Be yourself to excel in public speaking, says world champ
Set up in 1995 in the capital, UAE’s first Toastmasters club celebrates its 600th meeting
You have to be yourself to excel in public speaking, according to the 2018 world champion of public speaking in the international speech contest of the Toastmasters International (TMI), a global non-profit offering leadership and public speaking training.
Ramona J. Smith, 31, a highschool teacher from Houston in the US who outshone 30,000 participants in August to win the world’s largest speech contest, was addressing the 600th meeting of the Abu Dhabi Toastmasters, last week.
“First thing I learnt is that it is not about the title.” She worked hard for it because it was an opportunity to listen to other wise people. “The second thing I learnt was just be myself. I was criticised that I was too dramatic and too theatrical [in the winning speech]”.
However, Smith explained that the way she spoke was part of her trait and she won because she maintained her own personality on the stage.
Saima Shaikh, president of the Abu Dhabi Toastmasters — the first Toastmasters club in the UAE, which was established in 1995, said the club’s uniqueness was its long-standing members. “More than half our members have been with us for more than five years and some even more than 15 years and up to 18 years.”
A few years ago she did not know how to speak in public. “At this club, I got my directions right and I just went ahead. Here I am today, standing tall as club president,” said Shaikh, a Pakistani engineer.
Abraham Thomas, a founding member, presented the milestones of the club in a presentation at the event.
Another founding member, Loyola Pinto, who was the master of ceremonies, said the club helped his growth as an individual and professional.
A prominent founding member of the club, Dr B.R. Shetty, chairman of BRS Ventures, said Toastmasters helped him a lot in his business career.
He said many of his colleagues also benefited by the leadership and the public-speaking training offered by the club.
Sultan Al Hajji, a club patron and a senior toastmaster, said it is a good platform to be a good leader and a better person. He said Toastmasters made his life better and happier.