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Founded in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia 1941
inc.
About Forum Communicators
Forum Communicators is an organisation for you to increase your self esteem and gain confidence through learning specific skills; effective communication; public speaking; club administration; chairing meetings; leadership; speaking and presenting in public; the duties of office bearers – all in an atmosphere of support and encouragement.
How Do You Do It?
Through the practice of public speaking, chairing meetings and participating in the Forum speaking activities at regular meetings.
How Often are Meetings Held?
Usually fortnightly although some Forums meet monthly.
How Long Do the Meetings Last?
From 1 hour to 1 ½ hours depending on which Forum you belong to. There is usually a period of fellowship before or after the formal meeting. Some Forums have a dinner meeting.
Would You Have to Do Anything?
Yes! Since you gain the best experience through practise, every member participates in Forum activities. New members start in small ways, perhaps by giving a Thought For the Day, a reading or proposing a vote of thanks, then graduate to bigger challenges at your own pace.
Would You Have to Make Speeches?
Eventually, yes. The new member receives help and encouragement from a Mentor.
What Does it Cost?
The bare minimum to run the Forum and parent association. Because Forum is dedicated to training members for administrative roles in community organisations, where funds must be managed with the utmost economy, forums manage their own affairs with stringent economy also.
The meeting fee is set so as to cover such items as venue rental, telephone, postage, stationery etc. In addition, each member pays a $20 bi-annual Membership Fee to the association to cover the administrative costs of the entire Forum movement.
How do You Learn about Meetings?
Every Forum meeting has a different member as chair. In this way every member has the opportunity to practise – under the guidance of the forum president.
Elementary meeting procedure is practised at every meeting with more complex procedures at meetings specifically designed for that purpose.
How Do You Learn about Public Speaking?
With the guidance of trained assessors we are our own teachers. At every meeting where public speaking is practised, there will be four to five speakers to a published title chosen by the main speaker. You learn from watching others and hearing the assessors suggestions for improvement. And you learn from workshops and tutorials held from time to time on various aspects of speaking. For information on our latest 6-week Public Speaking Course see the What's On page.
How old are the members and will I make New Friends?
Forum members come from all age groups from all walks of life. You will meet interested and interesting people. Forum activities include conventions, combined meetings, dinners, seminars and special Forum functions.
Will You be Able to do This? Will You Fit In?
Why not? You are not different from any other person who has joined Forum Communicators. Every member came for a specific purpose: to conquer nerves, to become articulate, to gain new skills, to learn to communicate effectively, to meet new friends. Forum members come from a wide cross section of the community and embrace a wide variety of educational, ethnic and occupational backgrounds. Those who gain the most success are those who make the most determined effort to improve their speaking skills.
A Brief History of Forum
On 22nd July 1941 in Brisbane, a public meeting was called of women interested in the formation of a Club to foster public speaking amongst women. The first President was Miss Ruth Don OAM. The three original Founders of Forum, Lady Groom, Mrs Marjorie Puregger and Miss Ruth Don remained active members throughout their lifetime.
During 1945 a movement grew for the establishment of further clubs and the organisation grew throughout Queensland. It became apparent that a supervising committee would be necessary and in October 1947 the Association of Queensland Women’s Forum Clubs was formed, known as the Dais and eventually regional councils were formed.
In 1997 the name was changed to Forum Communicators Association Inc.
In 2011 there are 17 Forums in various locations in Queensland. See our "Forum Contacts" page for the Forum near you.
Dais President: Elaine West - email: west.mel@bigpond.com
Dais Secretary: Lorraine Foran - email: L4n44m@bigpond.com
Testimonial: After receiving feedback from a job interview I decided to improve my communication skills by joining a public Speaking group. I chose Forum because they were extremely prompt in answering my enquiry and seemed genuinely excited at the prospect of a new member. My gut feeling was right and on my first meeting I was warmly welcomed and greeted by many friendly faces. That first night I was exposed to words I’d never heard of and I heard such a variety of speeches. I came close to speaking that night but held off to the next meeting. I decided to take every opportunity to speak, thus learning to conquer my fears. I’ve always been someone who has a strong opinion and enjoy voicing it; however I found I would get nervous if ever I spoke to more than a couple of people in a group. A year has now passed and I’ve DELIVERED a number of speeches – some better than others. I’ve taken myself out of what is now a comfortable environment and spoken in the open in public, at my church in front of a large audience and also at my work place to a sea of teenagers! The nervousness in my voice has disappeared and the racing heart beat has slowed. At a more recent interview I found myself much calmer and unflustered. I still have a lot of words to learn and a long way to go before I can put them into my everyday conversation but I know that never a meeting will go by where I don’t learn something, catch up with my new friends or be inspired by something I’ve heard. Exercise for the mind and calming for the heart – I love Forum, Andrea.