What kind of speaker are you in a toastmasters club?

What kind of speaker are you?!

We see a number of new members who join toastmasters to become better communicators.   I have carefully observed our members over a period of time and categorized them into 4 types of speakers.



1. Don't know how to load bullets into the gun

"Oh! My God … I have to give a speech this week in my club... and I couldn't think of any topic. I don't have anything interesting to share with others :(". 

These are people who have bullets and a gun in their hand. But, they don’t know how to load the bullets into the gun.



Read:  How to select a speech topic and write a speech script?

2. AIM, AIM, AIM ... type

"I'll sign up for a speaking slot only when I have a perfect speech ready. I will even wait for months together ... to get a PERFECT speech. I will sign-up for speaking role only when I get that impressive speech topic...". 

These are people who continue to AIM, AIM, AIM and NEVER SHOOT.

3. Shooting at the Dark type 

"I just have an hour before the club meeting and I have to speak. Nothing can be done now. Let me blabber something. Anyways, the evaluators in toastmasters meeting are very friendly". 

"I'm already too good at speaking. Why should I prepare for my speech? I just can give an impromptu speech"

These are the ones who just bet on their luck. They try to gamble and get results. They may succeed in the short run, but the strategy may not produce results in the long run. It neither helps them nor the club members.

Read: 5 wives and 1 Husband technique to develop a speech topic into a script

4. Shooting on the DOT

“I’ll sign up for my speech slot a month in advance. I don’t wait for finding one full day of time to write my speeches. I start writing my speech script in increments… whenever I find little time. I get my speech reviewed by my mentor, and rehearse it several times before I deliver at the club. I don’t want to waste the time of other toastmasters by NOT preparing for my speech well”

These are the ones who make use of the available opportunities in the club to discover their real best. They do proper home work and focus on improving their skills in a structured way. Over a period of time, they'll turn out to be extraordinary speakers. If you look around in your club, you can easily spot them.

Now, what kind of speaker are you?! What kind of speaker would you like to become?