Let's propose a Toast!

A couple of *cough* decades ago, I was a bridesmaid in a good friend's wedding on a gorgeous Queensland day. After the ceremony, the bridal party took a helicopter ride along the Gold Coast before returning to the beautiful reception venue overlooking the Broadwater at sunset.

We were all in good spirits, were having a few drinks and some laughs when the first speeches were about to begin. The next moment I feel a tap on my shoulder. I turned around to find the groom.

"Ang", he started, "Since you're such a good friend of Mel's [the bride], I was wondering if you could come up and say a few words? It would mean the world to her." All of a sudden my heart leapt into my throat and I was regretting the last glass of champagne I'd just finished, feeling a little ill. But I couldn't say no.

But wedding speeches aren't meant an after thought! A major factor in the choice of the best man is as much about the quality of the speech he's likely to deliver, as how good a friend he was in high school. I couldn't let my friend down.

I can't remember exactly what said, but I managed to string a few stories of our time selling hot dogs together at SeaWorld where we'd met during a summer holiday job and our first ice skating experience where I took spill while trying to impress a boy, cracking my head on the ice. At least she had found it funny!

Today made me think back to that occasion.

Today I joined my first Microsoft Speakers Club meeting, a.k.a Toastmasters. The room was packed and full of energy. As a regular speaker, I had joined the club in a desire to hone my presentation skills. As this is a Corporate club, I'm able to join in my lunch hour rather than in the evenings.

I was surrounded by both seasoned and other newly joined fellow Toastmasters. We ran through the formalities, kicked off with some warm ups then launched into the first speaker's personal and emotive speech. As we progressed, we got onto the Table Topics. Table Topics are a 1 - 2 minute impromptu speech that people are randomly selected to deliver with no warning or time to prepare.

Since today was my first meeting, I figured I'd be safe.

No chance. After a few great impromptu speeches, madam chairperson kindly directed the next topic to myself. While I initially felt dread at the thought of getting up, flashing back to that time when the groom tapped me on the shoulder, but I figured, what the hell, this is why I'd joined the club. So I got up and spent 1:36 minutes randomly talking about Automation and the Future. And loved it!

After an hour, we were all done. Due to the meticulous practice of time keeping in a Toastmasters meeting, we had crammed alot into a relatively short period and managed to both start and finish on time. I'm thinking we need to employ a time keeper role in some of our team meetings!

I loved my first Microsoft Speakers Club experience and I'm looking forward to the next one!

Have you ever been called up to give an impromptu speech or to say a few words? How did you handle yourself? Would love to hear your experience.