Break Through the Walls of Your Toastmaster Club!

Have you become more and more comfortable speaking in front of your Toastmaster colleagues in your home club? That’s good, right? Right? Well….

We come to Toastmasters to learn and grow and that seldom happens when we are comfy. Learning and growth happen when we are outside our comfort zone – in fact, I call it the DIScomfort zone! 

So, what to do? By all means keep your home club for continued learning, support, practice and mentorship. Keep moving through your Pathways program. As well, consider moving into that discomfort zone by reaching out to your community. 

Non-profits, business group and special focus groups are always looking for speakers. Most of the time there is no stipend, but often you get treated to an excellent meal! (Avoid getting yourself a hat saying “will speak for food”). 

Often, simply speaking about basic public speaking skills is exactly what these groups want to learn. You can even use Toastmaster material from the Better Speaker Series to formulate your message. Craft a speech that is approximately 20-30 minutes long. Tailor your message to emphasize the benefits of learning these skills. 

Put some effort into learning about your audience. Are they in the business community? Your message could be focused on being able to smoothly promote their businesses. Are they a new-comers group to new residents in the community? Focus your message on meeting new friends while learning a valuable skill. Are they a historical society or probus club?  Tailor your message on your Toastmaster experience, a bit about the organization and their presence in the community. 

I think you get the idea. I recently gave a 30-minute public speaking workshop for the Oceanside Women’s Business Network. I focused on a combination of women and business, emphasizing both the need to be able to speak up as businesswomen to establish a presence in our communities and find our voices and learn how to use them so that we can be role models to our daughters and granddaughters. It was a delightful evening…and the dinner was delicious! 

In summary, get yourself out of your comfort zone and use your skills to speak to groups in your community. You grow and learn yourself, and you become a wonderful spokesperson for Toastmasters! 

Kristin Nickells, DTM