I first got into Toastmasters in 1974 quite by accident…

An insurance client of mine, Patrick Callahan, asked me to go to a Toastmasters meeting with him. I thought to myself, this is going to be a bunch of old geezers sitting around toasting one another, so I immediately began to look for excuses-- until he advised me that he could shop his insurance. "When do we meet?" was my immediate response, and the rest is history.

I showed up at the 7:00 AM Toastmasters Club in Cayce, SC and was pleasantly surprised. They said they'd start at 7:00 a.m. and they did, which was the first good omen. They opened the meeting with something they called with a moment of Inspiration (formerly known as prayer) and a Pledge of Allegiance, which fortunately still retains the word God.

Next, someone established a "Word for the Day," which everyone tried to incorporate into their presentation, when they spoke. "Another sensible activity," I thought.

We then progressed to "Table Topics," an exercise in which each person who doesn't otherwise have a role on the program, stands and speaks extemporaneously on a subject the Table Topics Master presents him or her. You get to wax eloquently on what you know (or don't know) for one to two minutes. "Another useful exercise," I thought to myself.

We then have two or three formal speakers who make 5-7 minute presentations on a subject that they choose themselves. For instance, your first speech is your "ice-breaker," wherein you get to talk about your favorite subject- YOURSELF! It's a great way to introduce yourself to your fellow club members and meets the requirements for your first manual speech.

Other speeches in the manuals focus on such areas as body language, voice modulation, eye contact, gestures, use of props, movement, use of humor, construction and delivery of a speech and on and on. Again, "all good stuff," I thought to myself.

After the speakers conclude, they are evaluated by both a General Evaluator, (who reviews the overall meeting) and and a personal Evalutor, who gives your feedback on your presentation for 2-3 minutes. Lets face it, you can't get better if you don't get feedback. Humm …more good things.

Some clubs differ, but ours always had a "Listener's Report." This person's job is to take notes and ask the club questions as to what various speakers said during the program, "another helpful practice," I surmised.

Then the Grunt Counter or Ah Counter reported on our "uh's" and "you-know's" and other various abuses of the English language. This person also gives a report on who used the Word for the Day with kudos going to the folks who use the word.

I kept looking for excuses not to go to Toastmasters until I realized that every single thing that took place that morning in a restaurant in Cayce, SC was exactly what I needed to get better as a communicator.

I was ultimately elected President of that Club and formed another group in my hometown of Lexington, SC. Today, I'm a member of the Osceola Toastmasters Club 1841 in Kissimmee, Florida and have formed a club here as well. I go to Toastmasters every week of my life that I'm in town. I believe in what this organization teaches and espouses and have brought hundreds of my friends and colleagues to the group.

And, oh, by the way, it's singularly the most significant thing that is responsible for my speaking career and any modest success I've enjoyed on the platform over the years.

There's only one question to ask: "When do we meet?"