Are you a Public Speaker or Public Communicator?
Often, we hear fellow Toastmasters say that they join Toastmasters clubs to improve their speaking skills, or to overcome their fear of public speaking. Rarely do we hear Toastmasters mention that they want to become a better COMMUNICATOR. With this goal in their minds, many Toastmasters focus their energy, effort and time in improving ONLY their speaking skills, and ignore the needs to improve other areas of human communication and interaction. Perhaps the first question I should ask is “What is communication?” Communication can be briefly defined as the exchange of ideas between people, be it between two people or among a group of people, so as to establish trust and develop relationships. The process of communication involves Active Listening and Reflective Speaking.
Communication = Active Listening + Reflective Speaking
Let’s take a look at this chart, which I call the “Toastmasters Learning Map”. The x-axis represents “My Listening Skills” and y-axis “My Speaking Skills”. At Toastmasters chapter meetings, when we are a speaker, be it project speeches or at table topics, we practice and learn only our speaking skills. When we are the Ur-Ah Counter or Timer, we practice only our listening skills.
