How Investing $58 in Yourself Can Make You a More Effective Leader
Are you afraid of public speaking?
According to research from the National Institute of Mental Health, public speaking is the number one fear among societies in general.
People fear public speaking more than spiders and death itself. The medical term referring to the fear of public speaking is called “glossophobia.”
Why are we so afraid of standing up in front of a group and talk?
What do we think will happen to us? We’re unlikely to suffer any real or lasting harm — or are we?
My first experience standing up in front of a crowd and giving a presentation was terrible.
I was in middle school and the teacher was randomly assigning presentation projects to the class.
In my mind, I probably got the most boring subject that you could present to a bunch of middle schoolers: The Water Cycle.
Really?
Who wants to hear a classmate present about the water cycle when you are in middle school?
The worst part is that we didn’t receive any training on how to deliver an effective presentation and we were just supposed to figure it out.
As you can imagine, my presentation was not the best. I memorized and repeated the whole material in front of the class, some classmates were not interested in what I had to say, and I even stuttered a couple of times which resulted in a couple of laughs from the audience.
This experience struck with me for years and years to come giving me anxiety every time I had to stand up and talk.
My dad helped me in becoming a better presenter by introducing me to the works of Dale Carnegie, encouraging me to practice, and reminding me that all great leaders are effective communicators.
Thanks Dad!
Glenn Croston, author of “The Real Story of Risk”, explains that when faced with standing up in front of a group, we break into a sweat because we are afraid of rejection. And at a primal level, the fear is so great because we are not merely afraid of being embarrassed, or judged. We are afraid of being rejected from the social group, ostracized and left to defend ourselves all on our own. We fear ostracism still so much today it seems, fearing it more than death, because not so long ago getting kicked out of the group probably really was a death sentence.
I think he brings up a good point.
As humans, we are all afraid of rejection, embarrassment, and judgment.
It’s just in our DNA.
It wasn’t until recently that I started to get comfortable standing up in front of an audience and giving a presentation.
I still get a bit of anxiety but it’s manageable and I have adopted the mindset of “how can I serve my audience with my message?”
Joining Toastmasters International has had a profound impact in my leadership and public speaking skills and I want to encourage you to do the same if you are looking to become a more competent communicator.
What is Toastmasters International?
It’s a nonprofit educational organization that empowers people to become more effective communicators and leaders.
It was founded in 1924 by Ralph C. Smedley and it has grown to 14,650 clubs in 126 countries.
How awesome is that?
Successful Toastmasters You Might Know
Here are some successful toastmasters you might have heard of:
Napoleon Hill: If you haven’t heard of Napoleon Hill and his life-changing book “Think and Grow Rich”, go get the book now. It will positively impact your life. I promise.
Tim Allen: The funny actor from Home Improvement and whole bunch of movies likeThe Santa Clause.
Tom Peters: Bestselling author, “In search of Excellence” and “The Pursuit of Wow!”
Les Brown: Motivational speaker and author of “Live Your Dreams”.
Scott Dinsmore: Founder of Live Your Legend blog.
Steve Pavlina: Author of “Personal Development for Smart People” and founder ofSteve Pavlina blog.
Scott H. Young: Founder of Scott H. Young blog.
My Experience With Toastmasters International
The first time I heard about Toastmasters was in 2012 when a good friend of mine told me he was taking his communication and leadership skills to the next level.
He sent me the link to their website and told me to go visit a local club near my area.
At first impression I thought it was cool but in the back of my mind I still had that fear and anxiety of standing up and talking in front of a crowd.
After weeks of contemplating the idea of joining, I went ahead and visited a few clubs near my area to get a feel of the environment and the group dynamic.
What impressed me the most was the structure of the meetings and how welcoming the members are to new guests.
I felt like I was hanging with a group of friends that truly cared about me and what I had to say.
Some people that have been in Toastmasters for more than a decade still struggle with “ums” and “ahs” during their speeches. Everyone is at a different skill level, but no one is perfect. And most importantly everyone seems to have a healthy recollection of what it was like their first time too.
Joining a Toastmasters International club was definitely one of the best decisions I’ve made for my personal and professional development and I highly recommend it to anyone looking to improve their communication and leadership skills.
How to Get The Most Out Of Your Toastmasters Membership
Here are the things I’ve done to make sure I get the most out of the Toastmasters membership:
- Visit different clubs and pick one where you feel most comfortable.
Ask yourself “Would I hangout with these people outside the club?”
- Join 2 clubs with totally different dynamics.
I’m part of two clubs at the moment. One is inside NC State University where 90% of the members are students with a very laid back environment. The other one is in downtown Raleigh where every single member has a job or a business and the environment is a bit more formal.
The reason behind this is to train yourself giving a presentation to different types of audiences.
- Signup for your “Icebreaker” speech ASAP.
The “icebreaker” is the first speech you will be assigned when you join a club. It’s up to you when to set the date but I would do it ASAP to start building momentum and get it out of the way.
- Signup for different leadership roles.
With the exception of the club officers, the leadership roles change every single meeting and they are a critical part of a successful session. The toastmaster, timer, grammarian, ah counter, table topics master, and evaluators are all different roles that will help you improve your communication and leadership skills.
The most challenging roles for me are the toastmaster and evaluator. As a toastmaster, you are in charge of the whole meeting from beginning to end acting like the MC of the meeting. When you are an evaluator, you need to listen and pay attention to what the speaker is saying so you can provide valuable feedback.
- Attend meetings on a consistent basis.
Consistency is key. You won’t notice any improvements if you don’t attend meetings on a regular basis. Stick with it until you at least complete the 10 speeches of the competent communicator manual.
- Understand that this is a place where you can make mistakes and take risks.
Toastmasters offers a platform where you can experiment and greatly expand your range as a leader and speaker.
When is it a good time to move on from Toastmasters?
When you feel you are not growing anymore and have reached a plateau in terms of your speaking and leadership skills.
When you no longer are afraid of the stage and you can competently deliver a speech and lead a meeting.
When you feel like Toastmasters serves more like a social club than a place to improve your speaking and leadership skills.
When you feel like the only thing left to do to improve your speaking skills is simply to rack up a lot more stage time and gain additional experience with unfamiliar audiences.
I’m not there yet as I still need to work on polishing my delivery and leadership skills a bit more.
But I will know when it’s time to move on =)
Recommended books:
Here are some books I’d recommend to get started on public speaking:
If you apply the 80/20 principle to the most important skills you need to succeed in life I would say that communication and leadership skills are that 20% effort that will bring you 80% of the results.
It all comes down to investing in your own personal development and hanging out with those who have done the things you want to accomplish.
I’ll leave you with this awesome Ted Talk by Scott Dinsmore, a former Toastmasters member.
Be awesome!
Thanks so much for reading! If you enjoyed it, please pay it forward by clicking the recommend button below. It would mean a lot to me.
