By: Umesh Jetty, CC, CL, IP1
It was August 15th, India’s Independence day. I was 12 years old. In our neighborhood, every year, we get together as a community to celebrate Independence Day by hoisting the national flag, singing songs, and enjoying snacks and drinks. That year, I decided to participate in the celebrations by singing a song. I selected a very popular patriotic song from a recent movie. It was one of my favorite songs and I knew the song very well. Everything was going great and I was excited. Soon my name was announced. I climbed onto the make-shift stage and started singing. Midway through the song, I forgot the lyrics! I stood there, frozen, for what seemed like an eternity. I didn’t know what to do. I panicked, and yelled at the guy holding the screen to close it quickly! The derisive laughter of the audience as I ran off the stage still rings in my ears.
That was my first and only foray into public speaking or public singing for a long, long time. I managed to stay away from any kind of public appearances through high school, college, and my first few jobs. I didn’t know it then but I was a classic introvert – introspective, quiet, and more interested in reading books instead of socializing.
India and the acceptance of introversion
In eastern cultures, introversion was perfectly acceptable. In India, unlike the United States, “reserved” and the “strong and silent” personality traits were considered virtues. People who talk too much and who are too friendly were frowned upon and not trusted. So, my quiet ways were acceptable and normal in that part of the world.
America, the world of the extroverts
Then I came to the United States to work as a computer programmer. It dawned on me fairly quickly that there was a strong bias towards extroversion in American society. One should be a “Go-Getter”, must be “Gung ho”. To be great is to be bold; to be happy is to be sociable. These are all characteristics of an extrovert personality type.
I noticed that this bias towards extroversion in American society begins early: in schools. We show and we tell. We arrange our desks in groups or pods. We work in teams to do everything from calculus to creative writing. Then we criticize those who’d rather sit by themselves, work by themselves, or think before they talk.
My Club, West Pines Toastmasters
As I moved up the career ladder into project management and business analysis roles, I was expected to give presentations, run large meetings, manage teams and so on. Initially, I had a hard time coping with these responsibilities, and then I heard about Toastmasters International. First I joined the Weston Toastmasters Club. It was a great club but it was too large and I was hardly getting opportunities to participate and improve my speaking skills. I discontinued after a few months. And then I heard about West Pines Toastmasters in early 2017. Initially, we were just a handful of members meeting each week. The atmosphere was friendly and encouraging. Each member was motivated to improve their public speaking skills and we were helping each other to achieve this common goal. Some days we did two, three rounds of Table Topics. The purpose of Table Topics is to practice impromptu speaking skills. The group was so small back then that most meetings each member had to fulfill multiple roles.
I recall that when I gave my first speech (aka “Ice Breaker”), I was a nervous wreck, shaking and breathing heavily. I thought I was going to have a heart attack, but I persevered. After the evaluation, I learned that my speech was littered with “crutch” words, such as “you know”, “like”, “er”, “so” etc. I also had trouble with eye contact and hand gestures. Gradually, from speech to speech and from table topic to table topic, I improved. My fellow Toastmasters also improved as well. I have witnessed a number of them become great speakers right in front of my eyes. I attribute it partly to their strong desire to improve their speaking skills and also the friendly, fun-loving, and encouraging environment that we foster during our meetings.
So far, I have presented more than 20 speeches and volunteered for various roles in a Toastmasters meeting. I have completed my Competent Communication (CC) award and Competent Leader (CL) award. I completed a few speeches in an Advanced Communications manual. Most recently, I started the Pathways Learning Experience’s Innovative Planning path and am serving as Club Secretary. I still think there is plenty of room for improvement in my public speaking skills, and I plan to keep working on them at West Pines Toastmasters.
Fastest growing club in South Florida
Our club is one of the fastest-growing Toastmasters clubs in South Florida. We have grown from 10 to 12 members a couple of years ago to more than 35 members, and we attract a number of guests each meeting. On average, about 20 to 25 members and guests attend each of our meetings.
Did I say we are fun-loving? I believe I did. Apart from the weekly meetings, our club hosts a number of social events for members and guests. Please come and visit us. We meet every Wednesday from 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM. You will love it!