Frith asked me about Toastmasters – what do we do, why, and what do we get out of it? I started to form a reply to her Facebook comment, but it just kept getting longer. I think it’s appropriate as a blog post.
What is it?
Toastmasters is basically a group of people who want to get better at speaking in front of a group. Our meetings last one hour. Members who attend are asked to fill a variety of roles for a meeting. You might be asked to give a prepared speech, an impromptu speech, evaluate someone else’s speech, time everyone else, etc. Every role has a speaking component. In this way, you gain experience speaking in front of others as well as serving in roles that may have leadership or listening components.
Why do it?
People join for different reasons. I personally joined because i am not comfortable when i’m put on the spot, and i want to get better at that. A few years ago in a performance review, i was also told that i need to be more assertive; i figured Toastmasters could help me with that.
I know several people who joined because English is not their first language, and they were using it as a way to force themselves to speak English in a formal setting, and also potentially improve accents and/or grammar. I know another guy who joined primarily because of the connections he would form to other people and groups within the company. Others join because they know they will have to give presentations for their job and want to be more effective. Some do it at the suggestion of management. Some do it to overcome shyness or a fear of speaking. Overall, though, i think it’s just about personal improvement.
What do we get out of it?
I’ve been a member for over a year. I haven’t been extremely aggressive with it, but i participate when i can. I already notice that i use fewer “um”, “ah” or other filler words. I’m less nervous about standing in front of the room or having everyone look at me. Some nervousness remains, but i’m still working on that. I’m better at thinking on my feet and responding to impromptu inquiries.
I was able to give a presentation to my peers a few weeks ago with little preparation or practice. And when the demo went a bit awry, it only flustered me slightly instead of the basket case i might otherwise have been. I definitely think my confidence has improved when it comes to telling people what i think. In the past i would often find myself saying “i think X..” when in reality, i KNOW X, especially when someone disagrees with me. I’m learning to assert myself better.
One of the other things that you learn is about how to facilitate a meeting. Everyone gets experience as the Toastmaster, who is responsible for getting the meeting together, soliciting volunteers, getting an agenda together, and conducting the meeting. There’s definitely a leadership element here, and worth learning.
As a bonus, you learn about the things the speakers choose to speak about. Today, for example, i learned about the history of Iran, and the state of the country today. Two weeks ago a girl took us on a journey to China. Last week someone told us about Stop Hunger Now and their upcoming event near my house, so i signed up to help. People are pretty interesting, and they have neat things to say. I enjoy hearing about stuff i wouldn’t normally encounter.
What happens at a meeting?
Our meetings occur at lunchtime and last one hour. The following roles are filled by members:
- Toastmaster – Plans and leads the meeting. Makes sure all the roles are filled so the meeting can happen, puts together an agenda, and welcomes members at the beginning. Often contains a speech element as each meeting has some sort of theme and the TM might give a short speech about that theme. Introduces speakers.
- Timekeeper – Times and records each speech and delivers a report at end.
- Speakers – Prepared speech, usually from one of the speaking manuals, but sometimes people practice things like toasts, eulogies or speeches they have to give for work. We generally have time for 1-3 speakers.
- Evaluators – Listens and evaluates the speaker based on the objectives of the speech, which vary. Each speaker has a different evaluator. The evaluation is verbal, given in front of the group.
- General Evaluator – Listens and evaluates the entire meeting. This is really an evaluation of the Toastmaster, but also each of the other roles. Evaluation is verbal and given in front of the group.
- Grammarian – Listens for filler words, Ums and Ahs, general sentence structure. For example, sometimes i have sentences that never end – the grammarian would try to catch that and give suggestions.
- Table Topics Master – Leads the impromptu portion of the meeting. Usually has some prepared questions and poses them to members, who must answer the question in a 2-3 minute period. Members get practice speaking on the spot and under time pressure.
Typically, the Toastmaster calls the meeting to order and speaks on the day’s theme for 5-10 minutes. Then he calls the speakers, who might talk for 5-7 minutes each. After the prepared speeches comes Table Topics, which may last 10-15 minutes. Next comes the evaluations of the prepared speeches, followed by the evaluation of the full meeting. The grammarian and timekeeper would then give their brief reports.
The program
The program is very extensive. After my 10th speech, i’ll be what they call a Competent Communicator. It is the most common place where individuals stop attending Toastmasters, but there are actually many other milestones. You can go as far with it as you want – it’s all up to the individual.
There are two tracks through the program – the Communication Track and the Leadership Track. You can focus on just one or do them concurrently.
The Communication Track focuses on speaking. The speaking milestones all involve you completing a manual or set of manuals. Each manual contains 5-10 speeches. You choose the topics yourself, but one speech might require you to use visual props, another might have to be persuasive in nature, another might require you to move your body, yet another might have to be humorous.
The Leadership Track tends to be related to roles other than speaking. To fulfill those requirements, you must serve in other roles such as an evaluator for others’ speeches, Toastmaster for meetings, club officer, organizing club events such as speech contests, etc. These roles might have speech elements, but the focus is on getting practice in leadership/facilitating positions.
I really can’t say enough good things about it – i thoroughly enjoy it.
Tags: goals
