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naraburns  nihil supernum  1yr ago (text post)   3816 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for October 9, 2022

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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Be a guest at several Toastmasters meetings, both in person and via Zoom or similar programs. Find one which has people you enjoy being around, at a time you can attend weekly or biweekly.

I joined Toastmasters in my twenties, and I was surprised at how quickly my social deficits were erased and replaced by social skills. I went from being a hot dog cook to an insurance clerk, to an admin assistant, using the social skills and professionalism I’d learned and practiced there.

You’ll learn how to package ideas and meaning into 5-7 minute monologues, as well as learning how to respond to questions with detailed but succinct 1-2 minute responses. All the other skills you’ll learn in Toastmasters are also vital to becoming not just a skilled speaker, but a respected and valued member of a social group.

Find a club at the Toastmasters website, either by distance from your location or online at a time (and in a language) of your choosing. PM me if you want a personal recommendation for clubs in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

I keep seeing recommendations for toastmasters on motte and lately I realised that I think it’s virtually entirely coming from you? That’s some determination to the organisation lol. I have no real interest in public speaking but might check them out soon just because you make sure I keep remembering their existence

As far as I know, I’m the only Motter posting about Toastmasters. People keep asking about how to make adult friends and improve their social skills (presumably without risk of public humiliation), and Toastmasters is the cheapest, least risky real-world way to do that. It’s what worked for me.

I will second this recommendation. I got my CTM shortly after college and it was an amazing experience. I met lots of interesting people and it did wonders for my social skills. No organization is perfect but the Toastmasters groups I've been in were pretty fantastic.

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A motte is a stone keep on a raised earthwork common in early medieval fortifications. More pertinently, it's an element in a rhetorical move called a "Motte-and-Bailey", originally identified by philosopher Nicholas Shackel. It describes the tendency in discourse for people to move from a controversial but high value claim to a defensible but less exciting one upon any resistance to the former. He likens this to the medieval fortification, where a desirable land (the bailey) is abandoned when in danger for the more easily defended motte. In Shackel's words, "The Motte represents the defensible but undesired propositions to which one retreats when hard pressed."

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