If you want to receive a promotion or a raise at work, the importance of having public speaking skills becomes even more important. Effectively communicating your ideas to others using both oral and written communication is the key to leadership in any organization. Public speaking practiced on a daily basis not only hones your verbal skills, but your non-verbal communication skills as well.

People who realize the importance of communication in the workplace are the ones who move ahead. This is why many business people attend public speaking seminars to brush up on their communication skills. As well, many corporations hold one-day seminars for their employees so that they can improve their speaking skills and at the same time improve company communications.

Public speaking skills inspire confidence in other areas where self-assurance is important, like personal relationships. This is because the more you speak to people, the more comfortable you become around them in any situation, including dating. As you can see, the importance of public speaking goes far beyond what you originally might have thought.

If you wish to improve your personal communication skills and be a great public speaker you should certainly explore the programs of Toastmasters international. Perhaps the world’s largest self help organization, Toastmasters has clubs in virtually every nook and cranny of the world. In medium to large cities in the US and elsewhere you may find dozens to a hundred or more different chartered clubs.

The ability to give an effective presentation is important in many aspects of contemporary society and is likely to remain so, even in the digital age. One of the strengths of the Toastmaster format is that it teaches not only formal presentations but informal extemporaneous responses as well.

The typical format of a Toastmaster meeting is split between what are called table topics and formal speeches. During the table topics portion, and topics master will call upon members and ask them a question to which they are asked to give a short 90 second of so response. This practice allows people to develop good communication skills when handling day to day interactions, with customers, clients, and bosses.

A confident response with a clear beginning, middle and end is far more likely to clinch a sale then a hemmed and hawed response. This single aspect of the Toastmaster program could be worth tens of thousands of dollars in added sales, or more for some. The second portion, the formal speech portion consists of typically 3 speakers giving 5 to 7 minute prepared speeches. Toastmasters has a series of manuals which members use to focus on different aspects of speaking from vocal variety to gestures to working with words. These formal speeches thus help members develop different specific communication skills with each new speech.