June may be best known for the beginning of summer, school break for students, summer vacation for families – but did you know that it’s also Effective Communications Month?

Every year the month of June is dedicated to bringing awareness to the importance of communication and how to improve communication in our daily lives. The foundation of every relationship, professional or personable, is based on communication. Communication can be defined as the exchange of information, whether verbal, non-verbal, visual or written. Success in life often depends on effective communication.    

As Warren Buffet said, “If you can’t communicate and talk to other people and get across your ideas, you’re giving up your potential.”   

To see how individuals are learning to become effective communicators, I attended a meeting of South County Toastmasters earlier this month at the Sunset Hills Community Center, with some attending by Zoom. The local organization is one of over 16,000 Toastmaster clubs in 145 countries.

A young lady joined the club the night I attended. She was given a mentor, an experienced Toastmaster, to assist her in improving her communication skills. This mentor will stay with her for several months and assist her as she prepares and delivers speeches and gives her personal evaluations after each presentation.

The “Shark Tank”-themed meeting lasted two hours, with a short business meeting of no more than 15 minutes. A portion ias dedicated to extemporaneous speaking. A “topics master” asked questions of members who did not have a major role and did not know the question, but had to speak a couple minutes extemporaneously in answer to the question raised.

Since the evening’s theme was “Shark Tank,” the formal speakers all presented a concept or business idea for the “sharks,” the evaluators. When each speaker completed his or her presentation, it was evaluated by the “sharks.” All formal presentations by Toastmaster speakers are evaluated so the speaker knows his or her strengths and areas that need improvement.     

The goal of a Toastmasters club is to assist an individual to enhance communication skills until one becomes an effective communicator. The program is open to adults of all ages and all occupations.  There are even retirees in the South County club.

If you are interested in improving these skills and want more information, go to