I joined the Fairleigh Early Birds Toastmasters in Rutherford, NJ a year a half ago. I was a chicken then: I did not want to speak in a group; I was afraid to speak; I had no eye contact. I was just a bad communicator. Since joining Toastmasters, I have become more confident, I am not afraid to speak, and I think I’m just a better communicator overall. I am not a great communicator (not yet ), but comparing myself now and from a year ago, I see big improvement.

Since joining FEB TM, I have become more involved in the club. I am now the Vice President of Education — I schedule people to speak, evaluate, and for other roles. I have also set up a web presence for our club: website (with an integrated blog), a mailing list, and a new domain, feb-tm.org. So, as you can see, leadership roles are available as well.

At each Toastmasters meeting, each member gets a chance to speak. If you are not one of the three speakers, you participate in Table Topics. In Table Topics you are asked a question and you are given a minute to two to answer it. No preparation. Also, we have different roles at each meeting: timer, grammarian, wordmaster, general evaluator, evaluators, invocator, and table topics master. Each member gets a chance to have each role: a Toastmaster wears many hats.

Still not convinced? Guests are welcome at almost all of the clubs.

Want to see for yourself? Find a club near you. Go to Toastmasters.org and click Find a Club.

Fairleigh Early Birds Toastmasters meet in Rutherford, NJ (Bergen County) at the Rutherford Libary every Saturday from 9-11AM.

It’s a small investment in time (most clubs meet every two weeks for two hours) and money (most are around $30-40 every six months, FEB charges $33), but the results are guaranteed.

I believe that communication skills are the most important skills to have…

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