In this season of politics, primaries and choosing a president, I had my first opportunity to participate in my states caucus. It was an interesting process to be a part of. Most of the people in my precinct had never participated in a caucus and because of this it was new and exciting. There was a constant flow of folks registering to participate. The turn out was far greater than expected. Was this because the slate of candidates this time around? Was it the opportunity to have a greater say in the election process? Was it all of the above and more?
My reason for attending was to cast my vote and to speak on behalf of a friend of mine who is running for one of our states house-district seats. He had asked if I would introduce him in my precinct since I am active in our town’s civic and service groups. I was honored to be asked to do this and looking forward to sharing my enthusiasm for my friend and his candidacy.
The caucus chairperson asked if anyone would like to speak on behalf of any of the candidates running for our parties ticket. My friend was going to start the evening at his precinct and he would be over at our caucus as soon as he could make it. All the speakers for the national candidates had their say. My friend was no where in sight. My nerves were on edge since I had only prepared an introduction, not a speech.
My cell phone buzzed just then and I answered. My friend apologized for not being at my caucus yet and said his precinct had so many people showing up that they were still registering folks and they were running way behind. My friend asked if I won’t mind just presenting for him with some kind words. “Sure, not a problem,” I said and hung up.
The Caucus Chairperson asked if anyone else would like to speak on behalf of a candidate? I took a deep breath, smiled at my wife and jumped up from where I was seated. The Chairperson stated I had two to three minutes. The light bulb went on and I thought, Table Topics. Cool. I can handle this. Even though I had only prepared an introduction, my Toastmaster skills kicked in. I opened my remarks with what I had planned as the introduction and then I enhanced my speech with a personal story about my friend and an experience he had while campaigning.
I looked into the eyes of the audience members. I felt my message about my friend was connecting. The audience seemed engaged and several people smiled back as I spoke. I had no notes and spoke from the heart. It was about “yellow card” time so I wrapped up my thoughts and said, thank you. I was given a round of applause. Wow! I had done it. Because of my Table Topics skills, I was confident and concise in my presentation. Toastmasters had saved the day for me and I hope garnered some votes for my friend.
After the caucus several people came up to me and asked about the Toastmaster’s club my friend and I attend since I had said, we both enjoyed practicing our speaking skills. This experience actually turned out to be an opportunity to invite several people to join our clubs meeting that week. Who knows, perhaps we’ll gain a new member or two.
For more information on the Chamber Ad-Liborators Club #770817 Broomfield, Colorado http://chamberadlib.freetoasthost.info/
My reason for attending was to cast my vote and to speak on behalf of a friend of mine who is running for one of our states house-district seats. He had asked if I would introduce him in my precinct since I am active in our town’s civic and service groups. I was honored to be asked to do this and looking forward to sharing my enthusiasm for my friend and his candidacy.
The caucus chairperson asked if anyone would like to speak on behalf of any of the candidates running for our parties ticket. My friend was going to start the evening at his precinct and he would be over at our caucus as soon as he could make it. All the speakers for the national candidates had their say. My friend was no where in sight. My nerves were on edge since I had only prepared an introduction, not a speech.
My cell phone buzzed just then and I answered. My friend apologized for not being at my caucus yet and said his precinct had so many people showing up that they were still registering folks and they were running way behind. My friend asked if I won’t mind just presenting for him with some kind words. “Sure, not a problem,” I said and hung up.
The Caucus Chairperson asked if anyone else would like to speak on behalf of a candidate? I took a deep breath, smiled at my wife and jumped up from where I was seated. The Chairperson stated I had two to three minutes. The light bulb went on and I thought, Table Topics. Cool. I can handle this. Even though I had only prepared an introduction, my Toastmaster skills kicked in. I opened my remarks with what I had planned as the introduction and then I enhanced my speech with a personal story about my friend and an experience he had while campaigning.
I looked into the eyes of the audience members. I felt my message about my friend was connecting. The audience seemed engaged and several people smiled back as I spoke. I had no notes and spoke from the heart. It was about “yellow card” time so I wrapped up my thoughts and said, thank you. I was given a round of applause. Wow! I had done it. Because of my Table Topics skills, I was confident and concise in my presentation. Toastmasters had saved the day for me and I hope garnered some votes for my friend.
After the caucus several people came up to me and asked about the Toastmaster’s club my friend and I attend since I had said, we both enjoyed practicing our speaking skills. This experience actually turned out to be an opportunity to invite several people to join our clubs meeting that week. Who knows, perhaps we’ll gain a new member or two.
For more information on the Chamber Ad-Liborators Club #770817 Broomfield, Colorado http://chamberadlib.freetoasthost.info/
