What if no one wanted to serve?

For the past two weeks I’ve served on jury duty. Before you thank me for my service I didn’t want to do it. The disruption to my normal routine and the further behind I’d get in my work projects, were the excuses I told myself for not wanting to serve. Before you judge me, I wasn’t the only one who didn’t want to do it, there were 66 other people who didn’t want to serve for similar reasons. My attitude quickly changed after going through the orientation process and finding out more of how the court system works. You are dealing with people’s lives and sometimes their livelihoods. But what really changed my mind was at the end of the orientation the jury commissioner asked what would happen to your fellow citizens if no one wanted to serve? He told us to put ourselves in the defendants shoes, “wouldn’t you want someone to serve on your behalf?” The court system works because fellow citizens are willing to sit and listen and judge the evidence and facts on behalf of the defendant and render a verdict.

The questions the Jury Commissioner asked started me thinking about the Toastmasters program.  What if no one wanted to serve? What if members made excuses about the club meetings disrupting their normal routines or falling behind in their work projects so they couldn’t serve in the various meeting roles, like grammarian, Timer or Evaluator. What would happen to the member seeking to improve their communication and leadership skills? The program works because members are willing to serve in roles that help fellow members achieve their best leadership and communication skills.

I’m glad I got to experience jury duty, it taught me a lot about the court system, the legal process and some of my fellow citizens. I had the opportunity to impact someone’s life hopefully for the better.

Each time I attend and serve in a Toastmasters meeting I have that same opportunity to impact someone’s life, hopefully for the better. So the next time you make an excuse not to attend a meeting put yourself in your fellow members shoes and serve to the best of your ability.