Toastmasters turns 100, but so what? The parent organisation is having a moment as it remembers the very first meeting, convened by the founder, Ralph Smedley, on 22 October 1924. But how is that relevant to members in New Zealand in 2024?
It’s relevant because at the back of the celebrations is a story. The story says, ‘look at this! We have been so valued by people since 1924 that Toastmasters has spread across the globe and has thrived!’ It’s a compelling, if simplified, tale. But it is essentially valid and uplifting, and we are exposed to many versions of the same message over the years.
We are no more or less than the stories we tell, to ourselves and to others. Our stores are the track of our path through life, even through time itself. Behind the big story of the organisation, there are myriad stories of individuals. People join Toastmasters to become competent, confident speakers, but their stories are all so different. That’s why the speeches we hear can be so enthralling; we are given a privileged insight into somebody else’s world. The stories unite us. Even the sharing of individual stories builds a feeling of community in a club. I have experienced that over and over.
The stories we tell have lasting effect. One member who is a recent immigrant from China, recently spoke about being exposed to a different version of the story of the Korean War from the one she learned at school in the PRC. She learned that it was the North that invaded the South in 1950, and not, as she had been taught, that US forces invaded the North. Of course she experienced dissonance as she processed a different narrative from the one she was taught as a child. It’s the age-old story of propaganda, effective because we interpret the world through stories. The speaker’s conclusion from what she had learned is that more than one source needs to tell stories about important events; there are two sides to every story.
Researchers suggest that telling stories is one of the most important things we do. Perhaps it is the most important of all. Without our stories, who are we? But we need to be careful which stories we tell, both to ourselves and to other people. Stories have the power to change people. They are the only thing that can. In the end, our stories do not just define us; they are, quite literally, all we have.
Ohariu Toastmasters 