Learning the gift of the gab easy
Julian Emmett has been with Toastmasters Whanganui for three years.
“My brother-in-law was involved, and through him I got into Toastmasters. One reason was to get out and give me something else to do, and it was something I knew that I could do,” he says.
Julian lives with cerebral palsy, and while it limits his mobility, it has no effect on his ability to speak with authority on many subjects.
“I had already spoken a couple of times. Once was at my wife’s funeral (Felicity died in October, 2014) and another occasion was when I had to speak to the select committee in Wellington in February 2015.”
Julian made a submission to the local government and environment select committee, arguing the Building (Earthquake-prone Buildings) Amendment Bill would discriminate against people with disabilities. Felicity started a petition against a clause which removed the requirement for building owners who had to earthquake strengthen their buildings to provide disability access. The petition was presented to Parliament and Julian continued the fight after Felicity died.
Disability access is a topic close to his heart, but he understands how some building owners would have difficulty complying.
“Having been in Toastmasters, I am able to look at both sides of an argument a bit more clearly.”
Thanks to an operation when he was a child, Julian is able to walk with the assistance of crutches, and he gets around long distances on a mobility scooter.
Julian trained as a teacher aide and helps out at the reading room at Whanganui Intermediate School.
Toastmasters is about effective verbal communication and honing the ability to present a reasoned argument. So what happens at a typical meeting?
“We’ve got the chairman who has to organise it, and that’s what I’m doing [this] week. My position in the club means I am responsible for public relations and I answer any queries that come through on the Facebook page.”
Also at the meeting is a grammarian. Part of their job is to listen to speeches and present a report on the quality of the language, including use of fillers (um, you know etc).
“They also have to note down any clever word usage and they will also have a word of the night. We had a good one a few weeks ago — procrustean [enforcing uniformity ignoring natural variation or individuality].” The objective is to try and fit the word into your speech somehow.
“One of the other roles is timekeeper. Everyone has an allotted time to speak. Most speeches will be from five to seven minutes.” Speakers are penalised for going over time.
“We have a table topics master, and they have to come up with a few topics. Anyone who hasn’t been given a speaking role has a chance to come up and speak. You’re put on the spot; you don’t know until you get up there what the topic is going to be. You’re given two minutes. That can really test you.”
Toastmasters members also compete or participate as judges in competitions.
One of Julian’s hobbies is competing in table top war games. His Toastmasters’ experience has helped him in organising the last three years’ war gaming tournaments in Whanganui.
“The biggest benefit of Toastmasters would be building up confidence, not just in talking with a group of people, but building confidence in oneself. It certainly provides organisational skills as well because everyone gets a chance to do the roles in a meeting. We all get a turn.”
Julian is renowned for his ability to pun and he has won Punmaster of the Year.
“I’ll go for the groans, but any laughs I get are a bonus,” he says. Toastmasters meets on the first, third and fifth Wednesday of each month, from 6.15pm at Room 1 Tutorial Block on the hospital grounds. Access Gate 2.
■ For information on Toastmasters Whanganui, message their Facebook page.