SHONGWENI resident, Tyron Smith, not only walks the walk but with the help of the Kloof Toastmaster Business Breakfast, he can now talk the talk.
Tyron is the owner of an IT company and he accepted the offer to take part as he has a strong belief in networking and believed it would give him the extra skills needed when addressing potential clients. “Not only that it teaches you how to have an impromptu conversation and is the perfect place to facilitate ways in which to improve one’s conversational and leadership skills as well as how to own a presence in a room,” he said.
Being able to stand up in front of a room of strangers and talking is a daunting affair for most people and Tyron said that the skill is not something that completely natural. “Most people are inherently shy and the thing with Toastmasters is that it has a very welcoming environment and I can only describe it as a safe place to fail. I went there thinking it was just a business requirement, but it has improved my social skills a great deal. I discovered that it is okay to fear things that are daunting and to embrace them,” said Tyron.
The 44-year-old Shongweni resident recalled the first time he took the floor at a Toastmasters meeting and described it as nothing shy of daunting. “I was nervous as hell. The room went quiet. I needed to take a deep breath to try and calm myself.” The first time a member speaks they can pick a topic for themselves and are allowed to refer back to their notes if need be.
During Tyron’s first talk, he shared his experience when playing cricket in primary school and how he thought his knees were broken. A few months working with the team at KTBB, the tables turned for the IT guru. “To stand and hold a presence in a room is no longer something I fear and I have overcome that already in such a short space of time.”
He has since been voted in as the chairman for the club for the second year running. Tyron also competed in a Toastmasters speech contest in March, first competing at club level then at area level and then to divisional, where he competed against the province’s top talkers. “It was a speech I did for the KTBB and it came across as quite humurous and I was encouraged to compete with it. The topic was a guy’s night out that ended with a chilli-eating contest. One could easily describe it as male bravado gone wrong,” laughed Tyron.
At each level you compete in you take that same speech and built on and refine it. The speech is also critiqued in a non-offensive way. “It is done in such a way that makes you want to go back and do better,” said Tyron.
At Toastmasters you move from one to 10 along the competent communication levels and each member is encouraged to work at their own pace.
The Kloof Toastmasters Business Breakfast meets twice a month on every second Friday. Visitors are welcome but there is a breakfast fee charge involved. If you are interested in becoming a member of the KTBB, contact Tyron on 083 309 9012 or e-mail tyron@cybersupport.co.za.
