Connecting People with Public Speaking

Throughout my 5 years in toastmasters, I've learnt a thing or two about connecting people. No, I'm not talking about match-making or getting people to hold hands, but rather I'm talking about getting people warmed up enough to start talking to one another although they may not know much about each other.

How do you connect with people through public speaking?
One of the useful skills I picked up as a toastmaster was in making small talk. A typical toastmasters meeting comprises of introductions by the sergeant-at-arms, the word of the day/evening if there is a language evaluator and then onto the prepared speeches segment followed by the table-topics and speech evaluations. Before the meeting starts, the members of the club and especially the Executive Committee (Exco) will need to arrive earlier to welcome new guests to the club or even to network with members.

Why toastmasters is so powerful in helping people connect is in the shared purpose. Those who are interested in improving their public speaking skills are drawn to the warm and supportive environment that is the hallmark of properly run clubs. Whilst all clubs strive to achieve this goal, not all do succeed in it. The clubs that I continue to be involved in are those where I know the members well and have formed a connection with them.

Forming connections
You pick up networking skills and learn how to make small talk by doing it. Toastmasters encourage members to welcome non-members or guests who are there for the first time. Virtually any toastmaster who has been around for a few months should be able to orientate any newcomer to the protocols and the objectives of what being a toastmaster is all about.

Besides welcoming guests, the monthly meeting allows for toastmasters who are members of the same club to renew connections and find out how each has been doing in terms of progressing in their speech manuals or how they are doing overall in life. Did you know that some toastmasters even managed to find their first job through the movement?

Fellow toastmasters also network with one another extensively because there is always a demand for available evaluators, speech contest judges and appointment holders for other club meetings. I have done my share of evaluating speeches of members in other clubs, holding appointments for club contests and taking up Exco role in more than 1 club. All these opportunities allowed me to sharpen my skills in interacting with strangers and getting myself to be thick-skinned enough to introduce myself to people I hardly know beyond the fact that we are in the toastmasters movement. The beauty of it all is that the starting point, i.e. the toastmasters movement is already a conversational piece in establishing rapport through asking about club affiliations, knowing of people in this or that club and inquiring about each other's progress in the various speech manuals.

If you have ever had problems networking and getting to make small talk with strangers, you may want to consider joining a toastmasters club as there will be ample opportunities for you to gain such skills through practice, practice and more practice.

Speak well, live well.