Manteno’s Andrea Taylor went to her first Lincoln-Way Toastmaster club meeting in Frankfort nine years ago.
She is still attending the meetings.
The way Taylor figures it, giving speeches and speaking with people on an everyday basis is something that evolves, and there is something new she can learn each time.
“I really enjoy listening to other peoples’ speeches,” she said. “There have been a lot of people who have come in and out of Toastmasters in nine years. What brings people in is always fascinating to me. I get to hear a lot of different speeches and a lot of different techniques from people.
“I incorporate that in my own day-to-day. I think being a student of life – it’s a normal thing to be eager to learn and observe, and this is a fun group in general. We have a lot of fun together. You just want to come back for that camaraderie.”
Taylor, who moved to Manteno from Manhattan, took second place in the District 54 Evaluation contest in May at the Chateau Hotel and Conference Center in Bloomington.
In this contest, contestants observed a speech and presented a two-to-three-minute evaluation of the speech.
Taylor is an operations manager for an inventory management company in Tinley Park and believes it is important to communicate to the best of her abilities.
“On a day-to-day basis, I talk to my employees, I talk to my counterparts, I talk to the customers, and I talk to the organizations,” she said. “I even helped our customer service manager, who had to give a speech. I gave her feedback and tips on how to make her speech better.”
It’s not easy. People talk without thinking, and it takes a lot to concentrate when talking. But Taylor says it is worth it.
“Just being able to talk better to customers and not being as nervous is big,” she said, “watching my crutch words so I don’t say as many ums or aahs when I talk to people.
“It forces you to focus in on that and it makes you sound more professional.
“Even with my family and friends, I’ve been able to articulate myself so much better now and speak clearly and be concise.”
Taylor said she feels like she has made huge strides in the past nine years.
“I was looking, at that time in my life, to work on my voice and to speak clear,” she said. “I wanted to articulate my thoughts better. I wanted to stop being so nervous when I talk.
“As I started going, I found friendship there, and people encouraged me to do the competition. You think you are going in to learn speeches, but there is this whole other chapter with competitions, and you challenge yourself to keep improving. There is more to it than just making speeches.”