Personal Growth

How Going To Toastmasters Meetings Is Helping Me Speak Clearly And Effectively, Even When I'm Feeling Anxious

Sean Selby

06 May 2024 — 1 min read

Photo by Marcos Luiz Photograph / Unsplash

In September 2023, I went to my first Toastmasters meeting.

My KPMG mentor knew one of the members and encouraged me to go along. I was excited and a little anxious. I was also curious to see what it was like.

I've now attended a bunch of meetings, and am a Toastmasters International member. Here are a few reasons why:

Speaking is fun! (kind of)

Mastering public speaking should be enjoyable, not a grind.

I didn't think speaking in front of people at my first meeting would be fun. But it was, because of how the meetings are structured. I got to watch a bunch of people speak before I gave a short 1-minute speech about myself.

It was small stakes practice, and everyone was so encouraging and supportive.

Speaking is a high-leverage skill

Over my first 3 meetings, I gave impromptu speeches called "table topics." I spoke about:

Politics
People
Places

This impromptu speaking exercise teaches us to think quickly and speak about a topic.

Learning to think quickly and respond is a skill I can leverage professionally, personally, and socially.

Speaking is a personal development shortcut

Few skills transform your personal and professional life as profoundly as effective public speaking.

At Toastmasters, you get to choose a development pathway. There are 11 pathways, including effective coaching, leadership development, and persuasive influence. Having a personal development pathway to follow while practising public speaking will fast-track my learning and skill development.

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Public speaking is a high-leverage skill you can improve with practice!

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