Page 32 - 2019 April

LEANNA LISTENS
thought so and joining Toastmasters together was
an easy decision for us. We enjoy talking about
our next speech or what our next role is in the
upcoming meeting. We also enjoy the role of
mentoring and being supportive of the members.
Each person has to discern whether
Toastmasters can bring value to their profession
and/or life. Some people join to improve their
social communication, some join because they
were once in a Toastmasters club and miss the
community, some want to be storytellers, some
are in sales, some are in management. There
are companies that require and will pay for
their employees to come to Toastmasters. We
have three individuals from the same company,
two from sales and one from Research and
Development. When we invite folks to come
to a meeting we encourage them to come and
observe and see what they think. If the individual
agrees to participate in Table Topics during the
meeting there is a good chance they will be back
next week.
We enjoy belonging to the Toastmasters of
Redmond for the opportunities to learn more,
to sharpen our skills, to keep our confidence
level high, and to know ourselves better. What
sold us was, first and foremost, the club has a
safe environment, the supportive club members,
everyone working together, the mentoring and
encouragement, the growth in confidence as
leaders and as speakers; that is the proof of
Toastmasters successful mission. In the mix of
all of this, let us not forget the fun that leads to
laughter that keeps this club healthy.
32 ONE COMMUNITY
MAY THE RAIN
TRULY REIGN!
B. Lee Coyne, ATMS
May April showers empower us all. There
is so much to derive from the Heavens above
as we whet our appetite for that next Table
Topics session!
As those angels look down on planet
Earth, they quickly detect how we humans
have made a mess of what we’ve been
bestowed. Thus they have little choice but
to shed a flurry of tears. We term them
showers.
As with any copious gathering, these
pools of water aggregate. Runoff then
occurs. And the lesson learned is that
every mainstream depends on its many
tributaries. Indeed, every branch of a speech
adds to the flow.
A gentle sprinkling of rain can prove
refreshing. So too can the inclusion of
humor in a well prepared speech to a
parched audience. Yet one could also volley
torrents of attempted jest only to submerge
the subject matter.
Anger runs akin to thunder. Hence we
can douse passion and righteous indignation
to create a bit of drama, while withholding
any overkill that can zap our credibility at
the lectern. Too much flash beclouds our
message.
Keep in mind that our mission is to
replenish itinerant spirits. Wherever rain
does reign there’s a good chance the seeds we
sow shall sprout in splendor in due course.
So too with effective communication.
Lee’s Toastmasters career began in Vienna,
VA just outside D.C. Later on he joined clubs in
New Mexico and Oregon.
Speak Up!
Tanisha Imam
Two years ago I walked into a room. There
were people that I had either never met or didn’t
associate with. I was at my (and everyone else’s)
first-ever Little Toasties meeting.
I sat down next to my friends—the only people
I knew. I waited for that moment when I knew
going to the meeting was the right decision for
me. Someone walked up to the speaking area and
started talking. The way that they commanded
the attention of the audience—the way that they
captivated almost every soul in that room—was
pretty amazing. Looking around at the rest of
the people, I could tell that every word coming
out of the speaker was a word being hungrily
taken in by the audience. From that moment
on, I decided that I would one day be able to
speak just as well as that person, who inevitably,
changed my life.
Speaking really is a wonderful skill. There is
so much power held in your very own voice. The
things that we could accomplish are endless if
we only spoke our minds. When we speak up we
are letting the world know we have something to
say. Being able to convey our thoughts in a public
setting or to an audience is a skill that everyone
should strive to acquire.
Peaceful ways of showing you want to do
something for the world like speaking up can
thinking and what you want to accomplish.
Get up on that stage and take control of the
space provided. Even the smallest voices have
something to say. People won’t take you seriously
unless you make a name for yourself. It’s scary,
going up and speaking to an audience, but
nothing will happen if we just sit back and let the
world revolve around unacknowledged problems
that still need to be solved. Whether it be as
small as littering or as big as poverty, simply
saying something is a start to change. Many of
us are not capable of doing much for the world,
but just by spreading awareness we have already
made a big step in the right direction. There’s so
much power in our voices, but what’s the point
in having power if we’re not using it in the way
that it is meant to be used?
Tanisha is a member of Little Toasties, a speaking
and leadership club for youth in 6th -12th grades.
Visitors are welcome at meetings on Saturdays in
Beaverton, Oregon. For more information contact
Eric Winger 503.516.6271 / eric@thewingers.net.
VOICES! | APRIL 2019 33