Reaching Out to Millennials

I recently dropped my eldest daughter off at college. She is a dedicated student academically, but I tried to convey to her the importance “soft skills” play in the game of life, namely communication. Uwanna Ikaiiddi from Study Breaks wrote, “I would argue that it is the single most-important skill in our modern world…A huge part of communication is not only doing it in the first place, it’s also knowing what situations call for which type of communication methods.”

 

Born in 1998, my daughter could be considered a Millennial. She pursued music and theater in school, so she is no stranger to speaking before an audience, and therefore more comfortable communicating than many of her generation. Studies cite the lack of leadership and communication skills in current college graduates. Useful skills that can be learned, practiced and nurtured in Toastmasters.

 

For one recent graduate, Shahil, a frustrating freeze at the podium during grade 9 prompted him to join Toastmasters as a college freshman. Even more daunting for Shahil was the fact that English is not his first language. Shahil grew up in Nepal and came to the US to attend University.

His first Table Topics speech was ripe with filler words, but he was committed and fully engaged in his club. As his college degree progressed, so did his list of offices, responsibilities, and accomplishments around campus. Shahil served as VP of Education for his local Toastmasters Club.

 

With the bulk of the workforce shifting from Baby Boomers to millennials in the coming years, it would behoove the new crew to learn lessons in leadership. The Balance also lists communication as the number one leadership skill employees are looking for.

 

Many people associate Toastmasters with public speaking, but few know about the second manual designed to build leadership skills. If clubs were more consistent in  communicating the combination of speaking and leadership skills Toastmasters teaches, membership might improve, especially among millennials.

 

Consider mentoring millennials in your club. Students taking a gap year, between jobs, classes or careers could benefit from time spent with Toastmasters. My daughter experienced a taste of Toastmasters. She enjoyed meeting our seasoned members, one of whom became a Toastmaster before women were allowed to join!

 

One of my favorite things about our club is the diversity in age, profession, opinion, and interest of our members. We gain valuable skills through speaking and following the manuals, but critical personal and professional growth comes from feedback and human interaction.

 

Millennials live in a different world where they literally carry around a computer in their pocket and were raised on the internet. Don’t look down on that. If a millenial is visiting your club, they are looking to improve their communication skills. Help them and be open to understanding their world. There’s a reason you’re reading this on a blog and not in a newsletter.