This thread is inspired somewhat by this thread, where I saw one question about Toastmasters, one partially correct answer, and one confession of former confusion in rapid succession. I never thought I’d start an “ask the…” thread, but I usually get a question or two whenever I mention Toastmasters so I figured maybe other folks have questions, too (and I don’t see Toastmasters in Idle Thoughts’s great “The ‘Ask the…’ Anthology” thread).
Toastmasters International is an organization that helps its members develop public speaking and leadership skills. I am the President of my club, which I founded just over 2 years ago (that’s also when I joined Toastmasters). I am also an Area Governor this year, which means I oversee the four clubs – including my own – in my designated area. The Toastmasters hierarchy goes:
Member > Club > Area > Division > District > Region
There are ~20 members in each of my clubs, 4 clubs in my area, 7 areas in my division, 6 divisions in my district, and 8 districts in my region.
I guess that’s enough setup … ask away! I know there are a few other Toastmasters hanging around the board, and of course I welcome their participation, too.
I had to join (briefly) because a boss made me. I think it’s a good idea for everyone to get a little public speaking experience under their belt. There are so many people who are terrified of it, but once you do it, you quickly see that it’s not as scary as you think. There are tricks to looking and feeling comfortable.
I didn’t stick with it (the room full of dorks I was forced to endure was more than I could take), but I did take a 1-week course when I worked for another company, and it was time well-spent.
As a technical writer, I like clarity, and I just think that Toastmasters’ mission would be more clearly expressed if it were called something like “Public Speaking International”.
Other than that, everyone I know who’s tried it has said that it was well worth it.
While it sounds like a good idea for people who want to develop public speaking skills, do you ever find people that join because they they are somewhat social outcasts, like to talk a lot, don’t have friends that will listen to them blather on and on, so they join toastmasters so there is an audience that will be forced to listen to them?
I can just picture someone joining that people can’t stand to be around because they just don’t know when to stop talking and just like to hear themselves talk.
Ugh! I’ve found that people in your (former) position usually wind up resenting it … I’ve been very careful with my club to make sure that no one feels that they have to join. It won’t work if it isn’t completely voluntary.
But seriously: First, it’s not just public speaking! The organization is working very hard to combat that image, and has recently made changes to its educational program to focus equally on leadership.
Second, I have a feeling that when Toastmasters was founded (1924) the actual role of “toastmaster” was seen much more frequently in social gatherings. It’s almost an archaic term now.
Well, yes. One of the pros and cons of Toastmasters is that all kinds of people join, for all kinds of reasons. That’s one reason why it’s important to visit a handful of different clubs before picking one to join.
Heathen!
To practice public speaking and improve my skills. I wasn’t aware of the leadership side of things when I started my club, but ironically that’s the area where I’ve both advanced the most and learned the most.
Do you mean about Toastmasters, or about public speaking? If the former, definitely. Starting a club makes you learn a lot about Toastmasters, and so does being a club officer – being an Area Governor has taught me even more about the organization!
If the latter, I’d say “definitely” to that, too. When you join you are given a manual with 10 speech projects: you’re given goals to achieve, but the speech topic is up to you. The skills in each project build on each other. You can’t “fail” a speech, so there are some very experienced Toastmasters out there who still aren’t the best public speakers, but they’re probably much better than they were when they started. I am much better about not using notes than I used to be, much more aware of my gestures and movements while speaking, etc.
Clubs can be either open or closed: open clubs are open to the public, and anyone can join. Closed clubs have some kind of membership requirement: you must work in a certain place, or meet some other guideline established by the club. My club is a closed club, and membership is only open to people who work at my (small) company. I’d say the membership is about as varied as the company itself: we have people from almost every division, and even our CEO is a member. No professional or motivational speakers here.
Does anybody ever shout out “CITE!” during a presentation?
I guess the more serious version of the question is; Do you have to support your arguments and do debates ever ensue over a given subject being presented by a trainee speaker (toast-grasshoper?)?
Okay, I understand the idea of public speaking, and that one can learn to be better at it.
But what does “leadership” entail? Is it the kind of managerial skills that, er, managers have to learn: how to deal with erratic employees, etc? Is it how to inspire people? Is it something else?
There’s an actual role of “toastmaster”? What does that person do?
Yes, how we present ourselves can be a shock when we see it for the first time. Does Toastmasters do that thing where they videotape you when you speak and then you go over it with a coach?
Does Toastmasters have a “career track” intended for professional or motivational speakers?
The simple answer to both questions is “nope.” Speeches don’t have to contain arguments, but if they do then supporting them is part of having a well-developed speech. There’s no debate: speeches are presented, timed, and evaluated, but not rebutted. There are some advanced speech projects that allow for a Q&A period at the end of the speech, and I’ve seen that used as a time when people who don’t agree with the speech topic can question the speaker on it, but most speeches don’t include that element – none of the speeches in the basic manual do.
It’s nothing specific to working with employees – it’s not performance management kind of stuff – but you are likely to learn how to deal with erratic people in general. It’s not like you get formally trained in the leadership stuff: it’s almost all trial and error, learning by doing. I’ve learned a lot about my own strengths and weaknesses as a leader simply by taking on leadership roles within my club and my district.
Don’t get me wrong, formal training is offered for each club officer position (President, VP of Education, VP of Membership, VP of PR, Secretary, Treasurer, and Sergeant at Arms), but the training focuses on the job requirements of those positions: what you have to do and when you have to do it. The “how” is largely left up to you, and is where the growth comes in. You can certainly ask for guidance and help (which is part of learning how to be a leader, IMO), but you know your club’s members better than anyone and you know the best ways to motivate and organize them.
Another aspect of the leadership side of things is learning how to run an organized, effective meeting. Members take turns coming up with the agenda for, and running, the club meetings. As the club President, I’m responsible for running the monthly Executive Committee meetings (where all of the officers get together to discuss the club). Likewise, as the Area Governor I’m responsible for running regular Area Council meetings, where the Presidents and VPs of Education for each club in my area get together to see how their clubs are doing, exchange news, and talk about any issues they’re having.
It was well before my time (;)), but my understanding is that the role was exactly what the name implies: at formal/organized social gatherings, the toastmaster was in charge of making the toasts (which were short, public speeches). I believe they were the evening’s sort of unofficial MC.
No: you get feedback during the meeting from a person who was selected to evaluate your speech, but there are no permanent records.
No. There are clubs where every member has finished the basic manual (10 speeches) and is working out of advanced manuals, but few of the people in those clubs intend to speak for a living. Anyone who completes the basic manual is considered a “Competent Toastmaster,” but they could have delivered 10 mediocre speeches. As I’ve mentioned before, you can’t really “fail” a speech. So being in Toastmasters, even at an advanced level, really doesn’t mean much in terms of your ability or readiness to be a professional speaker. There’s no doubt that improved public speaking and leadership skills can have a positive effect on just about any career, but the organization is definitely more about personal growth.
I never thought I’d start an “ask the…” thread, but I usually get a question or two whenever I mention Toastmasters so I figured maybe other folks have questions, too (and I don’t see Toastmasters in Idle Thoughts’s great “The ‘Ask the…’ Anthology” thread).
One of the pros and cons of Toastmasters is that all kinds of people join, for all kinds of reasons. That’s one reason why it’s important to visit a handful of different clubs before picking one to join.