Are you Doing it for the Right Reasons?

Are You Doing it for the Right Reasons?

It wasn’t what I expected, and I’m glad.

I went to a Toastmasters event this weekend.  I listened to a speaker regarding the “basics”.  I had thought, before I went in, that I’d be getting a lot of technical how-to’s with respect to public speaking.  It’s what I thought I was looking for too.

He ended up sharing some of his journey with Toastmasters, and how Toastmasters changed him.  He thought he was in it for the glory (he competed) and he learned his craft very well.

What he didn’t expect was that Toastmasters would change him on the inside.

He shared that the most valuable lesson he learned from Toastmasters was that when you speak, you need to do it for the right reasons.  It isn’t about the glory in the competitions.

It’s about your audience.  It’s about what you’re sharing with them, and what they are getting out of it.

One of the things I wasn’t sure I’d like is the technical stuff in Toastmasters—the counting of um’s and uh’s, evaluating grammar, and things like that.  I didn’t want to study a dictionary and learn new bigger words to dazzle people with my intelligence.

After the workshop, I asked him about this.  He shared that when he speaks outside of Toastmasters, he’s not as careful about these things.  He also told me that if I’m not a “big word” person, not to try and do this.  People will know.  If I were to use big words to dazzle, then the content would not be coming from my heart.  I wouldn’t be sharing the information for the right reasons.

I felt so good after this conversation!  I had always felt that my um’s and uh’s, and little grammatical blunders actually made me more human.  I felt it helped me to connect with people.  I felt it helped me to share my message from my heart.  I wasn’t trying to impress people.  I was just wanting to share what I was learning in hopes it would support others.

When you’re out there in the world, doing what you’re doing, are you doing it for the right reasons?  Are you sharing your message?  Are you sharing your message from your heart?