Do you get butterflies in your stomach and a shaky voice when you deliver a speech? Do you hide in the back when it comes time to take charge of the group? Did you know this seemingly normal behavior could cost you the career of your dreams?

Communication and leadership skills are two of the most important attributes employers look for in their employees.

This is one of the reasons Paul Dickey and Isaac Utter decided to bring a Toastmaster’s Leadership Club, or TLC, to Sacramento State this semester.

Toastmasters is an international organization designed to develop its members’ communication and leadership skills. Since its start at a Santa Ana YMCA in 1924, Toastmasters has grown to more than 200,000 members in 90 countries. This year, it returned to Sac State for a second time.

Its founder, Ralph C. Smedley, gave it the name “toastmaster” because in the early 1900s, the term referred to the person proposing the toasts and introducing speakers at events.

Students meet on campus at 7 p.m. every Thursday in the University Union’s third floor Summit Room to give prepared or spontaneous speeches and build their confidence in a group setting. After the two to six-minute presentations, a speech evaluator, who is also a fellow member, gives the speakers positive and negative feedback using Toastmasters speech guidelines.

Dickey, a business major, said every major offered at the school is represented by the club’s members, and there is also a mixture of ethnicities.

“It’s really a good group in my opinion,” Dickey said.

So far, members have only used word-of-mouth to inform others of the program. To reach a wider audience, the group will host its first formal recruitment with the TLC Reception Charter Awareness and Recruitment Event at 5 p.m. on Thursday in the Summit Room.

The ASI-sponsored event is open to students, faculty, staff and alumni, and will inform attendees of the benefits of TLC. The unveiling of the club logo and founding members plaque, signing of constitutions and bylaws, and accepting of the official Toastmasters International Charter Certificate will also take place. Upon completion of the ceremonies, a normal club meeting will be held inviting those interested in joining to attend.

“The idea is to bring in people who genuinely want to be there,” Utter said.

Utter, co-president and a senior business major with a double concentration in finance and real estate, said they have already seen improvements in members. People are becoming more comfortable in front of the crowd and giving speeches.

Another goal of Toastmasters is to build the confidence its members need to succeed in the professional world.

With excitement and pride, co-President Dickey told the story of his encounter with a Toastmaster alumni.

He attended a conference where many speakers told their stories and gave advice, but one stood out more than the others: Peter Coors, CEO of Coors Brewing Co. and fellow Toastmaster.

Although Coors was not open for conversation as he left, Dickey raised his hand in the air and above the noise of the crowd, yelled “Mr. Coors, one minute for a fellow toastmaster!”

Coors stopped abruptly, turned and signaled for Dickey to join his entourage.

Dickey said Coors’ reaction to the mention of Toastmasters shows the impact the organization has.

“People who have gone through the program recognize the chance for self-improvement,” he said.

Other famous alumni include Tim Allen, the star of the show “Home Improvement” and numerous movies, and Debbi Fields, the founder of Mrs. Fields Cookies.

For more information on Sac State’s Toastmasters’ charter, visit www.csus.edu/org/toast/ or for the international site, www.toastmasters.org.

“It’s great being around students who carve out the time to tap into their potential to better themselves,” Dickey said.

Tygenae Harris can be reached at [email protected]