Talk away your fear

 

Reasons to Join Toastmasters

By Wade Paterson

Have you been thinking about joining a Toastmasters Club, but you’re not sure if it’s the right thing for you?

Below are five reasons why I think you should consider joining Toastmasters.

Reduce Stress Associated with Public Speaking

I joined RE/MAX of Western Canada as a social media/communications coordinator in 2014. A few months later, I learned I had to speak to a group of 60 new RE/MAX agents for 30 minutes at our monthly sales associate orientation events.

Although I had been told I was a good public speaker, the idea of speaking in front of this group every single month gave me anxiety.

I joined the Kelowna AM Toastmasters Club (we meet at The Royal Anne Hotel in downtown Kelowna every Thursday morning at 6:45 a.m.) with the simple goal of reducing that stress.

Within three months, I noticed a significant reduction in my own anxiety. The bonus was that I was sharpening my public speaking skills at the same time.

Ditch the Umms and Ahhs

One of the most common weaknesses of an inexperienced public speaker is the addition of “umms” and “ahhs” to their speeches.

Why do we use these words between sentences? Because it feels uncomfortable to allow silence to fill the gaps. Although it may feel awkward for the speaker, it doesn’t feel that way for the audience. In fact, silence between sentences is easy to listen to; crutch words such as “umm” and “ahh” are distracting.

Each Toastmasters meeting has an Ahh Counter, who makes note of each speaker’s crutch or filler words, then delivers a report at the end of the meeting. Before Toastmasters, I didn’t realize how often I would say “umm,” but attending these meetings has helped me almost completely eliminate that crutch word from my speech.

Body Language and Vocal Variety

The way a message is communicated can be broken down into three percentages:

• 55%
• 38%
• 7%.

The 55% represents body language; the 38% represents vocal tone; the 7% represents the actual words we say. That means 93% of a message is communicated non-verbally.

At Toastmasters, there is a heavy focus on purposeful body language and incorporating vocal variety to keep the audience engaged. Each speaking role has an evaluator who points out what the speaker did well, and what the speaker can improve upon.

Become a Better Listener

One of the most surprising things I discovered about Toastmasters is beyond becoming a better speaker, I became a better listener.

As I mentioned in the previous point, every speaking role is evaluated; therefore, when you sign up to be an evaluator at Toastmasters, you are forced to listen intently in order to give constructive feedback to the speaker.

Throughout my five years as a Toastmaster, my listening skills have strengthened. I am more focused in one-on-one conversations, and I get more value out of listening to other speakers.

It’s Like Going to the Gym

This last point is perhaps better categorized as a reason you should continue going to Toastmasters, even if you’ve been going for several years.

Pretend that you had a gym membership for six months in 2015, then you stopped going altogether for the next five years. The result would likely be that you got into decent shape in 2015, and have since regressed from not working out since then.

Public speaking is similar. Time and time again, I have seen new Toastmasters join our club with little confidence, then, after six months of consistently attending meetings, they evolve into polished speakers.

I have also witnessed people leave the club after reaching a certain proficiency, then come back as a guest a year or two later. While they are still a stronger speaker than they were before attending any Toastmasters meetings, they are far weaker than the level they were at when they were attending regular meetings.

Although my attendance record is far from perfect, I fully intend to be a Toastmaster for years to come.

If you’re interested in learning more about being an impactful communicator, head over to my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTEVBsx27Ub6vv0gu6ARsAg?view_as=subscriber

Wade Paterson is a champion public speaker with Kelowna AM Toastmasters.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.