Thursday, July 31, 2014

How Toastmaster helps you to become better speaker

It takes courage to stand in front of people and deliver a speech. Even nerve-wrecking is getting on that dreadful elevator ride with the big boss as you are not able to sustain a conversation besides a simple greeting.

Whether one aims to give a convincing presentation at the next management seating or even secretly planted hopes to be a stand-up comedian one day, good skills in communication is necessary. In order for one to become good at public speaking, one must be able to practice the art of speaking in a safe environment where mistakes are welcome for learning purposes. This was the sole intention that PESONA Toastmasters Club was established by Technical Global (previously PCSB Development Division) in 2008.

The club aimed at enhancing public speaking skills by providing a supportive and informal atmosphere where members can practice speaking to different crowds on a variety of subjects. Currently, the Toastmaster International fraternity spreads out globally in 122 countries with 292,000 members in 14,350 clubs.

There are 3 main parts to a toastmaster meeting – 1) Table Topic session, where members can practise their “Thinking and Speaking extemporaneously on their feet” skills, 2) Prepared speech session, where members will be delivering speeches based on the manuals provided by the Toastmaster International, and 3) Evaluation session, where members will be given recommendation to further improve their speaking ability.

PESONA Toastmaster club has in the past hosted many inspirational session with many local and International speakers for the benefit of PETRONAS staff, ie. Stephen Fernando, Malaysian champion in Public Speaking and Darren Lacroix, World Champion in Public Speaking. Both events were attended by more than 150 staffs from all over PETRONAS.

One particular member, Rosidah Hardiani is a proud member of the club and manage to carry the Toastmaster banner and posed with it atop the Mount Kinabalu. Her steely resolve in conquering the peak was clearly as strong as her unspoken dedication to self-improvement in Toastmasters. According to her, “Toastmasters helps me to unleash my potential: a journey to elevate my communication & leadership skills, helping others, and to be more myself”


Guests are welcomed to join club meetings every first and third Thursday of every month. For further information about toastmaster, please don’t hesitate to contact its President Suhana Sidik or the Vice President of Public Relation, Hanan Othman to know more about the Toastmasters and what we can do for you in terms of developing effective and efficient public speaking skills.

Hope to see you at our next meeting.

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