Author: Lauren Riley
Toastmasters? What is Toastmasters? Toastmasters is an international organization that allows a person to develop leadership as well as public speaking skills to help him or her grow. These skills are essential for the future where everyone is becoming more independent every day. However, whit I love most about Toastmasters is the community aspect of the organization.
Toastmasters gives you access to the world at your fingertips. You can travel anywhere you want very easily. You get to meet a lot of unique individuals that you would not have met otherwise. You can see how people in other countries communicate with one another. It enables you to see how speeches change depending on where you are. Community is what makes the world turn. No one can do everything all by him or herself. Instead of being locked down to just one city or town, your community has the potential to expand everywhere. The opportunities for growth never end.
I just recently started visiting clubs that are in different areas of the globe. I was a guest at a meeting in Portland Oregon. The speeches that were given in this group sounded like conversations with a friend instead of a traditional speech. It opened my eyes about what a speech could be. The meeting had a completely different feel than what I was used to at my home club in Arizona. I also visited a club in Sydney Australia. The people in this group were all business. Formality was at an all time high. It lacked the spontaneity that was present in Oregon. It was amazing to see the stark contrast between two different groups within the same organization. It just goes to show that Toastmasters is all about both change and diversity.
When you embrace change, you are creating the new that you want to have in life. When you are continuously doing the things the same old way, you are limiting what is possible for you. What do you get out of things staying the exact same? Nothing but a false sense of comfortability. Things can change in an instant. You are being spontaneous one minute and formal the next. This is how life really works.
Nothing is ever set-in stone. The only things that keep things the same is the way people behave. We create sameness and pretend it exists. Everybody has the opportunity to change his or her life depending upon the choices he or she makes. If one’s choices remain the same, then a familiar result will occur. If one chooses differently, then the end result cannot be determined. Having choices is the only thing that does remain the same no matter where a person is in life. Toastmasters asks me over and over again to choose what I want my life to be. The same question will be asked of you if and when you decide to join this organization.
