On July 10th we were joined by Don Critelli, Business Development Manager for the Chamber of Commerce to speak about Toastmasters.
Toastmasters is a not-for-profit educational organization that teaches public speaking and leadership skills through a worldwide network of clubs. The organization was established in 1924 and currently has 313,000 members in 14,650 clubs in 126 countries.
The programs that they run allow participants the opportunity to improve their public speaking and leadership skills by participation in group work:
- interactive meetings weekly
- small groups
- self paced program
- focus on speech writing and presentation
- allowing feedback from others
Everybody is nervous and few can do this without practicing and Toastmasters allows a non threatening opportunity for impromptu speaking with feedback.
The local chapter of which Don is a member meets every Monday at the Chamber of Commerce building in Kitchener from 12:00-1:00. Don has found that this experience allows him to be more comfortable in front of an audience and has helped him with his work and volunteer experiences which includes the Chamber, YMCA, JA.
For further information refer to the Website.