Learning by doing is the focus of Toastmasters group

A GROUP which encourages public speaking and personal growth is going from strength to strength and is set to host a sample meeting to peak any aspiring rhetoricians.

Toastmasters Tallaght, which is a learning-by-doing group focused on public speaking, is hosting a sample meeting in The Square Shopping Centre on Saturday (July 16) at 2pm.

Recognised with the President’s Distinguished Club award in three out of their four years in operation, the Tallaght group are going from strength to strength.

“It’s amazing how people go from being nervous speakers and feeling like they can’t necessarily do public speaking to giving these very, very good speeches,” founding member John Conroy tells The Echo.

“Each person is going down their own path, whatever path they want to go down, and the expertise is there if they need it.

“It’s very much a learning-by-doing organisation where members practice and make speeches, which will then be evaluated by a member, and they’ll get feedback on that.

“Then they will just move on to the next speech.

“We use Pathways, so there would be 11 different paths that people can go down if they want to and that would usually take around a year-and-a-half.

“The focus is fully on personal growth, with people developing their skills and learning new techniques to confidently give speeches.”

With 20 members presently, the group has regular meetings on the second and fourth Monday of every month at 7.30pm in St Kevin’s Family Resource Centre.

For the sample meeting, the orators are scheduled to gather next to the customer desk in the middle floor and all are welcome to come along, listen to speeches, and ask questions.

While there is no pressure for those piquing their curiosity by swinging by the sample meeting, there will be opportunities for people to get involved and participate if they wish.