Becoming a better host and moderator

I was speaking with a friend about my training to become a Virtual Event Specialist and all that it entailed.  She was fascinated about the concept and asked if I would be comfortable stepping outside of the technical aspect of being a Virtual Event Specialist to also act as a host or moderator for a client’s show. As a former debater at high school I always felt that I could hold my own when it came to speaking and communicating but figured it had been such a while since I communicated to a large audience that I should brush up on my skills. At her suggestion I went to a Toastmasters class. I was not quite sure how it would help me be a more rounded Virtual Event Specialist but I figured, why not. I did tent to struggle with the ‘ahs’ at times and it was not like I had any plans for Saturday anyway.

Quite an interesting evening. To start, there was an inordinate amount of clapping. I mean, they clap for everything. The word for the session was ‘Budget’ and they would go into a clapping frenzy each time a fellow Toastmaster mentioned the word. Off the bat I could tell that the skill of listening and registering words was essential. Ok, so membership with a Toastmasters group would probably help me to hone my listening skills but I’m sure there had to be more than that. As the evening went on I noticed that each activity was timed and precisely so. What a shocker for someone like me who tends to be late at times. I was even late making it to the meeting much to the annoyance of my friend since I had to pick her up. So keeping track of time was also essential with them as well. A challenge was thrown out and the objective was to respond to the scenario on the spot. This was fine by me as it definitely would hone the skill of addressing a matter impromptu. The education session on budgeting was quite interesting as well and all in all I would say that the evening went very well. I plan to make another visit to their upcoming meeting at the end of the month before fully committing but I can definitely see how membership would help me personally and also professionally.