| How Toastmasters works
At Toastmasters, members learn by speaking to groups and working with others in a
supportive environment. A typical Toastmasters club is made up of 20 to 30 people who meet
once a week for about an hour (In Ireland once every two weeks for two hours). Each
meeting gives everyone an opportunity to practice:
Conducting meetings. Meetings usually begin with a short business session which
helps members learn basic meeting procedures.
Giving impromptu speeches. Members present one-to two-minute impromptu speeches
on assigned topics.
Presenting prepared speeches. Three or more members present speeches based on
projects from the Toastmasters International Communication and Leadership Program manuals.
Projects cover such topics as speech organisation, voice, language, gestures, and
persuasion.
Offering constructive evaluation. Every prepared speaker is assigned an evaluator
who points out speech strengths and offers suggestions for improvement.
The Tools You Use
Upon joining a Toastmasters club, each new member receives a variety of manuals and
resources on speaking. Members also have access to other books as well as audio and video
cassettes on speaking and leading. They also receive the award winning The Toastmaster, a
monthly magazine that offers the latest insights on speaking and leadership techniques.
Toastmasters and Leadership
Leadership cannot be learned in a day. It takes practice. In Toastmasters members build
leadership skills by organising and conducting meetings and motivating others to help
them. Club leadership roles and a leadership development program also offer opportunities
to learn and practice. Just as Toastmasters members learn to speak simply by speaking,
they learn leadership by leading.
Company Benefits
A company's success also depends on communication. Employees face an endless exchange of
ideas, messages, and information as they deal with one another and with customers day
after day. How well they communicate can determine whether a company quickly grows into an
industry leader or joins thousands of other businesses mired in mediocrity.
Toastmasters provides the tools that enable employees to become effective
communicators and leaders all at a very low cost. Toastmasters training helps employees:
give better sales presentations
hone their management skills
work better with fellow employees
effectively develop and present ideas
offer constructive criticism
accept criticism more objectively
Toastmasters produces results. Around the world more than three million men and
women of all ages and occupations have benefited from Toastmasters training, and more than
one thousand corporations, community groups, universities, associations, and government
agencies now use Toastmasters training.
Community Benefits
Toastmasters has helped many members in their community service activities. Using the
speaking and leadership skills developed in Toastmasters, people have become more active
in business, churches, and service and charity organisations. Toastmasters members are
able to organise activities, conduct meetings, and speak in public as their organisation's
representative. Some even become active in local, state or national government.
About Toastmasters International
Toastmasters International is a non-profit organization governed by a Board of Directors
elected by the membership. The first Toastmasters club was established on October 22,
1924, in Santa Ana, California, by Dr. Ralph C. Smedley, who conceived and developed the
idea of helping others to speak more effectively. More clubs were formed, and Toastmasters
International was incorporated under California law on December 19, 1932.
Toastmasters International's business and services are administered by its World
Headquarters, located in Rancho Santa Margarita, California. It employs no paid promoters
or instructors. It has no salaried staff except the Executive Director and World
Headquarters staff, who provide services to the clubs and Districts. |
