Toastmasters/Speech Script/Vision Statement

토스트마스터즈 Toastmasters 라는 모임을 아시나요. 연설과 리더십 능력을 키우기 위해 만들어진 모임인데, 사실 한국에서는 영어공부를 하려는 성격이 더 큰 것 같아요. 약 6년 전에 친구 추천을 받아 처음으로 모임에 나갔다가 그 매력에 빠져서 어느새 제 큰 취미생활이 되어버린 토스트마스터즈. 그간 다니면서 기록을 꾸준히 해놓지 않은 게 아쉬워 이제부터라도 연설 스크립트들을 남겨놓고자 합니다. 

 

[Script] Vision for My Club

 

Do you remember your first Toastmasters meeting? With an invitation or curiosity, you joined an unfamiliar place not really knowing what to expect. You saw speakers with great public speaking skills. You may or may not have participated in a session called Table Topics and watched people evaluating the whole meeting. Coming back home, you had two choices: To say "It was a good-enough one-time event" and forget about it/ or to return to yet another Toastmasters meeting.

 

You were the one who chose the latter. And I am sure there was a reason for that. May I hear from three members the reason you decided to come back to Toastmasters meetings?

 

(Members shared their experiences)

 

If I ask every person in the room, I will get 10 different answers. Unlike a course that teach you one skill and that's it, Toastmasters offers you different experiences. I think that is the beauty of Toastmasters. But the important thing is every experience with Toastmasters should be a positive one to make members return. "That" is a club I want to make: "A club you want to come back"

 

I started my Toastmasters journey in 2015 when I was looking for a place to practice my English speaking in Korea. Even after being intimidated by the Table Topic session, the reason why I wanted to come back was not only the fact that I laughed so much during the meeting, but because of a perfect answer I heard at the end of the meeting. When the club president asked one of the members; "Are you available at the next meeting?", he answered: "50-50". That was the simplest yet the most useful expression I learned that day. I thought to myself 'if I can learn one real-life expression every week while having fun with people, it is worth coming back.' After a few attendances as a guest, I became a member, I became the secretary, and I became the president of YSTM. Now a lady who was looking for a place to practice her English is talking in front of native speakers as the club president.

 

The definition of a good club is different from person to person. But from my personal story, a good club is a club that provides an environment where we can grow while having fun at the same time. As Ralph Smedley, the founder of Toastmasters said, “We learn best in moments of enjoyment.” With that vision, I chose two keywords for this year: "Fun and Flourish" To have fun, our team will work to have variety in the meeting and to have special meetings like this one occasionally to refresh ourselves. To flourish, our team will make sure you are getting all the resources from the Toastmasters Educational program including our mentoring program while recognizing your successes to encourage you to move forward.

 

Toastmasters is not a class nor a training course but rather a tool that you can use for your own personal growth. My role this year will be to make this tool more attractive and efficient so that it will add value to your own journey. But I can't do it by myself. I will give you the homework. Think of your own definition of a good club and what makes you return. Bring your answer and ideas to me, so that "together", we can make a club you want to come back to.