New Year Resolution?: Beijing Toastmasters Clubs Help Improve Public Speaking and Leadership Skills
If getting up in front of people scares you, or you just flat out avoid such scenarios, we have found the perfect New Year's resolution for you: joining one of Beijing's Toastmasters clubs.
Toastmasters International, a global phenomenon, is a volunteer, non-profit organization that focuses on public speaking, leadership, and in the process, opens new doors for its members in terms of bettering themselves and introducing you to new and like-minded people.
We talked to Hubert Lin, the president of the Creativity, Humor, Imagination Club (CHIC) and the Beijing Advanced Speakers Club Toastmasters clubs in Beijing, about his journey, the common obstacles people face throughout their journey, and why joining is beneficial no matter your current abilities. Lin, who has a background in IT, didn't join to improve his public speaking, necessarily. He also joined to find a social group to belong to, as other members do too, and to make friends.
"Many people who join are introverts, which makes it even more inspiring because I know how difficult it is to get out of your comfort zone, and make your way to this place to say 'I want to join this club!'. There are many people who are even more introverted than I am."
With new members who join, Lin explains that their biggest obstacles are:
- "Becoming naturally expressive. If you watch seasoned public speakers, they are often animated and use hand gestures, but for less expressive people, this can often be the first challenge. Their delivery skills need practice, as they're not used to it.
- However, for members who are very expressive, sometimes their obstacle isn't about how much they are able to say and saying it well, it's more about how logical they are in organizing their thoughts, making their point clear.
- The third obstacle is something that members will realize after a few months: making their speech valuable to their audience. It's a common problem, but it's not one that I tell people about in the beginning – they will naturally realize it. Often, new speakers do not focus on the audience's needs. They speak for the sake of speaking, and they don't think, 'what can I say to benefit the audience?'"
Lin's final word of advice is to seek out the stage time. If you want to improve your communication and public speaking skills, practice is the only way to improve. Toastmasters creates the perfect platform to do this.
CHIC meets near Tuanjiehu every Wednesday evening, while the Beijing Advanced Speakers Club meets on Sundays near Xiaoyun Lu. For more information or if you want to join, contact Hubert Lin by emailing hubert_lin@hotmail.com. You can always attend a meeting as a guest for free before you commit.
More stories by this author here.
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Photos courtesy of Hubert Lin
