Jackie Bonabaana opens up about her frightful and rewarding public speaking experience.

Here below is one of Jackie Bonabaana’s speeches; where she opens up about her frightful and rewarding public speaking experience.

Saturday Morning June 25th

I wake up Saturday morning, planning to make a sumptuous breakfast for my family.

The planning has been going on for a while now.

You see, the kitchen is not one of my favorite places.

Time spent there is a painstaking experience.

But on this day I decide, I will make friends with the pots and pans, cups and plates, skillets and woks.

I start at the sink, I head to the pantry, then to the fridge.

What do I want to prepare?

 “Hey, why not try one of those exotic sounding out-of-this world chicken dishes”? A strange voice in my head starts.

“Do you have a recipe?” the voice continues.

Immediately it hits me, google! Or better still, pinterest. You see I have a pinterest account that is filled with pins and boards on flowers, shoes, books, painting….. brilliant ideas.

Nothing on food…..Nothing on cooking….Nothing on kitchen stuff.

 

Jackie at the recent Kampala Toastmaster retreat

Time check: 9am. No breakfast on the table yet. No recipe printed either. Jackie is on the phone on pinterest.

Right then a message comes in… “Umeme will not be available to deliver his CC5 speech and his slot is available”. Jackie, think! The TM tracker screams “You are behind on your TM roles!...Shouldn’t you attempt?...Do you want to do this?”

“But there is little time…. Tuesday is just a few days away,” the voices in my head are working overdrive now.

“Do you have anything to talk about…Will you measure up?”

You see, the other day, Grace Rugenge challenged all CC1 that you can be a new entrant yet perform marvelously.

So, what will it be? My life story? Not interesting enough.

My work? Nothing to talk home about. My what?

Ok. First things first. Ask Bev if two CC1s are allowed on a given day.

In 2 seconds, she responds saying it is ok.

Next, ask mentor Connie if she thinks it would be a good thing. 3 mins, 30 mins, 3 hours. 8hours! No response from mentor.

“Hhhmm…” I start to think….

Does mentor know that I am not really ready for this?

That I have not prepared at all and hence I should not stand in front of these people?

That I will develop butterflies in my belly, and that as I speak, they will flutter so loud partiers on 3^rd floor will hear them and think a tsunami has hit?

Does my mentor know that I will develop weak knees that a therapeutic chair will be needed immediately after the session? Of course she knows. She wants to save me the embarrassment. Didnt she tell me herself that she has mentored many in this room?

Wait a minute. Has she even seen my text message?

Then it dawns on me that mentor’s ‘last seen’ status was 3am last night!

But perhaps, my mentor wants me to give it a shot.

That I drive my growth in this journey of being a toastmaster!

That I open up to learn from people like Francis who knows way too much.

Learn from Bev, the international poet, or Tina, the style queen. Or that I learn from Nora the all too knowledgeable learned fellow, or from Gilo the Runtastic one who is willing to escort the Kenyan BOTEA contestant girl in boots.

Or learn from Phillipa, the one with an aura of sophistication.

Or from Davis, the eloquent Immediate Past President.

Or Connie herself, the Halle Berry look- alike.

Or perhaps, mentor wants me to put my foot forward and learn from Steve who is not Umeme, and Umeme who is not Umeme.

Isn’t that my journey in KTM?

Oh, I should add. I remember one lazy Sunday afternoon, when I spoke with Norah about joining the Club. She asked me on the phone, “Why do you think toastmasters will be good for you”? I mentioned how public speaking has always given me the jitters…. How at this stage in my life, speaking in public shouldn’t be such a nightmare.

She said firmly. “Come, you will not regret.”

Sorry to say this Norah, I do regret.

I regret for not having found KTM earlier.

I regret for the wasted effort and time spent in other clubs elsewhere. And I regret for those who have not made their decision to join KTM yet.

For you see, my first toastmaster meeting here awed me.

I remember it vividly, like it happened yesterday.

The toastmaster was Lynda. And all the ladies – Bev, Cissy, Phillipa conducted themselves so gracefully and so professionally, as they took turns at the podium.

Right then, I thought….

“Hmmm, have these ladies always been like this…or have they learnt this poise, this elegance, this eloquence from this club”?

I didn’t want to answer the first question... So what if they have always been this good- with perfect English?

No, I didn’t want to dwell on that.

Instead I wanted to focus on the latter. If they learnt these amazing presentation skills from KTM, I had to join. Because as they say, “if you can’t beat them, join them.”

Right there, I knew what I wanted to be when I grow up!

Oh, but I digress!

It’s 11am!

And you will ask….

Did my family have that exotic-sounding great-tasting stringy chicken-alfredo-in-creamy-mushroom soup for breakfast?

Your guess is as good as mine.

I thank you

JBW