Toastmasters club helps students, alumni overcome fear

In 2012, members of a local Toastmasters club walked into the Institute for Applied Marine Ecology.

Oratory Otters will host an open house from 5:30 to 6:45 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 5, in Room 2150 of the library. All are welcome.

They wanted to start a club at CSUMB and were hoping to find someone who was receptive to the idea. They ran into Ashley Knight, a graduate student in Coastal and Watershed Science and Policy.

Knight saw an opportunity to improve her public speaking skills. She was preparing for her thesis defense, and the idea of presenting her research in front of a large group of people made her uneasy.

Knowing that good public speaking is an important skill for scientists who need to communicate their findings to policymakers and the public, Knight invited her classmates to a trial run of a Toastmasters meeting.

About 20 students showed up for the meeting, which was run by four experienced Toastmasters, including Kristian Crump, a CSUMB graduate (HCom 1999). That was the beginning of Oratory Otters, a Toastmasters International Club of CSUMB.

Speakers work on specific skills, such as organizing a speech, their tonal variety, and using their body language to accentuate important parts of their talk. Members also develop and practice leadership skills as they prepare meeting agendas, run the meetings, and serve on the executive committee.

While all Toastmasters clubs share the mission of providing a supportive and positive learning experience in which members develop communication and leadership skills, each has a unique culture.

Oratory Otters has attracted a diverse group of students, alumni and staff members as well as students and teachers from the Defense Language Institute and local community members. Currently, members represent six nationalities; they often share personal stories of experiences in their native countries.

Toastmasters International has just celebrated its 90th anniversary, with over 313,000 members meeting in 126 countries. Crump believes that the success of Toastmasters lies in each club’s friendly and welcoming atmosphere.

“Speaking in front of an audience can be terrifying, but with the support of friendly faces and supportive feedback, it takes the fear out of giving presentations,” said Crump, who has been a Toastmaster for eight years.

As for Knight, she is currently using her public speaking skills as a naturalist for National Geographic on a cruise to the Antarctic.

– Story and photo by Bart Kowalski