Just Showing Up

I came across a quite recently that reminded me of the importance of attending Toastmasters meetings.

Andrew Carnegie once said (or wrote), “As I grow older, I pay less attention to what people say. I just watch what they do.”

You’re probably wondering why this reminds me of the importance of attending meetings, when Toastmasters a speaking organization. Think about it, we attend meetings to develop our individual communication skills. As a prepared speaker, you are working on specific skills based upon your experience and manual objectives; for many, the topic and message of the presentation is secondary to developing or improving skills.

By attending a Toastmasters meeting, you have the opportunity to learn without speaking yourself. As you attend a meeting and watch and listen to each speaker, you will notice things a speaker does well, areas where a speaker needs to improve. Some of these things you may recognize in your self. Some you wish to emulate. These are things you learn just by attending meetings.

Another way Carnegie applies is in evaluations of our speakers. These are opportunities for you to learn if the evaluator is walking the walk, not just talking the talk. Consider whether the evaluator is using appropriate gestures when discussing a speaker’s lack of body language. Is the evaluator using appropriate eye contact when discussing the use of notes?

I realize that Carnegie was probably referring to his business success. That he stopped asking for advice, and started to look at what the successful businessmen were doing. It worked for Carnegie as he became one of the most successful businessman and philanthropists in American history. It can work for you, too, in Toastmasters.

Which reminds me of another quote, though I can’t place it’s owner, “Half of success is just showing up.”