I am a member of Sugarloafer’s Toastmasters. For those not familiar with Toastmasters, Toastmasters International is a world leader in communication and leadership development. There are more than 280,000 members of Toastmasters. These members improve their speaking and leadership skills by attending one of the 13,500 clubs in 116 countries that make up the global network of meeting locations.
For me, Toastmasters is a way for me to consistently hone my speaking skills. With each speech I receive constructive feedback on both my delivery and the content. As I work through the advanced manuals I most often develop content related to my area of expertise (marketing, sales, and business strategy).
I’m currently working through the Specialty Speeches manual and the first speech was an impromptu speech. My Type-A personality dislikes not being able to prepare to speak so this presentation was a great way for me to get in some practice. The manual required that I provide my evaluator with 5 topics and they would choose which I was speaking on right before my speech. The topic that was chosen “The 3 Reasons You Should be Blogging for Your Small Business.”
Do you blog for your business? Have you found it to be beneficial? Are you a member of Toastmasters? Have you ever thought about joining? Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below.
