A question that I love to ask fellow Toastmasters is, “What are the unexpected benefits you have gotten by being a member?” All of us joined to improve our communication skills with a focus on making speeches. The Toastmasters program does offer great and low cost training on how to present in front of an audience but the program offers so much more! The additional benefits are the reason that I have been a member for 20+ plus years.
Some of the unexpected benefits I have received are:
- Self Confidence
- The ability to give and to accept and receive constructive criticism
- Networking opportunities and new friends from diverse backgrounds
As a child I was shy and awkward. I also do not have an athletic bone in my body and I still remember the awful feeling of always being picked last for a team—the player that no one wanted!