Meet Boston College's Toastmasters
Faculty and staff looking for an opportunity to improve their public speaking, communication, and leadership skills by way of a personal and professional development journey can do so through Boston College鈥檚 chapter of Toastmasters International.
A toastmaster is generally defined as a person who presides at social events, introducing speakers and making other formal announcements. Members of Toastmasters International鈥攚hich is celebrating its centennial鈥攑repare and present a toast or a speech, typically anywhere from five to seven minutes long.
Boston College Toastmasters President Jeffrey DeVaughn describes the club as a supportive, safe, and encouraging environment that not only strengthens leadership skills but fosters self-confidence.
鈥淥ne day that presentation is going to pop up on your calendar, or you might want to talk to somebody about something and don鈥檛 know how to go about it,鈥� said DeVaughn, associate director of athletics for major giving. 鈥淲e have the group for that right here on campus.鈥�
Toastmasters International, which numbers more than 14,000 clubs in 150 countries, has changed a handful of lives within the 香蕉秀 community since the chapter was chartered in 2018.
Wei Qiu, senior scientific computational consultant for Informational Technology Services and an immigrant from China, regards her professional and personal development journey through Toastmasters as one of the most 鈥渂eautiful memories鈥� of her life.
鈥淚鈥檇 never in my life talked for more than seven or eight minutes, especially in English. I still remember the day when I first stood there. I forgot everything I wrote. Someone told me, 鈥榊ou鈥檙e okay, you鈥檙e going to be okay,鈥� and then I turned back and began to talk. Now I teach classes and I do lectures for graduate students.鈥�
New members of Toastmasters prepare a speech called the 鈥淚ce Breaker,鈥� a four- to six-minute-long address which is a self-introduction to the group. Qiu enjoys this exercise particularly for the insight it offers into her peers鈥� lives. 鈥淚 really like doing the Ice Breaker talks because you get to learn people鈥檚 backgrounds. I shared my story and experience of immigrating to the United States and how I never knew I would be American. I love hearing those personal stories.鈥�
Another club favorite is 鈥渢able topics,鈥� an impromptu speaking activity that challenges members to react to rapid-fire questions in one- to two-minute responses. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a high-energy activity that is really fun because you鈥檙e trying to capture the floor and capture the audience within a brief time span,鈥� said DeVaughn.
Members are encouraged to cycle through the club roles as they work toward becoming a meeting toastmaster: 鈥淭imer,鈥� who tracks the time of the meeting; 鈥淕rammarian,鈥� who introduces a word for the day which members must try to incorporate into their speeches; 鈥淓valuator,鈥� who times speeches and analyzes behaviors such as body language; 鈥淎h-Counter,鈥� who counts filler sounds such as 鈥渁h鈥漵, 鈥渦m鈥漵, 鈥渓ike鈥漵, 鈥渂ut鈥漵, and 鈥渟o鈥漵; and 鈥淕eneral Evaluator,鈥� who facilitates the end of the meeting.
Depending on where a group member is on his or her pathway, a toastmaster can present any topic they are passionate about for up to 20 minutes. Lavette Scott-Smith, vice president of media relations and former club president, recently presented a 20-minute toastmaster speech she called 鈥淭he Dark Side of the Music Industry,鈥� where she explored the idea that musical artists 鈥渁re not really allowed to be who they are due to pressures to conform鈥� to the ever-changing images and concepts of the industry.
鈥淭he deeper you get into the Toastmasters path, the speech time increases because it becomes more of a project and test of all the knowledge you鈥檝e gained and all that you鈥檝e learned since the very beginning,鈥� said Scott-Smith, a training and events specialist for Information Technology Services.
The 香蕉秀 Toastmasters meet in room 119 of the 2150 St. Thomas More Apartments on the first and third Thursday of every month from noon to 1 p.m. A 鈥渓ove your speech鈥�-themed open house will be held on February 6 for those interested in joining or learning more about the group. For more information, visit the website or听or email bc-toastmasters-ggroup@bc.edu.
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