ToastMasters

For some strange reason, I always thought this was a silly hobby.  What's the big deal about a group of people making speeches, I used to think.  I used to do a ton of public speaking when I was in school.  That was many many years ago, dammit.  And I absolutely loved it.  And then for another strange reason, I stopped doing it in college.  Literally clammed up.  Crazy.  Realized recently that I need to hone my speaking skills, especially in front of large audiences.  Need to learn to project in the right way, exude confidence, blah blah.  And so along came Toastmasters.  Bunch of folks on the team formed the club at work and I avoided it for a year.  Again, for some unknown strange reason.  Finally joined a couple of months ago.  And I must say that I LOVE it!  Its really a whole lot of fun.  Its a very safe environment to try stuff, practise, get some good feedback and generally have fun.  You get what you put into it, so when you prepare an actual speech and deliver it and get critiqued on it, you really get something back from it.  Besides, its a fun group of folks.

Toastmasters is a really really huge organization with chapters all over the world.  Was really amazed to learn how widespread and active it is.