0816_TOEFL-Test-and-Score-Manual-1997

Time and Personal Management Ideas ● 237
If the thought of speaking in public makes you ill (it is considered the
number-one fear by most people), consider joining a group that has helped
more than three million people around the world overcome their fear of
speaking during the past 75 years.
Toastmasters International was founded in 1924 by Ralph C. Smedley
in the basement of the YMCA in Santa Ana, California. This respected
organization teaches people to overcome a fear of public speaking. There
are about 8,100 chapters around the world.
In recent years, Toastmasters, with more than 250,000 members worldwide,
has helped many business owners learn to feel at ease in front of a
crowd by using its positive, peer-counseling approach. Annual dues are
$54; there is a one-time $20 membership fee, and chapters usually charge
another few dollars a year for materials. Visit www.toastmasters.org for
more information.
If you can’t get to Toastmasters or afford to hire a speaking coach, there
are some excellent books on the topic. Check out books and consulting
services offered by a leading presentation coach, Diane DiResta. Her web
site is www.diresta.com.
GREAT
Find a Mentor and Be a Mentor
Finding a mentor is a great idea. A mentor can steer
IDEA
you around the potholes and buoy you up when you
are drowning in confusion.
I have been fortunate to have several mentors, who played a significant
role in my life.
My first mentor was the late Dr. James Julian, a respected and feared
professor who taught media law at San Diego State University. He was tough,
demanding, and grouchy. I was afraid of him, especially when he peppered
us with complicated legal concepts and rattled us with eye-crossing exams.
One day, he abruptly stopped lecturing to reprimand me for whispering
to a friend. I was mortified. He told me to meet him in his office
immediately after class. I was shaking when I sat down across from him.