Three Reasons not to be a Toastmaster
Feb 28
Here’s a slideshow giving 3 reasons not to be a Toastmaster:
Three reasons I’m not a Toastmaster
View more presentations from Jeanne Trojan
I don’t agree with some of the points in the presentation, and agree with others. Most of all, I have a problem with the premise.
Delivery does matter in business presentations. Being a member of Toastmasters is not going to hurt, and actually will help. If nothing more, it is a place to practice and network.
Although Jeanne has a point, she overlooks that Toastmasters is self directed. If a member wants to improve their business presentations then it is up to them to practice those skills.
Absolutely! You get what you give
I almost always give and receive in my TM speeches. I thrive on facilitation discussions, engaging the audience, and involving them throughout– tailoring speeches to my particular club as well as the manual’s purpose. So I don’t agree with this either.
Thank you for your comment Daree
. You are clearly doing what the author did not think was possible.
Is this person selling business presentation skills seminars? Interesting that s/he didn’t give any suggestions on how to improve business presentations in this piece.
In my opinion, they didn’t get very deep into Toastmasters to make such misrepresentations. For example, this opinionated piece states that a speech focuses on the performance of the speaker and not on communicating a message and getting results. There is a set of advanced speech manuals that go into motivation and inspiration.
It does appear that they are selling services. I personally would not want someone so closed minded as my speech coach. Rather than “it doesn’t work,” how about “here’s how to make it work?”
Closed-minded and profit-motivated. Not my choice for a coach! Agreed with using a positive approach and emphasis on how to make it work.
Thanks for all of the comments on my slideshow! I appreciate your insight.
Yes, I am a presentation trainer and coach. I have published many other slideshows giving advice on how to create and deliver great presentations, but that wasn’t the point of this particular slideshow so it didn’t seem appropriate.
I think the message was pretty clear – Toastmasters is great, but it’s not the best way to improve your business presentations. On slide #34 I outline some ways you can improve this skill (most of them are no- or low-cost alternatives to coaching).
Am I profit-motivated? Yes, for the organization that needs to communicate their message – that’s what’s important here. I believe a great presentation can improve a company’s bottom line.
Closed-minded? I don’t think I’m guilty of that. Take a look at my other work and maybe you’ll have a different opinion.
Let’s all work to make outstanding presentations the norm – in whatever way works the best for you!
Thank you Jeanne for taking the time to respond. Definitely a slideshow that got some attention.
It appears that your experience is different to mine. When I have wanted to work on business presentations, I have found Toastmasters to be very helpful.
I want speeches to be a dialogue, just like you describe business presentations and agree that it is often not the case.
I can see three great reasons for you to be a Toastmaster. You are very good at giving feedback, you want people to communicate better, and you care.
I would hope that there’s a club local to you that could provide that.
Thanks again.
I can definitely agree, to an extent, with many of your points, particularly when it comes to content.
As I’ve said before, Toastmasters primary goal is to take people who are afraid of speaking and get them to some semblance of competency.
The better the club, the more experienced the Toastmasters, the less your critique applies.
As a coach, I always recommend Toastmasters, for the time in front of an audience, and the extra feedback.
But ultimately, a coach is going to take motivated speakers-to-be to their goals a lot faster than TM will.
I’m a corporate presentation trainer and coach AND a Toastmaster. The problem with most presenters is that they suck as speakers. Their presentation can’t stand on its own with technological crutches.
Learning to be a good speaker first, one that can grab and keep the attention of an audience and get across a powerful and memorable message, without PowerPoint or any other tools, and then adding the effective use of PowerPoint to reinforce that message is what makes a great presenter and leader.
That’s what Toastmasters teaches.