Eye contact: The 181st Regular Meeting

The topic for "Here's My Trick" was Eye Contact. (To know what "Here's My Trick, this article may help.)

One of the experienced members, Marilyn, talked about how eye contact is important to make our speeches effective. She told us we might want to look into the listeners' eyes long enough to communicate their ideas and know how they are reacting to our message. She also mentioned that our eye contact should not be too long because that will make the listener uncomfortable.

She was not comfortable with eye contact at the beginning, though. She says eye contact is one of the first tricks she learned in Toastmasters. When she delivered her first speech, the Ice Breaker speech, she received feedback from one of the members, saying, "You were constantly gazing at the wall at the back of the room." She followed his advice and now she can use eye contact to engage the audience and see how they are reacting to her speech so that she is able to adjust the content of her speech to suit the audience.

Later in the meeting, General Evaluator Tenten provided feedback to the entire meeting on eye contact. He pointed out that some members were not keeping eye contact during their speeches. Some online attendees were looking away from the camera. Some in-person speakers were looking down on their manuscripts.

This can be said of the functionary role-takers as well. Every moment of our meeting is an opportunity to practice public speaking. When a role-taker explains his or her role, it is a public speaking moment. When a Toastmaster of the Day, the master of ceremonies, or a General Evaluator introduces speakers and evaluators, these are public speaking moments. We might want to use these opportunities to hone our public speaking skills. One thing we can do is to pay attention to what we learned at this meeting, eye contact.

Want to get comfortable with eye contact? Visit us at one of our meetings! 

My Experience in the Senri Toastmasters Club

It has been exactly one year since I joined the regular meeting of the Senri Toastmasters Club as a guest for the first time. I will write about what I have learned and what surprised me in this club by reflecting on this year. My experience of joining a club with zero knowledge may be helpful for those who are considering joining this club or are interested but unsure about what this club is all about.

As I had been interested in public speaking and improving my English speaking skills, Toastmasters had captured my attention for a long time. However, it took me five years to gather the courage to visit a club. I remember I was very nervous on the day of my first visit. Upon arriving at the venue, the club members were busy setting up the room, but they kindly took the time to engage in a conversation with me. This short conversation not only brought me a sense of relief but also made me feel genuinely welcome. Once the meeting started, it proceeded at a rapid pace and ended before I could fully figure out everything that happened. However, I was so impressed by the members' positive atmosphere and remarkable command of English that wanted to become a member of this club. After my second visit (The Senri Toastmasters Club allows up to three visits.), I decided to join the club.

Before I joined the Senri Toastmasters Club, I held the impression that Toastmasters was a place where we practice speeches earnestly like a "Speech Dojo." Later on, it turned out to be different. Surprisingly, not everyone gives speeches at every meeting. There are various roles to fulfill besides giving speeches, and there are so many things to learn through taking those roles. One such role is that of the Evaluator, responsible for assessing the strength and areas for improvement in speeches. In my case, taking this role makes me more nervous than giving my speech. To evaluate someone else's speech, careful listening and thoughtful consideration of good points and areas for further improvement are needed. It is a difficult role, but I have recently realized that it is a very good opportunity to learn about speeches and actually, I gained a lot of knowledge and awareness from this role. The Evaluators also have an opportunity to be evaluated on their evaluation speech by the General Evaluator. I find this aspect of the club's system to be excellent because regardless of the role we undertake, we can receive feedback. I think these aspects are the appealing features of this club

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Perhaps you may be wondering, after reading this far, if you join our club you will be required to take on so many different roles. There is nothing to worry about. New members will not take on roles immediately upon joining. The members in charge of education and other experienced members will gently push you to try new roles at the right time. Moreover, for a while after joining, new members are assigned experienced mentors, and if you have any questions or concerns, you can ask them any time and will be assured that they will always be there to provide you with genuine support.

Toastmasters is not a place where a teacher teaches you something, but it is a place where you can learn from each other through taking on various roles. Perhaps it is not so much "a club to learn speech" as "a club to learn various things through speech." These various things are not only English speech or presentation skills, but also leadership, teamwork, and communication skills, which are very useful in the real world. Why don't you join the Senri Toastmasters Club and enjoy valuable experiences through public speaking? If you have been interested but hesitant, as I once was, I encourage you to attend our club meeting as a guest. You will be welcomed by friendly and supportive members!