Umm, Umm, Umm. Three Strikes Against You.

My son Timmothy and I have been attending the Tuesday weekly meeting of Minot Toastmasters 636 for a couple of months now. I joined in hopes of improving my speaking on the air for my radio show. 

Timmothy joined to to be a better speaker as he gets out there to promote his books.

It's amazing to me how many professionals who rely on their  speaking abilities are poor or even horrible speakers. Here are a couple of examples I've experienced.

1) I meticulously edit my radio shows. We usually record for 18 minutes to produce a 15 minute interview. Typically it takes me 24 actual hours of editing to get all the "ahhs, umms, and deep breaths" out of the interview and then when I'm done that 18 minute interview usually ends up being 14 minutes long.

2) I attend a court session last week and over a number of cases I heard 3 attorneys speak. Two of the attorneys were full of umms and spoke awkwardly... the judge rarely approved of their objections and did not rule well in their favor. The third attorney was brilliant. No ahhs or awkward pauses. This attorney got exactly what he wanted from the judge and made the prosecutions witnesses (police officers) like like bumbling idiots. BTW I know who will be my attorney next time I need one.

If you would like to learn how to speak out clearly and with confidence I highly recommend joining Toastmastes International. I find the meetings to be fun and effective. I wish I would have done this 40 years ago when I first heard of Toastmasters International.