Here's how you can advance your career in the early stages by joining a public speaking club or organization.

Public speaking is skill that can be learnt only by doing. So is swimming, driving or any other skill. You can read any number of books on speaking, learn the strategies, and the tactics, and prepare your presentations but real confidence comes in doing. Public speaking clubs like Toastmasters, Agora speakers give you a safe environment to fail. Yes, you read it right "fail". You fail safely and learn the good, bad and ugly. Then you move on. I have seen so many people quit these clubs after attending a few sessions. True confidence comes by doing and showing up, not by giving up.

When you are in a public speaking club, you are in a group with a common objective. These are the leaders who want to focus and improve what they already have. The mindset here is growth. When you give a speech you relay personal stories and emotionally connect with the audience at a deeper level. You learn to build rapport and soon enough you would feel the club members would be like your family. And what do we do with family? We treat them as our own. We cherish them, we celebrate them, we reprimand them (sometimes). And this connection opens new doors which you would have never dreamt of. Be it looking for a job, or working on a common project. Its an amazing experience.

Have you observed that "All good leaders are good speakers"? The opposite might not be true. With the clubs, you contribute almost unconsciously, as volunteering is built into these clubs. The values of Toastmasters are Service, Excellence, Integrity and Respect. When you join the clubs, you embody these values. Leaders are not dependent on titles. When you serve others without expectations, you become the leader. Sooner or later you will find that it has a direct impact on how you speak. Your speeches will become thoughtful and sound deep. Speaking is the unconscious side effect of Leadership. From volunteering for small roles to leading campaigns, and charting growth, there are tremendous leadership opportunities.

When speaking, you are persuading people to adopt your point of view. That is the fundamental goal of public speaking. To let the audience see what you see. These clubs are a safe space to try out persuasive speaking. Often, most clubs would offer speech pathways as projects for the speaker to complete where they level up each time as they complete. This refinement of strategy of speaking, helps you grow beyond imagination. This newfound confidence easily flows into all the other parts of life: business, career, family .. everywhere.

The quality of the speaker lies in the evaluation he gives and he gets. Unfortunately, in our lives we rarely get feedback. Just imagine in our careers, we get feedback only when its appraisal time. And that has a direct impact on pay, promotion etc. Just imagine, if you get feedback each time you do a speech or a role. Feedback in the clubs is like "batteries included". The feedback helps you polish your content, your delivery and your message. The clubs also host feedback contests to level up feedback in a fun way.