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Friday, November 1, 1985 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

SCREWING UP THE

COURA

For 20 nervous members, the
JCC's Toastmasters Club provides
the encouragement and confidence
to speak before a group.

BY NOAM GELFOND
Special to The Jewish News

Somebody, somewhere along the
line is responsible for discovering
that human beings rank formal pub-
lic speaking as their greatest fear —
finishing well ahead of death, which
ranked a weak seventh.
The practicality of that survey
may be questionablt, but for a lot of
people public speaking is a form of
personal torture.
Everything from student council
elections to Presidential elections
(remember the Nixon-Kennedy de-
bates in 1960?) have been affected
by the ability of individuals to pub-
licly present themselves attractively
and express themselves articulately.
More commonly, job interviews,
promotions, and sales pitches are
won and lost everyday because of a
person's ability to communicate
without sweating and shaking. If
you're uncomfortable communicating
either one-on-one or in front of large
groups, the Jewish Community Cen-
ter Toastmasters Club may be just
the sounding board you need.
The JCC Toastmasters, which
formed last March and was char-
tered by the 100,000-member
Toastmasters International, is for
people interested in improving their
communication and leadership skills.
That includes people like club
president Larry Bissinger. A system
electronics engineer with Electronic
Data Systems, Bissinger got in-
volved with the Toastmasters be-
cause he recently moved to Detroit
and was looking for leisure time ac-
tivities.
"Having a big JCC here in De-
troit made it a good place to come,"
he says. For people like myself who
are often called on to make pre-

Above: Dan Glie makes a point during a speech before the Toastmasters.
At Left: Darryl Yee and Larry Bissinger at the podium.

sentations, careers can be enhanced
if one is able to communicate better
and feel more confident." After some
encouragement from Bruce
Tabashneck, the Center's former
coordinator of singles activities, Bis-
singer spearheaded the club's forma-
tion and organization.
Toastmasters is also for people
like Gail Beron and Darrell Yee.
Both agree their participation has
had a positive impact on their lives.
Beron is a rarity in her profes-
sion as a real estate appraiser. There
just aren't many females in her field.
After many years of working for
others, she started her own appraisal
company, now in its fifth year of
business. Her goal this summer was
to give a prepared presentation at a

real estate seminar of nearly 500 —
quite a departure from speaking
with clients individually.
"I achieved my goal in August,"
she reports. "I was very nervous, but
it went so well they asked me back
to speak again next year." Since her
successful seminar appearance,
Beron has set new goals for herself.
"I plan to stay in Toastmasters.
I still want to improve my communi-
cation with clients and in social
situations."
Darrell Yee saw an ad in a
newspaper promoting the JCC
Toastmasters and he says, "Since I
only live a mile away from the Cen-
ter, I joined." There's more to it than
that, however.
"I want to become a motiva-
tional speaker and help people have
more fulfilling and happier lives.
And one way of achieving that goal
is to become a better public
speaker."
Yee, who is a structural
engineer in his "other" life, suggests
"On a scale of 0 to 10, 10 being per-
fect, I'd say I went into Toastmasters
as a 5 and maybe right now I'm a 7
or 8." Now that's a testimonial.
When the club started, it fell
under the auspices of the JCC sing-

les groups. Bissinger emphasizes
that the club is open to anyone,
single or married, with the inclina-
tion to improve their communication
skills.
Most of the Toastmasters are
career-minded adults, but there are
also several retirees "getting a
chance to do something they never
had time for before." The club would
also like to attract high schoolers
and college students as well.
When asked to compare
Toastmasters, most mention the
Dale Carnegie courses, but point to
the advantages of Toastmasters. For
starters, Toastmasters is much
cheaper. A one-year membership
costs $38, compared to a 14-week
Dale Carnegie course at $565.
There's also a sense that the
JCC toastmasters is personable and
pressure is at a minimum. The com-
petitiveness is friendly; all speeches
are applauded. For those interested
in greater pressure and competition,
there are district, regional, and na-
tional tournaments. In fact, in the
club's first tournament, Sam Fenton
and Leon Linderman were trophy
winners (there are no cash prizes)

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