Toastmasters has been around since 1924. I’ve known about it most of my life. I wanted to join when I was younger but I was always too afraid to take that step.
Recently, my wife talked about joining. I thought it a bit strange since she has no problem talking to a group. But she said that she wanted help improving her on-stage presence. After all these years, I still didn’t feel like I could do it.
Around the same time, I was going to networking meetings. Getting my name out locally. Each meeting started by having each person introduce themselves and their businesses. Some of the people gave really good introductions. They were natural and confident with great descriptions of themselves and their businesses.
I soon discovered that some were toastmasters. Chatting with one of them got me motivated. I decided I was ready to take the plunge and go to a meeting. Having my wife accompany me didn’t hurt either. I might not have actually gone in otherwise.
I was initially going so that I could present myself better in these networking groups. But my marketing improved as well.
Writing a speech is a lot like writing an article
One of the things I find I enjoy most is writing the speeches. I guess that makes sense since I’m a writer. But I’ve never read my own speeches before. It’s an exciting experience.
Much like having a word count in an article, you have a time limit for your speeches. The thing is, you don’t have a lot of time to get in depth with your subject. Therefore, you have to keep things concise, just like a blog post.
At the same time, the speeches have to sound natural. To sound conversational. If your speech can sound natural, then your article will too.
Hearing is believing
Writing experts will tell you to read your articles out loud to see how natural they sound. Or read them to another person. I totally agree. Now I’ve gone that next step. I read them to a group and then get evaluated.
Everything you do in Toastmasters is evaluated by someone to help you improve. Sure, I can’t use evaluations about my movements on stage, or alternating the volume of my voice. But by getting better at using the whole package to improve my speech, I can learn how to get that emphasis in my written works.
It also helps me to listen to other people’s speeches and their evaluations. I get good ideas on how to improve my writing and movements. I also find out things about myself I’d like to change.
Making eye contact with your audience
One of the things you learn is to make eye contact with the crowd. The idea is to help connect with the audience. But it also helps you get instant feedback on what you’re saying. You might think your writing is brilliant, but if you get no reactions from people or they don’t make eye contact, you may need to do some editing.
This isn’t an advertisement for Toastmasters, but it is a recommendation to look into getting trained or getting some exposure to public speaking. Spending more time on the extroverted side of life helps your marketing. It helps getting your name out there. And being able to talk in public will help with your networking. Toastmasters’ president, Daniel Rex was interviewed by Forbes to find out Why You Should Join Toastmasters.
If your too nervous to even take that first step, do what I did. Take a wife, spouse, significant other, friend, sibling. Whatever. It’ll make things much easier.
My wife and I still go together. She calls it our date night.
If you want more information on Toastmasters, go to their website: www.toastmasters.org, or get in touch with me: dave@terratechcopywriting.com. I’d be happy to answer any questions.