Page 16 - voices-2023-03

FROM THE DESK
Practice Makes Permanent
Jim Robison, DTM - Program Quality Director
I recently started the process of learning a
new skill, how to develop mobile Apps. In
going through this process, several things
have come to mind about the parallels
between what I am doing to learn this skill
and the Toastmasters Education program.
First, you can start with some of
the basics, but you really learn best by
jumping in and doing the task you are
trying to learn. In Toastmasters we have
the education materials, but for most
members the most educational part is
when they take on meeting roles and give
speeches. If you are new to Toastmasters
and have not yet scheduled your Ice
Breaker speech, I encourage you to do so
as quickly as possible. Doing something
helps to concentrate your focus on how it
is done and helps you to quickly identify
those areas where you need to make
improvements.
Second, repetition is important to
learning. Sir Robert William "Bobby"
Robson, English footballer and manager,
coined the phrase "Practice does not make
perfect, but practice makes permanent." If
16 ONE COMMUNITY
you want to be good at something, then
work on doing it often so that it becomes
second nature to you. I have always enjoyed
Table Topics, not just because it can be fun,
but because building the habit of quickly
and coherently answering an unexpected
question has helped me in many situations.
Third, it is important to continue
learning and continue practicing. While I
work on learning mobile App development,
I have seen how important it is to keep
learning every day. Any time I go two
days without studying, I need to take
more time to review the previous material
before I can continue. Being in the habit of
continually working towards the next skill
is an important aspect of the Toastmasters
educational program.
I have often told visitors to Toastmasters
that the real value of Toastmasters is in
incremental improvement and continual
practice. Toastmasters is not like a class
where you learn something, complete the
class, then six months later forget what you
learned. The idea behind Toastmasters is
that you build your skills over time and