Toastmasters share tall tales, impromptu performances

PLAINS – Plainly Speaking Toastmasters took over the library on Tuesday, providing tall tales and impromptu skits on topics, leaving the audience to wonder what was true and what was fiction.

The group presented five tall tales and then dove into impromptu speeches, amusing all those in attendance.

“Our tall tales are different because they may involve cats, they may involve dinosaurs, or anything else. We have a very imaginative, creative bunch of people who will entertain you, amuse you, and have you laughing and wondering how much of that is true, how much of that is possible,” said Toastmaster Doug Wilkes in his introduction of the night.

Mary Lou Hermes kicked off the skits, presenting a piece on a team of cats entering into a dog sled race. As the attendees of the skit laughed, the tall tale entertained the whole group.

Desirae Bruce then took a stand, performing her skit and releasing an interesting twist on how to clean one’s fingernails after a day in the garden. Once Bruce had completed her five to seven minute skit, Les Wood spoke about wing-walking on airplanes and the time he flew over the moon. Wilkes presented a piece about a dinosaur chasing him down a nearby mountain in Sanders County.

Once the speeches had taken place, the group moved on to the table topic of the night. As Hermes named off a type of flower, another member of Toastmaster’s would have to come up with an impromptu speech matching the topic.

Hermes led the discussion and one time stated her favorite flower was pink. Then she instructed one of the Toastmasters to present a one to two minute speech on the last time that person was “tickled pink.” As each member took turns discussing a different impromptu speech related to a flower, the variety of responses varied greatly and were all done at a moment’s notice.

Toastmasters is a non-profit organization, which helps improve one’s speaking and leadership skills at a pace catered to one’s needs.

“It’s simply the challenge of formatting a speech – a beginning, a middle, an end, that will last one to two minutes long without any prep time,” said Bruce, explaining in more depth what a table topic consisted of. “It’s a good skill to be able to develop.”

Wood explained before he joined Toastmasters in 2006, he had problems standing up in front of a crowd and speaking, even if it was a simple introduction.

“I knew I needed help. Toastmasters provided that help. I’ve learned to come out of my shell, I learned to talk in front of people,” said Wood. “If you know anyone who has the same problem that I did, just introducing themselves in a crowd, there’s help for them at Toastmasters. That’s part of the fun for all of us is watching people grow with us.”

Bruce explained when you join the group, you are not “thrown into the wind.” Instead, manuals are provided to walk you through the proper steps to become a competent communicator. As you progress through the manuals, there is an opportunity to develop skills in an area of one’s choice, whether it be humorous speaking, story telling or professional speaking.

“So much of what we do in life and how we succeed is about communication. Verbal communication, the ability to think on our feet, to make our point clear, to confirm that our audience whether that be one person or a group of people, has heard our message the way we intended it or not,” said Bruce. “It’s good to have a place where you can come and practice that before you land yourself in a situation where you need it and wish you had.”

Wood explained that even though Plains Toastmasters is located in a smaller town, the group has seen great success throughout the years.

“We have participated in some of the great contests throughout the district, we’ve sent people to represent the club and we did a lip-sync ten years ago that people are still talking about,” said Wood.

Currently the Plainly Speaking Toastmasters Club has 14 members and is seeking new members. The group meets every night at the Plains High School in the Home Ec. Room at 7 p.m. In the past the group has had as many as 20 to 23 members.

“We’re looking for people to join up even though we are a small town. We are an outgoing group and we’re well known,” said Wood.

The skits took place at 7 p.m. at the Plains Public Library. The library offers weekly entertainment on Tuesday nights and the event is free to the public.