Speaking and Listening: Toastmasters Experience

One of the complaints I hear about the Toastmasters educational program, Pathways, is that there are projects and skills "missing" from the curriculum.  Before Pathways, Toastmasters provided a total of 85 different "projects" members could do tied to communication.  In Pathways, there are around 40 projects, so those who say we "lost" something may at the surface seem to be correct.  However, just comparing the numbers doesn't tell the whole story. Though there are fewer "projects" available in Pathways, each project comes with more information and resources than the pre-Pathways projects.  The pre-Pathways projects were grouped into "manuals", most with five speeches per manual.  Some of those five-speech manuals have been combined into a single speaking project in Pathways.  For example, Pathways has a "Connect with Storytelling" project that covers many aspects of Storytelling.  The member completes this "project...

I love that in Toastmasters, we have an opportunity to get feedback on everything, including on how we collect and present feedback! This "feedback on feedback" starts in Level 1 of the Pathways educational program.  In a level 1 Pathways project, the member is evaluated on an evaluation they give to another member.  Knowing how the feedback we supply is received is a great opportunity to improve our feedback-supplying skills. I recently took advantage of another opportunity to receive "feedback on feedback."  In my role as a Toastmasters District leader, I am hoping to collect feedback from our members on what we as a District do well and what we can improve.  I presented my initial survey to the District leadership team and got some great feedback on how I can improve the feedback survey itself!  I love the ideas and input I received.  I believe the final result of this feedback will be a better and more actionable feedback survey than what I came up with...

I love Toastmasters and can't imagine myself giving up my membership in the group.  However the reality is that most people do choose to leave Toastmasters at some point.  Why to people leave such a wonderful organization?  There are a variety of reasons, some positive and some not so positive, which I believe fall into four general categories.  In this post, I reflect on these categories and their implications for those of us who remain in Toastmasters and want to see its membership grow. 1.  They got what they wanted .  Some people join Toastmasters for a very specific reason.  Perhaps they are looking for a job and want to refine their interviewing skills.  Maybe they just got a job where they have to give more presentations and they want to gain the speaking skills and confidence they need to do well  There could be one specific event they want to prepare for, such as a wedding toast or a conference speech.  Once such a member feels ...

As the US holiday of Thanksgiving approaches, I reflect on what I am thankful for.  In addition to my faith, my family, my job, and of course my cats, Toastmasters is also on my list of things to be thankful for.  Here are my "top 5" reasons to be thankful for Toastmasters: 5.  A chance to share my passions (such as my family, job, and cats) through speeches 4.  Seeing the creativity of those who come up with fun meeting themes and table topics 3.  Learning new ideas from the presentations of others - members know so much about so many different things! 2.  Meeting people I would have never met had I not joined Toastmasters 1.  Endless opportunities to improve myself and help others improve! If you'd like to see all there is to be thankful for with Toastmasters, I'd be happy to invite you to join one of my clubs, or you can find one that's right for you at  https://www.toastmasters.org/find-a-club .

 This week at my Rail Talkers Toastmasters club I will present a speech called "POWER Speaking."  The speech covers a collection of tips for giving powerful presentations with the tip categories forming the acronym "POWER": P - Pick a topic O - Organize your speech W - Word choice E - Emotion R - Rehearsal and review What makes me especially excited about this speech is its versatility.  The speech consists of the tips, then a demo presentation, then discussion with the audience.  Within this format, I can adjust the speech for the given audience by giving different examples or a completely different "demo" presentation. For example, a fellow Toastmaster and I first gave this presentation at a conference for the National Association of Railroad Business Women.  When it came to "Pick a topic," I talked about being asked to speak at the conference and how that led to the topic of "POWER Speaking."  When I give the speech at my Rail Talker...

This weekend, my Toastmasters District is hosting our "Region Advisor" for a visit. What is a region advisor?  A region advisor is someone who "support[s] District leaders in fulfilling the District mission to build new clubs and support all clubs in achieving excellence." One of the ways the region advisor does this is by "Establish[ing] trusting relationships with District leaders through frequent and consistent communication." (https://www.toastmasters.org/leadership-central/region-advisor-tools). Our region advisor is certainly supporting us and helping to develop trusting relationships through her visit!  She is contributing her precious time and knowledge as she visits Toastmasters meetings, meets with prospective clubs, and shares meals with District leaders.  Even apart from this in-person experience, she holds monthly Zoom calls with leaders, hosts online training, and makes herself readily available by phone and Zoom for anyone desiring addit...