Almost a year ago, I signed myself up to be a member of the UBD Toastmasters Club.

Only a week ago and after 10 speeches, I was officially pinned Competent Communicator.

In only less than a year, I've learned more than a handful of lessons, not only about public speaking and leadership, but also the importance of support, positivity, and best of all, friendship. 

Unlike most, my very first time speaking in front of the audience wasn't to deliver my first speech, but I carried out my very first role, which was the Table Topics Masters. I handled the entire impromptu speech session of the meeting. A week before the meeting, I was lost. I didn't know what to do or to expect. But my fear was subsided because I felt the friendliness of every member in the club. No hesitations were made before I asked for a hand for my very first role. 

Friendships were gradually made from then on.

I got to know each of the members more and more, (and if you knew me personally, I can be quite tough to warm up to), but they definitely made it easier for me. 

For my very first speech, my CC1, I received amazing support and amazing feedback, and to say that I was very pleasantly surprised would be an understatement. 

More and more support and encouragement was shown when I first hosted the meeting, and I knew I would grow to love these amazing people.

However, it was not all fun and games. Most people fear speaking in public. So if you think we are no different, you're wrong. Yes, we get nervous. Yes, we visibly shake in terror before a speech. And yes, we sweat no matter how cold the room is. But we just learned to love standing before an audience and sharing our stories. The nerves subsides in the middle of a speech as we get carried away in telling our stories and to me, that's the beauty of it. 

The other pain is trying to nail our speech drafts and going over it again and again. We go through multiple speech topics before we find the right one. We play around with our words just to find a sentence that feels right. We spend hours practicing our speech delivery. Where's the fun in that, you ask? ....well, nothing. But to me, the results... priceless.

I went through all that in less than a year, and just last Monday, I was awarded the pin I've longed for from the moment I joined Toastmasters.  

Liyana Sidek's CC10

(Click on the link to watch the speech that earned me the Competent Communicator title)

I've said this over and over again before, but I'll say it for another million times because it will never be enough. I cannot be more thankful for everyone who had my back throughout my journey. This isn't just a phrase I wanted to put in because it sounds right, but I mean it with all my heart.. I couldn't have done it without them.

Liyana