Toastmasters?? That's so last century, you say...so middle America. But consider this:
Toastmasters, which has trained 4 million speakers all over the world since 1924, has a great deal to offer those of us who wish to get better at articulating our progressive values in the public square. Last summer a fellow Dem and I started a new TM club in Vancouver, WA (suburb of Portland, OR) Progressive Voices Toastmasters. Several of our local candidates and precinct officers are members and they've found it invaluable. Now we'd like to see other clubs get started around the country.
If John Kerry is any example of how candidates express themselves, heaven help us! Furthermore, the radical right is gearing up: at evangelical colleges they're getting their student debaters ready for what Jerry Falwell calls
"assault ministry" -- More below the fold:
I had no idea how cool the Toastmasters experience was till a friend dragged me to a meeting in 2003. Now I wish I'd started years ago. Members improve before your very eyes and ears with the weekly practice of preparing and delivering short speeches (and getting immediate supportive feedback), responding off-the-cuff to oddball questions, and running meetings on a tight agenda.
Toastmasters was pretty conservative originally - founded by a guy named Ralph Smedley (!) in Santa Ana, California, for men only. (Women started joining in 1973). Although several of the members at my first club were conservative, it didn't hamper me. The rules of the game are that speeches are critiqued for delivery, persuasiveness, organization, etc - not whether you agree with the speaker.
This training in constructive listening allows members to hear messages they ordinarily wouldn't ever expose themselves to, so speaking about progressive issues to such a group often opens new minds to our message!
Toastmasters is dirt cheap for what you get in the way of first-rate training in public speaking and leadership. On joining you pay $20 for the manual describing your first ten speech assignments (you choose the topics - the assignments tell you what techniques to focus on) and then monthly dues are about $6. Of course to benefit, you actually need to attend the meetings, which are usually an hour a week. Fortunately, they're always a hoot.
We created a website for our club (please be kind -we're new at website creation) with the hopes that it could be useful for other progressive clubs as well. So far we know of only two others in existence, both focused on environmental issues, one in NYC and one in Vancouver, BC. We're helping another group of Dems in Portland to launch their club in February.
I hope I've piqued your curiosity. Most clubs are open to visitors, and there are thousands of clubs in the US (find a club here) - in my town alone there are a dozen, some meeting at 7 a.m., some at noon, and some in the evening. Although all clubs are supposed to follow the tried and true TM protocols, every club has its own personality - if you don't like one, try another. Once you see what it's like I believe you'll see the promise for progressives.
If you've explored our website and want to know more, contact me at info@progressivetoastmasters.org. I'd love for this to spread far and wide.