Tongue-tied techies learn the gift of the gab
It’s not enough to have a great idea … KW Toastmasters helps locals to sell it
WATERLOO — There’s a useful skill in the tech sector that not everybody has: The ability to quickly sell an investor on your idea.
It’s called an elevator pitch. You have minutes to persuade someone to back your venture. What you say and how you say it could make or break a startup.
Knowing this, some technology workers are going old-school to learn the gift of the gab. They’ve joined KW Toastmasters, the venerable public speaking club, to take them from tongue-tied to silky smooth.
Toastmasters president Aazir Munir, 23, has seen people in the tech sector struggle to make a pitch.
“We have lots of great people come in and they’ll have an idea that you’ll know is great, but if they’re not able to communicate and deliver that message, it gets lost,” Munir said. “I think Toastmasters is something that’s just perfect for that.”
Munir works for software firm Venuiti Solutions and is web manager for nonprofit Trusted Clothes. The training he’s received from Toastmasters helps him communicate with his boss.
“I know I should use body language,” he said. “I know I should slow down and make sure that I’m heard. I think that’s something that’s very important for tech.”
Harry Major, 58, joined Toastmasters to help him pitch investors on a mobile app he co-founded called Streetcast.
“When you do an investment pitch to investors, you’ve got a designated amount of time. Not one second more,” he said. “My goal is just to make a concise and meaningful speech in the time frame that you’re allocated.”
Software developer Tessa Starkey, 31, got into her career thinking she wouldn’t have to talk to people a lot. She was wrong. “There’s a lot of collaboration,” she said.
A supervisor recommended Toastmasters “after I gave a presentation which I guess didn’t go very well,” she said. Five years later, she’s far more comfortable about speaking up where she works, at Brock Solutions.
Joining Toastmasters reminded Jessica Jean Armstrong, 24, that interacting with people is different from interacting digitally. She works for a startup called Vimix.
“Really now, it’s only occurred to me how important and necessary it is to have strong communication skills, in the business world
When you do a pitch to investors, you’ve got a designated amount of time. Not one second more.” HARRY MAJOR
and in every aspect of your life,” she said.
Toastmasters is a nonprofit educational organization with an international reach.
The local club, celebrating 60 years, was founded in 1957 by 19 men who worked as salespeople, accountants and managers. They dedicated it to creative leadership and thought-provoking speeches, recognizing the value of effective criticism and “knowing that preparation, knowledge, industry, practise and skill are necessary.”
Robert Ritchie, 90, was among the founders. Unsure what to expect, he found that Toastmasters gave him speaking skills and confidence, helping his career as a financial controller at General Instrument Canada. “It was time well-spent,” he said, citing high positions that other founders achieved.
Today’s club is far more diverse than in 1957, counting women, people of colour and new immigrants among its members. They meet Tuesday nights in the Waterloo Accelerator Centre, a campus technology hub that’s provided them space since last year. Club membership (to cover operating costs) is $75 for six months plus a one-time $40 fee.
The slogan of the organization: Every toastmaster’s journey starts with a single speech.
Recently, 19 members and guests met in Waterloo to practise speaking against a timer. They prepared short speeches and crafted other speeches on the spot. They took turns speaking, working on how to command an audience and speak assertively.
They rated each other’s performances, competing for chocolates. Was their speech clear, concise, easy to follow? Did they make their point? Did they connect with everyone in the room? Did they use props and body language effectively? Did they do something distracting? They practised listening as much as speaking. They watched their grammar and learned new words. They accepted feedback. And they laughed.
Oleg Chernukhin, 33, scored with a minute-long speech about vacation fun, crafted on the spot about a canoe trip he took. He argued that sometimes you have fun while doing something. But sometimes you decide only later that it was fun, looking back on what seemed onerous in the moment.
Members voted his speech most-improved. He’s a software developer with an engineering degree who struggles sometimes to make his point, possibly because his first language is Russian.
Sometimes at work, Chernukhin will have an idea but can’t always convey it on the fly in a meeting. Later he’ll realize what he might have said. Sometimes he loses track of what he wants to say. He struggles to escape his notes.
“Toastmasters is a really good way to maybe improve on some of those,” he said.
Michael Gusev, 35, prepared a cheerful, five-minute speech about his background. In it he riffed on poorly made Soviet televisions, how to intimidate other soccer players, and the most common way to solve information technology problems.
Gusev works in information technology. His Russian accent is strong.
“My work also includes lots of communication with different people. And I think the clearer I can put my thoughts, the easier it is for people to talk to me,” he said. “I think there is this stereotype about (information technology) people being socially awkward and maybe a bit shy. And maybe this stereotype is true for some of us.”
Joining Toastmasters has helped Vijay Ramanunny, 50, at work and at home, where his family finds he communicates better. He’s an entrepreneur at Communitech Data Hub.
“The way the region is going, toward technology, we would like to be offering something for the people who are in that sector,” he said.
He’s impressed by public speakers such as former U.S. president Barack Obama who know how to make their point and command attention.
“That is what I didn’t have and I’m slowly improving that,” he said. “I really enjoy the journey. I only wish I should have started a little earlier.”