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The impression I most remember
when I walked into my first
Toastmasters meeting is how
friendly and welcoming everyone
was. Being a card-carrying
pessimist, I thought I had
either found a wonderful,
professional organization ….. or
some kind of strange cult. I
decided to trust my instincts,
throw caution to the wind, and
joined the club that very night!
In retrospect, it was the best
decision I have ever made in my
entire life!
After attending a few meetings,
participating in minor roles,
and delivering my first few
speeches, I soon realized I was
getting a unique education in
“soft skills” that a traditional
4-year college never had the
time to teach me. We were so
busy in engineering school
learning math equations and
scientific concepts that we were
never taught how to deal with
people once we were
unleashed into the workforce.
After all, you can know
everything there is to know
about engineering, but if you
cannot relate to people, no one
will want to work with you. And
like a fish swimming against the
river current, you will have a
harder time getting ahead in
life.
As time marched on, with every
meeting role I filled, I learned
something new about personable
responsibility, commitment, and
follow-through for the benefit
of the group. For every speech I
gave, I was enriching my writing
and presentation skills and in
the process, stretching my
comfort zone. Like a rubber
band, once you stretch your
comfort zone, it never returns
back to its former shape.
I also learned that, as in most
things worth doing in life, you
get out of Toastmasters exactly
what you put into it. You can
choose to go through the motions
and attend a meeting here or
there, give an occasional speech
or fill a meeting role, or you
can do as I did – not only
attend and participate in almost
every meeting throughout the
year but also try to improve and
learn something new about myself
through valuable colleague
feedback.
In conclusion, I consider my
experience as a Toastmaster just
as valuable as any four-year
degree you can acquire at any
fancy college or university with
the exception that you never
graduate from Toastmasters.
This is true even after you
receive your DTM! And with the
high cost of tuition these days,
it is a heck of a lot cheaper
too! There is always something
new to learn both about the
world and about yourself with
every Toastmasters meeting you
attend! |
