Just Put Up Your Hand

Sometimes, we just need a little more courage. And tonight I did it. I was so happy that I put up my hand bravely and decisively.
On this very night, we held our last Toastmaster meeting. For I did my first project yesterday, I didn’t apply for today’s prepared speech. However, that didn’t mean I could do nothing in this meeting. One of an equally fantastic part with prepared speech is the table topic part, in which a challenger comes up to the stage, picks one topic randomly and gives a brief unprepared speech between 2 and 3 minutes. I always think it’s the most challenging task in Toastmaster, for one must be courageous enough to go to the stage and his or her mind must be sharp enough to arrange the speech in such a limited time.
Still remember when I first went to challenge table topics, my mind ran totally blank when I stood on stage. I lowered my head and thought deeply what I should say but could only waited time to pass by quietly. Tonight, however, not only did I put up my hand firstly, which meant I was the first volunteer in table topic section, I also felt I was much easier than before. I greeted to the audience and began my speech by repeating my topic. Then I used an example to demonstrate that I agreed with the topic. After that, I draw a conclusion and thanked the audience. The whole speech was much smoother than several times ago. Though my voice was still a little low and I still lacked eye contact and interaction with audience, I feel I was more confident and could manage my speech better. I was really proud of myself to be so brave and nimble to be first to put up my hand. I know only by practice can I make further improvement. And I really did it.
Just put up your hand, and give yourself a chance. You will always do better than you think. At least you overcome your own timidity. That’s what I learnt from tonight’s meeting. I want to share with you all and wish myself to carry on and go further.