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by Elsa McDowell
The Post and Courier
Charleston, SC
October 21, 2001
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Sometimes it's not what you say that matters so much as how you say it. Take Bobbin Huff's speech last week to the College of Charleston Toastmaster's Club. It was good enough to win her the designation of Competent Toastmaster. It was good enough to bring tears to the eyes of her fellow club members. It was good enough for the state Toastmaster governor to join in a standing ovation. And yet, its content was not remarkable. Huff simply thanked the group. She told them she likes to read, write and watch birds. And she told them she is doing better. That was it. Less than two minutes. Not a Gettysburg Address by any means. But the fact that she gave it, and the part about "doing better" told her audience worlds about the speechmaker. It told them she had grace. She smiled even when she had to turn to her husband David for prompting. It told them she had courage - not just the kind it takes an able-bodied person to make a speech, but the down-deep courage it takes a person with no short-term memory and no prepared speech to stand before a group and speak. It told them their friend and colleague was persevering in a struggle that might best the best of them. SPEECHLESS Three years ago, Bobbin Huff - a public relations specialist with the College of Charleston and founding member of the college's Toastmasters Club - suffered a brain aneurysm. Three weeks later, her brain hemorrhaged. She contracted meningitis. She was unresponsive for six months. Even after the initial crises, her prognosis was discouraging. She couldn't speak or walk. She couldn't swallow. She couldn't do the thing that she loved - write. Huff previously had been a features writer and assistant features editor at The News and Courier. The past three years have been measured much differently from her first 53. Instead of measuring success by the number of writing awards she received, her success is measured in feeding herself. Instead of tending to two sons, a husband and a career, she has progressed from wheelchair to walker to baby steps, albeit unsteady ones. Instead of enjoying the serious study of natural history, she has learned to enjoy wildlife for its less complicated beauty and color and movement. COMPETENT TOASTMASTER Given her present state of health, it might seem wrong-minded to ask Bobbin Huff to stand before a group of college professors, students and administrators and make a speech. Toastmasters, by their very name, are polished speakers, glib and poised. Bobbin Huff has trouble finishing sentences because of her memory loss. Toastmasters are asked to take note when a speaker fills in a mental lapse with a verboten "uh." They are asked to catch grammatical errors and assess whether their colleagues are entertaining or informative, inspiring or educational. A Toastmasters Club is not the place to hear, you know, that things are, like, uh, pretty good. Then again, as members recited the club's mission, it was clear that Toastmasters was exactly where Bobbin needed to be: "to develop communication skills which foster self-confidence." Bobbin Huff beamed at her standing ovation. And, maybe it was my imagination, but she seemed a little more sure-footed as she walked back to her chair. --------- Republished with permission from The Post and Courier. Elsa McDowell may be reached by phone at (843) 937-5558 or by fax at (843) 937-5579. Her e-mail address is elsa@postandcourier.com and her mailing address is 134 Columbus St., Charleston, S.C. 29403-4800. |