The prestige of being a Toastmaster

THE prestige factor starts the moment you become a member. You immediately get the title “TM” before your name. Now you can proudly call yourself “TM XYZ”. Toastmasters welcome you to the family and non-members automatically hold you in high esteem.  Toastmasters is very generous in giving awards and recognition. The titles are full of respect and awe. Competent Leader, Competent Communicator, Advance Communicator Bronze, Advance Leadership Silver and finally Distinguished Toastmaster, the DTM. Wow! The titles beside your name add to your glory on your resumes and LinkedIn profiles.  And then there are officer titles. Can there be anything more royal and dignified than President, Vice President, Treasurer and high profile titles at area, division and district levels. We are now called directors and managers.  Being called the club champion, the area humorous speech champion, the division’s evaluation champion, the district’s table topics champion and ultimately the world public speaking champion is beyond amazing. Toastmasters gives all its members every year an equal chance to compete for the World Championship. Seeing someone from our own District 79 winning the World Championship, I felt as proud as if my own brother had become the World Champion. You get that feeling only in Toastmasters. Pure happiness and joy and no envy. Those are the feelings instilled by Toastmasters in all its members.  There is more to Toastmasters than just titles. We are addressed as leaders in every meeting. We are looked upon as the best speakers in the community. Through our Youth Leadership and Speech Craft activities, people honor us for our community service efforts. We get invited to judge elocution and debate contests at schools and universities.  We are part of a 91-year-old esteemed organization. We are interconnected with 122 countries around the world. We are different nationalities, languages, cultures, professions connected by the same values and mission. In this world of division and conflict, we have remained one and we continue to remain one crossing borders and languages, cultures and professions. In this world of selfishness and arrogance, I am proud to be a member of an organization that has such a strong emphasis on human values. Our mission is a “mutually supportive and positive environment.” Where else in this world do you find such a noble setting? Where else do you find people patient with other people? Where else do you find people genuinely interested to serve others for no monetary gain? It is one of the few organizations where human values prevail. We don’t criticize, we praise. We don’t comment, we compliment. We don’t degrade, we encourage. We don’t dishonor, we respect. We don’t pinpoint faults, we look for positive traits. We don’t  put down people, we bring them up. We all grow together. We work hard, fulfilling our duties as required by our officer roles. We work hard, not for money, but to serve our community. In this world of negativity, I still have a place to go where there are people who are positive, friendly, warm and helpful. We follow parliamentary procedures. Our meetings are professional, timed and scheduled. We value time. We follow democratic procedure for elections. We vote and choose our officers. Our officers are called servant leaders. It was a highly prestigious moment for me when I was selected as the Vice President-Public Relations of Jeddah Elite Ladies Toastmasters Club.  It’s an organization where service comes before self. Where we all grow together, where nobody is left behind. Where we are there for each other all the time, every time. Where we don’t leave our fellow members behind. Where everybody is given an equal chance, where there is unity and solidarity. Where there is oneness and no bias. It’s an honor to be part of an organization where such noble values are upheld.  Our titles and awards shine on our resumes. We get an edge in interviews because of our proven communication and leadership skills. We get promotions and raises and are selected for compering events and chairing business meetings.  We are improving and helping people improve the skill that is the number one requirement of employers around the world. We are part of an organization that not only makes better professionals out of us but that also tremendously improves our personal lives. We are not only helping ourselves, but are also satisfying our need to contribute to society by helping others. We are making future leaders by means of youth leadership and speech craft programs.  Thanks to our VP-PRs and Toastmasters international branding, all Toastmasters members enjoy a great reputation. We are considered to be elite, intellectual, influential members of society. We are the doers, the go-getters.  It was amazing to watch Mohammad Al-Qahtani the World Champion of public speaking live and witness his speech at the SATAC 15. It was an honor to watch the crème de la crème of public speakers and leaders of Saudi Arabia. It was an honor to serve as tally counter for speech contests working with the present District Director himself. It was my honor to meet and interact with Toastmasters, leaders, club, area and district officers at various conferences. It was highly prestigious to emerge as second place winner in evaluation contests.  Toastmasters are people who know that they need to improve and develop themselves and they are proactively doing something about it. We are taking our time, working hard to develop our skills. We are doers. We are an ambitious people who do not want to settle for anything but the best. We are always willing to listen and improve. We are always moving forward. Rayeesa Tabassum, Jeddah