TOASTMASTERS is a good way to overcome shyness and to meet other people.
And the group has plenty of events coming up, according to current Tenterfield Federation of Toastmasters President Susan Butterfield.
“I first attended Stanthorpe Toastmasters in March 2010,” she said.
“After that first meeting where everything was strange and new and I had kept whispering to myself ‘Don’t ask me to speak, don’t ask me’ I told them I didn’t think I’d be back.
“Although I was a professional, I was painfully shy and could not speak even to a small group.
“Fast forward five years – not only can I speak in front of large groups but I have totally left the shyness behind. Now in any situation, I no longer blush and stammer, or even faint when asked to speak because I have experienced the support of individual Toastmasters and Toastmasters clubs.
“I have learnt how to be secretary, vice-president and president of an organisation. I know how to run meetings and how to prepare agendas and programs – how to train others to do what I can do, how to set goals for myself and the club, how to reach those goals and, along the way I have made many friends who all began the way I did – scared stiff.
“Currently I am President of Federation Toastmasters in Tenterfield. I hold the rank of Advanced Communicator Silver and Advanced Leader Bronze as well as the rare Triple Crown Award in Toastmasters.
“If you are ever invited to visit a Toastmasters club, I encourage you to go. After all, what is there to lose except painful shyness and fear of failure?”
Call (07) 4681 0120 for full details about Toastmasters club activities.
