2008 Woodie Awards
Speech, speech
Gina Pusateri - The Daily Iowan
Issue date: 12/4/07 Section: Metro
- Page 1 of 1
Iowa City is certainly a place for active involvement; there are clubs all over the city devoted to music, languages, and even flowers. But who would have thought there would be a club devoted to Americans' overall No. 1 fear: public speaking?
Actually, the club's meetings aren't fearful at all - the Old Capitol Toastmasters exists to provide a supportive learning environment to help members hone speaking and leadership skills. The weekly meetings provide an open forum for thoughts in the form of speeches and evaluation by their peers. Many people join Toastmasters because they have something to say but haven't mastered a way to say it. Visitors are always welcome - so students looking to ace a rhetoric debate may find relief from those butterflies harbored so conveniently in their stomachs.
Meetings, held on Tuesdays at 5:45 p.m. in the Masonic Temple, 312 E. College St., start with a word, thought, and jest of the day.
"The main requirements [for the jest] is that it has to be funny," said President Eric Roalson. "Well, maybe it doesn't have to be funny … humor is in the eye of the beholder."
One particularly animated member is Janie Schmidt, a homemaker in Iowa City. She has been a member for more than 12 years, and while she often makes the others laugh, she joined for a very personal, somber reason.
"I had an experience with cancer and was looking for a change in my life," she said. "I usually like to approach things with humor."
Schmidt wants to sharpen her speaking skills so she can share her struggles with cancer with others -including her fellow Toastmasters, whom she now considers close friends.
Looking around at this modest group of people (no more than a dozen, on average) it's hard to believe the club is actually a part of something much larger in scope. Toastmasters is an international organization divided into regions, districts, divisions, areas, and clubs, such as the one that meets in Iowa City. Members from different locations have an opportunity to meet with each other at semiannual conventions.
"I just found out the governor of Hawaii is a Toastmaster," said Janice Frey, the sergeant at arms for the Old Capitol Toastmasters. Other renowned Toastmasters including Tim Allen, Chris Matthews, and former Wimbeldon champion Billie Jean King.
The speaking portion of the meeting concludes with evaluations of the principal speechmakers and then a portion called "Table Topics." One person opens a discussion, and other members are asked to comment.
"Sometimes in our professional lives, we're asked to say things kind of off the cuff," Roalson said. "That's what this portion is for."
But professional advancement aside, the Toastmasters take this time to learn about each other.
"No speech topic is off limits," Schmidt said. "Speeches can be about faith, politics, what you burned in the kitchen, cats, Christmas carols … hope."
E-mail DI reporter Gina Pusateri at:
gina-pusateri@uiowa.edu
Actually, the club's meetings aren't fearful at all - the Old Capitol Toastmasters exists to provide a supportive learning environment to help members hone speaking and leadership skills. The weekly meetings provide an open forum for thoughts in the form of speeches and evaluation by their peers. Many people join Toastmasters because they have something to say but haven't mastered a way to say it. Visitors are always welcome - so students looking to ace a rhetoric debate may find relief from those butterflies harbored so conveniently in their stomachs.
Meetings, held on Tuesdays at 5:45 p.m. in the Masonic Temple, 312 E. College St., start with a word, thought, and jest of the day.
"The main requirements [for the jest] is that it has to be funny," said President Eric Roalson. "Well, maybe it doesn't have to be funny … humor is in the eye of the beholder."
One particularly animated member is Janie Schmidt, a homemaker in Iowa City. She has been a member for more than 12 years, and while she often makes the others laugh, she joined for a very personal, somber reason.
"I had an experience with cancer and was looking for a change in my life," she said. "I usually like to approach things with humor."
Schmidt wants to sharpen her speaking skills so she can share her struggles with cancer with others -including her fellow Toastmasters, whom she now considers close friends.
Looking around at this modest group of people (no more than a dozen, on average) it's hard to believe the club is actually a part of something much larger in scope. Toastmasters is an international organization divided into regions, districts, divisions, areas, and clubs, such as the one that meets in Iowa City. Members from different locations have an opportunity to meet with each other at semiannual conventions.
"I just found out the governor of Hawaii is a Toastmaster," said Janice Frey, the sergeant at arms for the Old Capitol Toastmasters. Other renowned Toastmasters including Tim Allen, Chris Matthews, and former Wimbeldon champion Billie Jean King.
The speaking portion of the meeting concludes with evaluations of the principal speechmakers and then a portion called "Table Topics." One person opens a discussion, and other members are asked to comment.
"Sometimes in our professional lives, we're asked to say things kind of off the cuff," Roalson said. "That's what this portion is for."
But professional advancement aside, the Toastmasters take this time to learn about each other.
"No speech topic is off limits," Schmidt said. "Speeches can be about faith, politics, what you burned in the kitchen, cats, Christmas carols … hope."
E-mail DI reporter Gina Pusateri at:
gina-pusateri@uiowa.edu
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