Congratulations to the Meridian Mid Day Toastmasters as they celebrated their 8 year anniversary yesterday, February 1, 2007. Ben Zizz, Vice President of membership made an excellent speech about the relevance of effective communication.
There are many organizations I’ve I have been apart of, but Toastmasters has had the greatest positive impact on my life and the benefits extend far beyond "public speaking" skills. I think real estate brokers would benefit greatly from joining toastmasters. If you are looking for a way to bring your business to the next level, Toastmasters can accelerate this goal.
Click here for a little history about what Toastmasters . The group focuses on public speaking and leadership skills.
This Is Not Just Public Speaking…
Most brokers may feel that they don’t do any public speaking, other than being in their car with buyers or a listing appointment. Therefore, they perceive the weekly meetings as being a considerable investment for unsure benefits (speaking in public).
It's too bad that most brokers don’t understand that the skills learned in mastering public speaking and leadership are core skills needed for dealing with other people. These skills are the communication skills you use many times every single day. Instead of thinking about doing a speech with your toastmaster skills, think about something as simple meeting with your staff or going to court to fight a traffic ticket!
Most people have brand themselves ‘introverts’, therefore, Toastmasters is a great place to rapidly improve their total communication skills. Even if you are currently a very sociable person (type A sales jockey), you will find that Toastmasters can teach you to improve your skills and give you the confidence that comes from being an effective speaker.
It took me several months before I really found the intrinsic benefits to Toastmasters. Although the improvement to public speaking comes immediately, it can take a little longer before you recognize the benefits it has in all communication.
Real Estate is a contact sport
Toastmasters is a great place to make friends, meet new people and make some contacts. Other organizations and clubs are great places to meet people, but I would say that the Toastmasters atmosphere facilitates it even more. I have met many wonderful people through Toastmasters.
Toastmasters makes it easier to meet people because there is a strong aura of very supportive people around you. I can’t speak for all clubs when I make this statement, but generally I have found Toastmasters to be a place that tries its best to make people feel welcome.
Unlike leads clubs or charitable service organizations, Toastmasters is a great place to meet people because there is mutually positive feedback between members. By giving and receiving positive feedback I think rapport is established much more quickly.
Worth the Time
Toastmasters meetings are fun. Even without all the skill and relationship benefits, I would go to meetings sheerly for entertainment. I’ve been to meetings where there was comedy, jokes, and great information. Even the regular activities such as prepared speeches, table topics and doing introductions are usually filled with humor. If your initial impression of Toastmasters was that of a stuffy, boring organization where people gave toasts to each other, then I think you should look again.
How to Join Toastmasters
Now that I’ve posted on how great Toastmasters is, I want to tell you how you can join a club in your area. Joining is incredibly easy and is extremely cheap compared to the value you get out of it.
Step One: Find a Club
Step Two: Contact the Club
Most of the clubs have a contact address where you can send the vice president of membership an e-mail asking about the club. They should be able to tell you when they meet, what kind of members (experienced, new, etc.) and what to expect. If you live in a larger city you can probably find many different clubs so you can pick and choose what best fits your schedule.
Step Three: Come as a Guest
Each club has a different membership policy, but almost all of them allow for guest visits for a couple of meetings before membership is required. So if you aren’t sure about the Toastmasters experience, come as a guest and check it out. This way you can check out several clubs and find one that suits your needs.
Step Four: Come for at Least Six Months
This may be a bit of an investment to spend six months as a trial period for whether you like this Toastmasters thing, but I believe that it can take at least this long before the benefits come pouring in. Some people respond well to Toastmasters and make huge improvements within just a handful of meetings, while others may take longer to build skills and it could take several months.
Toastmasters is a great club for all ages to join. If you are in a foreign country and don’t speak the native language, Toastmasters can be a great place to learn. Many members have noted it was a great place to learn English (or whatever language your club speaks).
Toastmasters may not be for everyone but I have found it a very positive experience. Presentation skills and knowing how to present yourself are critical in our business. Make the commitment in 2007 to become effective at communicating vs. just talking. And again, if you haven’t already clicked the find a club link, here it is.
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