In praise of Two Oceans Toastmasters Club members

Yesterday was the Division Contest for the annual Toastmasters International Speech and Evaluation Contest, where a speech contestant from my club, Two Oceans, was the winner of the category. Another fine achievement from the talented individuals in this thriving and enthusiastic club who give so much of themselves and their time to mentor and encourage anyone who seeks to improve their public speaking via Toastmasters. She now heads for the national finals and hopefully the final round in America. This club has in recent years produced 10 Division winners and a semi-finalist in America. No small achievement.

Being there in a supportive capacity was, as always, both fulfilling and educational. There is always something useful to be learned from listening to others speak when you are not required (or allowed) to respond. Learning to be a listener is just as valuable as learning to communicate, as most people listen to others only to the extent that they are waiting to add their bit to the conversation, or even take it over completely, something I am sure you have all had the misfortune to experience. To pay attention by listening to the speaker without comment or reply is a sign of respect for what that person is trying to convey, and an important part of the Toastmasters journey is evaluation of speeches. It can be very daunting to comment on a speech - first of all, you need to have listened extremely attentively, while assessing various aspects such as whether you understood the thread, whether you could identify the introduction, body and conclusion, or simply noticed particularly good use of vocabulary and body language. It is daunting because we seldom listen well enough to be able to assess what we are hearing, let alone give meaningful and encouraging feedback to the speaker. The skills learned by evaluating speeches are a master class in empathy, understanding, upliftment and diplomacy, and can be applied to every aspect of our lives. An even more important aspect is the receiving of an evaluation - learning to take the good with the bad in the way of criticism of a speech in which you have bared your soul to your audience.

I can wholeheartedly recommend Toastmasters to anyone who wishes to hone their communication skills, and can say from personal experience that there is something tremendously satisfying in raising a laugh from an audience.