The art of the Toastmaster is stepping behind the lectern, fearfully facing an audience, wiping sweaty palms as though it were a natural gesture, speaking faster and louder than the pounding beat of your heart, and yet finishing with you and your message still intact.

The art of the Toastmaster is being ready to learn from others. It is accepting evaluation without defensiveness. It is being always open to clues that offer insight for improvement. It is listening for hints of an unwanted habit. It is, finally, being ready to discard cherished and familiar patterns, and being ready to discard in order to rebuild.

The art of the Toastmaster is taking the initiative of greeting others with a smile and a word of welcome, even before you've had your morning cup of coffee or brushed sleep's cobwebs away.

The art of the Toastmaster is listening whenever another is talking. It is an art we learn only when we're not speaking. It is most truly an art that we practice when we listen not just with our ears, but with our minds and hearts as well.

The art of the Toastmaster is recognizing and accepting the dual responsibilities we have when we speak, our responsibility to the audience, and our responsibility to ourselves as speakers and fulfilling both with the very best we have to offer.

The art of the Toastmaster is the art you and I are learning every Thursday at Valley Toastmasters.

It is an art that enriches our lives.