Cold North Wind and Effective Communication

Almost the end of November, the north wind has been blowing and boy, don’t we know it.
The natural instinct is to put another block on the fire, boil the kettle and settle down to our favourite tv programme or catch up with face book or bebo.
Maybe even listen to the radio.

But there is one night in every fortnight that toastmasters will not stay at home, no matter what the weather is. Thursday night.

It is when we make our way to the Hibernian Hotel for our meeting, which, by the way lasts not longer than two hours, 8-10pm
It is there that we practice our toastmaster’s skills of speaking, listening, and off the cuff speaking in the company of our friends and have a great craic at the same time.

Today more than ever, being able to communicate is a must.
Sure, we have text messaging, email and the afore mentioned bebo and facebook etc but in the present economic climate it is those who have the skills to communicate effectively on a personal level who will have the edge

So effective Communication is a ‘must have’ in this electronic age. Being an effective communicator takes real skill. Communication skills have to be developed, honed and added to on an on-going basis. Communication is the basis of interpersonal skills and the greater your awareness of how it all works, the more effective your communication will be. To be effective in business, you have to communicate well.
To be a good manager, you have to communicate exceptionally well. Communication is individual. We are not all the same. There is never one right way to communicate. Authentic effective communication always happens when we reply on those things we know to be true about or for ourselves.

Your personal style can say more for you than all the words you use can. Most people look at what is wrong with themselves and other people, rather than focusing on what already works. Remember many things have to be working well for you to have got this far already. The communication cycle works as follows and you can take responsibility for every stage:

Spoken - Heard - Understood - Agreed To - Acted On - Implemented.

In Toastmasters you will become aware of where you or others tend to fall off the cycle. So, can I give you any greater reason for joining Speak Easy Toastmasters?
Why not give us a try. You are welcome as a guest, you can come as often as you like as a guest and you will never be asked to speak but you may join in a topics session if you so wish.

As well as getting a cead mile fáilte, you will get tea.coffee and biscuits during our break.

We meet tonight, Nov 27th and December 11th and we return in on January 8th after our Christmas break.

Why not check us out on the web at www.speakeasytoastmasters.com and further information can be had by contacting our PRO Sean on 086 6054784 after 4pm.