Learning begins with the first speech

I did my icebreaker with York Toastmasters in May, 2007. As an experienced Toastmaster (3 past clubs) I knew what to do - start off with where I came from, and end up with who I am now. And somewhere along the way, explain why I first joined Toastmasters and why I am re-joining 6 years later. An easy 5-7 minute speech about a subject I know well ... me. The title was something dull like "all about Claire". The organization of this is chronological, making it easy.

My speech went well. The audience clapped. Then, fellow toastmaster Ash B. did the evaluation. Suddenly, I realized how the speech could be made so much better: a title to grab the audience's attention and draw them in. Here is the new title for my Icebreaker:

"How I started out to be a research scientist and ended up an entrepreneur"

Here is a small excerpt:

"I went to Penn State for graduate school, MS program in materials, I was "good with machines", but I was working with chemistry instead - I liked fixing the broken equipment more than the experiments. Graduate school was filled with boring lab work, and tedious classes, until I met _____, another student in the materials program. Then, my life got interesting. Two of the things he did for fun were Toastmasters International, and fire walking.

Which is scarier walking on hot coals, or public speaking? I promptly joined the Nittany Toastmasters ... not just cause I liked ______, but as a graduate student in a field with minimal commercial applications, it was really clear that communication skills would be needed for job interviews."