Comments on: Toastmasters International: Becoming A Competent Communicator

By: 60 Essential Blog Posts to Improve Your Public Speaking | Online Degrees

60 Essential Blog Posts to Improve Your Public Speaking | Online Degrees — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 03:14:19 +0000

[...] Becoming A Competent Communicator: Get some advice on learning how to become a better communicator in the workplace from this blog. [...]

By: The Simple Steps To Deliver A Dazzling Presentation | Alex Shalman . com

The Simple Steps To Deliver A Dazzling Presentation | Alex Shalman . com — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 10:01:09 +0000

[...] on this site I’ve written about Toastmaster International public speaking organization. A self study course will not replace a course like Toastmasters where [...]

By: Stak Loaded - How to make money doing nothing!

Stak Loaded - How to make money doing nothing! — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 07:54:36 +0000

I consider myself a good public speaker and some of the best advice I’d give is to just understand that people don’t really care, you can say whatever you want and no one will remember it the next day, so just have fun and don’t be uptight about it.

By: Chris Edgar

Chris Edgar — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 19:57:55 +0000

I liked the practical advice in this post, and I’d add that one technique I’ve used to build public speaking confidence has been focusing my attention on my breathing when speaking-related nerves come up. Ideally I’ll breathe without pausing between inhales and exhales. This restores my peace and focus.

Generally this is a helpful meditation technique, but there’s also support for this in psychological research — when you keep your breathing constant and steady, it indicates to your autonomic nervous system that you’re surviving the experience you’re in and you’re not in danger.

Best, Chris

By: Andrew

Andrew — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 05:10:56 +0000

Alex:

Congratulations on taking the plunge into Toastmasters. I hope you find it to be every bit as rewarding as I have.

I have been a member of Toastmasters for about 3.5 years. When I joined, I thought my presentation skills were alright, but I quickly realized that I wasn’t nearly as good as I thought. I’ve worked through several manuals, participated in (and won) numerous speech contests, and had great fun all along the way. As a spinoff, I’ve been giving seminars and courses where I work. I’m now running a public speaking and presentation skills blog where I occasionally publish Toastmasters articles.

My primary piece of advice for you is to really work at it. The Toastmasters program is largely self-directed, and the benefits you receive are proportional to the effort you put in. I know of individuals who “coast” through the manuals, not really applying themself. Their growth is minimal. On the other hand, I know of individuals who make every effort to extract as much as they can from each speech project, and from meetings as a whole. These people realize tremendous growth in their communication skills and their confidence. You can too.

By: Stak Loaded: How to make money doing nothing!

Stak Loaded: How to make money doing nothing! — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 03:56:28 +0000

Sounds good, would like to see some future posts about what you learn from it.

By: Akemi - Yes to Me

Akemi - Yes to Me — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 01:07:36 +0000

Ah, here is another new TM!
I joined my local group just a month ago, and was just preparing my first table topic fro tomorrow. Last week I was the jokemaster and I enjoyed a lot.
One of my long-term goals is to become a professional motivational speaker, and I hope TM will help me in this.

Good luck to you!!

By: Alex Shalman

Alex Shalman — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 04:23:02 +0000

It’s not a confidence course, it’s about the technique. Confidence will come as a side effect of repetition.

By: Alex Shalman

Alex Shalman — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 04:22:35 +0000

Wow, CTM and CL, you did great. I’ll ge there in about a year too.

By: Alex Shalman

Alex Shalman — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 04:22:01 +0000

That’s awesome Lewis, it sounds like you got a lot out of Toastmasters. I’m going to stick with the club I am in now. I like the vibe, and it has produced a lot of great speakers.

By: Stak Loaded: How to make money doing nothing!

Stak Loaded: How to make money doing nothing! — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 04:19:12 +0000

I actually love public speaking but it sounds like Toastmasters is really useful because it expands on how to deliver a more powerful message too, rather than just building confidence, right? Looking forward to hearing more about it.

By: Lance

Lance — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 03:13:32 +0000

Toastmasters is a great organization! I was involved with this great group for about four years. Currently I am no longer a member because of other family commitments. However, I will say that prior to joining this group, I hated getting up in front of a group. Now I do it regularly (well, it’s still not my favorite thing, but…). Toastmasters has definitely made public speaking easier, and for that matter, is a great leadership training course too. I ended up getting both my Competent Toastmaster (CTM) and Competent Leader (CL). I also had the opportunity to speak at a district event, and this, too, is a great opportunity to get you out of your comfort zone (the small group you usually meet with). For the small $$ amount for the membership fee, this is one of the greatest values you can get from any training you will ever do.

Good luck and enjoy the experience!

By: Lewis

Lewis — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 01:26:54 +0000

Toastmasters has opened up many possibilities for me Alex. I have met some great friends and influential movers and shakers from being an active member in Toastmasters.

Main improvements since joining:

1. Ability to captivate my audience.
2. Ability to speak without notes
3. More confidence when presenting and when meeting high profile individuals
4. Less fear in speaking
5. Becoming a better listener (I have given a few evaluations and this forces you to listen to every part of the speech)
6. Better leader- I have filled almost every role, and this continues to give me the necessary skills to lead a discussion or a meeting.

There are many benefits, and these are a few that have helped me. I highly recommend visiting a few clubs in your area to see which one works best for you.

Great post Alex