Area Toastmasters helping form a more well connected community

Published 1:00 pm Friday, June 3, 2022

Members of Middle Georgia Speaks Toastmasters Club undoubtedly learn how to become effective orators, but they also learn to thrive as efficient listeners, planners and leaders.

Lisa Shinholster, the club’s president, got involved with Toastmasters in Baldwin County back in the late ‘90s along with several other community members. While membership of that group ultimately declined and later disbanded, the benefits of the club were lasting.

“It was something that helped me develop professionally and helped me find my voice and mature to the point where I felt comfortable enough having meaningful conversations with people I didn’t know,” Shinholster said.

Those skills have been invaluable to Shinhoster, who wears many hats in the community as director of quality at Active Minerals International, as well as serving as a ministry leader, small business co-owner and a volunteer.

 “[Toastmasters] helped me develop into the professional that I am…,” Shinholster said. “It helped me to plan, especially when I’m engaging with other people, and to find words that help build people up rather than tear people down.”

That’s one of the reasons that Shinholster began the process of starting a new Toastmasters chapter in 2019. After Covid began, she started participating virtually with Apex-Lithonia Toastmasters Club, which allowed her to train on how to start a chapter in this area.

Fast forward to today, and Middle Georgia Speaks Toastmasters will celebrate its one-year mark as an official club on July 1.

“It started out as a virtual club, but our goal is for it to be a hybrid because we do have members outside of Baldwin County,” Shinholster said.

Currently, there are 23 members who are at varying levels of their profession, including social workers, educators, self-employed individuals and even an attorney. The group meets every second and fourth Monday at 7 p.m. via Zoom currently, but members are looking for a place to meet in-person as well. Meetings are one hour.

Within the curriculum, there are five core competencies in which members can hone their skills including public speaking, interpersonal communication, strategic leadership, management and confidence. Of those competencies, members may choose from 11 different pathways to meet their goals on a self-paced plan. Those pathways include dynamic leadership, effective coaching, encouraging humor, innovative planning, leadership development, motivation strategy, persuasive influence, presentation mastery, strategic relationships, team collaboration and visionary communication.

“The material is laid out to help you in not just presentations as a presenter, but there are other areas that you can grow in as well…,” Shinholster said. “Aside from learning how to speak, you are also afforded the opportunity to learn how to lead in the various leadership officer roles.”

Each meeting is structured so that there is a Toastmaster of the day, and that person is responsible for identifying the theme for the meeting and facilitating the discussion as the speaker. There are one to two speakers at each meeting who are timed and evaluated, and a general evaluator assesses the meeting from beginning to end. Shinholster said evaluation is a key component of how Toastmasters helps individuals grow.

“It provides you with an environment where everyone wants to see you succeed and you are critiqued in a way for you to improve…,” she said. “I am of the belief that all of us are contributors. It’s a matter of finding out what you are best at.”

Another important reason Shinholster wanted to start the club is that there is a youth leadership development program that can evolve from Toastmasters. It consists of eight courses to help introduce 13- to 18-year-olds to better communication skills, leadership and interpersonal skills.

“I’m passionate about young people learning leadership skills … so I’m looking forward to that aspect of it as we mature as a Toastmasters club,” Shinholster said.

Shinholster said Toastmasters has a great support system including Floyd Neal, the club’s sponsor from Apex-Lithonia; Gloria Jackson and Carlous Plummer, who serve as mentors; and Wayne Caffarel, who is area director.

Shinholster said her hope for Toastmasters is that people will see that it is a small investment in improving their communication skills not only professionally but personally as well.

“For that mother who has a child who says, ‘You never listen to me.’ Well, Toastmasters is an opportunity for you to slow down and do a self-evaluation and ask the question, ‘Well, are my listening skills good? If not, what can I do better to help improve this relationship because I am not an effective listener?’” Or, if you’re not an effective communicator, ‘How can i use this as an opportunity to be a better communicator so that my words are not sharp and cutting but effective and are able to motivate?’”

She wants the club to allow a way for people whose paths would normally never cross to build broader networks and in turn develop a more well connected community. 

“’I’m hoping that we become a community where we can reach across boundaries whether it be professional or ethnic or gender or economic so that we can better understand each other because from Toastmasters you learn people and what their tendencies are and how they’re wired just by listening to their stories.”

Anyone interested in joining Toastmasters can call Shinholster at 478-234-0301.