Immense benefits of Toastmasters
I have been part of Toastmasters for almost 3 years now. It has helped me immensely to practice communication, leadership, and public speaking skills. A great way to make some friends, learn new skills, and be confident in all kinds of social and business setups.
For those who don’t know what Toastmasters is- it is a non-for-profit organization, headquartered in Englewood, Colorado. It runs across thousands of locations all over the world. The aim of the organization is to help people get better in addressing large gatherings, to say the least, and a multitude of other intangible benefits.
Most of the times we confuse with knowing something is same as doing it. The act and only act matters. Not mere thought processes, or even worse, the false misconception that we know everything.
Communication-Verbal/ Non-verbal skills
As a member you get to practice on presenting speeches through educational pathways. Depending on your end goal, the pathways provides study material and a roadmap. Some of them are- practicing effective vocabulary, minimize the use of fillers ( ahs’, uhm’, etc.), gestures, organizing speech delivery, and voice projection.
The art of evaluation and healthy criticism
Evaluations are heart and soul of Toastmasters. As every speaker comes on the stage to speak, the audience get a chance to evaluate them, provide them feedback on how it went. In addition, there are dedicated evaluators for each prepared speeches. This exercise allows everyone an opportunity to think and develop cognitive skills and help improve fellow toastmasters.
How will tell your colleague, friend, loved ones that they could improve, without being too condescending? Or we tend to be excessive in praise and sugar coat our emotions. It is nothing but a recipe for disaster towards enduring relations with people around us.
Organizational skills
There are a plethora of ways in which you work on organizational skills. Members get a chance to listen for effective grammar, filler words, and make note of speakers time duration. Unconsciously all these activities, helps you to organize your thought process.
Leadership skills
As you become member, you are assigned a mentor. Whose role is to help you achieve your goals. They support you to become more confident in your journey at Toastmasters and at life.
As mentors, you get a chance to be exceptional leaders. Provide a ray of hope for others, and become the best version of t
yourselves.
I encourage you, to google “Toastmasters near me”, and check it out. Each meeting I attend at Toastmasters, gives me a chance to redefine myself. A reminder of my shortcomings and how can I learn from other amazing toastmasters.
