Toastmasters on TI

I love being a Toastmaster and last year when I arrived on the island one of the first things I wanted to do was to start up a Toastmasters club. I’m a member of the very dynamic and vibrant Riverside club in Brisbane and I wanted to share with my new friends on TI the thrill and excitement of belonging to a public speaking group. So I took a few tentative steps and put up a few notices around town with my name and number. If I got enough interest I was going to hold an information night and take it from there. I got a couple of calls.

But then I got scared. What if it took off? What if dozens of people turned up on the night? How would I handle it? Could I do it on my own? So I let it go.

You see my friends, I was in big city mode. I had forgotten that I was on an island and that while many people were probably quite interested, it would have been a miracle of biblical proportions if dozens of people had turned up.

So, last month, after nearly ten months on the island, I tried again. And I did it differently. I bit the bullet and actually set a date, time and place and waited for people to turn up. And they did – 7 very keen, enthusiastic and excited would-be Toastmasters showed up for an information evening held in an office provided by the bubbly Sylvia.

TI Toastmasters: Silvana, John, Suzanne, Louisa, Sylvia
Front row: Janelle, Melissa, Flo

The result of that night was our first Toastmasters meeting last night, Tuesday 5th April. The group was small – the original 7 members and 3 guests. We had organised our roles from our previous get together so we all set to go. There was a bit of double up because of the small numbers but everyone handled it like professionals. As happens in most meetings one of the speakers could not make it so I stepped in and presented a speech I had given in a district competition before leaving Brisbane.

It felt great being back at a meeting. We all left on a high. It was exciting to be a part of a new group and I felt so good about showing them how it’s done and seeing their enthusiasm and delight.

While most TM meetings are held every two weeks, our next meeting is in May. A lot of people leave the island at holiday time so this is the next best time for us to be together. Remember this is TI and you have to go with the flow.

And I don’t mind because last night the flow was brilliant, keen, enthusiastic and fun. And that’s what gave me the buzz – that everyone was having fun, even with some very nervous moments.

My work is done - and life continues to be good :-)