A newspaper article by Harvey Mackay on the joy of public speaking and Toastmasters

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At the Coeur d’Alene Press on September 22, 2024 there is a useful article by Harvey Mackay titled The joy of public speaking. It appeared the previous day at UExpress. He has written eight business books, and would be expected to do careful research. But in the article instead he claims:  

 

“The day after I graduated from the University of Minnesota, my father, Jack Mackay, pushed me to join King Boreas Toastmasters in St. Paul, the oldest Toastmasters club in the United States.”

 

King Boreas Toastmasters really is the 208th club, and it was chartered on November 4, 1941. The first club, at the YMCA in Santa Ana, California began back in 1924.

 

He continues:

 

“This October, Toastmasters International will celebrate its 100th anniversary, and now boasts a membership of more than 364,000 in 16,600 clubs in 143 countries. Many formerly red-faced, white-knuckled speakers owe a debt of gratitude to Toastmasters, a club whose main purpose is to help members hone their public-speaking skills.

 

Along with that, members learn about preparation, appearance, self-confidence, self-esteem and thinking on their feet … or how to be interesting. Toastmasters can help anyone in any profession because those skills are in universal demand. And with surveys showing that public speaking ranks at the top of the list of fears — even above death — a little refresher course is in order. You can reach Toastmasters at www.toastmasters.org.”

 

But public speaking really isn’t at the top of lists of fears - or above death. It has not been at the top since a March 19, 2001Gallup poll article by Geoffrey Brewer titled Snakes Top List of Americans’ Fears.   

 

Harvey also says:

 

“I have a very useful tool to make speech-making easier. It's called the Mackay 35 to Stay Alive. It's one of many handouts that are available free on my website, www.harveymackay.com”

 

But his 35 to Stay Alive article is at Eliances, rather than his website.  

 

He recommends limiting the number of seats, which I find questionable:

 

“If 100 people are going to attend, the room should seat 75. If 500 people are expected, the room should hold 400. You want the excitement of a standing-room-only, bumper-to-bumper crowd to build chemistry.”

 

A cartoon of a Business Speaker was adapted from one at Wikimedia Commons.