PVAMU’s Toastmasters Chapter held a seminar titled “Voices of Distinction,” hosted by Dr. Henri Bailey of the Business Management Department.The Toastmasters Club main priority is to help individuals conquer their phobias about public speaking. The organization is open to all individuals on campus including faculty, staff, as well as students.
Founded at PVAMU in 1990, this gavel chapter decrees that its members are to give public speeches without fear, keep the mistakes to a minimum, and have fun doing it. Once members become comfortable with the craft, they may attend regional meetings as well as participate in competitions. Current member and student Travis Brock stated that, “It is an important club to be apart of if you want a career in any kind of public speaking, politics and broadcasting to name a few.”
Dr. Bailey says that “Many people enjoy being apart of the toastmasters chapter because they enjoy speaking before the public and the comradery.
Hundreds of businesses sponsor their own toastmasters’ chapters within their companies to help improve upon thier employees public speaking abilties. Making the opportunity to network with other organizations another benefit of membership.
Every meeting opens with a prayer from one of the members. The Toastmaster is the individual who runs the meetings and the Table Topics Master poses several topics discussed throughout the meeting. A timekeeper ensures that each person’s speeches are less than three minutes. After all of the topics have been discussed, each speaker is critiqued to help them learn from their mistakes and become more advanced public speakers.