Speaking and Listening: Toastmasters Experience

When something matters to us, we strive for excellence .  Excellence is not perfection, but it is the outcome of continuing to do one's best over a period of time.  Even if an intermediate outcome is not something you would call excellence , you can achieve something closer to excellence  the next time by learning from what did not go well and acting on ideas for how to improve.  Excellence  is closely related to caring about something . When it comes to the development of any skill, you won't go far if you don't care.  Having  excellence  as a core value of Toastmasters reminds us of why most members join Toastmasters in the first place:  to improve their communication skills, leadership skills, and/or self-confidence.  Continuous improvement is the path to excellence  and you only advance on that path by caring  about the outcome, by giving it your best effort and learning from any mistakes you make along the way. There ...

When I joined Toastmasters, my focus was mostly on myself.  I considered:  What can I  gain from membership?  How will this help me  improve my skills?  What do I enjoy about the meetings?  I think this is common when starting any educational journey - we start the journey to grow our own skills and knowledge.  As the journey progresses, we gain knowledge, skills, and confidence.  And what do we do after  we have gained the knowledge, skills, and confidence we sought?  In addition to continuing to grow ourselves even further, we can start seeking opportunities to help others grow their knowledge, skills, and confidence.  This is where the Toastmasters core value of service  comes in. Toastmasters members can serve  fellow members in many ways.  One way is through mentorship , which includes helping a new member set and work towards their goals.  This is service  to another individual.   Member...