Risk vs. Reward

The 2020-2021 Toastmasters year is coming to an end. District and Division leaders have been announced for the upcoming year; recruitment and nominations to fill other roles continue. Even from my low perch with limited experience in Toastmasters, I am proud and excited to witness fellow experienced club members choosing to challenge themselves as they serve the greater Toastmaster community.

My pride and excitement were borne out of a risk I took and the rewards I reaped from the experience of being our club’s Contest Chair in March. Mind you, I joined my Toastmasters Club in November 2020. To be clear, I wasn’t joining a different club or an additional club, I was brand new to Toastmasters. The club members range from several experienced members down to several new members. In January, I presented my Ice Breaker speech. Around that same time, the Presiding Officer announced International and Table Topics Contests were being held and our club needed a Contest Chair.

Several weeks later, I volunteered to be the Club Contest Chair with my mentor’s full support. I never experienced a Toastmasters Speech Contest before and, at this point, I only had three weeks until the Club Contest. Thankfully, my mentor guided me to the D6 and Toastmasters websites to find Speech Contest resources from which I was able to absorb and distill only the information pertinent to running a club level contest. There was no hesitation among the experienced leaders in the club to help me. They empowered me to find my way while providing whatever support I needed or asked for and affirmed my understanding and approach to how a club level contest should be run.

The contest itself went as well as it could have. Sure, we had a couple of hiccups managing a contest in a virtual setting, but in the end, we sent our two Table Topics winners on to the Area Contest.

My experience as Club Contest Chair was rewarding. While I can apply the entire experience to a Level 5 Project within Pathways, I find the stronger connections I developed with my mentor, the club leadership, and my fellow toastmasters most fulfilling. It also ignited my interest in continuing to challenge myself in both my personal and professional life; to continue my Pathways, benchmarking my progression through completed projects. I look forward to taking more risks and to gaining more leadership experience within the safety and support of Toastmasters.

Whether you are new to Toastmasters or have extensive experience, there are opportunities, small and large, waiting to be fulfilled. I took a risk a few months into my Toastmasters journey; I encourage you to consider taking a risk as well. You’ll never be alone. You’ll be rewarded with an entire community of fellow Toastmasters cheering you on.