Why Toastmasters

I’ve started mentioning Toastmasters in the last few posts, but today I want to do a MAJOR plug for this incredible life changing organization. I joined Toastmasters in 2005 when I was a very shy quiet software engineer. I was too shy to even speak up in design sessions with my team. Soon after joining my first Toastmaster club, I started getting more and more comfortable raising my voice and being heard in my design sessions. Before I knew it I was even leading Toastmaster meetings myself!

In Toastmasters I saw the power of a meeting: the ability to focus group of people to do something great in one hour. Toastmasters taught me a lot about presenting and leadership, but the most important breakthrough was how to run a great meeting.

In Toastmasers, members learn by doing and getting immediate feedback so they can do even better next time. There are no lectures or theory. It’s all doing and feedback.

I am still in Toastmasters all these years later. I am honored to be serving District 57 as their District Director, the highest member of the TRIO who runs the district of about 2500 Toastmaster members in Northern California.

I highly recommend Toastmasters for anyone who wants to get better at running meetings, speaking, and leading. There is no better way to learn than by doing + feedback!

If you want to get a club recommendation, send me a message and suggest one. If you’ve tried Toastmasters, please share your experiences on LinkedIn and Facebook.