Anyone can be a Toastmaster
"When you don’t have that community element, it makes the process much harder."
It has only been two months since Sonele Cokwana joined Honeydew Toastmasters Club and he already feels at
home in the club. Sonele joined Toastmasters to enhance his communication and leadership skills. “The biggest motivation for me was to tap into the leadership skills that I have. I use communication and leadership skills in business, and that will take me forward,” he shared.
The Radiokop resident works in specialised construction, specifically providing innovation solutions. He said many people in the construction industry are very hesitant to adopt technology and innovation. This is what pushed him to hone his communication skills and join Toastmasters. “I had to look into the fact that maybe I am not communicating as efficiently as I should. I know I have a solution but it’s about making the next guy aware of it.” He had tried reading books and watching YouTube videos to improve his public speaking skills, but ultimately what they were all missing was the community element in Toastmasters. “When you don’t have that community element, it makes the process much harder. You might get results but I doubt they would be the same as when you are a part of a community,” Sonele said.
In the short time he has been a member of the club, he has noticed positive changes in his confidence. His initial impression of the club was that all the members were distinguished speakers. “I realised once I joined that it’s actually a really supportive community and that just made the whole process easier for me. The people are still willing to learn and I feel the nerves I had when I joined are all but gone now. One of my big takeaways so far is that you are with people who want you there. It’s like a family situation where these people are for you.”
He further encouraged anyone who might be interested or curious about public speaking to see for themselves that it is a self-paced environment. He even shared his favourite part about the meetings; the prepared speeches. Speakers are evaluated and work towards improving their future speeches. This reassurance is extremely encouraging to new members.
“My least favourite is table topics, but I think once I get the hang of it, I will actually enjoy it. I just get nervous around table topics because there is no method to it.”
