Page 23 - 2019 February

Little Toasties: Confidence Builder

Safia Hasan

At the beginning of 6th grade, one of our out of the tiny classroom and into a room with
assignments was to write a speech and present it normal chairs and tables, all of the meetings
in front of the class. I was a nervous wreck. My were student led, our speeches were considerably
voice cracked, I had written down my entire better thanks to our

speech on my notecard and kept losing my coach, and we even
place. I barely looked up at the audience, and had a small group of
I didn’t have a conclusion, so when I finished officers.
there was an awkward silence because my In school, our

classmates didn’t know I was finished. It was teacher told us we had
an embarrassment. to write and present
Later that week, my mom told me about this a speech. Unlike 6th
weird club called Little Toasties. I wasn’t that grade, this time I

interested until my mom told me that all of my knew how to write
friends attend also, and I immediately agreed and present a speech because of Little Toasties.
to join. The meeting was in a tiny preschool This time I was organized, I was confident and I
classroom in a church. There were about 7 or had practiced. When I walked up to the front of

8 people and we had to sit on tiny chairs that the class, I was confident, my voice didn’t crack
made our knees press into our chests. The entire and I made eye contact. I had my main points
meeting was run by Coach Eric, and all of our written on a notecard instead of my entire speech
speeches were more than lacking. Despite the and I didn’t have awkward pauses to find where

tiny chairs, low ceiling and our nonexistent I was in the speech. I had an organized speech,
speaking skills, as time went on, our meetings with an introduction, body, and conclusion, so
were becoming more and more student led, our the audience knew when I was finished. Lastly, I
speeches were improving, and our members practiced, so I knew exactly how I would deliver

became more confident. I started coming to my speech. Even if I had forgotten part of my
meetings not just because my mom forced me to, speech, thanks to table topics, I could make up
or because of my friends, but because I learned something on the spot.
a lot at the meetings. The main points I learned I attend Little Toasties not because my friends

were that a speech has to be organized, I have to also attend but because it taught me how to be a
be confident and most importantly that I have better speaker. The difference between the two
to practice. speeches I presented is proof of that, and in turn,
By the beginning of 7th grade, we had moved I’ve learned how to become a better leader.

VOICES! | FEBRUARY 2019 23