Engineering Job Future

Toastmasters

Staff Article, written by Don Wilde

My Personal Recommendation

I cannot emphasize enough the value of Toastmasters. I've been a Toastmaster for over three years now and it's one of the great educational values of all time.

Engineers have a reputation of being poor at communication on any topic except the purely technical. Toastmasters self-paced education programs help you stand out from the herd! Toastmasters training is totally aligned with better job and presentation skills, especially at the senior and executive level, and everything proceeds at your own pace.

There is a ten-speech primary program called 'Competent Communicator' which leads you through the basics of overcoming fear, organizing a speech, delivering a speech, generating interest with your voice and gestures, and persuading an audience. At the same time, during the meetings there are numerous activities to enhance other skills by volunteering as Timer, Jokemaster, or even the Toastmaster, the master of ceremonies for the meeting. Each of these activities helps you fulfill the requirements of the 'Competent Leader' program. There is also a very challenging opportunity to develop think-on-your-feet skills in each meeting, called Table Topics, and every speech is evaluated by a volunteer evaluator in order to help the speaker improve.

I have completed the 'Competent Communicator' program and am moving forward towards my 'Competent Leader' certificate and the first of the 'Advanced Communicator' certificates by working on the ten speeches of the 'Public Relations' and 'Communicating on Television' manuals. There are many other advanced manuals to look forward to including 'The Entertaining Speaker', 'Storytelling' and 'Interpersonal Communication'

Toastmasters International

The TI website, http://www.toastmasters.org, has a lot of great introductory material. Check it out!

Local Clubs

TI local chapters exist everywhere in the world, both as independent entities and captive 'corporate' clubs within larger corporations. Many corporations believe in the value of Toastmasters training. I was a member of Dell Master Speakers (a corporate club) for several years and am now in the San Marcos (TX) Toastmasters.

The Toastmasters site has a 'find a club' mechanism. Local club dues (including the national fees) range from $60 to less than $100 per year, with a modest $20 startup fee that covers your first set of manuals and membership signup. TI is a non-profit organization and almost all of its and its member clubs' organizations are volunteer-driven. Some clubs have a theme; for instance, in Austin there is Laughing Matters, a club with a one-drink minimum and where everything is focused on humor.