THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, April 26, 1996 TAG: 9604240148
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JANIE BRYANT, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 74 lines
HELEN FOOSHE knows about the fear of public speaking.
She remembers the days when she would rather look at her toes than out on her audience.
And she laughs about the time she presented a paper at a conference in Las Vegas and emptied the room.
She can afford to laugh.
After 13 years with the Toastmasters Club, she's a veteran speaker now.
Fooshe is a past district governor of Toastmasters Clubs for the state. She also belongs to three of the clubs. Now she's trying to get another group started in Portsmouth.
There are already clubs set up for lunchtime and evening. Now Portsmouth Toastmasters are organizing a club for people who want to hone their speaking skills first thing in the morning.
An organizational meeting will be held at 7 a.m. May 13 at the Portsmouth Community Development Group office upstairs at 440 High St. The meetings will be held every Monday.
``A lot of people are full up on eveningtimes and noontimes and would benefit from the things that Toastmasters offers,'' said Fooshe.
She said that as more and more citizens get involved in Vision 2005 discussions the leadership and communication skills offered by Toastmasters could help.
She's distributed brochures on the new club to service organizations and downtown businesses.
So why would anyone want to get up that early to face dry-mouth, shaking hands and out-and-out terror?
If you can get through life without ever having that close encounter with a podium, by all means stay in bed.
If not, Fooshe is there to tell you that Toastmasters helps.
The program takes novice speakers along in progressive, comfortable stages, Fooshe said.
``You always begin with the `Ice Breaker,' which is to tell something about yourself,'' she said. ``It's the one speech where you're in charge - nobody knows more than you do.''
The next step is to ``talk about something you're really gung-ho about,'' she said. ``That speech is called `Being in Earnest,' '' she said.
Then you do a speech that is organized from its opening to its conclusion. From there, club members learn about everything from body language and gestures to visual aids and vocal variety.
You can even practice that speech you need to make before the bigwigs at work in front of your friendly Toastmasters and get a helpful critique.
Among other advice doled out, there's a Toastmaster called the ``Wizard of Ahs'' charged with the task of counting all those ``ahs'' and ``ums'' in a speech, said Fooshe.
``You learn they're counting them and you learn to swallow them,'' she said.
And if you need help fast, you might think about the five-week ``crash course'' that the Toastmasters will offer next month.
Called ``Speechcraft,'' the mini-version of Toastmasters, will be offered at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays beginning May 2.
It might not get rid of all your public-speaking butterflies, but ``at least it will get them to fly in formation,'' Fooshe said.
Fooshe said for the early morning meeting a Brutti's breakfast of baked goods will be available for $3.50.
For breakfast reservations, call Fooshe at 398-9044. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Helen Fooshe
Sold on Toastmasters
by CNB