What has been your worst experience as a Toastmaster?
Below are a few examples of times you may have experienced at a Toastmasters Meeting, when you wished the ground would swallow you up…but it didn’t!
Worst experience scenario # 1
You arrive at a Toastmasters meeting, having completely forgotten that you are due to give a speech that evening, until, that is, you are sitting in the audience and you see your name on the Agenda for the evening!! AAARRGH
Worst experience scenario # 2
You are sitting with your partner in the audience who has kindly come to support you when you deliver your Stage 10 speech later that evening. Only one problem with this, the theme of the topics session is romance and the topic you are selected for, is to describe your first kiss! HELP
Worst experience scenario # 3
You have to complete the stage of your CC manual that involves using visual aids. You decide to prepare a “Kick Ass” PowerPoint presentation complete with dazzling graphics and a spectacular 60 second video. When you get to the venue for the club meeting however, you discover that your memory stick with the presentation, is nowhere to be found! Nothing for it, you have to wing it!
Worst experience scenario # 4
You’re the General Evaluator for the evening and at the end of the meeting, you give glowing accounts of the roles held by everyone during the meeting, but you completely forget to commend the Toastmaster for the evening, who has been sitting right next to you throughout your General Evaluation! Ooops
Worst experience scenario # 5
You’re the Topicsmaster for the evening and you’re so nervous about doing the role for the first time that you get everyone’s name mixed up and call “Madeline”, “Mark” and “Jeremy”, “Jacinta”! Now that could lead to the odd bit of confusion :)
Don’t panic if you think these potential hazards could be fatal, while highly embarrassing, they are not usually life threatening and nothing that a stiff glass of fizzy orange won’t fix, in the bar afterwards!
Gemma Shannon, VP Public Relations