The Rotary Club of Akron had the privilege of listening to one of our own, Cyndi Kane - Member, Akron Rotary Club and A.M. Akron Toastmaster Club during our Tuesday, January 19th Club meeting. Her presentation was about Toastmasters. Click here to view the video of the meeting.
Cyndi has run a successful real estate business for the past 18 years. She has been very active in her REALTOR Association at the State and Local Levels. She holds many REALTOR designations and certifications from the National Association of REALTORS. Prior to Real Estate, she was a Licensed Optician for 16 years. Cyndi has found Toastmasters to be a great resource for her career growth.
Cyndi has been a Toastmaster since 2008. She is both an Advanced Leader and Advanced Communicator, having served as President of the Club in 2013.
So, how can Toastmasters benefit me and or my company/organization?
Toastmasters International is a nonprofit educational organization that teaches public speaking and leadership skills through a worldwide network of clubs. The organization’s membership exceeds 352,000 in more than 16,400 clubs in 141 countries. Since 1924, Toastmasters International has helped people of all backgrounds build confidence as speakers and leaders.Better Speakers and Leaders: Toastmasters is the best way for anyone—whether a working professional, student, stay-at-home parent or retiree—to improve his or her communication and leadership skills. Members overcome the fear of public speaking and learn skills that aid them in becoming more successful. Toastmasters creates better listeners and stronger team members and leaders who can comfortably give and receive constructive evaluations.
Joining Toastmasters: Joining a Toastmasters club is easy. A listing of clubs by geographic area can be located on the Toastmasters website at www.toastmasters.org/find. Visitors to the website can select the most convenient club, attend a meeting, and apply for membership. (Applicants must be 18 or older.) New clubs can be started with permission and assistance from Toastmasters International.
How Toastmasters Works:
At Toastmasters, members learn by speaking to groups and working with others in a supportive environment. A typical Toastmasters club meets once a week for approximately an hour. Each meeting gives members several opportunities: 1) Conduct meetings: Members learn how to plan and conduct meetings. 2) Give impromptu speeches: Members present one - to - two minute impromptu speeches about assigned topics. 3) Present prepared speeches: Members present speeches based on projects from Toastmasters’ communication and leadership program. Projects cover topics such as speech organization, vocal variety, language, gestures and persuasion. 4) Offer constructive evaluation: Every speaker is assigned an evaluator who points out speech strengths and offers suggestions for improvement.
Toastmasters and Leadership:
Leadership takes practice. In Toastmasters, members learn leadership skills by organizing and conducting meetings and completing projects. The projects address skills such as listening, planning, motivating, and team building and give members the opportunity to practice them. Just as Toastmasters members improve communication by speaking, they learn leadership skills by leading.
Community Benefits:
Toastmasters helps many members in their community-service activities. Using the skills developed in Toastmasters, members have become more active in business, church, service and charity organizations. Toastmasters are able to organize activities, conduct meetings and speak in public as their organizations’ representatives. Some even become active in local, state or national government.
Cyndi summed up her presentation by saying that Toastmasters is the least expensive, best education that one can get.
For further information about Toastmasters and their five different pathways, check out their website at www.toastmasters.org.
Yours in Rotary Service -
Terry
