Public Speaking For Young People

Toastmasters is a great place to practice public speaking.

Today is my Toastmasters day. My club is #4130, Expressions Unlimited, and we meet at Noon in Carlsbad. If you ever visit, be sure to arrive at 11:45 or 11:50 so you can talk with members before the start of the formal meeting. At one hour, we have a short meeting compared to most clubs. Visit Expressions Unlimited's blog at:
http://Expressions-Unlimited.blogspot.com

Oh, almost forgot, if you are under 18, you should definitely call before you visit as membership is restricted to those 18 and over and that means that the subject matter may have to be adjusted once in a while. There are scheduled speakers and just in case they need to alter their content or switch places with another speaker, you give them that opportunity by calling. For the record, MOST Toastmasters speeches and banter are suitable for those under 18.

Each club is different, so be sure to visit more than one. I first visited my friend's pastor's Toastmaster club in my late teens or early twenties and did not realize that each club has it's own style. I was intimidated after two visits and didn't go back for 17 years or so. A business mentor recommended that I go to Expressions Unlimited and I loved it the very first meeting.

You can find out more about Toastmasters by visiting Expressions Unlimited's blog and by clicking on the title of today's post to visit the Toastmasters International site. Toastmasters is all over the world.

I recommend a book called Be Heard Now by Lee Glickstein. He is founder of Speaking Circles, which is another place to learn public speaking. His approach is a little different than Toastmasters and you can receive a free email newsletter on Speaking Mastery by visiting his site:

http://www.speakingcircles.org/

Link below is the Encarta dictionary definition of banter.

http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_/banter.html