Rotaract Upskill

My Speechcraft Experience by DRAR Gia Ciriaco Rotaract Club of Pasay Cyber City

Most people state public speaking as one of their worst fears. There’s always that mix of anxiety and physical discomforts like stomach growling, or sweaty palms. There’s also that fear of saying or doing the wrong things. Many people who have this fear can list down multiple scenarios as to how things will go south.

In my case, I’ve always loved public speaking. As a child, I joined speech choirs and was a lector for the church. It was easy for me to build my career in the BPO industry because of this but there’s always that drive to learn and improve further. Just recently, I started my own podcast to exercise my speaking skills and share stories with others. I strongly believe that strong communication skills are essential in every industry and more importantly, when you want to make an impact in the world and build a strong influence, a good voice is just as important as a good message.

Early last Rotary year, there were talks about Rotary International and Toastmasters International collaborating and I thought, it’s great to be empowered by an equally empowering organization that would truly support our leadership goals and strengthen our skills. I’ve heard a lot of wonderful things about Toastmasters and hearing this partnership made me even more excited to participate and know what it’s all about.

Toastmasters International is a nonprofit educational organization that teaches public speaking and leadership skills through a worldwide network of clubs. Headquartered in Englewood, Colorado, the organization's membership exceeds 364,000 in more than 16,200 clubs in 145 countries. Since 1924, Toastmasters International has helped people from diverse backgrounds become more confident speakers, communicators, and leaders.

This Transformational Year, the Pilipinas MDIO partnered up with Toastmasters International District 75 to start the first ever Speechcraft. Speechcraft is a Toastmasters program where Toastmasters present the fundamentals of public speaking to potential members and partners. 50 Rotaractors from all 10 districts participated and had the wonderful opportunity to enhance their speaking skills and discover how this can be beneficial as leaders of their respective clubs and districts. All participants were required to complete the Rotary and Toastmasters modules on Rotary Learning Center. Each module contains helpful information that would help them prepare for their respective speeches and be able to deliver them with confidence. After which, the Speechcraft proper was done with the Toastmasters. Each Rotaractor had the chance to write their speech, discussing any topic as long as it is not religion or politics, deliver the speech and get feedback and evaluation from seasoned Toastmasters.

I was part of the first batch and it was hard for me to choose what to talk about. I figured the theme for this year is Rotary Opens Opportunities and it would be a great opportunity to share one really surprising fact about me and how I pulled through, took every opportunity I had. I practiced and applied what I learned, taking time to check if all elements are present (how I emphasize words, how I look at the camera, what gestures I make) and if my speech is within the 5 minute time limit (I ramble a lot).

My preparations paid off and I was chosen as the Best Speaker of my batch. I’m truly happy not just as a speaker but as a representative of my district. I believe that District 3810 has a lot of great communicators and that we have to put ourselves out there more to share the amazing things we do.

With the success of Speechcraft, I want to thank Pilipinas MDIO and Toastmasters International District 75 for this opportunity and I hope more Rotaractors get to join the next collaborations so they can speak up and be able to communicate and increase the impact of Rotaract through the stories they share, through experiences they talk about. As people of action, we can encourage people to do the same- we just need to raise our voice and use it for the love of service.

Sharing the transcript of my speech, Degree.