As you might imagine, I felt as though I was walking ten feet above the ground the rest of evening and for at least another week. It’s very empowering to know that I made that much of an impact on someone who was part of a group with whom I had spent only an hour.
You can begin your journey to effective public speaking right now. Check your local newspapers and phone book for a Toastmasters group. As soon as you find out when local meetings are, add them to your schedule. Don’t worry if you don’t know a topic or even have a title; they have topics and methods to help you speak with enthusiasm by practicing at the meeting. That’s just a small part of what you can learn there.
Also look for other speaking organizations like the National Speakers Association. Mingle with as many people as you can find that make speaking a regular proponent of their business development plan. Check out one of the many great books on speaking from the library. You might want to look for Lilly Walter’s Speak and Grow Rich, Bill Gove’s speaker’s series or any of the many library materials from speaker’s organizations like the National Speaker’s Association.