Esbjerg Toastmasters Club in the Ugeavisen ESBJERG Newspaper

Link to this article just brought in Ugeavisen Esbjerg.

Development: Her hands became sweaty, her cheeks hot – red, and her heart beat with uncomfortably hard beats. Marieke Bøg did not feel well at all when, back in her school days in the Netherlands, she had to stand up and speak in her class. – It was terrible, it was the worst thing I could think of, she remembers.

For Marieke Bøg, the red cheeks did not disappear even though she grew up. The Dutch woman studied in Canada, lived in Austria and did an internship in London. She did her Masters in Odense, and she did not want to move back home to the Netherlands. So, Marieke Bøg ended up moving to Esbjerg where she first worked for Mærsk and then at the pharmaceutical company 2Care4. And here she could still get red cheeks and sweaty palms. – I got tired of how bad I felt when I had to do a performance, she says. And then she started to Google “how to become a better speaker” and she found a video with a woman who had felt the same way and who had received help through a club – and now she was a professional speaker. I didn’t know at all that you could go from being someone like me to that level, says Marieke Bøg.

The association was called Toastmasters International, and Marieke Bøg contacted the branch in Esbjerg, and after a few guest visits, she signed up in autumn 2020.

– It’s a kind of fitness center. You just come and train and gain some muscles, the difference from a normal fitness center being that you train your public speaking and leadership skills, explains Esbjerg branch’s Jette Holten Lützhöft, the club’s Vice President of Membership, i.e. guest manager. I

n Esbjerg Toastmasters Club, Marieke Bøg got a mentor, and it quickly helped her get rid of the worst nerves. – At first, he asked me why I was so nervous, what I thought it was due to? Then I said that I was afraid that my message was not important, that no one would hear it. But I got on and found out that I had something to say, it is largely about self-confidence, explains Marieke Bøg. It’s not that she isn’t nervous at all today, but Marieke Bøg has recovered, and she’s not heading out to the car in the parking lot to drive far, far away when she has to give a speech. And when she still feels the heat in her cheeks, she uses it for something positive. – Then I’ll just say it. I’ve stood on stage and said: My heart is pounding, I’m sweating where I shouldn’t be sweating, and I can feel my face is red, so now I have to speak. You can push yourself and make a joke about it and you get over it and then it works, says Marieke Bøg, who today works for the pharmaceutical company Mundipharma.

Jette Holten Lützhöft has also noticed the development the once very nervous Marieke Bøg has gone through. – Today, I can see that she is nervous on another level, and she can talk herself down. There is a completely different calmness in her eyes when she meets new people. She reaches out in a different way than at the beginning when there was a slightly resemblance of a frightened bird above her. Today, that bird flies, and today she can also be a mentor to others. It’s so good, says Jette Holten Lützhöft, who also has her own success story to tell after her years in Toastmasters. – I once sat for a job interview where I ended up getting a completely different job than the one I came to get. Two days later, I was sitting in the boss’s chair myself and had to hire 18 people. I certainly wouldn’t have been able to sit in that chair if I hadn’t had my experience from Toastmasters, says Jette Holten Lützhöft.

In Toastmasters, members follow two directions. They work on becoming better speakers and work on leadership. In the work with leadership, i.a. evaluation of the other members’ performance. But there are also other very good reasons to join Esbjerg Toastmasters Club, says Marieke Bøg. – You don’t just have to join because you want to be asked to give speeches. You can improve your English and get a bigger network. After all, there are many newcomers who don’t know anyone in the city yet so it’s also a good way to get to know new people, she says.

Facts: It costs DKK 70 per month to join Esbjerg Toastmasters Club. Students, jobseekers and pensioners can join for DKK 55 per month. In addition, there is a registration fee of DKK 150. The next meeting of Esbjerg Toastmasters Club will be held at the Main Library on 9 November. Those interested are welcome from 17:15 where there is a guest introduction, before the actual meeting begins at 18:00. In Esbjerg Toastmasters Club, all meetings take place in English.