3/8 Gains From Toastmasters: Opportunities to Give

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This is the 3^rd of 8 posts sharing on why I like being a member of Toastmasters(TM).

 

Have you ever said something and seen someone’s face just lit up?

The joy is contagious.

 Have you felt like you haven’t done enough to make someone’s day?

There’re lots of opportunities in Toastmasters.

In Toastmasters, we learn from each other. When one speaks, the other evaluates. I didn’t start of enjoying being an evaluator. In the past, I was so fearful of this role thinking it’s only for the professionals to evaluate.

“No, other roles.., please.. I don’t qualify. I am not even a great speaker myself.”

 I was totally nervous evaluating, and had no points of improvement when the speaker was definitely more eloquent and a better speaker than me. I refused to take up the evaluator’s role whenever called upon to do so.

 

 Over a year later, I became convinced that we could evaluate to help the speaker improve from the viewpoint of the listener. The listener could be anyone, even a non-speaker, non-Toastmaster. An evaluation can go as such.

  

“The speaker spoke with a clear pleasant voice and the pacing was easy to follow. This helped me to follow the delivery of her speech well. The speech had clear opening, body and closing and the speaker injected humour that lightened up the mood in the room.  The speaker used personal story of her own that made her message memorable and more impactful to me.”

  

Over a span of 8 years, evaluating has become enjoyable to me. I have learnt that it doesn’t take a great speaker to evaluate. I may be 8 years, but I could be assigned to evaluate a Distinguished Toastmaster (highest title in TM) or a veteran who has been a member for decades. Over the years, I realized that being an evaluator becomes an opportunity. It’s an opportunity to give someone a gift. a gift to affirm their strengths, a gift to help them improve, a gift to encourage them and last but not least, a gift to lend a listening ear to follow and connect with them through their stories and messages. In Toastmasters, we evaluate the sandwich method. First, we share what we like or what the speaker did well, and then we give one or two recommendations for improvement. Lastly, we wrap up with words of encouragements to keep their strengths and try out the recommendations in the next speech. In our evaluations, we acknowledge the content of the speech and shares what resonated with us and thank the speaker for helping us to learn something new.

 

For a TM meeting/contest/workshop to run smoothly, there is a committed team behind it that makes this possible. Often times, I’d have invitations to fill up roles from technical roles to evaluators. Many times I would not be able to assist and few times, I could. In the few times, I could see joy in the other’s text reply. The joy was contagious. I felt like I had not just made someone’s day, but my own. We are all busy people, and our time is precious. By giving our time helping others, we are giving something valuable, really, and it’s a joy.

 

Being a Toastmaster opens up opportunities to make someone else’s day. Have you ever heard that the best gift to give to someone else need not be monetary? It is by spreading positivity and lending a helping hand/listening ears. It’s a way of showing care, as we want to see someone grow. Everyone around the world wants to grow and it’s universal. If we’ve mastered encouraging evaluations, it will definitely help us not just to be a better Toastmaster but also a better person whether in our professional or personal life.  

 

Want to find out more?

Do drop us a visit at our next Zoom meeting.

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P/S: It's Dec 25th today! MEEERRRYYY CHRISTMAS!! Wishing everyone a blessed and joyous Christmas with your loved ones! Enjoy a jolly good time and a relaxing year end holiday. 

This is my 3^rd gain as a member of Toastmasters. Stay tuned to fine out 5 more.

*A.S's current location*

Day/ Date: Fri/ Dec 25th, 2020,   

Home in KL.

- Just like everyone else, AS is wondering when she could go on a plane again. :)

A.S appreciates you as an audience to her blog. She welcomes you to drop in more often, share your thoughts and interact with her here at cyberspace. The posts may be a little behind but she promises to close the gap as much as she can, as she gets limited internet access and the time to update.

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2/8 Gains From Toastmasters: Listening to Inspirational Stories

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This is the 2^nd of 8 posts sharing on why I like being a member of Toastmasters(TM).

Everyone is listening intently.

It's not all serious talk.

Before we listen intently again.

   Of course, these are 3 different club meetings I
have been attending during the earlier months of
the pandemic lock down. 

                 

  

Do you know what your family member is now struggling with?

Do you know what your next cubicle colleague care about?

Unless you have coffee with them, to show them you care, that you are willing to lend your ears, you will not know.

It takes time and effort to show them that you sincerely care and not judge.

On another hand, what about people you have not known, that may have interesting stories to share. Someone you don’t know and through their stories, you discover that there is someone who thinks, feels and acts like you?

This, my friends, is made possible at a Toastmasters meeting. There are always new people to meet, whether a Toastmaster or non-Toastmaster guest joining our club’s meeting or I visit others. Even members within my club may open up and share something others have not known about them, of fear and failure, among others, and of how they bounced back against all odds and inspire me to also do the same against all adversities I am currently facing.

Isn’t this interesting?

I remember one time when I listened to an emcee member’s speech. She was a senior member in my club and she was always the eloquent speaker in meetings I looked up to, until one time, she shared about her struggles and fear of speaking just a couple of years back, before she joined Toastmasters. How she was lack of confidence and in a career she didn’t like. She was at a loss. She then quit her job, and started a business. Unfortunately, the business did not survive. The office was burgled, and the profit was not encouraging and she lost most of her capital and went into depression. That was a bit sad. She went on to share that soon after she joined Toastmasters, she discovered her passion in speaking and turned it onto her profession. When I knew her, she was already a much sought after professional emcee in town. That, was truly one inspiring story from someone around me, I would not have the chance to listen to, had I not join Toastmasters.

In a Toastmasters meeting, there are 3 sessions which are the:-

1.       Table Topics Session (Impromptu Speech)

2.       Prepared Speech Session 

3.       Evaluation Session

The first 2 sessions especially, give us the opportunity to get to know members and guests better. The Table Topics Session requires the speaker to speak off the cuff. Naturally, the speaker would say something that is on-going in his current life or something that has been impactful to him. The Prepared Speech Session as the name implies is a session where the speaker delivers a speech he has taken time to research and craft so as to share with the audience. This normally is a topic he deeply cares about and would like to influence the audience to have the same opinion or persuade them to take actions.

Therefore, being a member of Toastmasters International opens up opportunity to learn about others a little bit deeper from just a single meeting. Can you imagine, what comes out of it when it’s more than one meeting?

One thing for sure, we learn that 9 out of 10 people who join Toastmasters at one point in their life were struggling with communications and public speaking skills. This is something all Toastmasters members can relate to, and see this as an opportunity in this global organization to help each other grow, especially a senior towards a junior.

 

Toastmasters offers opportunities to not just busy professionals, but even homemakers and retirees,  to listen to deep stories they do not have much opportunities for otherwise, unless they are highly social. Stories people around us care about and are willing to share, in one meeting. It’s a community of people speaking and helping each other along the way, unlike when one engages a coach. Some members shared that they get energized even after a long day at work, as they join like-minded and high-spirited fellow Toastmasters as they engage and inspire others with their stories. This, my dear friends, make Toastmasters a community of connections and staying connected.

Want to check out our next meeting?

Follow our Facebook page at ‘Super Speakers ToastmastersClub’

 

This is my 2^nd gain as a member of Toastmasters. Stay tuned to fine out 6 more.

*A.S's current location*

Day/ Date: Sat/ Dec 12th, 2020

-Just like everyone, A.S is thinking when she could be on a plane again. :)

A.S appreciates you as an audience to her blog. She welcomes you to drop in more often, share your thoughts and interact with her here at cyberspace. The posts may be a little behind but she promises to close the gap as much as she can, as she gets limited internet access and the time to update.

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Thank you very much and A.S hopes you enjoy your stay here. ;)

1/8 Gains From Toastmasters: Get Comfortable Speaking

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This is the 1^st of 8 posts sharing on why I like being a member of Toastmasters (TM) International.

What do you think is the #1 reason one becomes a Toastmaster?

     Trying out speaking in front of a camera.

Year 2016 vs 2020

Communication skills are definitely important to us. I’ve always admired people who are composed and magnetic as they speak. They seem to enjoy speaking and the audience seem to enjoy listening to them. Furthermore, there are those who, wherever they are at,  and whatever they are doing, even  while doing the most ordinary things like waking up, having breakfast, just sitting and meditating, they can just reach for a camera and speak into it naturally.

 

During my uni days, whenever there was a class presentation. I would definitely panicked. I couldn’t sleep properly for days thinking about it. Putting up most info on slides, so as, if I blanked out, I had something to fall back on. I made beautiful presentation slides with animations. I memorized the information, and if I did not, I made sure, I had backup on the slides.

 

So when I came back from my 1 month’s travelling in Western Europe, I looked up for a TM club. I went to one in KL, one in PJ, and then found one nearer to home at Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in Bukit Jalil here in Malaysia. I liked the one in AFC and returned several more times. I saw advanced speakers speaking and I was in awe. WOW! I'd like to speak like her! 

 

8 years later, here I am still a member of Toastmasters, but with Super Speakers Toastmsters Club in Kinrara, Puchong. Watching myself speak in the mirror, I still feel that I have a big room for improvement. While I was awarded the best speaker here and there, it had not been consistent. Back in 2017, I was crowned the 3^rd place winner in an International Speech Contest at the division level. That felt really good. 

I am still the shy girl but I feel more confident now. Having regularly taking up evaluation role  at TM meetings, I tend to evaluate speakers I see on YouTube, Tedtalk or even at work. Good evaluation is an essential skill to help others improve in an positive and encouraging manner, while evaluation which is not properly conveyed may not be well received.

My friends, if you can relate to my problem, unable to express yourself like I still do every now and then, I hope you have found a solution for yourself. If not, do let me know. I would be happy to help you learn about Toastmasters and how it can help you, like how it helped me. You’ll be learning at your own pace, on your chosen path, speaking among encouraging people who want nothing but to see you improve.

Interested to check out our next meeting?

Follow our Facebook page at ‘Super Speakers Toastmasters Club’

 

 

This is my 1^st  of 8 gains as a member of Toastmasters International. Stay tuned to find out the other 7. 

*A.S's current location*

Day/ Date: Sun/ Dec 5th, 2020

-Just like everyone, A.S is thinking when she could be on a plane again. :)

A.S appreciates you as an audience to her blog. She welcomes you to drop in more often, share your thoughts and interact with her here at cyberspace. The posts may be a little behind but she promises to close the gap as much as she can, as she gets limited internet access and the time to update.

Be a fan today to get instant updates the soonest the next post is published!

It's EASY. At the right-most column of this page, you may either choose to:-

1. Receive blog updates by mail

2. Read her up-to-date posts at your MyYahoo, Google, etc. homepage by subscribing thru the links.

3. Read her up-to-date posts on your Facebook wall by 'Like'-ing the fan page A.S created specially for this blog (Scroll down page to search right-most column)

4. If you are a fellow blogger, link to her blog with the HTML code provided.

Thank you very much and A.S hopes you enjoy your stay here. ;)