No 'App' for Talking Better
When I started writing this blog entry, i had included the name Toastmasters in the title, but I deleted it, as I genuinely believe that the general public sees toastmasters in the same light as Masons, and some, Jehovas witnesses.
So, how does a volunteer based organisation, with over 270,000 members internationally, change this public misconception? How does it communicate to the wider population that it is not a secret society, where "what happens at meetings stays at meetings"?
I began attending my local Toastmasters club in March 2011, as I had always been curious as to what they actually did. I had heard all of the jokes about toasting bread, and really wondered what type of people attended, and why they would continue to attend such a club on a regular, ongoing basis. The name itself gave nothing away, which in this modern era of explicit branding and marketing, might be considered quite unusual.
I still remember, walking into my first Toastmasters meeting. It was a Saturday morning and I made sure I got there nice and early. I almost talked myself out of actually walking through the door, but I held my breath and walked in. The members were all smiles, and I was convinced this was some kind of crazy cult. I suspected, despite their respectable exteriors, that these people were going to commence chanting any minute, and call for the sacrificial goat to be bought in. Rather, the meeting commenced at 11am, on the dot. I was very impressed with this as I am a bit of a punctuality nut. Everyone took turns to speak about themselves and their week, and rather than receiving sympathetic looks, for being such a terrible speaker, I was greeted with kind words and encouragement. At the end of the meeting I felt like I had found my people. This wonderfully quirky bunch of people, from varied walks of life , had made me feel like I belonged.
I accepted an invitation to complete a Speechcraft course that my new club was offering. This was a 5 week course covering the fundamentals of creating, and delivering good speeches. We were given the opportunity to speak about ourselves, our interests and to speak on a topic we had researched. There were a range of other participants; some young, some old, some boasting academic or business successes, some reluctant homemakers. It was amazing to listen to each person's motivation for being there. There are people who have joined Toastmasters to face their fears of public speaking, or social anxiety. Others have joined to hone their skills for an upcoming event where they will be speaking, such as a wedding, anniversary, graduation, etc. Some simply enjoy the social connection of engaging with like minded people.
Despite recently achieving the award of 'Competent Communicator', for completing my first ten specified speeches, I sometimes still feel unsure of protocols and procedures within a meeting. Toastmasters is an organisation which maintains high standards of social etiquette. Punctuality is key to ensuring that all meetings commence on time, run according to the set agenda, and conclude on or before the agreed time. A "Grammarian" observes and reports on the correct and incorrect use of vocabulary and grammar, and all members are to stand (with the exception of the chairperson) when they address the members. This 'ye olde' regard for tradition can be overwhelming for new members, especially if they are Gen X or Y, but I feel it is an important element of the Toastmasters experience and should not necessarily be butchered in order to pander to diminished social standards.
In a time, where online and social media marketing is exploding as the number one way to connect to existing, and potential customers, Toastmasters sits in a tricky predicament. A well established, traditional organisation which holds language and its correct use in such high regard, attempting to utilise a marketing medium which holds polar opposite values. The official Toastmasters page on Facebook has 8,816 'likes'. The Toastmasters Twitter has 20, 267 followers. The Toastmasters group on Linkedin has 7,193 followers. Official Toastmasters videos on Youtube have over 3.1 million views. While it is changing slowly, the fact still remains that a large percentage of Toastmasters members are 'old', or at least, 'older'. These members are not connecting with social media, as they often do not use the internet for more than emailing family. Locally, there are very few Toastmasters under the age of 40, and as such Toastmasters needs to examine how it can sell its product to a younger audience. There is no need for Toastmasters to change its purpose, which is to develop speaking and listening skills in everyone. There is a need, however, to re-evaluate elements, such as its tagline of "Where Leaders Are Made". Many people who attend their first Toastmasters meeting are apprehensive about addressing others. They are hopeful that their speaking abilities can be improved in some way. They do not aspire to lead. The prospect of them leading others is more daunting than of speaking to others. There may be a select few who would see the tagline and be motivated to attend in order to realise their leadership aspirations. So why build an entire marketing strategy around these select few? I understand that Toastmasters wants people to be able to grow and develop as speakers, and to exceed their own expectations of personal achievement, but I feel that this is not the right manner in which to go about it.
One online medium which Toastmasters have left well alone, is that of Apps. It is virtually impossible to translate the purpose and traditions of Toastmasters onto a tablet or smartphone. Sure podcasts are available, but there is no way to develop your speaking skills via the internet. In the same was as there is no App for becoming a better speaking, and listener, there is no one stop method to entice new, younger people to join an organisation like Toastmasters. Societal changes see short attention spans as being the norm, express lanes as being too slow, one stop shops as the only way to go, and abbreviations as being abbrevi8ions.
Toastmasters needs to examine ways in which to maintain existing standards, traditions and members, as well as identifying new and innovative ways to encourage membership growth. Firstly, a concerted effort should be made to demystify Toastmasters, and explicitly demonstrate the benefits to both confident and reluctant speakers for professional and personal development. Leadership should certainly be retained as an aspect of Toastmasters, however it should not be the primary objective. As churches are taking their messages to the pub, is it perhaps time that certain elements of Toastmasters be opened up to the masses? I have witnessed many humorous speech contests, and have felt guilty that I did not have to pay money to laugh so much! Talking and listening skills in children and adolescents are not being developed, and although social media and changing social norms are being blamed, as parents, we are not always able to assist in developing these skills in our children. Why not develop junior Toastmaster clubs to nurture speaking skills in youngsters, and develop a life long appreciation for what is offered by Toastmasters?
Regardless of if you are a talk-aholic, a stutterer, or a softly spoken wallflower, Toastmasters can provide you with the support to develop skills and set you on the path to realise your full potential as a speaker. All you have to do is take a deep breath and walk through the door.
To find out more about Toastmasters, including finding your local club, click here
So, how does a volunteer based organisation, with over 270,000 members internationally, change this public misconception? How does it communicate to the wider population that it is not a secret society, where "what happens at meetings stays at meetings"?
I began attending my local Toastmasters club in March 2011, as I had always been curious as to what they actually did. I had heard all of the jokes about toasting bread, and really wondered what type of people attended, and why they would continue to attend such a club on a regular, ongoing basis. The name itself gave nothing away, which in this modern era of explicit branding and marketing, might be considered quite unusual.
I still remember, walking into my first Toastmasters meeting. It was a Saturday morning and I made sure I got there nice and early. I almost talked myself out of actually walking through the door, but I held my breath and walked in. The members were all smiles, and I was convinced this was some kind of crazy cult. I suspected, despite their respectable exteriors, that these people were going to commence chanting any minute, and call for the sacrificial goat to be bought in. Rather, the meeting commenced at 11am, on the dot. I was very impressed with this as I am a bit of a punctuality nut. Everyone took turns to speak about themselves and their week, and rather than receiving sympathetic looks, for being such a terrible speaker, I was greeted with kind words and encouragement. At the end of the meeting I felt like I had found my people. This wonderfully quirky bunch of people, from varied walks of life , had made me feel like I belonged.
I accepted an invitation to complete a Speechcraft course that my new club was offering. This was a 5 week course covering the fundamentals of creating, and delivering good speeches. We were given the opportunity to speak about ourselves, our interests and to speak on a topic we had researched. There were a range of other participants; some young, some old, some boasting academic or business successes, some reluctant homemakers. It was amazing to listen to each person's motivation for being there. There are people who have joined Toastmasters to face their fears of public speaking, or social anxiety. Others have joined to hone their skills for an upcoming event where they will be speaking, such as a wedding, anniversary, graduation, etc. Some simply enjoy the social connection of engaging with like minded people.
Despite recently achieving the award of 'Competent Communicator', for completing my first ten specified speeches, I sometimes still feel unsure of protocols and procedures within a meeting. Toastmasters is an organisation which maintains high standards of social etiquette. Punctuality is key to ensuring that all meetings commence on time, run according to the set agenda, and conclude on or before the agreed time. A "Grammarian" observes and reports on the correct and incorrect use of vocabulary and grammar, and all members are to stand (with the exception of the chairperson) when they address the members. This 'ye olde' regard for tradition can be overwhelming for new members, especially if they are Gen X or Y, but I feel it is an important element of the Toastmasters experience and should not necessarily be butchered in order to pander to diminished social standards.
In a time, where online and social media marketing is exploding as the number one way to connect to existing, and potential customers, Toastmasters sits in a tricky predicament. A well established, traditional organisation which holds language and its correct use in such high regard, attempting to utilise a marketing medium which holds polar opposite values. The official Toastmasters page on Facebook has 8,816 'likes'. The Toastmasters Twitter has 20, 267 followers. The Toastmasters group on Linkedin has 7,193 followers. Official Toastmasters videos on Youtube have over 3.1 million views. While it is changing slowly, the fact still remains that a large percentage of Toastmasters members are 'old', or at least, 'older'. These members are not connecting with social media, as they often do not use the internet for more than emailing family. Locally, there are very few Toastmasters under the age of 40, and as such Toastmasters needs to examine how it can sell its product to a younger audience. There is no need for Toastmasters to change its purpose, which is to develop speaking and listening skills in everyone. There is a need, however, to re-evaluate elements, such as its tagline of "Where Leaders Are Made". Many people who attend their first Toastmasters meeting are apprehensive about addressing others. They are hopeful that their speaking abilities can be improved in some way. They do not aspire to lead. The prospect of them leading others is more daunting than of speaking to others. There may be a select few who would see the tagline and be motivated to attend in order to realise their leadership aspirations. So why build an entire marketing strategy around these select few? I understand that Toastmasters wants people to be able to grow and develop as speakers, and to exceed their own expectations of personal achievement, but I feel that this is not the right manner in which to go about it.
One online medium which Toastmasters have left well alone, is that of Apps. It is virtually impossible to translate the purpose and traditions of Toastmasters onto a tablet or smartphone. Sure podcasts are available, but there is no way to develop your speaking skills via the internet. In the same was as there is no App for becoming a better speaking, and listener, there is no one stop method to entice new, younger people to join an organisation like Toastmasters. Societal changes see short attention spans as being the norm, express lanes as being too slow, one stop shops as the only way to go, and abbreviations as being abbrevi8ions.
Toastmasters needs to examine ways in which to maintain existing standards, traditions and members, as well as identifying new and innovative ways to encourage membership growth. Firstly, a concerted effort should be made to demystify Toastmasters, and explicitly demonstrate the benefits to both confident and reluctant speakers for professional and personal development. Leadership should certainly be retained as an aspect of Toastmasters, however it should not be the primary objective. As churches are taking their messages to the pub, is it perhaps time that certain elements of Toastmasters be opened up to the masses? I have witnessed many humorous speech contests, and have felt guilty that I did not have to pay money to laugh so much! Talking and listening skills in children and adolescents are not being developed, and although social media and changing social norms are being blamed, as parents, we are not always able to assist in developing these skills in our children. Why not develop junior Toastmaster clubs to nurture speaking skills in youngsters, and develop a life long appreciation for what is offered by Toastmasters?
Regardless of if you are a talk-aholic, a stutterer, or a softly spoken wallflower, Toastmasters can provide you with the support to develop skills and set you on the path to realise your full potential as a speaker. All you have to do is take a deep breath and walk through the door.
To find out more about Toastmasters, including finding your local club, click here
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