Diversity

Recently I joined the local Toastmasters group.  The group is incredibly diverse, including retired people, working mothers, housewives, working people, self employed and corporates slaves like myself. Not only does the group have a diverse employment history, but there is also have a wide range of age, cultural and religious backgrounds. For some of the group English is not their first language. Some are extroverted and some are shy. The range in subjects covered in the participant speeches is incredible. 

A good friend of mine expressed surprise that I would join a community based Toastmasters group rather than participating in a group focussed on business. I thought about it for a minute. I would certainly be able to relate more closely to  the speeches, and there would be an opportunity to learn something in the process. However on further thought I think the diversity offers a lot more opportunity for learning than a more narrowly focused group.

When you prepare a speech for Toastmasters the challenge is to come up with a topic that everyone in your audience can relate to. Everyone in my group puts a great deal of effort in trying to express themselves on a subject that is obviously important to them in a way that relates to a really broad audience. Not surprisingly very few of the speeches focus on material directly related to work or career.

There is also very little jargon, grandstanding or attempts to show off how intelligent or well educated we are. As everyone has different interests, education and experiences all displays of positioning behaviour are pointless. The only challenge for all participants is to engage and communicate.