The Finishing School

When I was in a secondary school in the sixties. Yeah, I said secondary school. Yeah, I am long in years and no I still have all my teeth. My family could not afford the luxury of chocolates. Will you let me say my piece?
As I started to say, when I was in secondary school, I used to read about rich families sending their children to finishing schools. Rich families in the fifties, and sixties then. The girls were sent to finishing schools, the boys generally went on a tour of the world to learn about other cultures. More often than not, they were sent to Rome as the girls were sent to Switzerland.
Some of the lessons for the girls was refined speech, ability to listen attentively at polite gatherings. You also learned the art of socializing in a refined, delicate way, walk straight with books on your head.
There no refined schools in my neck of the woods, then more than sixty years ago nor at the present moment. In my world, getting a certificate was the first and for most of us the only consideration. So we rarely read for pleasure. But there was Enid Blyton’s adventure stories, the Famous five and as we got older Mills and Boon.
If like me you were a girl from a poor family, getting educated was a really a big miracle. So you will wonder what will a poor girl like me in the sixties be thinking about a finishing school or knowing anything about it? Reading was not banned, and I happened to love reading, read all the James Hadley Chase available, Ian Fleming and quite a lot you will be shocked to learn. I still do. So, I read about young persons like me who lived across the pond. Read about their language. Read so much about their lifestyles and the art of good speech.
That is where I am going really, the art of good speech which comes from being a good communicator. The finishing school of people like my hero Barack Obama.
The finishing school of Maya Angelou, my ultimate poet, the school by Mahatma Gandhi, powerful communicators who could infect us with the power of their speech, and impacted our lives.
I had a quiet boss when I became a broadcaster. He was quiet in his mien and demeanour until he needed to pass a message either in the studio or through any of his programmes…Conversations with Bisi Lawrence.
Did these role models of mine go to finishing schools? I doubt if they did, but they had a gift they used very effectively. They were good communicators and for me, they had leadership skills. It was thus natural when I became a Toastmaster that I should see them as Toastmasters too. A Toastmaster is a good communicator and an active listener.
I am a Toastmaster, and now in my own finishing school. I do not need to go abroad, but Toastmasters International is available to me. I can learn at my own pace and at a very affordable price too. I learned how to listen, not just hear people speak, but also to learn active listening.
What do I learn? Quite a lot I am discovering in the Pathways they make available.
Toastmasters International is an educational NGO that teaches communicating and leadership skills in an environment of love, polite and friendly evaluation.
I see it as a personal finishing school for anyone who thinks life will be richer and easier if he has good communicating skills. When you have good communicating skills you carry the possibility of being a good leader, a thought leader. It does not matter your profession in life, you need to be able to communicate..
The beauty of this finishing school is the ability to go at your own pace to acquire the skills you need on your own terms.
Howzat?