My First Toastmasters Speech  

Posted by Ray in

I gave my ToastMasters Ice-Breaker speech yesterday. Got some good reviews. The evaluator said I overdid my hand expressions and used a bunch of filler words. The grammarian said my grammar was good but said I used "uh" and "um" about 14 times. I was told to work on that. If you are interested in knowing what I spoke, continue reading (some of you who know me well, please understand that this was only a speech and I tried not to lie too much).

What I want to be

A recent survey has said that the number 1 fear for people is public speaking and number 2 is death. So according to the numbers, people would prefer to be in the casket instead of giving the eulogy. So here I am to give my Ice-breaker speech to break my fear of the ice - public speaking.

My parents named me Ravichandran. Ravi in Sanskrit means Sun and Chandran means Moon. They probably wanted me to enlighten the whole world. But the closest I got to that was when I was a kid, one night when my cousins were stealing stuff from my Grandfathers carpentry shed, I was holding the torch light.

As a kid, I never had a proper goal. I wanted to be everything that I liked. Initially I wanted to be a doctor because doctors have their own rooms with all the fancy things hanging on the wall. They have a bunch of good looking stationery on the table. I didn't know at that time that they were all free gifts from Medical representatives. Also they had Air-conditioning. A/C was a luxury in India back in those days. Still considered to be a luxury.

I also wanted to be a bakery salesman. Because you could eat all you want. Fresh biscuits and puffs and pastries. I also wanted to be a policeman because you can beat others. I'm sure you understand that kids like eating and beating. I was a well-built kid, but not a bully.

And then I wanted to be cricketer. Cricket is a religion in India and cricketers are Gods. I wished I would have a magic ring or a lamp which would help me hit sixers off every ball. I wanted a ring that would help me take 6 wickets in an over. Overnight, I would become a celebrity.

A kid, I'm sure many of you here would agree with me, always wants attention.

As a kid, I was good in studies. I always came first, that is after the top 10 students in my class. I hated Mathematics. I was never good at Math until my 9th grade. Then it all changed. My parents sent me to a private tutor who changed the way I looked at Math. He not only made me do well in Math, he also made me love Math. Apart from teaching Math, he used to tell me a lot of stories from Hindu Mythology. For the first time in my life, I liked a teacher.

He used to tell this often - A young kids' brain is like fresh clay. A teacher can make a Lord Ganesha out of it or make a monkey out of it. So being a teacher is no joke. And that day I decided, whatever I would go on to do in my life, I will become a teacher someday.

I did my graduate study in Computer Science and that is what is helping me make a living. I will continue to make a living being a Consultant. But one day, after returning to India, probably around the time I retire, I will become a teacher.

A teacher should stand in front of the class and should be able to inspire the students. And for that good communication is important. I hope ToastMasters will help me become a good speaker and communicator.

Thanks for listening.



This is all I could speak in 6 minutes. If you have a Toastmasters Club, near your home, I suggest you join if you are interested in improving your speaking skills.

Your comments are most welcome.

அன்புடன்,
Ravi

This entry was posted on June 4, 2008 at Wednesday, June 04, 2008 and is filed under . You can follow any responses to this entry through the comments feed .

1 comments

Anonymous  

Ravi:

Congratulations on the delivery of your first Toastmasters speech. You have delivered an excellent speech, and I'm sure the audience must have appreciated it. I enjoyed reading it.

Good luck on your future journey in Toastmasters, and in your future as a teacher.

June 7, 2008 at 12:20 AM

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