Have They Heard?

At the end of our "District Leader Training" session yesterday (a learning opportunity held monthly for certain Toastmasters leaders), we had a discussion of why we become members of organizations and why we stay.  A common theme I noticed was awareness.  Do you know of the organization?  Has someone you know told you about the organization?  Is it an organization you would come across when searching online for your goals or interests?

Toastmasters International has a goal of becoming the go-to provider for "experiential" development of communication and leadership skills.  To reach this goal, step one is to raise awareness of Toastmasters and what it actually does.  This makes me wonder:  How many people have heard of Toastmasters?  And of that number, how many people actually understand what Toastmasters is about?

Suppose someone wants to improve their communication and leadership skills.  Without any personal knowledge of or connection to Toastmasters, they couldn't possible think of Toastmasters as a solution.  But they might Google something like "improve communication skills".  When I Google "improve communication skills" I see no mention of Toastmasters in the first five pages of results.  Maybe if I click in to some of the links, a mention might be buried deep within, but at a glance, Toastmasters appears no where.  I don't know where Toastmasters first shows up in the results - I only went through five pages.

Could Toastmasters International get their organization to show up in Google search results more often?  Probably.  At the very least, they could sponsor an ad with Google.  I'll have to reflect on how/if I want to raise that idea to the International level and see what advertising they already do.  But I do not have direct and immediate influence over the International organization, nor over Google.  I do have influence over my personal network, though.

I talk about Toastmasters a fair amount in my life - both professional and, to a lesser extent, personal.  I mention that I am a member of Toastmasters and then follow that up with a brief explanation that Toastmasters helps improve communication and leadership skills.  Many people I encounter know that I'm a part of Toastmasters.  But do they really understand what it is and how it can help them?  I wonder if starting with "I'm a member of Toastmasters" is the most effective approach.  The name "Toastmasters" is misleading.  It doesn't reflect what Toastmasters actually does.  I wonder if instead I should lead with something like, "I'm working on improving my ability to listen and collaborate with others.  One way I do this is through Toastmasters!"

A name can be catchy and appealing, but only if it captures what an organization is about.  Unfortunately, I don't think "Toastmasters" does that.  Perhaps by flipping the script and talking about the value first and the name second, I can not only get more people to hear about Toastmasters, but to actually understand what it is all about:  improving communication skills (both speaking and listening) and developing leadership potential through practice in a supportive environment of peers.