The lack of a favorable environment to practice communication in English hindered the development of my conversational skills. Likewise, when I need to speak English on a forum, I’m not confident because my speaking skills are limited. I had a fear of public speaking that was starting to hold me back both professionally and socially.
My desire to learn prompted me to join several online courses. But I feel less than optimal. Then I remembered that one of my teachers joined the toastmaster, one of the public speaking clubs in Indonesia. I tried to find information about the toastmaster and finally I joined the meeting. During the first meeting I felt that this meeting room was very important, room for improvement. The room with positive support, helps people upskill while enhancing our self-esteem at the same time. And without waiting too long I joined Malang Toastmaster Club. It was the best decision I made.
This learning process is still long, but I really enjoy this process, which always has a positive effect on me, enhancing my knowledge and supporting my career. In toastmaster I found a place to learn and grow to be better and better.
– Ana Yudha
I used to be afraid of doing presentation in front of my friends when I was in college. I missed the time when I was able to perform storytelling and speeches confidently during my junior high school years.
Therefore, finding and joining Toastmasters is like finding a gem to me. I feel like I am able to build my courage again to speak confidently. Besides, Toastmasters has helped me a lot in many ways. Without me realizing, my communication, negotiation, and presentation skills are getting better. I am so much different than I was in my college.
I believe that I still have a really long way to go. There’s a lot of things I can indulge in this great environment. Toastmasters is not a place for aspiring public speaker or English speaking person only. But, Toastmasters is for everybody who wants to grow bigger and better.
– Dinny Raudhatun Nurris
Being a teacher requires degree, knowledge and arts. I thought teaching is just a science-based area which is explainable by psychology, pedagogy and social science. In fact, I found out that teaching requires arts, especially communication arts. I have to confess that I hated arts since I was a kid. However, Toastmasters helps me to brush up my skills on communication arts and overcome my pet-pevees. Speeches indeed help me to tap into myself which allow me to understand why I hate arts so much. It helps me on communicating myself better.
However, my favorite part is the evaluation session. Since I didn’t like arts, it’s easier for me to be a “killer teacher”. Being an evaluator, I’ve learned how to deliver a constructive speech which is insightful and motivating. I use this technique to young learners and to my surprise, it helps them to motivate themselves to be a better English speaker. They are aware of their mistakes but at the same time, they understand that they make progress. Communication arts is indeed a challenge for me yet Toastmasters has its way so I can enjoy and master the arts.
– Margarette Narlita Isoya
Malang Toastmaster Club 