For those who've been in Toastmasters and work in technical field, how does it help you in your job?

Question

I have been joining Toastmasters for about 8 months. It was fun and engaging, and I know that my public speaking improves. But unless you work in the field where you constantly do formal talking (lawyer, salesman, PR), how does Toastmasters experience help you in your job?

Answer 1

While the emphasis is on public speaking, participation in TM provides much more benefits:
(1) Better Listening Skills: By serving as an evaluator for a scheduled speech, providing comments to scheduled and table topics speakers or serving as General Evaluator, you improve your ability to effectively listen to others and to provide constructive feedback.
(2) Better Communication Skills: The elements of speech improvement you learn/practive in TM extend beyond formal speeches. They are useful whenever you need to pursuade others to your line of thinking, to establish rapport with your audience whether it's in a meeting or with a circle of friends. Commucation involves many verbal and non-verbal elements.
(3) Better Leadership Skills: By serving as a club officer, you can practice organizational and leadership skills. TM also offers a leadership track whereby you formally complete leadership projects and are evaluated on your effectiveness.

I suggest you seek out a club mentor to help you get more out of your participation. If this is lacking in your current club, you should find another one. Good luck to you!

Answer 2

I believe the fact that you speak in front of others builds confidence. Confidence builds into many things. Usually people that are comfortable speaking in front of others will be more likely to reach out and try different things. They are usually motivators that can build teams. On the other hand, they need to be able to listen sometimes without interrupting. So I guess my point would be to find a balance. Accept the good things that come from it (i.e confidence, ability organize thoughts) Good Luck!!

Answer 3

Talking in front of a group is very intimidating.

Even if you never make a speech in the future, The confidence you get by participating in this club, will rub off in other areas.