Hampshire Life: Scared speechless? Toastmasters make public speech easy
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Scott Lodzieski's trip to India 15 years ago remains a defining moment in his life, a journey that continues to resonate.
While Lodzieski is happy to talk casually about this experience abroad with friends and family, speaking before an audience is another matter. And on this night he will be presenting a talk to more than a dozen people paying close attention to every word he says as well as his body language.
As the 38-year-old Northampton resident sits in a metal folding chair prior to the start of his talk, he discovers that the notes he wrote for his four- to six-minute speech are missing, presumably left at home.
This will not make the task before him any easier.
"I've always been scared to be in front of people," says Lodzieski. "I want to be more comfortable."
Lodzieski is preparing to address his fellow Speakeasy Toastmasters, the Northampton-based branch of the international club that promotes public speaking and leadership skills.
With the time for his "icebreaker" speech approaching, Lodzieski composes himself, writing out some thoughts he wants to make sure he conveys in his talk.
He watches as the toastmaster for the evening begins the meeting, delivering greetings to everyone present. Then club president Jeff Smith explains that Lodzieski's first speech before the club, called an icebreaker, is something other members look forward to.
"We always get excited when new members give their first speech," Smith says.
"If you don't throw up or pass out, you're successful."
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It is often said, according to Toastmasters' lore, that people have a greater fear of public speaking than they do snakes, spiders or even death. The technical term for the fear of speaking is glossophobia. And while Lodzieski and many of the other 25 registered members that typically come to each meeting don't necessarily fit the phobia profile, they are still nervous about speaking before a crowd.
"I can tell you that over the years people have come in with the idea they would never get up in front of people and speak, and now they are polished speakers," says Mike Finn, vice president of public relations and a longtime member.
Finn is what is known as a distinguished toastmaster, the highest level of the five levels of speaking achievement that Toastmasters recognizes.
"The reason I came into Toastmasters was to hone my speaking skills," says the 63-year-old Finn, who joined in the early 1990s in Williamsport, Pa., after a career in the military. "I wanted to be more precise and concise."
Toastmasters is open to all, Finn says, from the self-employed to corporate managers. Membership dues are $27 for six months, plus a one-time $20 fee for new members. "Every occupation in the world is represented. Nothing is geared to anyone's specific occupation," he says.
"The reasons coming in are very personal," he adds.
Smith, an athletic trainer at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, says he has to get up 10 to 15 times every year to speak in front of people.
He became a member of Toastmasters in October 2009 to improve his job skills.
"One of my weaknesses, I felt, was public speaking."
"The main thing is more confidence in terms of the public speaking piece. The tools have allowed me to be more prepared," says the 42-year-old Sunderland resident.
Jennifer Lynch, of Hadley, came to Toastmasters deathly afraid of public speaking. In fact, when Lynch, 37, was in college she persuaded her department heads to waive a requirement to take a public speaking class.
"It was one of the stupidest things I've done," Lynch says. "I still struggle with public speaking. Toastmasters has been a good, supportive environment to practice my public speaking."
Lynch teaches fitness classes and Toastmasters has, given her more confidence with these.
As the father of three small children, Greg Rolland of Easthampton has a different reason for joining Toastmasters.
"My level of anxiety and stress has gone through the roof," says Rolland, who is 37 and works as a certified public accountant. "That manifests itself in my public speaking."
On this night, he will earn a trophy for delivering the best off-the-cuff remarks, talking about a New Year's resolution to write more letters.
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The fear and anxiety that for some people cansurround public speaking often comes from bad speech-making experiences in the past, said Tim Cochran, an associate professor of communications and theater at Holyoke Community College. Cochran has been teaching public speaking skills for a decade.
"Perhaps if we had more formal training as children, we may have been able to avert these powerful negative experiences so early in our impressionable lives," Cochran says.
He often tells his students that it is natural tofeel more awkward standing in front of people delivering a speech than relaying the same information in a conversation around a dinner table.
"One of the objectives when practicing the delivery of speeches is to normalize the awkward public speaking environment," Cochran says. "The more a person delivers a speech the more comfortable he or she will feel."
For those in the public eye, public speaking skills are a necessity.
And practice makes perfect.
Northampton Mayor Clare Higgins credits her time on the City Council with helping her polish her technique.
"I really got my public speaking skills on the job," Higgins says. In 1993, when she ran for a seat on the City Council, she trembled before her first debate, she remembers.
Today, she will write out a speech for important city occasions like inaugural and budget addresses. For most other events, however, she relies on notes or simply speaks extemporaneously.
"All public speaking is on-the-job training," says Amherst Town Manager John Musante.
Back when he was working for the city of New Bedford, he frequently had to appear before the City Council.
"Being in front of the City Council was like being cross-examined," Musante says. "That was a good thing."
Frequent interviews with a local television station also trained him to be clear and concise, Musante says.
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For those who don't have such roles, what can be accomplished through Toastmasters is demonstrated by someone like teacher Angela Larke. She joined Speakeasy Toastmasters in August, and earnedher "competent communicator" status, the first rung of achievement in Toastmasters, in December.
The 30-year-old Amherst resident came to the group when she was still looking for a job as the school year began. Larke appreciated that not only would her speaking skills improve, but that Toastmasters would be a good way to network with other people and enhance her leadership abilities.
"As a teacher I'm not scared of it, but I am nervous," Larke says of public speaking. She is actually accustomed to speaking in front of people: After all, she had to defend her master's thesis before a bigger audience than the 15 to 20 people typically at a weekly Toastmasters' meeting.
Larke is now a math enrichment teacher for Springfield's elementary schools. She completed her Toastmasters' level with a talkabout how she became closer to her family following her grandfather's death last year.
"I was actually more nervous giving my 10th speech than my first, but also excited because I knew I was about to achieve something," Larke says.
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The way Toastmasters aims to improve a person's speaking skills is woven into the meetings. Part of developing these skills, Finn says, is learning time management discipline, and this is instilled, in part, through keeping meetings on a tight schedule.
On this night, that responsibility falls on the "genial toastmaster," a sort of emcee for the event, Ian Fraser.
Fraser, 48, got his start in the club from the nonprofit work he does, which often requires him to do reports at meetings. He thought Toastmasters would help him think on his feet and not freezein front of a crowd.
The session begins with a business meeting and introductions before the two prepared speeches are delivered. On this night, along with Lodzieski's speech about India, Brian Errante, a four-year club veteran who recently returned to Toastmasters, injects humor into a serious subject by describing a personal case of bullying.
Errante, 57, of Shutesbury, who is already at advanced communicator bronze level, is working toward higher levels.
Marcus Johnson, 30, of Holyoke, leads the table topics discussions, a chance for impromptu speeches on a specific subject, which this night focused on New Year's resolutions.
Several other members have roles to play during the meeting. There's an "ah" counter, who takes notes during the entire meeting on audible pauses, the "ums," "ahs" and "you knows" that often fill speeches and conversation.
Another member is the grammarian, who looks for errors in grammar and is also responsible for the word of the day, designed to improve vocabulary. On this night that word is squinny, which is defined as the act of squinting. There is also an evaluator, who summarizes how well the meeting goes, and the timer, who operates lights to determine if people are going over their allotted time for speaking.
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So how did it go for Lodzieski?
At the podium he nervously puts some hastily arranged notes aside. Looking out to the audience, he begins describing the tropical atmosphere, the smells of the cities and the dirt that overpowered his senses in India. Only occasionally does he refer to his notes.
The speech ends with a round of applause.
Smith offers Lodzieski both praise and criticism.
"You really brought us to India in how you talked about it," says Smith.
Smith suggests, though, that Lodzieski was occasionally too casual in the delivery of his speech, and that he also needs to slow down a bit. And when showing a photograph from his travels, he should make sure the audience can see it.
Errante, the night's other speaker, marvels at Lodzieski's composure.
"I didn't do that well until my fifth speech," said Errante.
Lodzieski is pleased.
"I'm glad to get it done," he says. "I wasn't as nervous as I thought. I had a lot to relive."
Scott Merzbach can be contacted at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
