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How to overcome the fear of speaking in public
By Xu Wenwen |
February 23, 2011, Wednesday
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THREE years ago, the thought of speaking in public or making a presentation to his colleagues made Junny Chen extremely nervous. Today he is a skilled orator.
He is not alone. Many people, even some who are naturally confident, have a fear of public speaking. It is especially difficult for Chinese people who, compared with their Western peers, have much less debate classes and give far fewer presentations during school. And surely, it is harder if they need to give a speech in English.
But people can overcome this fear in a friendly environment by joining the Hangzhou Westlake Bilingual Toastmasters Club. Members help and encourage each other to become more comfortable when speaking in front of others.
Almost every member of the club says they "have been transformed" as they now have the confidence to speak in front of others.
Chen says since joining Toastmasters three years ago, he has gone from a person "afraid of public speaking" to someone "who loves to share his thoughts in public."
Chen is proof that Toastmasters helps.
The Toastmasters club is a non-profit, non-governmental international educational organization that cultivates public speaking and leadership skills through a worldwide network.
The first Toastmasters club started in California in 1924 and other branches soon mushroomed worldwide. Now there are more than 260,000 members in over 12,500 clubs in 113 countries and regions. Each club averages about 20 to 40 members.
"Rather than teaching people how to make a speech, the idea of Toastmasters is to provide a learning environment where members are able to evaluate and encourage each other to develop communication and leadership skills," says Vivian Liu, president of the Hangzhou club.
There are 136 clubs around China, and eight clubs locally, of which seven are affiliated to a university or company. Hangzhou Westlake Bilingual Toastmasters Club, which formed in 2008, is the only one open to the public, and is the city's first branch.
The club was first initiated with the help of the Shanghai Toastmasters Club. Liao Gelin, previously a member of the Shanghai club, helped start the Hangzhou chapter.
"Three years ago I moved to Hangzhou for work and I found there was no Toastmasters club," Ge says. "But I love the club, so I was determined to set up one.
"Hangzhou is a big city and needs a public speaking club," Ge continues. "When I contacted the Toastmasters headquarters to inquire if there was anyone with the same idea, I soon found five pals, and we did the work."
There are now 31 members in the club. With both Mandarin and English speaking groups. Members are from all walks of life, but typically they are young professionals such as teachers, entrepreneurs and department heads mixed in withsome college students.
Each member can advance their level, from competent communicator to distinguished toastmaster, by making abundant public speeches.
For instance, a CC1 (competitive communicator level-1) can improve to CC2 by giving a public speech ranging from 5 to 7 minutes.
When the member finishes 10 designated speech projects, he or she can receive a CC certificate and start work in the Advanced Communicator Series.
Toastmasters members never "fail," but if they are not satisfied with their performance they can repeat the speech. Other members will not offer a grade, but rather provide comments and feedback to help them improve.
Annie Ding, vice president of the Nanjing Toastmasters Club, who occasionally shows up in Hangzhou club, recalls her initial experience with the club.
"The first time I was appointed to speak on a topic in English I was so nervous that my mind went completely blank," she says. "I barely said a word for a long while, then I left the stage, feeling awkward and humiliated."
The evaluation team didn't criticize Ding, instead, everybody came over to comfort her, telling her everybody feels more or less the same at the start.
"Encouragement does work better than criticism," Ding says. "Since then I realized people in toastmasters do not mock or satire others, because they have been there as well. Therefore I feel more relaxed on the stage."
There are many similar stories. Joyce Ke says her body never shakes (due to nerves) when speaking publicly now. Alex Wang says giving English speeches helped him get a high score in IELTS. Radium Yang says he is always encouraged and feels frankness from his fellow members.
"Toastmasters offers manuals with a whole set of rules for every session, such as speech topics and evaluation," Liu says. "This provides perfect instruction for every club."
Toastmasters member Eric Xu says one of the club's strengths is that it allows everyone to be themselves.
"I feel no utilitarianism in the club, which is very rare," says Xu, a college teacher and new member. "Though we debate and discuss together, everybody is equal and free to state their own ideas."
This Sunday, a new club, Hangzhou Qiantang Bilingual Toastmasters Club will be set up at the Hangzhou International Conference Center (the round, golden building in Qianjiang New Town) at 2:30pm. Everybody is welcome to join.
Hangzhou Westlake Bilingual Toastmasters Club
Venue: 1/F, Meeting room, Fangcaoyuan Hotel in Zhejiang Foreign Language School, 140 Wensan Rd
Date: Every Wednesday (except for public holidays)
Admission: 20 yuan (US$3) for guests, 10 yuan for members
Email: liaogreen@gmail.com
He is not alone. Many people, even some who are naturally confident, have a fear of public speaking. It is especially difficult for Chinese people who, compared with their Western peers, have much less debate classes and give far fewer presentations during school. And surely, it is harder if they need to give a speech in English.
But people can overcome this fear in a friendly environment by joining the Hangzhou Westlake Bilingual Toastmasters Club. Members help and encourage each other to become more comfortable when speaking in front of others.
Almost every member of the club says they "have been transformed" as they now have the confidence to speak in front of others.
Chen says since joining Toastmasters three years ago, he has gone from a person "afraid of public speaking" to someone "who loves to share his thoughts in public."
Chen is proof that Toastmasters helps.
The Toastmasters club is a non-profit, non-governmental international educational organization that cultivates public speaking and leadership skills through a worldwide network.
The first Toastmasters club started in California in 1924 and other branches soon mushroomed worldwide. Now there are more than 260,000 members in over 12,500 clubs in 113 countries and regions. Each club averages about 20 to 40 members.
"Rather than teaching people how to make a speech, the idea of Toastmasters is to provide a learning environment where members are able to evaluate and encourage each other to develop communication and leadership skills," says Vivian Liu, president of the Hangzhou club.
There are 136 clubs around China, and eight clubs locally, of which seven are affiliated to a university or company. Hangzhou Westlake Bilingual Toastmasters Club, which formed in 2008, is the only one open to the public, and is the city's first branch.
The club was first initiated with the help of the Shanghai Toastmasters Club. Liao Gelin, previously a member of the Shanghai club, helped start the Hangzhou chapter.
"Three years ago I moved to Hangzhou for work and I found there was no Toastmasters club," Ge says. "But I love the club, so I was determined to set up one.
"Hangzhou is a big city and needs a public speaking club," Ge continues. "When I contacted the Toastmasters headquarters to inquire if there was anyone with the same idea, I soon found five pals, and we did the work."
There are now 31 members in the club. With both Mandarin and English speaking groups. Members are from all walks of life, but typically they are young professionals such as teachers, entrepreneurs and department heads mixed in withsome college students.
Each member can advance their level, from competent communicator to distinguished toastmaster, by making abundant public speeches.
For instance, a CC1 (competitive communicator level-1) can improve to CC2 by giving a public speech ranging from 5 to 7 minutes.
When the member finishes 10 designated speech projects, he or she can receive a CC certificate and start work in the Advanced Communicator Series.
Toastmasters members never "fail," but if they are not satisfied with their performance they can repeat the speech. Other members will not offer a grade, but rather provide comments and feedback to help them improve.
Annie Ding, vice president of the Nanjing Toastmasters Club, who occasionally shows up in Hangzhou club, recalls her initial experience with the club.
"The first time I was appointed to speak on a topic in English I was so nervous that my mind went completely blank," she says. "I barely said a word for a long while, then I left the stage, feeling awkward and humiliated."
The evaluation team didn't criticize Ding, instead, everybody came over to comfort her, telling her everybody feels more or less the same at the start.
"Encouragement does work better than criticism," Ding says. "Since then I realized people in toastmasters do not mock or satire others, because they have been there as well. Therefore I feel more relaxed on the stage."
There are many similar stories. Joyce Ke says her body never shakes (due to nerves) when speaking publicly now. Alex Wang says giving English speeches helped him get a high score in IELTS. Radium Yang says he is always encouraged and feels frankness from his fellow members.
"Toastmasters offers manuals with a whole set of rules for every session, such as speech topics and evaluation," Liu says. "This provides perfect instruction for every club."
Toastmasters member Eric Xu says one of the club's strengths is that it allows everyone to be themselves.
"I feel no utilitarianism in the club, which is very rare," says Xu, a college teacher and new member. "Though we debate and discuss together, everybody is equal and free to state their own ideas."
This Sunday, a new club, Hangzhou Qiantang Bilingual Toastmasters Club will be set up at the Hangzhou International Conference Center (the round, golden building in Qianjiang New Town) at 2:30pm. Everybody is welcome to join.
Hangzhou Westlake Bilingual Toastmasters Club
Venue: 1/F, Meeting room, Fangcaoyuan Hotel in Zhejiang Foreign Language School, 140 Wensan Rd
Date: Every Wednesday (except for public holidays)
Admission: 20 yuan (US$3) for guests, 10 yuan for members
Email: liaogreen@gmail.com
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