I am the Immediate Past District Director for District 6, and the incoming Public Relations Manager for newly formed District 106. Clearly, I’m addicted to Toastmasters. You just might be an addict, too.
Here are . . . 10 signs you have a Toastmasters addiction:
1. Inability to stop or cut back. “Just one more club. I’ll just join one more club.” At the end of my District Director Year, I was up to 6, and an officer in 4. I’m down to two now.
2. Major changes in sleep or energy levels because you are sending emails at 2 AM. OK. I never did that, but I know people who have.
3. Changes in appearance. Bloodshot eyes from lack of sleep. Weight gain from eating pizza at almost every division speech contest. I gained about 40 lbs during my Trio years. I’ve since lost about 10 pounds of that. But it is so much easier to gain weight than to lose it!
4. Desire to associate with other addicts. You may even see some members more than your own family. They are your Toastmaster tribe. With them you are free to talk, in detail, and at great length, about everything Toastmasters. You are even a bit annoyed when non-Toastmasters join you for dinner. If you are an addict, you will love the International Convention. Truly some of my best friends are in Toastmasters. It’s a good thing my husband joined Toastmasters!
5. Memory loss. In your speech introduction you say you have 3 points and forget the 3rd.
6. Neglecting other responsibilities. Like cleaning the kitty box. My cats still haven’t forgiven me.
7. Planning your vacations around Toastmaster events. Actually, you should do that one.
8. Bringing a set of timing cards to every non-Toastmaster meeting you go to and volunteering to time people.
9. Counting Ahs and Ums at work, at church, and even at a child’s 4-H State Fair presentation. Yes, guilty. “Devin, great presentation on making cheese from goat’s milk. But, your 32 ums were really distracting.”
10. Clapping after every single speech, even when you aren’t at a Toastmasters event–after the sermon at church, after a work presentation, and even after a particularly good pitch by a girl scout selling cookies. And then you give her an ah-count.
The first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem . . . or just giving a speech about it!
I realize this is just a partial list, please feel free to add some additional signs of Toastmasters addiction.
Note: This post is meant solely to poke fun at Toastmasters. No disrespect is meant toward anyone struggling with any other kind of addiction.
