Often we have heard seasoned Toastmasters explaining to beginners and guests that Toastmasters is about "learning by doing". Have you heard this too??
In my humble opinion, I think this simplistic answer is incorrect. If you are doing the wrong thing all the time, you are actually perfecting the imperfect!
So what then should we be telling our mentees or protégés?
Let me introduce you to David Kolb, a psychologist and educational theorist, who published his learning styles model in 1984. His experiential learning theory works on two levels: a four stage cycle of learning and four separate learning styles.
Much of Kolb's theory is concerned with the learner's internal cognitive processes.
Let me introduce you to David Kolb, a psychologist and educational theorist, who published his learning styles model in 1984. His experiential learning theory works on two levels: a four stage cycle of learning and four separate learning styles.
Much of Kolb's theory is concerned with the learner's internal cognitive processes.
Indeed experiential learning is the process of learning through experience, and is more specifically defined as "learning through reflection on doing". As distinct from rote or didactic learning, in experimental learning, the learners play an important active role.
The key difference lies in reflective observations. Based on feedback received (both verbal and visual), learners improvise, adopt and take action. It is a continuous learning process with the cycle repeating itself. This is what we need to do to explain about our Toastmasters' training methodology.
As a Toastmaster, it is very important that we learn how to communicate properly. We may have heard that actual words represent less than 10 percent of the total message in public speaking (Albert Mehrabian, a pioneer researcher of body language)... but they are still very important. Any incongruence will be picked up by the audience immediately.
Chew Ban Seng DTM
Past District Governor
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