A group of expert speakers celebrated their club’s 35th anniversary last week. The Settlement on the Sturgeon (or SOS) Toastmasters have been around since 1978 offering tips and practice time for numerous city residents to hone their public speaking skills and build their confidence.
President Malcolm Connell suggested that it’s something that everyone can benefit from. Meetings are essentially “learn-by-doing workshops”, says the organization’s website at www.toastmasters.org. Participants get opportunities to hone their public speaking skills and make new friends in “a no-pressure atmosphere.”
“You’re always learning new things. That’s what has kept me going,” Connell said.
Toastmasters International has gradually risen in status since its inception in 1923. It reaches farther and farther around the world every year but this area boasts the greatest popularity of them all.
“Edmonton has the most clubs in the world per capita,” Connell said.
The club is headquartered in California but the club has a presence in more than 60 countries. Besides English and French, it now exists in Mandarin Chinese, Japanese and Spanish.
There are 85 clubs in the Edmonton area, and most clubs have between 25 and 50 members, Connell said. One of its most notable local members was Chris Ford who went on to become the international president from 2007 to 2008.
Another recent member was Mayor Nolan Crouse who, Connell explained, joined the other St. Albert club – the Aimcriers club – “for a few months before he became mayor to get practice in public speaking.”
For Connell, he said the club offered him some practical advice just when he needed it the most.
“I thought that my job was in jeopardy and I needed to improve my communication skills if I was laid off,” he said. “I searched around. I had known about Toastmasters for about eight years before that since about the mid-’80s but I was doing shift work and so I didn’t join.”
Now, he’s been with the club for about 20 years and has no plans to stop. He keeps learning more and more about building relationships with an audience and communicating effectively. He’s gotten so involved that he has even helped revive a few clubs whose memberships were flagging.
A lot of his enthusiasm for Toastmasters comes from mentoring other members to achieve successes.
His own success even led him to have a chance to be a judge at a semi-final at the world’s public speaking championship in 2008. He said interested parties should attend the meetings to find out more but, before that, he offered one helpful hint.
“Most people find impromptu speaking really daunting until they realize they can bridge into another topic if they’re not comfortable,” he said, suggesting most people talk off the cuff several times a day anyway.
“It gets easier after a few weeks,” he said.
The Settlement on Sturgeon Toastmasters club meets every Monday from September through May at 7:15 p.m. at the St. Albert Catholic High School library, 33 Malmo Ave.
For more information, please visit the group’s website at sostoastmasters.toastmastersclubs.org or call Connell at 780-459-9648.
Another local Toastmasters group, the Aimcriers, meets every Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the same location.
