While the workplace landscape has changed drastically in recent years, one thing remains constant: the value employers place on their employees having and continuing to develop effective soft skills. More than half of the 2021 Fortune 500 companies offer in-house Toastmasters clubs to help build and improve their employees’ communication, leadership, and public speaking skills.
Apple, Amazon, Ford Motors, Exxon Mobil, General Electric, JPMorgan Chase, Northrop Grumman, Pfizer, State Farm Insurance, and UPS are among industry leaders using the Toastmasters International program to develop and enhance these valuable soft skills as well as the confidence of their employees.
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Nineteen of the top 20 Fortune 500 companies — and 85 of the top 100 — have at least one active Toastmasters club, and 34 of the top 50 Fortune 500 companies have at least three active Toastmasters clubs, including industry titans Apple, Comcast, and General Motors.
The demand for soft skills in the workplace has only accelerated since the COVID-19 pandemic emerged. An October 2021 report by nonprofit organization America Succeeds analyzed more than 80 million job postings and found that employers seek durable or soft skills nearly four times more frequently than the top five technical or hard skills. The report also found that 91% of management jobs, 86% of business operations jobs, and 81% of engineering jobs demand soft skills.
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Toastmasters’ communication and leadership program teaches employees how to:
- Sharpen their presentation skills
- Conduct effective meetings
- Boost team collaboration
- Enhance their listening skills
- Guide successful teams
- Practice time management
“Offering a corporate Toastmasters club to employees is an attractive and cost-effective way to grow and develop vital interpersonal skills in the workplace such as critical thinking, problem solving, and teamwork,” says Toastmasters Chief Executive Officer Daniel Rex. “Toastmasters is honored to help some of the most established and successful companies in the world bring their employees’ skills to the next level.”
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