%%USERNAME%%    %%ACCWORDS%% %%ONOFF%% |
 |
Toastmasters assist their members to improve their public speaking/leadership skills. |
|
“Become the Speaker and Leader You Want to Be” Toastmaster International is a nonprofit organization that assists its members to improve their public speaking and leadership skills. It offers a variety of programs that help those men and women learn the arts of speaking and the power of leadership. The experience can help its members bolster the skills to speak and lead effectively. Toastmaster International can help you become the speaker and leader you want to be. The organization has been teaching people in public speaking and leadership since 1924. Today, it has over 260,000 members in 113 counties (2011, Wikipedia.org). Becoming a toastmaster, you can overcome your public speaking fear and your listening skills can be significantly improved as well. One of the missions of Toastmasters International is to provide a supporting environment that allows its members to develop oral communication abilities (Toastmaster International Inc., 2008). Most of people joined Toastmasters because they thought that they were not good at verbal communication and would like to have an opportunity to gain public speaking skills. Toastmaster International is the exact platform to horn those skills. In Toastmasters, you learn as you go. There is so much more you can get out of it. Competent Communication program helps you build speaking skills one step at time through the first ten speeches. For each individual speech, Toastmasters look at the skill set that demonstrates the organization’s educational goals. The practice of table topics help their members think on the feet. Sally Kuhlman, a member from San Rafael, California once said, “When I want to dinner parties in the past, I’d often freeze up during interesting conversations. Then later, after the party was over, I’d think all sorts of intelligent things to say. Since joining Toastmasters and regularly taking part in Table Topics, I’ve found that I’m now able to think on my feet and participate in these conversations.” Further, speaking and listening are the two sides of a dime. When individual members actively engage with the audience, they start to comprehend their viewpoints. Accordingly, their listening skills are improved as well. Not only does Toastmasters teach public speaking skills, but the organization also teaches leadership skills. However, what they really teach is confidence. They help the new supervisor who didn’t have full confidence talking to the five people working for him. (Bloomberg Businessweek, January 20, 2011). Under the program of Competent Leader, The organization puts their members on a fast track of leaderships which features 10 projects. By serving different roles, members are able to get the first hand experience in practicing leadership. Moreover, in todays economic down turn, “it’s important to make yourself as valuable as possible – whether you’re holding down a job or seeking employment. Here’s a hard truth: In most companies, leaders are generally considered more valuable than those who follow. They’re paid more, allowed to plan their own schedules and given a larger share of responsibility. Given that, what would you do to redefine yourself as a leader? (Toastmaster International Inc, 2011). Toastmasters International is a great place for self-development. It is the place to boost your confidence and facilitate your personal growth. “This mission of it 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.” said Mike Booth, President of Princeton Toastmasters. From my personal perspective, I joined DOT Toastmasters Club back to May, 2009. In the beginning, I was afraid to talk in front of a crowd, let alone took the approach to lead. Today, having completed eight manual speeches, not only have I gained the confidence to speak in front of the club, but also I am able to deliver trainings at my office to help the fellow co-workers. Additionally, I planned to start the leadership track on Competent Leader upon finishing the Competent Communicator in the near future. DOT Toastmasters Club has helped me become a greater and stronger person. Evidently, Toastmasters International is the leading organization aiming to make significant difference in public speaking and leadership. Through its individual clubs worldwide, it has equipped thousands of people with tools and techniques of listening, speaking, self-improvement, and leadership potentials. In reality, the benefits of the organization go much further. English learners use it as a place to upgrade their English competencies. Job seekers or Job changers use it to network in order to gain career leads. Managers attend regular club meetings to improve their confidence to lead. For me, my increased confidence and the desire to take on new challenges have opened me amazing windows in the near future. If you want to advance yourself and gain confidence in speaking and managing, then Toastmasters is where you want to be. Is your fear of speaking in public hurting you personally and professionally? If you answered “yes”, then Toastmasters has the cure for you. It is the time to take an action to join Toastmasters now! Works Cited Kuhlman, Sally. Letters: Why I Love Toastmasters. Toastmaster, February, 2011. Stein, Joel. Toastmasters: Making Every Word Count. Bloomberg Businessweek, January 20, 2011. Retrieved February 16, 2011 from www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/11_05/b4213112730753.htm Toastmasters International, Inc. Competent Communication. March, 2008. Toastmasters International Inc. The Value of Leadership Skills. Retrieved February 6, 2011 from http://www.toastmasters.org/MainMenuCategories/WhyJoin/SuccessStories/ValueofLea... Wikipedia: Toastmasters International. Retrieved February 16, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toastmasters_International |
This In & Out is EMPTY! Be the first to add... use the form below! |
Self Deletion: Not Allowed Direct Follow Ups: Allowed Post Limiting: Not Limited
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
