With Valentines Day arriving this week, I am reminded of one of the benefits of toastmasters. In the three clubs I belong to, we like to have “ themed” meetings. It helps to organize our meeting around a theme.
The toastmaster, who looks after the agenda, will do a little introduction about the theme, maybe a bit of history or an anecdotal story about the theme. We generally will have a “ word of the day” that is associated with the theme and it is everyone’s responsibility to use the word during the meeting. It is a way to expand our vocabulary.
We are also asked to introduce ourselves at every meeting so adding a theme helps us learn one more thing about each of our members. The toastmaster may ask us to answer a question related to the theme.
Toastmasters can be a lot of fun and it is not only speaking that we focus on but also leadership. There are many roles involved in each meeting and each one is designed to teach us something. We learn how to do this roles by getting involved. It helps the meeting run smoothly. I have already mentioned a couple of the roles in this writing.
Another role is Sergeant at Arms. This person prepares the room for the meeting and may also choose to decorate for the theme, although not necessary. We can do as much or as little as we wish. It is all about improving our leadership skills.
If you have ever thought about going to a Toastmasters meeting, you can come absolutely free for the first 2 or 3 meetings so you can decide if this is for you. There is so much more to offer than what I am able to write here. Search out a meeting near you.
