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All About Toastmasters
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. 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 organization, 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 organizing 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 organizations. Toastmasters members are able
to organize activities, conduct meetings, and speak in public as
their organization'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.
Become a Member
Ready to join? Follow this link to our How
To Join page to find out how!
For Better Listening, Thinking, Speaking
CONTACT
DISTRICT 16 TOASTMASTERS
T0LL FREE: 1-866-428-5674
This site developed & maintained by:
Bill James, DTM
Send comments or suggestions to:
wijames@sbcglobal.net
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