As many people do, I started Toastmasters slowly. I joined one club. I volunteered to give speeches because I wanted to do at least one every month. Then, I was invited to attend an Advanced Club to move faster on my speeches. Ten months into my first year as a member, I finished my first Competent Communicator, often called a CC.
With my CC, I became a full fledged member of the Advanced club. Since I was now officially a member of two clubs, I started to get busy with more speeches and completing the Competent Leadership manual. Before the end of my first year in the organization, I joined a third club to move even faster and found a way to have my spouse join me in my crusade to conquer the space behind the lectern in front of an audience.
To keep up my momentum, I asked my mentor about what I needed to do to become a Distinguished Toastmaster, or DTM. He mentioned that I needed to get an officer role at the District level and recommended I do that soon. As serendipity would have it, this was just a few days before the 2015 Spring Conference. Armed with, not much, but the courage to ask for an opportunity to show my passion, I approached the new elected District Director and volunteered to help the district.
After the conference, I sent an email expressing my gratitude for him listening to me and once again offering to serve, should the opportunity present itself. Guess what? The surprise was all mine when I got an invitation about two weeks later if I still wanted to be an Area Director.
As the saying goes: “follow your bliss and soon you will be opening the door that was in front of you all along.” Once I cut the rope that I had tied to my ankle and started to run, and run like Forrest Gump I did. I made it from club member to District Officer with my wife as my most dedicated follower in my Toastmasters ride.
As a committed Toastmaster, I am still sharing with everyone how this organization has touched me and still makes me want to learn more. This organization inspires us to be the best version of ourselves and we need to share that with others.
For me, the greatest joy as a Toastmaster is seeing new members gain confidence and become masters of their own path. It’s rewarding to see new Toastmasters gain control of the one thing that many people fear the most: public speaking. I have watched many people conquer their fear of standing in front of a crowd and heard them tell, in their own words, the most amazing stories and anecdotes- stories worth listening to and sharing in this sanctum we call a Toastmaster’s club.