Are You Noticing Your Progress or Just Moving Forward?
Toastmasters is about growth—every meeting, speech, and role helps us improve. But in striving to become better speakers, it’s easy to overlook just how much progress we’ve already made.
Have you ever given a speech, completed a role, received feedback, and immediately started thinking about what’s next? It’s natural. We are wired to focus on forward momentum. But when we don’t pause to acknowledge our wins, we miss a key opportunity to accelerate our learning, reinforce our confidence, and stay committed to our growth.
The Problem of Celebrating Only Big WINS
Many Toastmasters only celebrate major milestones, like finishing a Pathway, winning a contest, or giving a high-stakes presentation. But what about the small wins? The well-timed pause, the vocal variety breakthrough, the moment you engage your audience in a new way? And what about the wins beyond speeches, like taking on an evaluator role, leading a meeting, or stepping up to try Table Topics even when it feels uncomfortable? By skipping these moments, we miss the reinforcement our brain needs to grow faster and feel more confident.
The Science of Rewiring Your Brain when Acknowledging Small WINS
Dopamine & Motivation: When you recognize a win, even a small one, your brain releases dopamine, a feel-good chemical that reinforces motivation and helps build habits.
Confidence & Growth: The more you acknowledge progress, the more your brain associates speaking and leadership with success, reducing nerves and self-doubt.
Momentum & Mastery: Regularly tracking wins compounds progress, helping you move from competence to mastery more easily.
The Fixing when Applying the WINS Model
I developed the WINS Model as a simple yet powerful way to help people recognize their progress, stay motivated, and build a habit of success. I use this framework in my professional speaking engagements with corporations and clients to help them rewire their thinking, reinforce wins, and create lasting momentum.
Instead of waiting for significant achievements, start using the WINS Model in our Toastmasters journey to reinforce daily progress:
✅ What’s Working?? → Identify a skill or moment that went well in your last speech or Toastmasters role.
✅ Impact of Wins? → Connect the win to something that’s a priority for you—audience engagement, personal confidence, leadership, or strengthening a key skill.
✅ Notice & Name Strengths? → Recognize specific strengths in yourself and others, including when you honored a commitment to yourself, such as stepping up for a new role or giving feedback in an evaluation.
✅ Strengthen the Habit? → Reinforce wins through self-recognition, like high-fiving yourself or acknowledging that you showed up and followed through, even when it was difficult.
Recognizing WINS in Speaking & Roles
The Toastmasters program is more than just prepared speeches. Growth happens in every role you take on.
- Speech Evaluators → You WIN when you give clear, constructive feedback that helps a speaker improve.
- Table Topics Speakers → You WIN when you step up and speak off the cuff, even if you are nervous.
- Toastmasters of the Day → You WIN when you host a meeting smoothly and engage the audience.
- Timers, Ah-Counters, Grammarians → You WIN when you create a structured, polished experience for your club.
- Club Leaders → You WIN when you help a club visitor feel welcome or encourage someone to take on a role.
Recognizing these contributions reinforces growth, leadership, and continuous improvement, not just in yourself but your entire club.
WINS Matter in Your Toastmasters Success
When you recognize and practice the WINS model, you accelerate your learning. You become more engaged in the process—not just the outcome. You build a culture of recognition within your club, strengthening community and motivation.
Start Tracking Your WINS Today:
- List three skills you want to improve before signing up for an upcoming speech or meeting role.
- At the meeting, recognize a fellow Toastmaster or visitor.
- After your speech or accomplishing your role for the day, take 60 seconds to note a win—big or small.
The more you track WINS, the faster you grow—and the more confident and impactful you become.
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About the Author:
Traca Savadogo is a Balboa Park Toastmasters and Managers Meet Toastmasters Club member. She is a professional speaker specializing in neuroscience and connection. She is pursuing the Accredited Speaker designation through Toastmasters and shares her expertise with audiences worldwide. Her TEDx talk, Why You Should Regularly Talk with Strangers, has been featured on TED.com, translated into 15 languages, and continues to inspire global audiences.