“We try to help people begin to speak better in public, and we also have a leadership track for younger people starting out in business that want to learn leadership,” said Guyer, a semi-retired life insurance agent and professional lecturer who joined the club four years ago to improve his oratory skills. “Those are the two goals of Toastmasters.”
Once a week, the club meets for two hours over dinner and engages in a series of communications exercises, Guyer said.
Traditional “table talks,” when members are required to speak for two minutes in response to questions they have not prepared for, are a key aspect of the club, he said. The questions relate to a theme picked for each meeting.
“The table talks are scary to most people,” he said. “The idea is you have to stand up in front of a crowd and give an answer, and that trains you for your business to think on your feet.”
The exercises help hone fundamental life skills that have led people like Lance Miller, a world champion public speaker and longtime member of the Hollywood Toastmasters club the Renaissance Speakers, to personal and professional success, Miller said.
“A lot of the things I do today are because of the things I learned in Toastmasters,” said Miller, who will deliver the keynote address at a 75th anniversary celebration for the Glendale club on Tuesday. “If you look at the essence of leadership, it involves being able to communicate clearly and concisely to your group . . . those are the bases you work on every week in Toastmasters.”
And as members practice speeches, conquer table talks and build self-confidence, they do so in a low-stress, no-risk situation, Miller said.
“One of the big benefits I see in the organization is it’s a really fun and friendly environment to come in and develop these skills, and once we’re out of school we very seldom get the opportunity to get into a learning environment where we can practice the fundamentals like this and make mistakes in a fun and friendly environment, and there’s no consequence for failure,” Miller said. “So when you actually go out in a business or community setting, you can communicate confidently and successfully.”
The Glendale Toastmasters are inviting the public to attend their 75th anniversary celebration from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in room 105 of the city of Glendale’s Municipal Services Building, 633 E. Broadway.
RSVP to Dennis Guyer at adg22@sbcglobal.net or (818) 242-8315.
