 |
| Image taken and edited by me. |
Most of us don't seem to realise how fortunate we are to be able to grow up in a society that allows us to speak as we think. Am I unhappy with the way something is run in the country? Sure. I'm allowed to voice my opinion. Am I unhappy with something my parents have done? Sure. I'm allowed to share my sentiments to them as well.
Most importantly, I am allowed to voice my opinions and be heard. Whilst not all of these things are necessarily followed up, however I do have a voice and thus a say in things. My decision matters and I have the opportunity to take charge of my life and decisions.
I've been a member of Toastmasters International for a year now and boy, what an incredible year it has been. I don't think I've ever openly spoken about Toastmasters and how much it's saved my life, but today I will share a little something that I've learnt.
At Toastmasters, it's not all about leadership skills and public speaking. It's so much more than that. I can't say I've fully grasped all the wonderful benefits Toastmasters can bring to an individual, but a few things would include meeting a myriad of individuals with different stories, building your confidence to speak in front of a large group of people as well as pushing yourself out of your comfort zone to truly test your limits.
I attended a club contest held by another club in my district last night, and during one of the filler sessions had the great opportunity to hear from a member who had competed in the semi-finals in Las Vegas.
Now before I continue, I'd just like to share how wonderful I think globalisation can be. Conglomerating individuals with one shared interest together is bound to bring an abundance of anecdotes and learning points to take home. I've never fully grasped how beautiful it is to be able to share your culture and ideas with others. It's always rewarding to be able to hear experiences of others from their own mouths as opposed to what you see in the media. And for this particular case, it was a humbling experience that made me realise the power of speech.
Upon socialising with other fellow Toastmasters from around the world, he found out that for some people, Toastmasters was the only platform in which they were able to speak and share their mind. They weren't allowed to do this at home due to societal norms in their country, and so Toastmasters was the only outlet for them to speak freely without facing dire consequences. Others saw it as an outlet to share their stories and views with people without having to face discrimination for the content shared. Toastmasters - I believe - does not judge you so much based on the content (unless very highly controversial, I should state now that there are such things as "inappropriate topics" that could disqualify someone during a competition). Rather, evaluations on the speeches are made with the intention to strengthen the quality of someone's speech. These evaluations are always very helpful, because there are only so many things you yourself notice from your speech. Having someone evaluate you opens your eyes to what you're lacking in. Finally of course I should say that everyone in Toastmasters is there to improve, and as such there is no hostility amongst members. We're all there to help one another out and it's always a splendid feeling to be in a very supportive environment.
Either ways, my main takeaway was how important it is to have the power of speech. The ability to voice out your opinions is something people like myself take for granted. I was humbled by the story shared, and it made me realise how powerful one is with this. That said, expressing one's views properly and respectfully also strengthens the power of the speech, and is something we should all strive to achieve. I'd like to believe and feel that if everyone practises the power of "freedom of speech" appropriately, there is no issue that we'd be unable to discuss critically and constructively.
So take charge of the ability to voice your opinions. Be mindful of what you say, approach the topics considering the emotions of the person on the other end, and always know that we are allowed to agree to disagree.
Till then, xx.
No comments