Thank You, Dan. Thank You, Toastmasters

Words of encouragement seldom fall on deaf ears - Darren LaCroix

We all come to Toastmasters for different reasons. But we all come away with the same results: We discover more about ourselves and we learn the value of giving in the process. This presentation is about a defining moment in my life. It happened just after a Toastmaster meeting held in a photocopy room. (What an exciting place to have a defining moment!)

It was 1993. I was new to the world of stand-up comedy, and believed in the advice of my comedy mentors, Dave Fitzgerald, Vinnie Favorito, and Chance Langton. These top comedians from Boston had all given me the same drill: the key to comedy is stage time, stage time, stage time! They also taught me to never turn down a chance to perform because I would learn from each experience. (Great advice for Toastmasters, too!)

No one ever considered me as "funny." (The only time my brother ever laughed at me was when I told him I would become a comedian). But I had this intense desire to make people laugh. After reading, studying, and writing about comedy, I knew I still needed to work out my material in front of an audience. Heeding the advice of my comedy mentors, I joined Toastmasters--for extremely selfish reasons. Stage time was getting difficult to find, and Toastmasters was another place to work on material. (I actually joined four clubs.)

I will never forget the day I stood over a photocopier talking with Dan Jones, DTM. Dan has been a mentor to many speakers and is an inspiration to all that have experienced him on the platform. We were talking about the state of the Toastmaster's club and about my future involvement with them. He suggested that I get more involved with the leadership of the club. Obviously, he did not understand were I was coming from! I was new and I was there to learn and test jokes. There was nothing in my contract about doing more than that. How could I help the club? He must have had me confused with someone else.

Then the life defining moment came. " Do you realize what you have to give?" he asked.

His question came from left field and effected me like a slap in the face. " Giving? I'm not here to give, I'm here to get!" I thought.

Dan explained that I had added a new dimension to the club. I was important.

"Me important?" I thought. "I've only been in Toastmasters for a short time. How can I possibly be important to this club?"

Dan didn't let up. He passionately convinced me that I was important, and that others could learn about humor from me. After all, I had learned it the best way (some call it the hard way)--onstage, bomb after bomb.

I was not "born funny." But learning my craft from scratch allowed me to develop the knowledge required to invoke laughter. Dan convinced me that my "know-how" could be taught to others. "Life is about giving, not getting," he reminded me. It was true. The more I became outwardly focused with helping others, the more I inwardly gained from them.

My Pygmalion experience did not stop there. Dan encouraged me to do a speech about learning to be more humorous. He challenged me to lead a workshop at the next Toastmaster's conference.

After that presentation at the conference, another Toastmaster in the audience hired me for my first professional presentation. Since then, I have become a professional speaker, have taught humor to professionals for Bryant College's Center for Management Development, and I have written a book on the subject. Together with other humorists, I founded The Humor Institute, where our mission is to help others use humor to be more successful.

When I reflect on how lucky I am to be able to do what I love, I always remember that it stemmed from that day in the photocopy room with Dan. Many people who try to inspire others may never know the full impact of their efforts. Much of what we say is never truly listened to, but words of encouragement seldom fall on deaf ears. Now I focus on giving more. The rest happens naturally.

Thank you, Dan. Thank you, Toastmasters.

What do you have to give?

Darren J. La Croix, CTM - Auburn, MA

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