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.
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