St George's principal thanks Toastmasters

Mel Cooke, Gleaner Writer

Jamaican members of Toastmasters International - mainly women, if the anniversary turnout was any indication - celebrated the oratory and public speaking organisation's 87th anniversary at The Pantry, New Kingston, recently with the expected fluency in speech.

However, as the organisation was started in the US specifically to have an impact on the lives of young men, it was striking that St George's College principal Margaret Campbell gave testimony of the organisation's effect on the high school's students.

Campbell said that "St George's is in the business of shaping leaders," but at a function involving young women from other schools she noted that the St George's representative was not as fluid in his address as his female counterparts. "Boys are a little late in developing language skills - no worse, but later," she said.

Still, some intervention was required and Dr Jean Small, a longstanding member of Toastmasters International, was contacted to do an eight-week workshop. "The transformation in the students was no less than spectacular," Campbell said, giving two students - one of whom is now on a full scholarship in the US - as examples of the change.

Reach out

So, in advising the Toastmasters on the way forward, Campbell asked that the Jamaican members of the organisation "reach out to schools. Reach out to the secondary schools and possibly the tertiary".

Toastmaster Veronica Levy, the 2011 Jamaican National Champion of Humorous Speeches, was delightful in her story of a robbery and subsequent self-defence instructions, stage movement and body language as much a part of the experience as the lengthy story itself.

Toastmaster Carol Riley hosted the night with Division Governor Marjorie Gaynor giving the history of Toastmasters International. Gaynor went back to her childhood to recall a physics teacher who left a lasting impression - but not for his lessons. "I don't remember what he taught me, but I remember his jokes," she said.

Similarly, with words, Toastmasters International has touched more than four million lives directly since its inception in California, USA, by Ralph Smedley and currently has over 270,000 members of 13,000 clubs in 116 countries worldwide. Gaynor noted that members gain in self-confidence and learn to speak on the spur of the moment.

Toastmasters International was introduced to Jamaica in 1984 and the first club formalised a year later. Currently, there are 22 Toastmaster International clubs in Jamaica.

Toastmaster Daphne Gilbert and District Governor Essie Gardner were part of the programme, with Toastmaster Fitzgerald Gayle's children filling in for him in song.