Eliminate Public Speaking Fears

If you conducted a poll of the most common fears people have, public speaking is usually among the top three. Pictured above from left to right are Chris Boyk, Dr. Craig Karvala, Kris Kizer and James Traywick. All four are members of Lincoln-Way Toastmasters. They joined Toastmasters to overcome the fear of public speaking and at the same time develop leadership skills.

Toastmasters is a non-profit organization, with over 300,000 members, with more than 15,800 clubs in 149 countries. Lincoln-Way Toastmasters is a local chapter based in Frankfort, IL. When the pandemic started two years ago, Lincoln-Way Toastmasters started to meet virtually. Starting in April, Lincoln-Way Toastmasters is planning to go to hybrid meetings which include both in-person and virtual attendees.

The four members mentioned above have entered the annual speech competitions. Members are not required to enter these competitions. In fact, most members do not enter competitions. The members that do enter are pushing themselves to become more effective communicators.

This year there are two speech competitions. The first one is the Tall Tales Contest. In this contest, the participant tells a 3 to 5 minutes exaggerated story. The speaker needs to be good at humor and using their voice and body to tell a story.

The second competition is the International Speech Contest. In this contest, the participant gives a 5 to 7 minutes speech on any subject. Typically, these speeches are motivational. The speaker needs to develop a strong message that grabs the audience’s attention and ends with an empowering message. The speaker should incorporate some humor and use their voice and body to communicate their message.

In both contests, the speech competitors go through several rounds of competition. The club winner than advances to compete against other club winners in the same area. The speaker that wins in the area contest, then competes against other area winners. The contests keep advancing upward until there is an eventual overall winner.

In the Tall Tales Contest, it concludes at the district level. Lincoln-Way Toastmasters is in District 54 which includes the northern half of Illinois except for Chicago and its immediate surrounding suburbs.

In the International Speech Contest, it continues until there is a World Champion of Public Speaking. As the name implies, it is truly an international contest.

Lincoln-Way Toastmasters is such a strong club and takes competition seriously, that is why the four members mentioned above belong to more than one Toastmaster club. That way, members can compete in other clubs and not eliminate each other at the club level.

Chris Boyk will be in the International Speech Contest. By profession, he is an IT Integration Architect and a Solutions Lead. Chris states that, “Toastmasters has given me the confidence to take on challenges I never thought I would be able to accomplish with both leadership and presenting.”

Dr. Craig Karvala will be in both the Tall Tales and International Speech Contests. By profession, he is a Chiropractic Physician. He treats different aliments of the nervous system and helps restore function to the body. Craig states that, “Toastmasters has provided me the tools to help communicate better to my patients, to help them understand their own health and how to restore their health.”

Kris Kizer will be in the International Speech Contest. In 2021, he was a semi-finalist in the World Championship of Public Speaking. By profession, he is a Consumer Insights Consultant. He helps his clients become better advertisers/marketers by using data. Kris states that, “Toastmasters has enabled me to become a more polished professional speaker and expanded my network.”

James Traywick will be in the International Speech Contest. In 2018, he was a semi-finalist in the World Championship of Public Speaking. He is a retired biology professor. James states that, “Toastmasters has given me the confidence to speak in front of large groups, the skills to communicate better both privately and professionally, and enabled me to network with people all over the world, especially in a virtual environment.”

Lincoln-Way Toastmasters is proud of the accomplishments of Chris, Craig, Kris and James. Our typical member does not come to us as an accomplished speaker. We turn them into very capable speakers and leaders who are needed in all walks of life. We are non-profit, and our membership cost is very nominal. Anyone 18 years or older can join. We meet the 1st and 3rd Thursday of each month, at 7:30 PM. On April 7th, we are returning to in-person meetings. We will meet at Frankfort Village Hall, 432 Nebraska Street. If you prefer to meet virtually, please email Thad Gray at mail4thad@yahoo.com to receive a Zoom link. Guests are always welcome at our meetings and, you are never under any obligation by attending.