THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 7, 1996 TAG: 9607070072
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY VALERIE CARINO, CAMPUS CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 105 lines
Larry Li used to be intimidated by the idea of speaking in public.
Li, a native of China and a graduate student at Old Dominion University, never thought he could do it. And even if he did, people would notice his accent or, worse, make fun of him.
But thanks to Toastmasters, a club at Old Dominion devoted to improving communication skills, Li isn't afraid to speak in public anymore.
ODU's club is among more than 20 Toastmasters clubs in South Hampton Roads and 8,000 worldwide. At Old Dominion, Toastmasters doesn't just help people improve their public speaking, said Bunny Fenn, one of the club's sponsors. It also boosts their self-confidence.
The club will meet on four Tuesdays this month - on July 9, 16, 23 and 30 - at 12:30 p.m. in the Norfolk Room of Webb Center. The meetings are open to the public. There is an initial $10 registration fee.
Fenn, who works in ODU's office of communications and computing services, started the chapter with her friend Helen Fooshe in October. The club, which has about 20 members, is made up mostly of ODU staff members and professors. That's right - professors. Li, who studies civil engineering, is the club's lone student.
Fenn isn't sure why more students haven't joined. Maybe, she said, it's because of the $36 annual fee. But students could benefit the most from the club, she said, because it teaches members how to present themselves professionally and answer impromptu questions - both critical skills necessary for job interviews, she said.
For many, like Li, just the idea of speaking in public evokes absolute dread. ``The Book of Lists'' lists public speaking as the number one fear.
Professors who joined Toastmasters say they, too, need help in the public speaking department, but not because they quiver when they go before an audience.
Nope, you won't see John Bratton, an assistant professor of finance, breaking into a cold sweat when he steps in front of a podium. And no stomach butterflies or dry throat for Theodore F. Smith, an assistant professor of marketing, either.
But Toastmasters helps them become better speakers. The club taught Smith to be more aware of sloppy speech patterns and the proper use of gestures. Bratton learned to better organize his lectures and ``to think of what I'm saying instead of just rambling.''
If they become better speakers, the professors said, they won't bore their students. And it might help them get across difficult concepts.
The meetings, which are held the first and third Tuesdays of every month during the school year, are conducted like business meetings. The club has a president, who introduces the speakers for the day, and the Toastmaster, the person in charge of conducting the rest of the meeting.
The vice president of education appoints helpers, who include a wordmaster, who offers a word for the day and its meaning; a timekeeper, who makes sure speeches aren't running too long; a grammarian, who checks for proper usage; and evaluators, who point out the strengths and weaknesses of each speaker.
There's even an ``uh'' counter. Someone who, uh, well, uh, you know.
According to the ``uh'' counter's count at a recent meeting, the six members who spoke said ``uh'' a total of 17 times. The ``uh'' count was down. A good thing.
And during a ``table topics'' session, members have to think on their feet. During table topics, members are given a subject to talk about spontaneously for one to two minutes.
``Describe a garage sale at Noah's Ark'' was a table topic that stumped one member.
``It makes more sense to have it before the flood because after the flood it would be too late,'' said Alicia Holder, looking at the ceiling. ``He can actually make a good income after this. . .''
Pausing for a moment, she put her hands on her hips and then said, ``He can just sell everything and keep the money.''
She gave up after a minute. But Fenn praised her: a good try for a difficult topic.
Fenn said that members try to make speakers feel comfortable.
``They help you by evaluating you, not criticizing you, to tell you what was good about your speeches and to offer suggestions for the next time,'' Fenn said. ``Everyone in the audience wants you to succeed.''
New members make their first speeches, called icebreaker speeches, which are supposed to tell the audience a little bit about the speaker, whenever they feel ready. They aren't pressured to speak right away, Fenn said.
Li, who joined Toastmasters in January, made his icebreaker speech in March. By the time he made the speech, Li said, he wasn't nervous, just eager. The speech had been postponed three times.
Without notes and without a tremble in his voice, Li talked about the cultural differences between the United States and his native China.
``I enjoy life here very much,'' said Li, who grew up in Xinjiang, located in a remote region in northwest China. ``They say good morning and hello to strangers.
``Sometimes a pretty girl even smiles at me,'' he said.
By all accounts, Li's speech went well. He made eye contact with the audience. His speech was organized and even entertaining. And despite his predictions, no one laughed at him.
Smith, who evaluated Li at the end of the meeting, said, ``You have an accent, but so do we. All in all, you did a fine job.'' MEMO: For more information about ODU's Toastmasters club, call 683-5589.
For more information about other Toastmasters clubs in Hampton Roads,
call 460-7790. ILLUSTRATION: D. KEVIN ELLIOTT/The Virginian-Pilot
Larry Li, above, compares life in America with his home of China in
a speech to the ODU Toastmasters. Li, a graduate student in civil
engineering, was worried that his accent would be too noticeable,
but his audience didn't mind. Alicia Holder, left, speaks
off-the-cuff about how Noah would have handled a garage sale at his
ark. by CNB