Are you a toastmaster?

My daughter  lives in Switzerland and suggested that I enroll in toastmasters, an international organization for public speaking.

Since I am hoping to do many book tours,  real soon, I decided I had better learn to stand up in front of people and say something interesting.

So I enrolled. The room was filled with people who want to learn this sport for every reason imaginable, business, entrepreneurship, and in my case to launch my book. At first it is frightening, as they call on each member to answer on a topic prepared by the initiator. It is much like the Miss American contest when the girls are called on to speak impromptu. The topic of the evening can be on any random subject. I had to speak spontaneously for up to three minutes,  before I was able to fall back into my chair and breathe. It is scary as one (meaning me) is not always versed on a subject. Last night I was asked how would I feel if I was a tennis champion,  and was at set point, with the world watching,  knowing that my serve would either make or break my championship. Well,  my answer was, that I simply don't know how they can do it. Imagine having millions of people waiting for my serve. Oh wow. but those athletes are involved with their sport  that have the ability to  tune out the world and focus. The highlight of the evening was my so called Ice Breaker speech telling something about my self. Guess what? I was a smash hit. My talk, entitled, how I became a writer, which I will post later, was well appreciated by the class. I was grateful for their comments and felt confident after last night that I could stand before a group and tell my story. See you at my book tour, or at Toastmasters. It is lots of fun. Carol Sue Gershman