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What is
Toastmasters and how can it help you?
| Toastmasters is
the best way to improve your communication and leadership skills,
because you learn by DOING. There are no instructors - only volunteers
of like-minded people striving for self-improvement. It's a highly
effective program with a successful track record for over 75 years!
Since its inception in 1924,
Toastmasters
International has helped over four million men and women become
better communicators and better leaders. Currently, there are about
190,000 members in 9,000 clubs in 70 countries around the world.
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
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| hone their management skills
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| work better with fellow employees
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| effectively develop and present ideas
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| offer constructive criticism
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| accept criticism more objectively
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Toastmasters produces results. Around the
world more than four 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.
Individual Benefits.
| As your improved communication skills
become obvious within the workplace, increased visibility, recognition
and promotion will follow. |
| Your improved presentation skills will
win you the respect and admiration of your colleagues and friends -
and make them wonder what you did to change! |
| Leadership skills acquired through
participation in Toastmasters will increase your management potential.
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| As a Toastmaster you will acquire an
increased ability to motivate and persuade, making you more effective
as a supervisor, manager, parent, spouse, fund-raiser, etc.
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| Members of Toastmaster Clubs have
access to a wide range of educational materials, including books,
audio and videotapes, and seminar programs available at reduced cost
through the Toastmasters International Supply Catalog. |
How Toastmasters Meets Your
Needs
| Established in 1924, Toastmasters
International uses time-tested programs that are continually updated
to meet participants needs. |
| Self-paced programs allow you to
progress as rapidly or gradually as your needs dictate. |
| The hands-on Communication and
Leadership program provides the "how-to" and the practical experience
so critical to progress. |
| Toastmasters Clubs meet at various
locations in the morning, at noon and in the evening. You'll be sure
to find a Club that fits your needs. |
| The Toastmasters program is cost
effective, especially when compared to seminars charging hundreds of
dollars per day. There is a $20 new member fee, and $27 dues every six
month. Clubs may also assess local dues to cover local expenses.
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| An atmosphere of professional
camaraderie makes your Toastmasters Club a unique learning environment
-- informal, yet dedicated to learning. |
| The Toastmasters program can be
tailored to meet your personal objectives. Whether you desire
improvement in prepared or impromptu speaking, greater skill in the
use of visual aids, experience and knowledge is to be gained in the
areas that most interest you. |
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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Let's
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