WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM TOASTMASTERS

Several years ago, I was called in to investigate a large two-story church. Patrons there had been complaining about odors. Before long, I discovered the building’s new carpeting had been attached with the wrong glue. The glue reacted badly to the carpet and caused a foul smell!

I explained all of this in a meeting with the building manager and owner. When I finished talking, the building owner — who is responsible for several buildings around Houston and has made millions in real estate — leaned toward me.

“Travis, if this was your building, what would you do?”

My first thought was “Oh, my gosh — I don’t have multimillions. Why is he asking me?!” But then I took a deep breath and thought, hard. Finally, I said, “I would contact the contractor and tell him that he didn’t install the right products. He’s responsible for making people sick, so he’s also responsible for pulling all of the carpet out of here and replacing it.”

The building owner nodded in approval. That’s exactly what he did! Looking back, I owe my success with his “test” to a phone call I made in 1989, the year I started my business.

Back then, I quickly realized I had an Achilles’ heel: I was scared to talk to realtors! I wasn’t an eloquent speaker. What if I couldn’t get my message across? Of course, I couldn’t just avoid speaking to realtors for the next 30 years. So, I called the Houston Association of Realtors and asked for their help.

The person who answered that day changed my life: They pointed me to Toastmasters. Even though I had no idea what Toastmasters was, I agreed to go to a meeting. Within minutes of walking through the door, I was enrolled in a 10-speech program that promised to make me a polished speaker.

Each of the speeches focused on a different aspect of public speaking. The first one, “The Icebreaker,” was a 5–7 minute talk sharing my name, background, family, and business. There’s nothing easier than talking about yourself, but my heart was still beating like a bird’s wings when I did it!

After that, each successive speech added another skill to my arsenal. The second one focused on organization and forced me to describe a process step-by-step. The third speech taught me to insert gestures into my presentation and interact with the audience. After that, I tackled vocal variety — and the list goes on.

I’ve spent 30 years with Toastmasters now, learning everything I can about public speaking. Each meeting has three sections: the prepared speeches, the “Table Topics” (spontaneous speaking where members are chosen at random to speak unprepared on specific topics), and the evaluations (member-to-member feedback on that day’s speeches).

At first, Table Topics seemed terrifying. But once I got comfortable, it became my favorite section! I still get a kick out of it today because it forces me to think on my feet. There’s nothing like the thrill of hearing my name called and walking to the front of the room, all while formulating what I should say so I can (hopefully) talk for a minute and a half without sounding foolish. Usually, I succeed at Table Topics. Sometimes I don’t! But I always learn.

Without Toastmasters and the Table Topics exercise, I’m certain I wouldn’t have had an answer for the building owner in the church that day. I would have looked like a fool and perhaps lost a great customer because of it!

If you’re uncomfortable with public speaking or have an important presentation coming up, consider joining Toastmasters (Toastmasters.org). It just might change your life.