From Fear to Confidence: My Toastmasters Journey
by TM Faisal Fareed
Member, Dreamweavers Toastmasters Club
When my friend invited to a Toastmasters meeting. As usual I refused to go, even though I had nothing to do that evening.
I didn’t even know what Toastmasters is. Instead of explaining he asked me to join and experience the meeting.
I went with him and saw some people were giving speeches and others were timing, taking notes on grammar & Ah’s.
It was so easy sitting back and watching the show, so far so good.
Then the Table topic session started. Few people were stepping into the stage and just talking instantly.
I felt this is so easy to talk about anything for a while. So very confidently I went to the stage and chose a topic.
The topic was so simple and there were thousands of ideas that came into my mind.
But the moment I tried to open my mouth I could not even utter a word.
I completely lost and stunned in front of the audience. Felt embarrassed but the amazing members didn’t let me down.
They applauded and motivated me to speak anything from my heart.
I moment I took back my seat I realized what you see feels easy but when you actually do it’s not.
On that day I understood myself and decided to improve my capabilities.
This incident made me to join the club and took various roles. Each role has a unique learning experience.
The pathways are the journey to different destinations of public speaking, growth & leadership.
Destinations keep changing but the journey is the key to learning.
Let’s be the part of this journey of continual improvement to transform our life.
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TM Faisal Fareed is a safety officer in a major oil refinery in Kuwait. Like any other toastmasters he is always eager to learn new things, build strong relationships with the people and continuously improve his communication and leadership skills. Recently, he discovered that he has knack to tickle a funny bone.