Neelima Wali
What are the two most highly rated and important skills across every industry that employers are looking for? These skills are the most important skills when it comes to leading a successful life. These skills are communication skills, be it oral or written communication, and leadership skills.
Communication skills are the abilities you use when giving and receiving different kinds of information. Some examples include communicating new ideas, feelings or even an update on your project. Communication skills involve listening, speaking, observing, and empathizing. Active listening, adapting your communication style to your audience, friendliness, confidence, volume and clarity, empathy, understanding non-verbal cues, responsiveness are as important aspects of communication as is speaking your ideas in front of your audience. These skills put together make you a good communicator – whether you are preparing for a job interview or preparing for Civil services, or even running your own business. Even if you are someone taking care of your household, you need to communicate clearly and precisely.
Not only communication skills, but leadership skills are also very important when it comes to leading a team, raising a child, or solving a problem in day-to-day work. Here are few of the skills that make you a good leader – communication, motivation, delegating, positivity, trustworthiness, creativity, giving and receiving feedback, responsibility, commitment, and flexibility. These skills are not only restricted to our workplaces but can also help us improve our family life. Motivating our employees as well as kids, delegating work to our sub-ordinates at our workplaces or taking help from the house-help, having positive environment at office and home alike actually are our leadership skills.
We are taught the languages as subjects at school. The focus is on learning the correct grammar or writing a great essay, but never on communicating ourselves with emotions in that language. Few people are naturally talented and may have participated in school debates or essay competitions, but not everyone may have that talent. So, we need to learn the skill. As it is said that there is no age to start learning. We can start at any time.
But is there anyone who can teach us these skills? Yes, there is one such platform that gives us an opportunity to learn communication and leadership skills at any age and at our own pace. Toastmasters International is a nonprofit educational organization that teaches public speaking and leadership skills through a worldwide network of clubs. Headquartered in Englewood, Colo., the organization’s membership exceeds 300,000 in more than 15,800 clubs in 149 countries. Since 1924, Toastmasters International has helped people from diverse backgrounds become more confident speakers, communicators, and leaders. You will find numerous examples of people who owe their personal and professional success to Toastmasters.
Toastmasters’ communication and leadership training teaches its members how to:
* Become a better communicator
* Enhance their listening skills
* Practice time management
* Mentoring others
* Sharpen their presentation skills
* Boost collaboration with peers and juniors
* Guide others to be successful
“Toastmasters gave me amazing amount of confidence for speaking out. It provided me tools, practices, and confidence to speak publicly. Earlier I dreaded delivering any trainings or presentations, but now I volunteer for these. The Leadership skills I learned by serving as club officer was amazing. Leadership and public speaking skills developed within me are very helpful in professional and personal life.” says Surjit Lakhnotra, who hails from Kathua and is working as Manager IT in Gurgaon, Haryana. He is an alumni of MCA department of University of Jammu.
Not only professionally, but Toastmasters has also helped people in their personal lives. “I was not so bold and confident since childhood. After I got married, I realized I could not express my interest or views to my in-laws in an effective manner. This affected my relationship with my new family. I joined Toastmasters for professional reasons like developing to become a soft skill trainer but gradually I realized I started expressing myself better to my family and friends. I started listening to their point of view too. While this platform has helped me develop those skills which I wanted for my professional growth, but I am also practising these skills in my personal relationships. Things are changing for better, and I see how this will help me change everyone for a better tomorrow gradually.” says Neha Agrawal, Branch Manager at Bhojdeals, a food online delivery app, mother of two young boys, who has been associated with Toastmasters for last 3 years now. She is soft skills development trainer at colleges and corporates, passionate about toastmasters and hardcore learner at heart.
There is no age to start learning, and Toastmasters proves it right. Harry Sethi, who started the Dehradun WIC India Toastmasters Club at an age to 68 years, calls himself 75 years young who is always learning. The retired Civil servant says – “My friend told me that Toastmasters is only for young people, we are not going to benefit from this. But setting up the club in Dehradun was my way of learning and giving back to the society.” He is still associated with the Toastmasters club and recently celebrated 7th anniversary of the club.
District 41 wants to bring Toastmasters to the people of Jammu in your own city and wants to help the people there tolearn and grow. Many people from Jammu region are being benefitted by this program, but after leaving the place. We want people to take benefit while they are still in Jammu. “It’s never too late to become who you want to be. I hope you live a life that you’re proud of, and if you find that you’re not, I hope you have the strength to start over.” – These lines from The Curious Case of Benjamin Button always motivate us to start over whenever and wherever we are. So, let’s start now.
To learn more about how you can get the growth opportunities that will benefit you in your personal and professional life, please visit our website or join us on Whatsapp group – https://chat.whatsapp.com/CT5LDNVrdpiFhyXowENU5e. We look forward to speaking with you.
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