Ann Fallow, the new north of Scotland director for Toastmasters International, wants to get the people of the Highlands talking
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Toastmaster Ann Fallow has taken on a new role worth raising a glass to.
Mrs Fallow has been appointed north of Scotland area director for Toastmasters International, with active members as far apart as Tayside and Dingwall.
However, Mrs Fallow’s introduction to the international public speaking club came far away from the Highlands when she was living in Hong Kong more than 30 years ago.
She recalled: “I was introduced to Toastmasters partly through a friend who said: ‘I think you would be very good at this.’
“It was a tremendous thing to get involved in when you are living the expatriate life. Being an expatriate, the only people you get to know at first are those you work with. Toastmasters has introduced me to so many people.”
Now back in her home city of Inverness, where she is president of the local Toastmasters club, Mrs Fallow has had to get used to public speaking in a very different environment from the one she is typically accustomed to.
“Toastmasters worldwide have only been meeting online since March last year,” she said.
“Our clubs in New Zealand and Australia were the first to start meeting in person again, but quite a few are moving to a hybrid approach with some members joining online if they have the technology. We are hoping the Inverness club will be able to start doing that at the end of the year because when we are able to meet we have our meetings at the Inverness College UHI and of course they have internet capability and big television screens we can use.”
When that happens, she also hopes to see a few new faces.
“Our mission is to improve people’s ability to speak in public,” she explained.
“We are primarily there to have fun, but there is a training aspect. There is a Toastmasters programme called Pathways which takes people through different skills they want to develop.”
Toastmasters can also provide training for businesses and other organisations, while for its members it offers a number of special interest groups and programmes. These include Speechcraft, which is aimed at younger people or less experienced public speakers, business speaking clubs, or specialist groups aimed at particular hobbies or interests such as golf or comedy.
Experienced members can also take part in conferences and competitions, such as comedy competitions or Table Topics, where speakers are given a topic and have to speak on it for two minutes.
“The Inverness club also attracts non-native English speakers who want to improve their fluency,” Mrs Fallow added.
“Whatever your reason for joining, it’s a good audience because everyone there has stood up in a crowd to speak and knows exactly what you are going through.
“They are very supportive, but they do encourage you to improve.”
Mrs Fallow also hopes to involve Toastmasters Inverness with businesses and business groups and help their employees and members develop their own public speaking skills.
“I hope that will be a great entrée to the wider Inverness community and I look forward to making those connections,” she said.
