Published Cary News: Apr 29, 2005

Freedom of speech

By SARAH MCNEIL, CORRESPONDENT

Lena Hollmann of Cary used to be absolutely terrified of speaking in front of people. She never thought she would be a leader of any sort, she said, until she joined a club that changed her life.

Hollmann, a computer programmer for ClinForce, became a member of Toastmasters in the 1980s in hopes of conquering her fear of public speaking.

"I found out that I was shy and I had a lot to improve in my speaking skills," she said. "At that point in my career and relationships, I was scared of even speaking in front of two or three people. Being in Toastmasters was a great way of overcoming that because you have a supportive audience and people are there for the same reason you are."

By the time she joined the Carylina Toastmasters chapter in June 2003, Hollmann had accomplished her goals. She now is the vice president of public relations for the club.

"I think I have gotten more confident," Hollmann said. "I had a hard time taking charge and I didn't see myself as a leader, so that may be the greatest benefit that I have gotten out of Toastmasters."

Jan Delory of Cary, vice president of membership, said that Carylina Toastmasters — established April 1, 1995 — has about 40 members from a range of professions, including medicine, law, sales, marketing, management, public relations and ministry.

Mark Luczak, a freelance writer, said that he joined a Toastmasters club in Pittsburgh, Pa., in 1995 and when he moved to Cary a year and half ago, joined Cary Toastmasters, the other open Cary group. He is now president of that club, founded about 10 years ago; it has about 18 members.

"A lot of people [who participate], they are looking for work or a better job or to start their own business," Luczak said.

Both groups are part of an international nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide a mutually supportive and positive learning environment in which people can develop communication and leadership skills, learning to give presentations, conduct a meeting and more.

According to Toastmasters International's Web site, there are some 200,000 members in more than 10,000 clubs meeting in approximately 90 countries.

Delory, who joined Carylina Toastmasters last March, said members meet each Monday at 7 p.m. to make speeches lasting five to seven minutes. She said 20 to 25 people usually attend, but the club has no attendance policy.

"We have a basic manual that tells you what kind of speech will be your objective, but you get to write about anything as long as you meet the objective," Delory said. "We learn a lot from one another."

Cary Toastmasters meets Mondays as well, and usually has about 12 people on hand. The meeting time has been a tradition.

"We meet from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m., so we are a hardy crowd," Luczak said. "They come because it gets their day and their week started. At least four or five members that have their own businesses like that little kick start."

Ways to join in

Delory, owner of Boston Professional Group, said members who do not want to give a speech participate at a meeting in other ways. An "ah counter" listens for crutch words such as "ah" and "um"; a timer keeps track of the speaker's time; and a joke master sets a happy mood.

Delory said that members also participate in table topics. Topics are randomly chosen and members speak for one to two minutes, she said.

"For people who come to Toastmasters and are uncomfortable speaking in public, even if it is just contributing a few sentences, we have table topics, which really encourages impromptu speaking — so even someone who is shy has the chance to talk," Delory said.

Luczak said that the Cary club follows similar guidelines and has a "grammarian" who sets a word of the day and counts the number of times speakers use it.

"It sounds easy but try it sometimes, especially when you are standing in a group of people and you forget the word of the day," he said. "You get so nervous and your mind goes blank, so it is another tool to help you think on your feet."

Carylina president Mark Dill of Cary, owner of High Gear Communications, said three members are assigned as evaluators during each meeting to critique the speaker. They follow guidelines in order to give positive feedback.

"The critique is candid but respectful," Dill said. "We stress the context of helping someone learn because you can be so nice, but ineffective, and that's not what we want. But at the same time, I've never seen anyone crush someone else's spirit with good criticism."

Facing the fear

Dill and Luczak said that meetings are open to the public, but only members are allowed to give speeches and be evaluators. Most people join Toastmasters after attending a few meetings.

Dill said that he had experience in public speaking before joining the club in 2002, but most of the members lack that advantage.

"They were coming because they were not particularly good at public speaking and wanted to learn," he said. "The majority (of our members) are people who have really struggled and been terrified, but you have to respect them for facing that fear and meeting it head on."

Luczak said he had 20 years of public speaking experience when he joined Cary Toastmasters, but he constantly learns just by listening to others.

"When I get nervous, I would think of all the times I failed at Toastmasters without consequence," he said. "If you are at work in a meeting or didn't get the message across well, you have your boss and other people's opinions, but in Toastmasters, you have an evaluator who tells you how to do it better. I don't know of any other places where I can get to practice that kind of skill."

Steven Fried of Cary, Webmaster and sergeant at arms for the Carylina club, joined in February and has already seen his speeches improve and his self-confidence soar because of the positive feedback.

"Since I talked before as an instructor, it wasn't that nervewracking, but my difficulty tends to be more in the creation of a speech and actually putting it together," Fried said. "I've caught myself when I do things [wrong] and I have learned to watch out for them."

Delory said that regardless of whether someone is shy or outgoing, with the proper time and devotion, anyone can become a better speaker.

"There is a member we had who was there for six months before she gave her speech," she said. "She did a great job when she did get up there, too.

"It's a really supportive group. One thing that we are told about our club that makes it different ... is people say our club has an energy to it."

Luczak said people who join Toastmasters know the other people in the room probably feel the same butterflies and fears.

"Toastmasters is a very friendly group because they all know they are just as nervous as you are," he said. "People end up speaking from their hearts, so whatever it is that they like and love, it ends up working their way into their speeches."

Want to try it?

Cary Toastmasters 3335. 7 a.m. Mondays at Barry's Café in Swift Creek Shopping Center, 5851 Holly Springs Road. Call 414-8329 or visit http://cary.freetoasthost.org.

Information on Toastmasters International is at www.toastmasters.org.

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