About Toastmasters

Toastmasters is a non-profit educational organisation.    In its many clubs, members learn communication and leadership skills by speaking and working with others in a warm and friendly environment.     Started in California in 1924 by Dr. Ralph C. Smedley, who conceived and developed the idea of helping others to speak more effectively, Toastmasters has since grown to be a worldwide organisation.

The power of Ralph Smedley's vision, through the Toastmasters program, has made a difference - not just in the lives of those at that first meeting, but also in the lives of over four million others around the world.

Toastmasters International is the leading movement devoted to making effective oral communication a worldwide reality.

Toastmasters can help you relax, plan and present a terrific speech in the comfort of members who are there for the same reason you are.    Whether you want to become a better communicator or develop leadership skills, Toastmasters can help.

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.

The names "Toastmasters International", "Toastmasters", and the Toastmasters International emblem are trademarks protected in the United States, Canada and other Countries where Toastmasters clubs exist.  Unauthorised use is strictly prohibited.