Toastmasters? Yes, They Do Good Work

By Neil Earle

“At your eulogy you don’t want them to say – ‘Her closet was always well-organized.’”

The speaker? Homemaker and fashion designer Sarah Khan.

Arthur introduces Muslim lady (center) to Christian pastor (right).

The place? The building of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) at 333 South Beaudry Avenue in downtown Los Angeles.

The event? The weekly meeting of Club 382 of the LAUSD Toastmaster’s Club.

A Constructive 60 Minutes

It stands to reason of course that Sarah, a Muslim lady, was the guest speaker that day. She was well-qualified, having placed 3rd in her Semifinal Contest at the 2012 International Toastmaster’s Competition held that year in Orlando, Florida. There are 9 Semifinal Contests with 9 contestants in each Semifinal bracket.

Sarah’s goal is to be the first Muslim woman to win the Toastmaster’s World Championship of Public Speaking.

“Toastmasters” or “Toastmasters International” is one of the world’s well-known speaking clubs. Their reach is truly worldwide and the help they have given to hundreds of thousands of people over their many years of existence speaks for itself. The past president of Club 382 was right to describe them as “the premier organization” for helping people develop and grow in self-confidence and relationship-building.

Relationships?

Any pastor is interested in that subject. I was attending recently as a guest of GCI member Arthur Villanova who has attended Club 382 since 2010. This was my third meeting with Toastmasters after helping sign up one of our local parishioners for the club in San Dimas, CA.

“What Really Matters?”

Sarah’s talk was about the difference between Goals and Values. Her subtitle could have been “Know what matters.” As she said, do you want a happy marriage? That’s good. But being a loving person matters more. Do you want to lose weight? That of course is a worthy goal. But what really matters is eating healthy and living a balanced life.

This was not only great advice and good reminders for the fifty or so who attended this busy, crammed lunchtime meeting at the LAUSD building, but a great reminder for me of the clubs I attended in England from 1968-1972. They were after-dinner “speech clubs” quite intentionally patterned after Toastmaster’s. The truth is that most of our senior ministers in our fellowship received quite intensive speech and personality training there. In fact, some parts of the world still carry them on today or have adapted them into something similar. In England they are called “Life Clubs” and the name is apt.

Toastmasters’ Features, Benefits and Values are hard for any serious Christian striver to disagree with. From such values as “clear communication with confidence” and “increased self-awareness and positive mentoring,” the carry-over with Biblically-based injunctions to “grow in grace and knowledge” are clear.

Of course, any such worthy goals can easily degenerate into self-righteousness and personal posturing but the Toastmasters program is designed almost unintentionally to weed out such downers. There is an old adage in public speaking that “what you ARE speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you are saying.” You can’t hide out forever in a public speech club of your peers. I was asked to make an impromptu comment on what I had seen and observed and I had no hesitation to opine that in an era when nihilism and negativism seem to be the dominant keynote for too many people, these Toastmasters have the moxie to meet every week and come out of themselves if only briefly. Putting pressure on yourself – this is a key aspect of personal growth.

Neil Earle makes a point during "table topics."

Accent on Growth

“Growth” is almost the hidden one-word mantra behind Toastmasters. The club members are taking weekly and intentional steps to ensure personal growth and that such growth continues.

They seemed to appreciate my story about the great Irish writer and activist George Bernard Shaw. Shaw said he only learnt to be a public speaker by getting in front of people and making a fool of himself until he got the hang of it. That takes courage – moral courage and commitment, and these are values every Christian can see the need to have and hold.

The lunch-time event moved along. You are first welcomed by the President and then the Toastmaster that week. Then follows an inspirational moment and a short joke. Next the main event – the speaker for the day. Lastly a Table Topic session where you are encouraged to think on your feet about a topic of current interest.

It’s a winning formula and Toastmasters have my respect and also my thanks for an enjoyable and motivational lunch break in downtown Los Angeles. So – begging your indulgence – may I say get out of your rut and live. Get out of your rut and lead and accomplish. Perhaps Toastmasters can help you!