn public speaking. This is even better because you don't need to pay for tuition! Every meeting, there will be a general evaluator who evaluates your speech. The good thing about this is, they will encourage you to do better by giving advices and recommendations. You will also get the chance to participate every meeting.

I just started 5 months back and I learned a lot already. I became aware of the "uhms" and the "ahs". Notice how annoying some speakers can be when they say "uhm" and "ah"? In here, you will be aware of it very much because somebody will be counting it.

If you join, you will be given a set of manuals and free subscription to the Toastmasters magazine. The small fee is used to pay for the materials. For me, I think the membership fee is very worth it compared to the knowledge you will gain! I paid around 3,000 pesos (Forgot the exact figure) and that is for 1 year already, inclusive of all the books/ manuals!

Also, this is the first bilingual Toastmasters club in the Philippines. We meet every 1st and 3rd Wednesday of the month in Figaro Coffee (across Capital Medical Center). Email us to check for schedule and location changes (if ever there are).

Emperor Toastmasters Club is the first bilingual club in the Philippines that speaks both English and Mandarin ( Putonghua ). In our club, we help men and women become more confident in front of an audience in one or both languages.Our learn-by-doing approach, done in a fun-filled party atmosphere and a supportive environment, in the company of interesting people and good food, are sure to help you become a better speaker and leader.

If you want to join, shoot me an email at cheftonio@gmail.com or go to our club website at: http://emperor.freetoasthost.com/

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Cheftonio
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