You need soft skills. This 2017 U.S. Emerging Jobs Report says so. It combines 5 years of LinkedIN and survey data to identify job skills on the rise, jobs being replaced, and jobs of the future.
The Key Takeaway for Millennials
“While many of these roles require specialized experience or an advanced degree, one thing remains constant: soft skills are important across the board. You’ll also notice these skills encompass a range of professions from marketing, to engineering, to sales, and it’s likely many possess at least one.”
Technology is innovating every single profession and industry. As robots, computers, and algorithms take more and more work off of our collective plates, we need to adapt if we want (to keep) decent jobs.
How do we adapt? Be more human. Gain more soft skills, AKA people skills, social skills, non-technical skills. Soft skills encompass a wide range of interpersonal traits such as:
- Adaptability
- Leadership
- Communication
- Collaboration
- Growth Potential
- Creativity
These abstract skills can be broken down into more specific skills. Communication skills such as listening, storytelling, and public speaking. Leadership skills such as teamwork, problem solving, and work ethic.
In the near future, these skills won’t be afterthoughts, they’ll be requirements. It’s time to start taking them more seriously to keep a competitive edge in the job market. One of the best ways to sharpen this edge is to join or start a Toastmasters Club.
What is Toastmasters International?
Toastmasters is a club where people give speeches. It started in 1905 in Bloomington, IL, and has grown internationally since.
I first learned of Toastmasters when I started working for TakeLessons this past March. The Club meets every other Wednesday during the lunch hour at the San Diego office. Though my colleague Bill and I attend remotely via webcam, the team does an awesome job of involving and challenging us to partake in different roles every meeting.
So, here’s how our Toastmasters meeting normally goes:
- Each meeting’s agenda is broken down in fine detail, down to the minute.
- Each member has a specific Toastmaster role, and it rotates from meeting to meeting.
- Two speakers give a 6-8 minute speech on any topic of their choice and two evaluators critique them.
- After speeches and evaluations, the table topics portion offers a chance for all attendees to be randomly picked upon and promptly answer 1 of 4 random questions.
Here are the many reasons why you should consider joining Toastmasters.
Verbal Skills
Love grammar-policing people on the internet? The grammarian and the “Ah counter” monitor every speaker’s word, then report back to help improve their vocabulary, grammar, and prose.
Presentation Skills
Bad at selling products, or presenting ideas and information to groups? Become better at conveying the message by practicing as a meeting speaker.
Improv Skills
Slow to think on your feet? Get faster by answering improv-style Table Topics questions. Improv is an excellent tool to accelerate creative thinking in even the least creative people, and boost your confidence.
Focus and Discipline Skills
Get distracted too easily? Improve your ability to focus and listen as an evaluator, general evaluator, or “Ah counter.”
Teamwork and Collaboration Skills
When done right, meetings go judgment-free. Over time, this builds trust and comfort between fellow Toasties leading to vulnerability, honesty, laughter, and constructive criticism - all crucial elements of personal and professional relationships.
Planning and Execution Skills
Ensure the meeting goes as planned from start to finish. Improve your leadership and collaboration skills as the Toastmaster.
How to Join a Toastmasters Club
You can join a local Toastmasters club near you, or you can start your own.
Joining Toastmasters is a new year resolution you can stick to. The welcoming and encouraging vibe you’ll get from the team will keep you coming back for more. Once part of a group, you’ll have the innate motivation and support to keep getting better.
No matter what job or skills you possess today, you must always keep improving. And while I encourage you to develop technical or hard skills that are directly relevant to your profession, I advise you to also focus on these soft skills, because these skills are harder to outsource or automate.
