Opening Address November 2009

When I joined Toastmasters, it took me many years to pluck up the courage to take part in a humorous speech contest. I had limiting beliefs that I was not funny and I could not possibly make anyone laugh.  Better not embarrass myself. 

But recently at our club's humorous speech contest, two of our newer members took part in the contest although they had less than one year's experience in Toastmasters. Either they were very gullible to believe the VPE when he said it was compulsory for all members to take part in the contest, or they had the courage to TRY.  I believe it was the latter. 

During the contest, I happened to be seated next to a judge.  One of the new members was the first contestant.  When he opened his mouth to speak,  the judge tactlessly commented to me, "Wah, like that also can take part in contest!"  I was peeved but that was not a good time to give him a piece of my mind.  If not for my self-control and self-restraint, the judge might have ended up on the floor with a bleeding nose.  Thankfully I am a civilised person. 

I did not get a chance to tell the judge what I thought that day, but this is what I would have said, "TO TRY, YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE GOOD; BUT TO BE GOOD, YOU MUST TRY!"

The wonderful thing about Toastmasters is that it provides us with the opportunities to try out many different speaking roles, be it as a speaker, evaluator or TME and so on.  If you were given the opportunity to be a project evaluator, a language evaluator or a contestant, what would your response be? Would you say YES enthusiastically? Or like most people, reject the offer with reasons like 'I'm not experienced enough', 'I don't know how to be an evaluator' etc.

True, for certain roles such as TME or project evaluator, some experience is required.  But most of the time, it is our limiting beliefs that stops us from trying.  If you feel you are inadequate to take on a role,  do realise that there are many things you can do about it.  You can attend workshops that teach you skills you need (such as LE workshops), you can observe more experienced toastmasters, you can read up on resources on the internet or get your mentor to share his/her experiences with you. 

So the next time opportunity comes knocking on your door, what will your response be? When your beloved club President or VPE calls you and says, 'Nik, would you like to be the LE for our next chapter meeting?' or 'Tarwin, would you like to take part in the Table Topics Contest?', or 'Ben, would you like to serve in the EXCO next term?',  don't say NO. Instead, embrace the opportunity and take actions to empower yourself to take on the role.  And remember, "TO TRY, YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE GOOD; BUT TO BE GOOD, YOU MUST TRY!"