1. You'll have the opportunity to develop valuable communications skills Employers value, seek out, hire and promote people who communicate effectively. Customers are also drawn to good communicators. Here's what business guru Tom Peters had to say: Join Toastmasters. Oral communication skills count. Enormously. A lot of managers are not bad at public speaking. But "are not bad" ain't good enough, not if you're wise and especially these days, when jawing with the same old gang from year to year is becoming rare. Height and hair color may be in the genes. Public speaking isn't. It's a skill that can be studied, polished, more or less perfected. (Toastmasters) does a fabulous job of helping people shape up their communication skills. (Tom Peters, The Pursuit of WOW, 1994)
2. You'll have the opportunity to develop valuable leadership skills As a Toastmaster, you have an opportunity to take advantage of a range of leadership opportunities. You can do so within the club from week to week (e.g. Chair, Toastmaster, and General Evaluator). You'll also have the opportunity to move beyond the club and exercise leadership in the broader Toastmasters Community: e.g. Area, Division, and District.
3. You'll have the opportunity to develop valuable teamwork skills Teamwork skills are extremely important. How do you inspire and motivate people to achieve a collective goal? How do you pull a team together to implement a vision? In Toastmasters, you'll learn.
4. You'll have the opportunity to develop listening and interpersonal skills A good Toastmaster is a good listener. He or she learns to be sensitive to an audience's needs. As a TM Evaluator, you also learn to be tactful in conveying feedback to others.
5. You'll have the opportunity to make some great contacts and some new friends! Through Toastmasters, you will have a chance to meet people from various walks of life -- people you probably wouldn't have had the chance to meet otherwise.
6. You'll have the opportunity to grow as a speaker Ever had a "peak" speaking experience? Ever really "connected" with an audience? Find out what it's like!
7. You'll have the opportunity to gain valuable feedback on yourself It's not easy to gain an understanding of how we come across to others. In Toastmasters, we will help you become more aware of how others perceive you.
8. You'll have the opportunity to think through issues and have a captive audience to get things off your chest! The act of preparing a speech is a wonderful way to focus the mind. And what better way to vent your spleen or share your passion about something than having a regular forum for sharing it with others!
9. You'll feel better about yourself and you'll be making a difference to those around you Toastmasters do wonders for our self-confidence and our self-esteem. You will come to appreciate yourself more. To have greater confidence in yourself. And those around you will begin to look to you as a mentor and a leader.
10. You can take advantage of these opportunities week-in-and-week-out at a fraction of the cost of other forms of communications skills training Most club dues are in the range of a year - less than most people spend in coffee over a two-month period! By any standard, Toastmasters is one of the best bargains around.
So there you have it. Ten good reasons to join Toastmasters.
