This morning we had our first Toastmasters meeting of the new 12-week session. Our club’s sponsor, Ms. Oliver, took a more active role in leading the group and her input will keep the meetings flowing much more smoothly. In previous sessions I was disappointed by the jostling among members for positions of authority. Some club leaders used to separate themselves from the members—as if the titles of ‘president’ and ‘vice president’ entitled them to deference. When inmates ran Taft Toastmasters, I found the group a turn-off, but I participated because I welcomed opportunities to refine my public speaking skills.

With Ms. Oliver running the club, the participants will have to abide by a schedule. I appreciate the organized format. Previously, the club’s leadership wasted the first 15 minutes of each meeting by setting up an unnecessary (we rarely had more than 30 people in the room) audio system. Ms. Oliver discontinued use of the audio system, as she rightfully recognized that people who participated in Toastmasters public speaking group should practice projecting their voices and speaking with confidence.

Today’s meeting brought a full crowd, one of the largest I’ve seen for the club, with between 30 and 40 participants. Ms. Oliver opened by describing the changes to the club’s format that she was implementing. Instead of having an inmate president who could stray toward the boring as he led every meeting, the new format would allow a new “toastmaster” to lead the group through each session. The Toastmasters for each meeting would accept the responsibility of organizing speakers, assisting them with preparation, and coordinating with those who would accept supporting roles.

Next week it’s my turn to deliver a 10-minute speech that I’ll write, practice, and memorize over the next several days.

Ran 10 miles.

[consecutive running log: 4,379 miles over the past 493 days]

Monday, 19 April 2010

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