Here’s to new learnings in 2023…
While I seem to have taken a pause in the prepared speech segments, I have gone full speed ahead and taken up a few facilitator roles – Timekeeper, Grammarian, Table Topics Master, Toastmaster of the Evening, and Evaluator roles. It has given me a broader perspective and a more dynamic mode of expressing myself powerfully.
I have also been assigned a mentee, which is interesting, because I have never really mentored anyone. This helps to self-reflect and learn from my own mistakes and share it as a learning.
There are various ways to express oneself in the Toastmasters Journey. And I choose to explore and widen my repertoire of speaker ability.
Prepared speech segments isolate a speaker’s capacity to speak on a specific topic for 5 to 7 minutes, which is a process that requires deep preparation and practice. The evaluator and facilitator roles offer a different way of expressing oneself. It is an opportunity to firstly define your role creatively so that the audience understands what you are doing, and secondly to share the feedbacks in a constructive and concise way. Most of these roles requires the speaker to share their points in under two to three minutes.
My learnings:
Be able to speak on the spot
Be an active and good listener
Be able to provide constructive feedback without being critical
Be supportive to the speaker to challenge themselves for their next speech
Be comfortable when called up to speak
I will use these learnings in 2023 – to figure out my own unique style and to align with my ability to communicate. Whether I wear a writing, coaching or teaching hat, I want to be able to share information that will connect to the listener/reader, and leave a lasting impact.
My goal is to expand my ability to learn how to teach in a way that leads to transformation and change. Coaching training has taught me to improve my listening skills, to be non-judgmental, and to be able to understand the world from another person’s perspective. This is important for our own self-development as well. We grow as we learn more.
May 2023 guide me towards new insights! Wishing you a wonderfully empowering year.
Shobha Nihalani: Meanderings 