If you want to learn how to speak without doing potentially stressful presentations in front of audiences that matter (professors, bosses) or spending $$ on Dale Carnegie courses or not-too-effective audiences (your cat), I highly recommend Toastmasters.
Toastmasters is highly effective because most everyone there wants to help you improve your public speaking skills. It is an environment for learning and failing without consequences. You can't learn public speaking without an audience, and the Toastmasters club audience is probably the best audience for newbies starting out (e.g. the experienced speakers there emphathise and help you because they were in your position months or years ago)
If anything, you will learn to stop using fillers (umming/ahhing). Pauses ... can be so much more effective). Why? Because someone at each meeting sits there and countseveryone's verbal fidgeting. What can't be measured, can't be improved. Add in public shame and that goes a long, long way. To this day, I am shocked at people two/three levels above me who obviously never worked on their verbal or even non-verbal tics. If you practice, Toastmasters builds unconscious competence in eliminating certain things that may distract the audience (umming, arm swinging, clapsed hands).
The best part of Toastmasters is called Table Topics - where you have to give an impromptu answer to a question. 1-2 minutes. Like some public speaking opportunities are, off the cuff and unrehearsed.
After every speech you give, members will write encouraging comments and feeback on little slips of paper. I still have those little slips of paper in an album somewhere. They still make me feel good. Our club had a video camera - I had all my speeches videotaped. Wow, the camera does not lie - my posture sucked and I rocked my arms [all distractions from your speaking]. And, it is clearly visible to see the progress you make from speech #1 (your icebreaker) to #10.
I highly recommend finding a club that you like (not all clubs are alike) - especially one where no one from your workplace will be (a freer environment to learn public speaking).
I dove into the Toastmasters program. I put a lot into it (VP Membership, mentoring, contests) and got a lot from it. Lastly, I've made some friends (mostly entrepreneurial) through TM that I would not likely have encountered in my normal life. TM brings together some pro-active individuals.
Sure sounds like open source. Many eyes, comfortable/safe environment, continuous improvement. My club (http://ottawatoastmasters.com) has another impromptu speaking opportunity called "As I See It" which is closer to actual debating than Table Topics (2 people argue for a topic and 2 against, there's a 1.5 minute preso from each, then a 30 second rebuttal from each). I'm totally addicted to that part.
I like the way it melds impromptu with non-impromptu (quick prep, speech, then rebuttal). I'm not active with my club anymore (moved out of geo area/moved on) but I will send on that suggestion.
Have you ever done a Table Topics dinner? Dinner at a restaurant and each person has to speak for 2-3 min. while the dinner is being served.
Not yet. I've done a fair amount of public speaking, but I'm new to toastmasters. What's amazing is that after 3 months of weekly meetings, I'm actually enjoying what I saw before as something scary and challenging. I think, frankly, that it's just about repetition. At digg, they trotted me out twice a year, and there was a ton of pressure. Now I talk every week, and I feel comfortable, and it's fun.
Toastmasters is highly effective because most everyone there wants to help you improve your public speaking skills. It is an environment for learning and failing without consequences. You can't learn public speaking without an audience, and the Toastmasters club audience is probably the best audience for newbies starting out (e.g. the experienced speakers there emphathise and help you because they were in your position months or years ago)
If anything, you will learn to stop using fillers (umming/ahhing). Pauses ... can be so much more effective). Why? Because someone at each meeting sits there and counts everyone's verbal fidgeting. What can't be measured, can't be improved. Add in public shame and that goes a long, long way. To this day, I am shocked at people two/three levels above me who obviously never worked on their verbal or even non-verbal tics. If you practice, Toastmasters builds unconscious competence in eliminating certain things that may distract the audience (umming, arm swinging, clapsed hands).
The best part of Toastmasters is called Table Topics - where you have to give an impromptu answer to a question. 1-2 minutes. Like some public speaking opportunities are, off the cuff and unrehearsed.
After every speech you give, members will write encouraging comments and feeback on little slips of paper. I still have those little slips of paper in an album somewhere. They still make me feel good. Our club had a video camera - I had all my speeches videotaped. Wow, the camera does not lie - my posture sucked and I rocked my arms [all distractions from your speaking]. And, it is clearly visible to see the progress you make from speech #1 (your icebreaker) to #10.
I highly recommend finding a club that you like (not all clubs are alike) - especially one where no one from your workplace will be (a freer environment to learn public speaking).
I dove into the Toastmasters program. I put a lot into it (VP Membership, mentoring, contests) and got a lot from it. Lastly, I've made some friends (mostly entrepreneurial) through TM that I would not likely have encountered in my normal life. TM brings together some pro-active individuals.
Book recommendation (the best book I've found on public speaking - great because it has so many different viewpoints/perspectives) : http://www.amazon.com/Speaking-Secrets-Masters-Techniques-Pr...