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[erzsi]

I feel very silly admitting this, given the fact that most people on my friends list could probably speak to a room of people blind-folded and naked after about ten cups of coffee (in fact, please raise your hand if you've done exactly that), but I finally joined Toastmasters and gave my first speech today!  I'm unreasonably excited, since

Comments

[deeptape]

Congrats!

[tanjent]

Woo! Soon we'll be seeing you on TV, speaking before a crowd of millions. :)

[rachmagnificent]

Umm forgive my ignorance, but what is Toastmasters?

And in this new era of facing fears, does that mean I have to hug an oompa loompa whilst they sing that damned song? GULP!

[erzsi]

Toastmasters is basically just a collection of clubs that focus on public speaking. A couple of people do speeches every week, about a quarter of the time is spent on brief, impromptu talks about whatever the theme is for the week, and all speeches are evaluated at the end of the meeting. (Someone even counts the number of time you use filler words like "um", "ah", "like"!) The format of the meetings is pretty ultra-structured, but it seems to work really well.

If there isn't already a support group for oompa loompa-phobics, I would be most happy to start one up just for you! (We'll even waive your first year of membership dues if we can record your first oompa loompa hug while we pat you on the head and call you things like "my pretty pet green bean" and "sweet savory squash".)

Fears Yay

[marcel2124]

Woo-eee! Congratulations! You finally did it!! Televangelists, watch out!