Join Toastmasters? Watch this before you decide!

Joining Toastmasters International can help you improve public speaking skills. But it’s not a great fit for everyone. In this video, you will learn the good, the bad and the ugly about joining a Toastmasters club.

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⌚ Sections in this video (Join Toastmasters? Watch this before you decide!):
0:00 | What is Toastmasters?
1:12 | My experience in Toastmasters International
1:48 | 5 good things about Toastmasters International
3:55 | 5 bad things about a Toastmasters club
7:25 | The ugly part of Toastmasters International
8:23 | Bonus tip about Toastmasters clubs
9:02 | Improve your hybrid meetings

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#MarkusPresents #LeadershipLessonsfromtheComedyClub

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Tired of bad presentations and boring meetings? Bring your corporate events to the next level with Leadership Lessons from the Comedy Club! Learn how to interact with the audience, give a warm speaker introduction, or use humor in your presentation. These communication skills and many other public speaking tips will be on the menu in my unique workshop series. Leadership Lessons from the Comedy Club is not your traditional presentation skills or leadership skills training. It’s an audience engagement workshop!

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🎤 About Markus Seppälä:
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⚙️ Equipment used to make this video:
Video and still camera: Canon EOS M50 Mirrorless Camera with 15-45mm Kit Lens
Microphone: BOYA BY-M1 Omni Directional Lavalier Microphone
Video editor: VSDC Free Video Editor
Video camera: Canon XF100 Camcorder
Shotgun microphone: Sony ECM-NV1 Short Monoaural Electolet Condenser Microphone

[amozcreative]

Thanks for being transparent to share your personal experience! Just attended a toastmasters club in Singapore and you are able to give an objective assessment of them

[TheStarrmaker]

As a 20 year veteran of this organization who served at the club, district and region leadership levels, your points and perspective are on point. Thanks for sharing.

[jonathanvaughan]

Good video. You got a wide range of reactions to it, which is not surprising. I am an avid Toastmaster but I accept your points as areas the organization needs to improve.

I am also a TM leader and have.begun to address these points and others. One point you only skipped around was the cookie-cutter speech evaluations that are still too common. But the positive side is that this problem, as with the others, is fixable.

In my opinion, most of our problems are related to people taking guidelines and latching onto them too hard, as if they are laws.

The speech evaluation problem is a perfect example. The guideline says the speaker is to listen to the feedback and hear it out. The reason for the guideline is a good one - feedback time is not to degenerate into an argument between speaker and evaluator. But if the speaker does not feel comfortable to ask clarifying questions about the feedback, for example, then three-way communication is lost and growth may be obstructed.

Guidelines are just guidelines, nothing more. Good experiences come from members and clubs getting in tune with each other to offer a challenging experience, and leadership needs to stop checking off boxes and empower people to get after it. It can be done.

[howarddrake]

Finally an objective & realistic view on TM which is ignored by other channels: Thank you.
I joined a TM college club in Vancouver, Canada some years ago with the sole objective to overcome my timidy, and found the whole experience traumatic from the start.
During club meetings, I was asked to make love declaration speeches, animal sounds on my knees, and comedy, all with hardly any support or understanding. It then dawned upon me that TM is for extroverts, not introverts like myself.
After 3 meetings, it was too much and I quit.

[cirochoco]

I totally agree with all of your points about Toastmasters escp the downside. Thank you for your courage to bring up this topic.

[johnnywalker]

Ok let's see, you said 'um' a couple of times (just kidding). Thanks for making this video. It was very informative. By sharing the good, the bad and the ugly, newcomers who watch this video will know what to expect going in.

[AaronShope]

Well, he had me until he said that counting ums and ahs doesn’t help. I know for a fact it does because it helped me. I am a way more proficient communicator now because of it.

[Itravelbackintime]

I know this video is 3 years old which seems like an eternity on Youtube but I'm looking to start my own Youtube channel and perhaps future speaking gigs. I want to approach my speaking as if I'm doing a play on stage and get people laughing to get them engaged. I certainly don't want to be speaking another polished professor dishing out a boring lecture or the teacher who talks like a robot in Farris Bueller's Day Off pretending that every is listening. It ain't happening. However, I really do look foward to joining with a different approached to connecting with my audience in the future. Thanks Marcus for creating this video as I have been searching for info on Toastmasters. This was valuable. I just subsribed.

[Jacky.Obregon]

Thank you, I am considering visiting a Toastmasters Club. Very useful tips

[FlowriderGuy]

I must respectfully disagree with your criticism of Toastmasters. Your experience seems to reflect significant improvement, particularly with the reduction of filler words in your speeches, demonstrating the effectiveness of counting filler words. Awareness and regular practice are key elements in this progress, and I've observed many members make substantial improvements in this area. It's important to remember that evaluations reflect the personal viewpoints of the evaluators. However, this personal insight can often be invaluable, and even members new to Toastmasters can offer constructive feedback. If you're seeking more rigorous critique, I'd suggest requesting an in-depth review from an experienced Toastmaster or joining an Advanced club for more challenging evaluations. Participation in club leadership roles, while not mandatory, offers a golden opportunity to enhance your leadership abilities. These experiences are optional but can be incredibly rewarding and beneficial for personal growth. Watching a keynote speaker in a suit is much more impressive than someone in an old worn-out t-shirt.

[maipham]

Hi Markus. Thank you for your video. I especially agree with you regarding the um and ah counting. I don't want to call it non-sense but it actually made me feel insecure as a non-native English speaker (English is the language at our club) but I soon realised that English speakers use filler words all the time. I really hope ah-counter will soon be a thing in the past.

[LetterSignedBySpiesWasA-Coup]

Titles are not necessarily conservative and conservative is not necessarily bad if what is being conserved has value. Structured would be a more precise description than conservative to describe roles and titles.

[eliaschevette]

Great video. I agree with you on most points. Toastmaster is such a great organization but as all organizations created in another era it needs to come in with the times. The problem is that the only people willing to go up to the international levels of leadership already drink the kool aid and are incapable of seeing the change needed. That's why I think the best work can be do at club level.

[terrifictomm]

Your critique is valid. However, I also think you're expecting more from your fellow Toastmasters than you have any right to. After all, did you practice what you want everyone else to do? Did you give hard-hitting evaluations?

I have. I've been a Toastmasters for 15 years and there are members of my club who founded the club 45 years ago! Others joined around the time I did.

When I'm evaluating sometime like Mark K., a probate attorney, I ask him before hand if he wants a "sandwich" evaluation: one negative sandwiched between two positives. Or does he want a serious evaluation that may challenge him?"

I've never had a speaker ask me to blow smoke. But I would never do that to a newbie or someone still struggling, no matter how long they have been a member.

It sounds to me like you're looking for a coach. Those cost money and that's not Toastmasters. We are a volunteer organization and nobody is getting paid!

[mohdadam]

What i f I don't speak English well ? Can I join and would I get laughed by others ?

[solaranthony]

Don’t do a speech do a talk I love that. Great speech 🎤 thanks

[carCuIamthefirst]

Besides toastmasters.. what are other recommendations in America

[nozedic]

Unrelated to the TM content, the membership terms are awful. Waive right to sue for intentional acts? Forced to be an officer? Must attend? No thanks.

[marthasalas]

Very informative! I'm just visiting different clubs before deciding. Any tips?

[dlight]

A couple other points... I asked before I came into this.. how was I to dress? I was just told casual they were just grateful that I was coming and they kind of keep it casual anyway. And if you really really really want to challenge yourself... take a speech class in a community college and you can continue on so there is speech 101 and then their speech 201 and speech 301 for people who want to keep public speaking more professional. So this last thought has giving me a great idea!! I'm sure there are online courses and YouTube vids on advanced public speaking.