Daily Dose of Toastmasters

Many of the guests and even some members visiting a TM meeting often think that Toastmasters is just a once-a-week activity with little utility to us outside the meeting. But this is a wrong notion because you can get more out of Toastmasters than just a CTM reward. Given below are ideas to Bloom Your Everyday Life and Career through your Toastmaster Skills: -

·        Your Home: You may be a great communicator in a TM meeting but at the end of the end if you are unable to connect well to you wife, children, and family members you are a failed speaker. Use your communication skills in your everyday relationships to tell your family that you care, encourage them, laugh with them and above all listen to them.

·        Your Office: Team Work is the key to business success today. Many corporate TM clubs have discovered that employees who are Toastmasters are able to bring better synergy through their superior team building, brainstorming and motivation skills. One member once told me that being an MC or Speaker in TM meeting helped him appreciate the importance of ‘Deadlines’ in the corporate world.

·        In a Job Interview: The dreaded Job Interview may not be all that dreaded if you are able to spice it with the interaction skills (impromptu speaking, ice breaking and overcoming speaking fear) you acquire at Toastmasters.

·        In a Marketing Career: In Business today, Marketing is not something but it’s everything. I have personally been able to improve my selling finesse by using Toastmaster skills like voice modulation, impromptu speaking and listening skills while making a sales pitch.  

·        In a Profession: Doctors, Lawyers and Professionals who have joined TM have discovered Toastmasters has fine-tuned their interaction skills with their clients/patients.

·        Networking with People who Matter: Toastmasters is a Great Place for fellowship too. You get to meet people from diverse walks of life. These connections with people can be mutually beneficial in the long run. Members also find great pals at the Club.

·        Climbing the Corporate Ladder: Leadership skills acquired through participation in Toastmasters will increase your management potential. Many members have discovered the courage to motivate themselves and others and thus climb the corporate ladder faster. There are many members in our club too who have often spoken as to how they have risen from bottom of the corporate rung up to the managerial level rung using their leadership and motivation skills.

·        Becoming a Paid Speaker: In their quest to improve their Speaking skills many members realise that the can using their speaking prowess to improve others too and also earn money along the way. Many members in our club as well as other clubs have become successful corporate trainers, visiting faculty in management institutes, management consultants, columnists etc. 

·        TM as a Knowledge Builder: The sheer experience of being an MC/Speaker in a Toastmaster meeting will help you increase your knowledge as you will hunt for information, quotations and better words. It will improve your information mining skills and also your vocabulary.

·        TM as a Stress Buster: Many members use the Toastmasters as a Stress Buster to just enjoy the fine feeling of sharpening their multi-dimensional skills and bring excellence to their personal life.

The Above Article appeared in the Bangalore Toastmasters News Letter 2005 First Issue. It was written by our member - Mr. Gauresh Mehra