THERE ARE TWO WAYS TO ARRIVE AT A DECISION

Through advocacy or inquiry

Arriving at a decision, as far as the concept of advocacy is concerned, is a contest. An advocate enters into a discussion solely for the purpose of convincing the decision makers. An advocate is a spokesman for his position. He will lobby for while defending it at the same time. Dissenters are discouraged or dismissed. Advocates fight to win since the alternative is to lose.

Inquiry, on the other hand, treats decision-making as a problem that needs to be solved. An "inquirer" enters into a discussion for the purpose of evaluating hypotheses. They think critically and present and listen to balanced arguments. Their attitude keeps them open to alternatives even when these viewpoints are submitted by the minority. In the end, this approach leads to a sense of collective ownership of the final decision by the entire group.

Politics, unfortunately, is one of those topics that can inflame the heart. It is hard to maintain an inquiring nature in this subject. Passion has a way of turning people into fierce advocates for their positions.

As my uncle often said, there are two topics of discussion that never end: politics and religion. And he wisely refrains from participating in both.

The presidential election is less than 90 days away and the incumbent president has certainly had a tumultuous administration. It is no wonder that passions run high especially among the Democrats.

I heard Senator Obama, the Democratic candidate, give a rousing speech at his party's national convention. As a former member of Toastmasters, I applauded his masterful delivery of his message. However, sometimes the delivery is so good that it is hard to review the meaning of the message.

I want to do that with both candidates.

I was surprised, therefore, when I read the analysis of Obama's speech in this political opinion article by Mr. Robert Tracinski. Entitled "Obama Offers a Beautifully Packaged Lie," I read it with a critical eye. I was looking for flawed partisan logic but saw none.

Here then, I present for your own review, are excerpts of Tracinski's article:

Barack Obama can fake sincerity, and that, more than the words of a speech or the pageantry that precedes it, is the key to his power as a speaker.

His speech last night was brilliant and perfect. It is too bad that the whole thing was a lie, which depended on the smoothness and apparent sincerity of Senator Obama's delivery to lull the listener into a state of credulity and prevent him from asking too many questions.

Here's an example that is small but revealing. Obama led with the best sales pitch he has to offer: that he is not George Bush. But of course, Obama is running against John McCain, not Bush. So he attempted to justify the substitution by claiming that "John McCain has voted with George Bush ninety percent of the time." This statistic has been used throughout the Democratic convention, but it makes no sense. Bush is not a member of Congress and casts no votes there--so how can you compare his voting record to that of McCain?

But don't examine this folly; ask only what it accomplishes. It allows Obama to run against an unpopular president who will not defend himself because he is not actually in the race.

TOASTMASTERS. A GREAT ORGANIZATION. DEVELOP YOUR COMMUNICATION SKILLS. BUILD YOUR CONFIDENCE!

I was at a low point in my life when I joined Toastmasters International. I had heard of the organization before and knew it provided a venue to improve your speaking skills. It exceeded my expectations. My communication skills improved but more important, my confidence soared.

Toastmasters, in case you have not heard of it, is a large and distinguished 84-year old organization. From its website, I quote:

From a humble beginning in 1924 at the YMCA in Santa Ana, California, Toastmasters International has grown to become a world leader in helping people become more competent and comfortable in front of an audience. The nonprofit organization now has nearly 235,000 members in 11,700 clubs in 92 countries, offering a proven – and enjoyable! – way to practice and hone communication and leadership skills.

Most Toastmasters meetings are comprised of approximately 20 people who meet weekly for an hour or two. Participants practice and learn skills by filling a meeting role, ranging from giving a prepared speech or an impromptu one to serving as timer, evaluator or grammarian.

There is no instructor; instead, each speech and meeting is critiqued by a member in a positive manner, focusing on what was done right and what could be improved.

Good communicators tend to be good leaders. Some well-known Toastmasters alumni include:

1. Peter Coors of Coors Brewing Company
2. Debbi Fields, founder of Mrs. Fields Cookies
3. Tom Peters, management expert and author
4. Linda Lingle, Governor of Hawaii

THE TOP TEN FEARS

You might have heard that in the list of top ten fears, public speaking ranks higher than death itself! In one list, fear of public speaking occupies the third position, only after fear of failure and fear of rejection. Toastmasters will help you conquer that fear. You might have also heard that you get back what you put into it. This is especially true for this club. Alas, many members start but only about 25% remain active enough to finish the beginner’s program.

WHAT HAPPENS AFTER YOU JOIN

A neophyte is given a goal when s/he joins. The goal is to become a Certified ToastMaster (CTM). The certification was renamed several years and is now known as Certified Communicator. A second initial goal is to become a Competent Leader (CL). Click here to read about these two tracks of the educational program. Incidentally, one of the skills you will learn in addition to speaking well is listening. Active listening is rarely practiced but it is an important aspect of communication.

Stop and think about your formal education. How many years were you taught how to write? How many years were you taught to speak? How many minutes were you taught how to listen? If you’re similar to 99% of us, your answer to the last question will be nil. Active listening requires one to shut down all the other conversations going through one’s mind while communicating with other people. Once you learn how to listen actively, you’ll be pleasantly surprised at the natural improvement of your communication skills.

Membership dues are very affordable. Toastmasters is a non-profit organization. The dues vary slightly from club to club but it hovers around $75 to $80 for one year! That is only about $6.50 a month. Clubs typically meet on a weekly or biweekly basis. At each meeting, the more experienced members assume various roles. The more active roles are that of the Toastmaster for the meeting, the Assistant Toastmaster, the Evaluators, the Timer, and the Grammarian.

It takes ten timed speeches spaced over many months that are delivered before the group to earn your CTM. It takes several leadership positions in Toastmaster events to earn your CL.

The format works because the speaker—the person who joined specifically to overcome his/her fear of public speaking—will speak in front of a sympathetic audience. Nobody will ridicule you. And you will have an attentive audience. Every speech is evaluated—in writing and in a speech. Written evaluations are submitted by everyone present at the meeting (even guests are usually invited to evaluate). The spoken evaluations take the form of a speech given by the official Evaluator. To recap, you give your speech, everyone fills in a written evaluation that you receive before the meeting ends, and another member, your official Evaluator, will stand up and evaluate your speech in his or her own speech!

In addition to the usual club activities, the district that your club belongs to, holds speech contests. Toastmaster’s hierarchy in ascending order starts with the:

1. Club
2. Area
3. District
4. Region
5. World
   

MY CLUB

I belonged to a club called “People Into Public Speaking.” We met (and they still do) every Monday lunchtime at the world headquarters of McDonald’s Corporation in Oak Brook, Illinois. Our club belonged to Area-5. The area, in turn, was a part of the Chicagoland district. We belonged to a region that encompassed four or five states.

PUBLIC SPEAKING COMPETITIONS

There are district-level contests and world-champion contests. Yes, there is a world champion every year. I am proud to say that the 2005-06 world champion of public speaking, Ed Hearn, came from the Chicagoland district! And he won it on his first attempt! The current world champion is the first woman, a black woman, to win the crown. Many world champions become professional speakers or coaches and easily earn six figures.

The 75th president of the parent organization, Toastmasters International, from 2006 to 07 is a Filipino, the first Asian, to hold that distinguished post.

Here are several sites that discuss Toastmasters.

1. World Champion Speakers
2. Ed Hearn, 2005-06 World Champion Speaker
3. The Olympics of Oratory

This posting turned into a ringing endorsement of Toastmasters even though it was not my intention! Well, it represents my feeling about the organization. I was active for three years, from 2002 to 2005, and earned my CTM and CL. I definitely plan to rejoin it in the future.

It is great fun and it is a self-improvement commitment as well. I urge you to consider it as well.