I have found toastmasters to be valuable in my life. At least twice employers have told me that they considered me because of my being in Toastmasters. I am sure that Toastmasters could improve everyone’s life experience.
First, for those who are unfamiliar with this organization, a little information about what Toastmasters are. Beginning in 1924 Ralph C. Smedley brought together a group of men "to afford practice and training in the art of public speaking and in presiding over meetings, and to promote sociability and good fellowship among its members." The organization has since grown to over 200 000 members in over 90 countries worldwide. Focusing on public speaking and leadership skills, Toastmasters is one of the largest organized systems of personal development in the world.
Toastmasters has evolved to be even more than that, as can be seen from the Mission Statement:
The mission of a Toastmasters club is to provide a mutually supportive and positive learning environment in which every individual member has the opportunity to develop oral communication and leadership skills, which in turn foster self-confidence and personal growth.
Toastmasters has a 2 prong approach to the training experience. One line for leadership and one for speaking. Note I did not say public speaking, I do mean all speaking.
But why train in public speaking if I don’t want to become a public speaker? The simple answer is, the skills learned in mastering public speaking and leadership are core skills needed for dealing with other people. These skills are the communication skills you use many times every single day. Instead of thinking about doing a big presentation with your toastmaster skills, think about something as simple as talking with a group of friends, or selling yourself to a potential employer. Also oral communication and leadership skills foster self-confidence and personal growth.
Let me give you a good example of how a toastmaster training could help in a work environment.
One of the things we do is called table topics, the table topicmaster will invite those who want to participate to the lectern, introduce them and give them a topic. The speaker will then be able to give a 1-2 minute talk about that subject On the Fly. This is important because when you learn some thing new the path of neural circuits in your brain used for that process are insulated with mylin. The more you use that path the stronger the insulation, the stronger the insulation the more focused the energy.
Now picture this: you are riding the elevator to work when the CEO steps in she recognizes you and asks about the new project you are working on. With the experience of table topics you will be able to confidently give a quick “Elevator speech”, and impress the heck out of her.
One of the aspects of Toastmasters that surprises new members most is just how fun the meetings are.
Every meeting you hear 2-3 talks on, comedy, cooking and everything else you can imagine. Even without all the skill and relationship benefits, I enjoy the meetings for the entertainment and education value.
