Improve Your Public Speaking and Make Friends While Your at it with AmCham Toastmasters

Improving public speaking to build confidence, leadership skills, and gain a competitive advantage in the workplace. These are the goals of Toastmasters International.

The organization has over 60 branches in Beijing, which hold weekly meetings aimed at teaching public speaking to members and guests. One club that I visited, AmCham Toastmasters (ACTMC), is located right in Sanlitun and meets regularly every Wednesday, be it online or in person.

To learn more about AmCham Toastmasters, I spoke with Xiaoxiao Xie, the club’s current president.

Hey Xiaoxiao! Tell us a little more about AmCham Toastmasters, how long has it been active?
AmCham China Toastermasters Club was established in 2013, so it has been active for more than eight years, marching into a decade. The club was first established by staff of American Chamber of Commerce in China (AmCham China) with open access to both their staff, members and anyone who’s interested.

The club holds hybrid meetings (both online and offline) each Wednesday on the 3rd floor of Asi Niuniu, which can be found in Courtyard 4, southeast of Taikooli. Our 23 active members come from all walks of life, and each week come prepared to share their thoughts on wide ranging topics, from education and healthcare to economics and hot topics.

What’s an average meeting consist of from beginning to end?
There are mainly four key components for our club meetings. First, a topic is proposed by the host and co-host of the meeting, so that all participants can have some insights and ideas to share and discuss.

Second, role takers – including timer, grammarian, ah-counter, and evaluators – are named. These functional roles help to control the time, note out proper and improper English language and the quality of the speakers’ delivery and performance on stage. These individuals are essentially the backbone of how we help members improve their speaking.

Third, the speech part, with both impromptu (aka Table Topic session) and prepared speech sessions. During the Table Topic session, all members can answer questions prepared by the session host – essentially like giving mini speeches, or even take part in round tables or role-playing games. Prepared speeches are generally for members only, and are made based on the speaker’s level within the club and other factors.

Fourth, the evaluation part, which distinguishes Toastmasters meetings from a typical language corner. We have evaluations for impromptu speech session host and participants, for prepared speakers with a well-designed evaluation form, and for functional roles and speech evaluators. It’s basically good feedback for all.

Let’s say someone wants to join but they’re a bit shy or not good at all with speaking in public, how might you encourage them?
I think this is not a problem at all. In fact, I used to think of myself as being a bit shy and not good at public speaking, so I wanted to find a place to improve in this regard, and stumbled across ACMTC not long after. Later, I found most club members I know share similar motives with me to join. So I think being a bit shy and thinking of yourself as not being good at public speaking are the reasons rather than the barriers to join a club and practice as long as you wish to improve and upgrade yourself.

Moreover, the meeting is conducted in a very amicable way. Feedback is even provided in an encouraging way that helps speakers to find shining points of their performance and room for further improvements. So the only thing for participants during the meeting is to relax and speak up.

You’ve been club president for two months, have you seen any major improvements among club members during your tenure?
Before my time as president I served for two and a half years in different officer roles. Over the past few years, I witnessed a great many people improve their speaking skills. One such individual is a member named Nate, who could hardly speak fluent English but, thanks to regular practice and attendance, recently won the second place in our club’s evaluation speech contest.

Then there’s Jevon, for whom I serve as mentor. Whenever he finishes a speech or takes a role, he’ll always reach out to me for feedback. It’s thanks to this determination and follow through that he won second place in an area level evaluation contest on Mar 5. Also another member, Dawn, who started this past September now serves as Vice President of Education. She’s become a great facilitator who ensures our meetings and events run smoothly.

Besides the weekly club meetings, what other activities does the club do or participate in?
We have “Outing Events” every six months, and gatherings after the meeting or during the weekends. These activities really help members to know more about each other and build stronger friendships.

There are also regular speech contests at all levels, it is a time for members to grow more rapidly in a sound competitive environment. Members who win club contests can continue to compete with other excellent speakers from other clubs.

We even hold year-end parties and some special gathering events.

How can people take part in or join the club?
People who take part in table topic sessions three times or role plays twice and get a best award in the meetings have the opportunity to become a member of AmCham Toastmasters Club.

Nevertheless, anyone who is willing to participate actively, i.e. regularly practice their public speaking and communication skills by taking part in meetings, is welcome to join the club. Please feel free to reach out to me (ID: Lao_XiAO0601) or follow us on WeChat (ID: AmChamChinaTMC) for more meeting info.

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Images courtesy of Xiaoxiao Wang