The Relevance of Community Service Organizations Part 3

                   Public speaking scares people. You may have seen elsewhere that it is the number one fear that faces the overwhelming majority of us.  We would rather jump off a 1,000 foot tall bridge tied to a bungee cord than to get up in front of a number of people and try to put several sentences together.  Effective public speaking can be a topic for another blog post at another time but it demonstrates why service organizations remain relevant in the 21^st century, more than 100 years after they were founded.

                Being competent and at ease with public speaking is a critical component of being an effective leader. Developing leadership skills and traits such as public speaking is another lynch pin of service organization membership. Leaders are always in demand in service organizations whether it be at the local, state, regional, national or international level.  It is through membership that a person has the opportunity to learn how to become a leader in a volunteer setting.  (The key phrase there is “has the opportunity” because you have to want to learn to take advantage of the opportunity.) Areas such as running an effective meeting, learning how to get people to do what you want them to do, project management, recruiting and oh yes, public speaking, are just some of the areas for developing leadership skills that can  be transferred to the home, workplace or other social settings.

                Sometimes “going out on a limb” can be risky when trying to make a point but it is also very exciting. I know a lot of people who will charge a lot of money to put on a seminar that is supposed to help with the development of leadership skills.  But usually for around the cost of a ‘C” note on a yearly basis, a person can gain similar knowledge by being part of a service organization.  The local club provides a tremendous learning environment for people who want to improve themselves.   In addition, seminars are conducted, on line learning avenues are available and conferences and conventions are offered.   Some of these carry additional registration fees, but the camaraderie and networking possibilities are bonuses to consider.  All of this falls under the service organization umbrella designed to increase and enhance leadership capabilities.

                To say, as a former Optimist said in an email, that service organizations have lost their relevance since their heyday in much of the 20^th century, flies in the face of reality.  Any organization, and I argue in this case for Optimist International, (www.optimist.org) that offers leadership development training for the nominal cost of membership is extremely relevant today.  Books on leadership skills continue to fly off the shelves.  Subscriptions to “improvement” blogs are high as people seek to make themselves better.  The Optimist International brand, while created 100 years ago, provides the same benefits as books and blogs with some additional ones.  The next installment will reveal some of those. 

Be well.