Posted by As a member of Toastmasters International I have learned the value of being a volunteer. Volunteering has increased the number of people I know outside of work and it has boosted my self confidence and self esteem. Volunteering has also increased my skill set, as I now include leadership skills and speaking skills on my resume, something I would not have without my Toastmasters volunteer experience.
A First Step
My first foray into the world of volunteering was to take on the role of secretary for my condo board. Having never been a secretary before, I decided to sign on as secretary for my Toastmasters club as well, because Toastmasters is a safe place to volunteer and to learn how to do a new role.
As secretary I had to learn how to take meeting minutes effectively. This required me to listen carefully and to jot down notes while people were speaking. I also had to learn how to write up my notes into official meeting minutes to share with the rest of the board members.
Serving for a year as secretary also helped me to learn about parliamentary procedure, which is a system of rules that govern how to run a business meeting. More specifically, I learned about Robert’s Rules of Order.
I value the new skills I learned as secretary and the connections and friends I made while serving as secretary.
Taking on a District Leadership Role
When I was secretary for my Toastmasters club, I had to attend club officer training. At one of these events an unexpected opportunity presented itself that led to a higher level leadership role for me.
I was sitting in the audience at the club officer training event when the Division A Director stood up and asked for volunteers to serve as area directors for his division. I thought to myself, “That sounds important! I’ll volunteer to take on that role!.”
I proceeded to speak to the division director and I signed on as an area director. This led to a year where I served in a voluntary leadership position where I visited other Toastmasters clubs and where I also organized two area level speech contests.
This district level leadership role challenged me to develop leadership skills because as I was in charge of supporting and leading a team of club presidents, vice presidents of education, and vice presidents of membership. I also participated in and contributed to area council meetings and division council meetings.
As a volunteer in this role my network of Toastmasters contacts expanded and I also learned new skills, including how to run a business meeting using parliamentary procedure. By running business meetings I gained confidence providing direction to a team of people. I also had speaking opportunities when visiting other clubs and gained increased confidence as a speaker.
Something else I learned how to do was to organize events. What were these events? Area speech contests! I had to work with other Toastmasters to book a venue for the event and to find volunteers for the speech contest roles. This pushed me out of my comfort zone and challenged me to learn new skills.
Going Beyond My Comfort Zone
As Area Director, other Toastmasters assumed I was an experienced member and they even asked me to do a speech at their club. This was definitely well outside my comfort zone because I had not done that many speeches in my own club.
One thing I had never done before was to give a 15 minute educational presentational to a Toastmasters club. When asked by another Toastmasters club to give an educational presentation at their club, I said yes. This was a new opportunity for me and it was a chance to build my speaking skills. I remember that I practiced and prepared for my presentation, and I recall that I did ok on the day of the presentation, but I was not a great presenter.
Despite my lack of experience giving educational presentations, my audience still enjoyed my speech. I also gained increased confidence because I had accepted the challenge and gone through with the presentation. Now I had done more than the average Toastmaster by giving a longer presentation that challenged me to use my speaking skills and I gained more confidence as a speaker for having done so.
What About You?
So what about you? Should you join a Toastmasters club and take on a volunteer leadership role like me? If public speaking and leadership interest you, then go for it. If not, consider other ways to volunteer.
There are plenty of volunteer opportunities out there if you look for them. If you volunteer, you will meet new people and you may learn new skills. You may also find that your self confidence and self esteem increase as you spend time helping others.
For me, the benefits of volunteering were an increased network and making new friends. I also gained new skills and boosted my self confidence.
Conclusion
In conclusion, being a volunteer has many advantages. You will make new connections, maybe even new friends. You can gained increased confidence and a boost to self your esteem. Even better, you will have helped other people and a gift of your time to others will be remembered by those who you helped. Who knows what doors of opportunity this could open for you in your future?