Glossophobic - A Fear of Public Speaking

Submitted by Praveena Surapaneni

Does the thought of standing in front of dozens of folks and presenting a report make you want to stay in bed in a fetal state for a week? Well you could qualify as a glossophobic, or someone who has a fear of public speaking.

This months’ BCBSTX Very Own, Praveena Surapaneni, classified herself as just that...then did something about it! Knowing she had to overcome this fear in order to grow as a leader, she joined the HCSC Richardson Toastmasters Club, BCBSTX Toasties. Toastmasters is an international organization that strives to empower its members in the area of communication and leadership skills, by providing a supportive and positive learning experience resulting in greater self-confidence and personal growth.

Praveena’s personal journey with the group began as a guest. “All of the members were very welcoming and friendly. I loved their enthusiasm and encouragement”, she fondly remembers. After a couple of visits, she joined the group. “My first speech was what is known as the Ice Breaker, where I introduced myself and shared personal details of my choosing.”

The group provided tools such as the Competent Communicator speech manual, and the assignment to a Toastmasters Mentor. “My mentor assisted me with speech content, made sure to attend my presentations, and offered encouragement,” says Praveena. She took off from there, giving numerous talks to the group, with a growing confidence. “I usually chose topics based on my personal experiences or something that I recently learned,” she added. That confidence has soared, and Praveena is now the Area 42 Director after only 2-1/2 years of joining the group!

As Area Director, Praveena oversees the activities of the BCBSTX Toasties plus 4 other area clubs. She explained that “as an Area Director, I help each club in achieving the goals set under Toastmasters performance measurement program called the Distinguished Club Program (DCP), keeping clubs updated on District-level news, organizing speech contests, and visiting each club as much as possible.” As for the experience of the position, Praveena says, “Each club is different in how they conduct their meetings and Toastmasters business. I love bringing other club's perspectives to my home club BCBSTX Toasties. I value the diversity and try to contribute as much as I can to help each club achieve their DCP goals.”

Even with all that she has accomplished so far, Praveena continues to strive in her personal growth via Toastmasters. “Distinguished ToastMaster (DTM) is the highest education level you can achieve in the organization. It involves completion of additional Toastmasters projects that continue to develop my public speaking and leadership skills. My goal is to complete that by the end of July 2016.”

Please talk to her, if you are planning to start your own journey with Toastmasters. And we look forward to your future success in this area, Praveena, as a BCBSTX’s Very Own!

Mentors – The Driving Power Behind Club Growth

By Lee Holliday, DTM, PID


The secret to club growth lies in application of principles you may have heard time and again.

Theodore Roosevelt, twenty-sixth President of the United States, is quoted as saying: “People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care.”

Zig Ziglar, a motivational teacher and trainer who traveled the world over, delivering his messages of humor, hope, and encouragement, said: “You can have everything in life that you want if you just give enough other people what they want.”

Once a Toastmasters club is formed, the growth of that club can only be sustained when the individual needs of individual members are met. You accomplish that by investing your time, concern and energy in developing relationships with members. Relationships takes time.Trust and credibility must be built over a period of time. THAT is what you lead with.

When I started in Toastmasters, I met an experienced member who took an interest in me. His interest was not focused only on what my Toastmasters experience might be or become, but he cared about me as a person. His name is Bill May. Time after time, Bill invited me to lunch, to coffee, to his home, and on trips, and our friendship grew. Along the way, he answered my Toastmaster questions, gently guiding me to grow personally and in my leadership and communication skills. HE CARED ABOUT ME.

I never felt that Bill was forcing me into a preconceived notion of what or who he thought I should be. Instead, he was providing opportunities that I could apply and helping me understand the value of those opportunities. Bill saw a bigger picture of what Toastmasters could be for me and he took opportunities to help me develop my vision for that over time.

My relationship with Bill has become my personal model for what mentoring is. We hear and see so much information about the “need” for mentoring programs in our clubs. I don’t disagree with that. I challenge and encourage you to not wait for an official mentor program or mentor assignment. Begin your own path to being a mentor. Mentoring must become an organic aspect of our Toastmasters culture, not just an organized program. When a mentoring program grows out of the culture, it will flourish. If you try to force-feed and organize mentoring into the culture, it will flounder.

As you begin investing “one-on-one” genuine care and concern in individual club members, they will learn to emulate your mentoring example. Ultimately, they will do the same for other club members. The mentoring culture will be established. Only then a vibrant mentoring program will yield successful members who, in turn, make successful clubs.