Auburn native Dennis Brooke, a member of Toastmasters, talks about the organization that has helped him and many, many others gain confidence in public speaking.

Q. What is Toastmasters?

A. Toastmasters is an organization dedicated to helping people conquer one of the most common fears in our country: the fear of public speaking. We meet in local clubs where we practice in a friendly, supportive atmosphere to develop presentation skills and become better speakers in front of large audiences, as well as in small group situations.

Q. How did you get involved?

A. I joined Toastmasters when I lived in New Jersey. I wanted more confidence for presentations in a corporate environment. I especially wanted to become better at using humor in speeches, something that I had failed at miserably way back at Cascade Junior High (now Cascade Middle School). I also wanted to become better at giving impromptu answers in small group situations. I transferred to a local club when I moved back home to Auburn in 1994.

Q. How has it helped you?

A. I gained that confidence in corporate presentations, and even won a few humorous speech contests. That has helped in my career as I’m called upon to do presentations, advocate ideas, or even serve as an emcee for corporate functions. I’ve used my skills to do presentations to larger groups at software users group conferences, and occasional speeches for church groups and civic organizations. It’s also helped in my part-time writing career. I turned a speech on anniversary celebrations that I gave at the local Toastmasters club into an article. It’s being published in a national magazine late this month.

Q. When are the meetings?

A. The Auburn Morning Toastmasters Club meets at the Rainbow Café every Thursday morning from 6:30 to 7:30. It’s a fun way to start the day and keep my evenings free. The Rainbow is located at 112 E. Main St. in Auburn. You can find out about other clubs at www.toastmasters.org.

Q. How does it work?

A. During each meeting we have several prepared speeches. New members work through a program structured to help them progressively gain confidence and learn specific skills. Advanced modules focus on using humor, technical presentations, storytelling, management speeches, or other topics.

Part of the meeting is dedicated to answering questions in an impromptu format. I think this is incredibly relevant because daily life is full of unplanned speaking situations, whether it’s answering a question from your boss or convincing your wife that the lawn doesn’t need mowing. Prepared speeches are much less frequent.

Q. How did Toastmasters start?

A. It was founded in the basement of the YMCA in Santa Ana, California. The education director of the local “Y” felt that some of the members needed training in the art of public speaking. It’s since grown to nearly 12,000 clubs in 92 countries. It’s a great volunteer organization with excellent, reasonably priced programs for developing confidence and skills for better communications.

Q. How have you seen it help other people?

A. One of our members was on-track to become the president of a local civic group. She joined Toastmasters because she felt she wasn’t up to the presentations part of that position. She conquered her fears and successfully served as president of her club. One of my favorite stories is of an engineer who joined our club. At first, she spoke so fast that she reminded me of a rodent on crack. With our support, she learned how to pace herself, use vocal variety, and develop the confidence she needed. That will definitely help her in her engineering career. A survey of faculty members of engineering schools said that only 15 percent of an engineer’s success depends on their technical skills. Eighty five percent of their success was based on communications skills. It’s fun to see nervous people come into our group and blossom into better, even great, communicators. A number of local community and business leaders have come through our club. Most of us are just average citizens interested in conquering that fear of public speaking.