Hi everyone!
Imagine for a moment that somebody asks you for your opinion on a certain topic, whether in a professional or social setting. But what if you can’t speak up your mind even when you have the best ideas to share?
A lot of times, I had been in the situation like this and I often felt frustrated when I could not articulate my thoughts and ideas concisely and get my message across. This is quite challenging especially for an introvert like me who always find myself struggling to put my thoughts into words and most of the time I end up being quiet. It also greatly affects my self-confidence when I could not express myself well.
In fact, being an introvert is not a bad thing. I am quite content and comfortable with my quiet personality, and I think being quiet is also a powerful gift for me. But what I want to build on top of my personality are self-confidence and ability to communicate effectively especially through speaking, so that I could make my voice heard.
So, why it is important for me to find my voice? Well, there are three main reasons:
First of all, it is about professional growth. Even though I possess technical skills to do my work, but not having a voice, I will stand to lose a lot of great opportunities in my career. For instance, it will be hard for me to step up the career ladder. It will also be challenging for me to work on interesting projects or jobs that require speaking. Most importantly, it is my dream to pursue entrepreneurship journey in the future and getting my ideas and voice heard is super important in the business world.
Secondly, I have always been inspired by the people who use their voice to advocate for change, to motivate and empower others, to influence decision, and also to share their knowledge and experience. And I also want to do the same things. I want to be able to use my voice to create positive impact by delivering my own unique and valuable contribution that would help and benefit others.
And thirdly, it is about enhancing interpersonal relationship with other people by clearing any doubts or misunderstanding that might happen in any communication circumstances. Very often, I am misunderstood, because of the things that are left unspoken, and also because I fail to explain and speak up to challenge the assumptions when people misperceive what I want to say.
So, those are the reasons that I need to get my voice back and it is one of the top missions in my life that I have been trying to accomplish. But how do I go about doing this? For years, I have been struggling to find ways to accelerate my goal of becoming a better communicator, and only until recently that I feel I have made some progress in this effort after attending Toastmasters.
What brought me to Toastmasters was the motivation I got from the people especially public speakers who shared their inspiring success stories about being a Toastmaster themselves and how they strived to find their own voice. I was also impressed by how Toastmasters has changed many people’s lives.
I have been delighted to be a member of Otemachi Toastmasters club over the last several months, and it has been a great journey. Thanks to its supportive and friendly atmosphere, that encourages me to push myself through the challenge toward becoming a better speaker. I also gain confidence through practicing delivering speeches and performing different roles without fear of being judged. Moreover, I am very happy to be surrounded with like-minded members who also share similar interests and goals.
Last but not least, I feel proud to be part of the Toastmasters community so far.I am sure it is the right place where I could truly find my authentic voice! and I believe this journey will also open doors for me to embrace my unique difference, expand my creativity, and live up to my fullest potential.
Ladies and gentlemen, if you also find yourself struggling to speak up like I do and feel the need to get your voice back, please join me on this exciting Toastmasters journey.
Thank you! 🙂
Pathway: Motivational Strategies
Level: 1, Evaluation and Feedback
2021/01/27
