On Aug. 5, 2015, I finally got a chance to attend the Toastmasters meeting at California State University, San Bernardino. Last week I had an interview with Loma Linda Hospital to become a volunteer. When I came home from that interview, I decided to check out the meeting schedule for Toastmasters at CSUSB.
I’ve been wanting to visit since July, but the club was not available. The new semester started and that’s when the club started back up. When I found out the next date they were meeting I decided that I was going to visit.
I didn’t call or e-mail the club to see if they were still going to have the meeting. I just went with my instincts and something told me to just go, and I’m happy I did.
When I arrived at the meeting there were a few people present and they welcomed me with open arms. There were three guests (including me) and we got to see how the club operates.
Everybody got a chance to stand at the podium and speak, even the guests. There was a certain part in the meeting where somebody makes up a random event and a speaker is called to the podium and finish the story by using their imagination. I was asked to finish the story of “The first man who live to be 150 years old and recently died.”
I am not good at being put on the spot and forced to speak about something that I have no knowledge of, but I think I did ok. When I got done speaking, I realized that by being forced to be put on the spot forces me to think of something interesting, but also be able to present the idea or message.
I’m not going to be able to make it to the next club meeting later this month because I’m going to be out of town for a family reunion. In September, I will be joining the club and I’m looking forward to the new experiences and knowledge I will gain in becoming a great public speaker.