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From: Russ Hicks
Date: 15 Oct 2006
Time: 22:56:13 -0500
Remote Name: 71.252.204.114
Hi Ledy, ..... When I first joined Toastmasters, like everyone else, I was scared to death. But the more I attended and the more speeches I gave, the easier - and the more FUN - it became. After about a year I was elected President of my Toastmaster club. Me, of all people, the only stutterer in my club, was the President of the club. I didn't know whether to laugh or scream for help! But we have a special feedback system in Toastmasters called "evaluations" that helped me more than anything else. At first, I just KNEW that they were going to tear me apart for stuttering! But it didn't happen. They said I was courageous. They said I gave interesting speeches. They said that they enjoyed hearing me speak. Of course they gave me tons of feedback to improve on my public speaking skills, but not a single time did they say "work on your fluency." Not one single time! It was the most supportive group of people I've ever been around. And I began to believe THEM more than I believed myself. ..... They said they wanted me to become President of the club. I said, Really? And they said, Yes, really. So I became President. ..... I was appointed Area Governor over about five other Toastmaster Clubs the next year. I said, You really want ME to do this? And the district leadership said Yes, they did. So I smiled and shrugged my shoulders and I became Area Governor. ..... The next year I was elected a Division Governor over about six Areas. I had about 30 clubs in my jurisdiction, about 500 Toastmasters in North Texas. I figured that if I could be President and Area Governor, heck, what's one more step up the ladder? So I became Division Governor - and the Outstanding Division Governor of the North Texas District that year. I was amazed. But it happened. ..... The more I spoke - and being in those offices, I had opportunities to speak A LOT! - the more confidence I got. And the more confidence I got, the easier it got for me to speak in front of an audience. My communication skills improved steadily, and the major problem was getting me OFF the stage! <grin> ..... It's like anything else: The more you play the piano, the better you get. The more you play baseball, the better you get. The more you do public speaking, the better you get. It's not rocket science. ..... Today I speak all the time and live as fluent a lifestyle as you can imagine. I LOVE to speak in public. I still stutter, but it hasn't killed me yet! As long as I continue speaking with an easy and open stutter, people couldn't care less. They enjoy hearing me speak. At least that's what they continue to tell me. And I've learned to believe them rather than believe myself. If they like what they hear, hey, who am I to complain? <smile> ..... Did that answer your question? ..... I wish you the best, Ledy! ..... Russ