Fairleigh Early Birds Toastmasters Club

To me, having good communication skills was always a dream. A dream, because I was very bad before I joined Fairleigh Early Birds Toastmasters. I have improved so much since I joined, and at the same time, I have ways to go. Read on.

I joined Fairleigh Early Birds (FEB) Toastmasters club a year and a half ago. I was afraid to speak to a group of people. I did not try to avoid it, but just felt very nervous when I was doing it. I knew I had to do something about it, but did not really know what. But because I read a lot, I came across an article in which the author recommended a Toastmasters club as a way to improve communication skills. I did not hesitate. I went on Toastmasters.org website, located clubs near Garfield, NJ and visited several clubs in Northern New Jersey, all in Bergen County. I liked several of them, but Fairleigh Early Birds was the one that I associated the most, plus the meeting was held during a good time, on Saturday mornings (a little tough sometimes, but worth it).

After being a Toastmaster for a year and a half, I don't know where to begin. I am a better communicator now. I feel a lot more confident when I speak. I actually look forward to speaking in a group and I challenge myself to do it, knowing that I have the experience to back me up. The improvement has been just amazing. I am very grateful that I found a Toastmasters club, and happy with my improvement.

I also got involved in leadership position at the club. I am now a Vice President of Education and have a lot of influence and power to change things. It is very gratyfying because I'm helping people. Yes, I'm helping people to change their lives! That's amazing.

Even though I've seen amazing improvement, I'm still not where I want to be. (It's amazing how quickly goals can change. :-). I want to became a great communicator. I want to develop a speaking style that grabs people's attention, I want to have a charisma. I want to be a good leader, a leader by example. Those are aggressive goals that will not be easy for me to achieve, but I think having a vision and working towards it is important.

I have one last thing to say to the Fairleigh Early Birds Toastmasters (and Toastmasters organization): THANKS A LOT!

Stanley K