In the series on Toastmasters, we have already looked at part 1 which was about 11 skills you can learn at toastmasters, apart from public speaking
And part 2 was – How to join a toastmasters club that is right for you.
In the third and final video in the series, we will look at how to make the most of your Toastmasters membership.
As you already know, Toastmasters is a great place to develop your communication and leadership skills.
You choose a club and become a member of a Toastmasters club. Now what?
What can you do to get the most of your membership? Here are a few tips:
1. Attend all the club meetings: Consistency is important to develop anything. If you don’t take going to meetings seriously, you miss out on the benefits that come with your membership.
2. Get on stage: Grab every opportunity to get on stage, especially if your aim is to overcome the fear of public speaking. You can take up roles, participate in the table topics round, read out the code of conduct for the meeting (if you are in a smaller club)
You can participate in a meeting in the table topics round even otherwise. But getting on stage will help you extract the maximum out of your time at the meeting.
– Take up roles: In part 2 of the series, I had explained different roles that are up for grabs at every meeting. Volunteer for different roles whenever you can.
You may have more such opportunities in smaller clubs than really big ones.
– Volunteer to help: This will help you develop leadership skills which involves co-ordinating with your club members, delegation etc.
Begin with offering to help organise your club meetings. Organising meetings going week after week involves sending reminders to members, asking for nominations for different roles, figuring out the snacks part of the meeting and a lot of other things.
Whether or not you are in the official committee, you can always pitch in. It’s your club too!
Pitch in for new clubs. New clubs need people to help run their meetings initially while they are still building memberships. Go ahead and help them.
Volunteer to help conduct club and inter-club level contests
In short, be an active member of your club. Be supportive and encouraging and you will get that in return
– Visit other clubs: Public speaking and leadership skills can only benefit by expose yourself to different groups and scenarios.
Being in a club for a long time can make you confident and complacent. But do you feel the same confidence when you get on stage with a new set of people?
Going to other clubs not just widens your networking but also gives you can opportunity to practise your skill sin diverse environments.
Want to find a club near you? Click on the Find a club tab on the Toastmasters International website here and look for your area.
Do you have any questions about becoming a Toastmasters member? You can shoot it right in the comments below.