A.

Toastmasters International is a non-profit educational organization with the proclaimed aim of improving public speaking skills worldwide. Also TMI focuses on leadership coaching / management training

The name "Toastmasters" derives from the founding of the organization, in the 1920's. During this time one of the main types of public speaking was, a member of society would engage in after dinner speaking, also known as Toast mastering.

It is rare that formal drinking and toasts take place now and these are usually only at major banquets or conferences. Some clubs have meals with their meetings, most do not.   (TOP)

No. The organization includes approximately 250,000 members in 12,500 clubs in 106 countries, including Australia, Bahamas, Bahrain Canada, China, India, Ireland, Japan, Jordan, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Oman, Philippines, Qatar, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, and the United States of America.

Toastmasters International publishes a complete set of materials in English and basic materials in French, Spanish, and Japanese. As translators make themselves available, more materials are translated. Manuals in Arabic would be available shortly.   (TOP)

The mission of Club is to provide a mutually supportive and positive environment in which every individual member has the opportunity to develop oral communication and leadership skills, which in turn foster self-confidence and personal growth. To carry out this mission, each club undertakes to

1. Help its individual members improve their abilities to communicate effectively;
2. Provide for its individual members' instructions, educational materials and opportunities which will give them skill and experience in the preparation and delivery of speeches;
3. Encourage its individual members to read and to listen analytically;
4. Provide for its individual members' fair and constructive evaluation of their efforts toward self-improvement;
5. Increase its individual members' knowledge of the rules of parliamentary procedure and their skills in conducting meetings and participating in group discussions;
6. Afford leadership training for its individual members; and
7. Provide opportunities and encouragement for its individual members to appear before audience and to express their thoughts creditably    (TOP)

All Toastmasters members belong to one or more clubs. Clubs consist of at least eight members and may have forty or more. The recommended size for a club is twenty or more.

Clubs exist in communities around the world, especially in North America. There are, at present, over 12,500 clubs around the world.

There are many types of clubs: Community clubs, Military clubs, Corporate clubs, Institutional clubs, Collegiate clubs, and so on.   (TOP)

To join a Toastmasters club, you must be over 18.

In addition, a club may impose certain restrictions on membership; for example, limiting membership to a group of employees of certain company or people sharing a special interest.

No person can be excluded from membership on the basis of age (except people under 18 years), race, color, creed, gender, national or ethnic origin, sexual orientation, or physical or mental disability, so long as the individual, through his or her own effort, is able to participate in the program.

If you're under 18 years of age, you're eligible to join a Gavel Club. This club provides the training and benefits of Toastmasters.   (TOP)

As your improved communication skills become obvious within the workplace, increased visibility, recognition and promotion will often follow.

Your improved presentation skills will win you the respect and admiration of your colleagues and employees - and make them wonder what you did to change!

Leadership skills acquired through participation in Toastmasters will increase your management potential.

As a Toastmaster you will acquire an increased ability to motivate and persuade, making you more effective as a supervisor or manager.

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.   (TOP)

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.

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.   (TOP)

Normally lot of time is wasted during business meetings. Toastmasters is designed to teach people how to hold effective meetings that get all of the work of the club done in the least possible time.

As a Toastmaster, you'll also be asked to serve as an officer, or as a member of a committee. In these roles, you learn and practice management techniques that work for any organization, including the one you work for: Time management and delegation are two such skills.

You also learn how to evaluate performance effectively. According to Peter Drucker, it takes six months for the average American worker to recover from an evaluation in terms of returning to full productivity. If you work for a typical American business, and that business evaluates your performance each six months, you're probably never fully productive. In Toastmasters you learn how to use evaluations to motivate and inspire, increasing your value to any organization for which you perform this function.   (TOP)

Speaking to large or small groups, or even one-to-one, is often intimidating and frightening too. Especially, today when most of the communication is by email or telephone than communicating face to face.

In Toastmasters you will learn how to successfully formulate, express and sell your ideas and yourself, and conquer the nervousness you may feel when called upon to speak.

You will improve your ability to listen to and evaluate other people's ideas, and you will learn leadership skills along the way.

But your success in business is dependent on the good communication skills you have You must be an expert in all aspect of the communications spectrum – including person to person oral communication and also large or small group addresses.

By joining a Toastmasters club, you will embark on a journey that will greatly improve your life.   (TOP)

We are living in an informational age. The person with superior communication skills commands a premium in career and in personal life. Learning to communicate publicly without fear and with finesse at the hands of the expertst, shall definitely take you forward quite fast.

The need for leadership in any society hardly needs re-emphasis. We all have a craving for leading from upfront and pay back to our societies what we can and while we can.   (TOP)

Everyone is afraid of speaking. In The Book of Lists, "public speaking" ranked as more fearful than death. Even if you think you're really good at speaking, there will come times when your heart stops and your palms sweat and you freeze before an audience. Toastmasters can help with that.

Remember that EVERYONE in a Toastmasters club is there, because they realized they need help communicating and speaking before an audience. Almost everyone will remember how they felt, when they gave their first speech. You will be pleasantly surprised to find out how supportive a Toastmasters club is.

If you're aware how nervous you are but aren't convinced that you should do anything about it, stop and think what skill is more important than any other when it comes to getting and keeping a good job?

Do you think you are already an excellent speaker? People who think they're very good sometimes come into Toastmasters and find that they can learn how to better structure their speeches and further enhance their delivery. Even if you are good, you can always get better. Toastmasters can provide you with honing your skills and improve as a speaker.

If you are still not decided about joining Toastmasters, why not visit a meeting? If you still think it's not your cup of tea, we'll still be happy you came by.   (TOP)

College and high school courses in public speaking usually involve the students sitting through dozens of lectures followed by one or two speaking opportunities. When the speeches are over they receive a grade. Often they are graded on what they did wrong. This isn't a way to build assurance and motivation. Also, they get limited opportunity to "practice by doing". Students get up at the end of the semester, give their speech, and sit down. In Toastmasters we promote constant reinforcement and ongoing improvement - you truly do learn by doing.

 If you have a speech you would like to give, but are not on the roster, you can ask the Vice President Education to be put as a "Standby Speaker" list. This means you can be asked to speak, if any of the project speakers cancel their scheduled speech in the last minute or there is a spare timeslot at the next meeting.

You can also gain credit by speaking at other Clubs (provided you arrange for a written evaluation). However, Toastmasters is much more than speaking, and we recommend a balance between prepared speeches and other activities at meetings. You will gain most by taking your time.   (TOP)

No - although we recommend that you do! Membership of Toastmasters can open other opportunities that restrict the time available for Club meetings, and most Clubs have members that attend when they can.

To start with, you should attend as many meetings as possible. If you can't come, remember to send an apology to the meeting Chairman (it's good business practice, as well) and arrange a replacement for any duty you may have.

However, the essence of the Toastmasters program is that you go at your own pace. That means meeting attendance is not compulsory.   (TOP)

To attend all Club meetings regularly:

• To prepare for and fulfill meeting assignments;
• To provide fellow members with helpful, constructive evaluations;
• To help the Club maintain the positive, friendly environment necessary for all members to learn and grow;
• To serve my Club as an officer when called upon to do so;
• To treat my fellow Club members and our guests with respect and courtesy;
• To bring guests to Club meetings so they can see the benefits Toastmasters membership offers;
• To adhere to the guidelines and rules for all Toastmasters educational and recognition programs;
• To maintain honest and highly ethical standards during the conduct of all Toastmasters activities.   (TOP)

The order of a Toastmasters meeting is governed by Roberts Rules of Order Newly Revised, 10th Edition. The format varies slightly from club to club, but the basics include:

• The business session (usually not more than ten minutes)
• Introduction of the Toastmaster of the Meeting, who presides over the program that day, introduces meeting participants and explains the meeting as it progresses.
• Prepared speeches delivered by members working their way through the Toastmasters speech program
• Table Topics (Impromptu speeches) where members and guests have the opportunity to deliver unprepared speeches
• Oral evaluations of the prepared speeches, pointing out points for improvement as well as positive aspects of the speech.
• Reports from other evaluation personnel, such as speech timer, grammarian, "ah" counter, wordmaster, and General Evaluator.   (TOP) 

What's a prepared speech?

When you join Toastmasters (see the FAQ - "Membership") you receive a basic speaking manual which includes ten speech projects for you to complete. Each project calls on you to prepare a speech on a subject of your own choice but using certain guidelines and speaking principles. Each manual project lists the objectives for the speech and includes a written checklist for your evaluator to use when evaluating your speech. Thus, if you're scheduled to speak at a meeting, you generally pull out your manual a week or two in advance and put together a speech on whatever you like but paying attention to your goals and objectives for that speech.

Then, when you go to the meeting, you give your manual to your evaluator and that person makes written comments on the checklist while you speak. During the evaluation part of the meeting, that person (your evaluator) will rise to give oral commentary as well. The purpose of the extensive preparation and commentary is to show you, what you're doing well, what you need to work on, and driving these lessons home, so you're constantly improving.   (TOP)

Various roles are available for the members as follows :

Toast master of the day:  Compères the days proceedings.

Ah! Counter:  Indicates unsavoury pauses and filler words used. Helpful in providing guidance

Timer:  Watches the timing of each performer and reports the time keeping to secretary

Listener:  A keen listener, notes good points checks the listening skills of the members

General Evaluator:  Heads the evaluation team. Evaluates the days proceedings.

Table topics master: Chooses on the spot topics and assigns them to members

Grammarian:  Watches keenly for grammar mistakes.

Evaluations are made throughout all stages of the meeting in order for members to get constructive feedback. Immediate feedback is a great aid to improve

Every prepared speaker is assigned an evaluator who points out speech strengths and offers suggestions for improvement.

Reports from other evaluation personnel, such as speech timer, grammarian, "ah" counter, wordmaster, and General Evaluator

Meetings last anywhere from one hour (especially at lunch or breakfast) to three hours (if the club meets infrequently or has long-winded speakers).

All the above roles are being assigned to members.   (TOP)

During the prepared speeches section of the meeting, members present speeches they have prepared on topics of their own choice. Each speech is based on a project in the Competent Communicator Program or the Advanced Communicator Program.

In the Competent Communicator Program, there are 10 projects, each speech is designed to help Toastmasters develop specific speaking skills, such as body language, speech structure and vocal variety. When you complete all ten speeches assignments you will earn the Toastmasters designation, Competent Communicator (CC).

In the Advanced Program, Toastmasters can develop more specialized speaking skills, such as technical presentations, speaking to inform and storytelling.   (TOP)

In the basic "Communication and Leadership" manual there are ten speech projects. These speech projects are delivered in order from one to ten. The reason for this is that the speeches are intended to build your skill as you progress as a speaker and gradually introduce new aspects of being a speaker as you move from speech number one to number ten.

1. Icebreaker – (4 to 6 minutes) Begin speaking before an audience, discover speaking skills you already have and skills that need attention.
2. Organize your speech- (5 to 7 minutes) select an outline that allows listeners to easily follow and understand your speech.
3. Get to the Point - 5 to 7 minutes - prepare a speech that has a general purpose (to inform, persuade, entertain or inspire) and a specific purpose. Project sincerity and conviction.
4. How You Say It - 5 to 7 minutes - select the right words and sentence structure to communicate your ideas clearly and vividly.
5. Your Body Speaks - 5 to 7 minutes - use stance, movement, gestures, facial expressions and eye contact to express your message and achieve your speech's prupose.
6. Vocal Variety – (5 to 7 minutes) use voice volume, pitch, rate and quality to reflect and add meaning and interest to your message.
7. Research Your Topic – (5 to 7 minutes) support your points and opinions with specific facts, examples and illustrations gathered through research
8. Get Comfortable With Visual Aids – (6 to 8 minutes) select visual aids that are appropriate for your message and the audience & use them correctly with ease and confidence.
9. Persuade With Power – (5 -7 minutes) persuade listeners to adopt your viewpoint or ideas or to take some action.
10. Inspire Your Audience – (8 to 10 minutes) The final speech in the manual calls on you to inspire your audience by appealing to noble motives and challenging the audience to achieve a higher level of beliefs or achievement.

When you have completed all ten speech assignments you will earn the Toastmasters designation, Competent Communicator (CC).

All ten projects above are open for you to choose whatever topic you like. Even if you pick a controversial subject Toastmasters audiences will evaluate you on how well you presented your subject, not on whether they agreed with you or not.

For further information about the speaking program, including the more advanced speaking projects, see the "Educational Advancement FAQ".   (TOP)

In this section of the meeting, members and guests have the opportunity to present one – two minute impromptu speeches on a variety of subjects. This is a valuable way of developing the skill of "thinking on your feet", and coping with life's unexpected circumstances.

Table Topics is fun! It's also terrifying! Basically, it calls on the member, to present a one to two minute impromptu speech on a subject not known until the moment they get up to speak. A member of the club assigned to be Table Topic Master will prepare a few impromptu topics and call on members (or guests, if they've given assent in advance to being called on) to stand up and speak on the topic.

Topics might include current events (e.g. "What would you do if you become a millionaire overnight?") or philosophy ("If you had no shoes and met a man who had no feet, how would you feel?") or even wacky questions that most often lead to very humourous presentations. ("Reach into this bag. Pull an item out. Tell us about it").

The purpose of Table Topics is to develop the skill of being able to speak "off the cuff. On many occasions we are asked to comment or contribute to a discussion with little notice or preparation.  Table Topics develops comfort and capability in handling these types of situations. ". This is a valuable way of developing the skill of "thinking on your feet", and coping with life's unexpected circumstances.   (TOP)

The Evaluation program is the foundation on which Toastmasters programme is built .

The Evaluation program is the third of the three main parts of the meeting. Each prepared speech is given an oral and written evaluation by a fellow member in a constructive manner, using evaluation criteria specific to the speech project. All prepared speakers should have their speaking manuals with them and should have passed them on to the evaluators beforehand. During the speech, and after, each person's evaluator should make written notes and furthermore, plan what to say during the two to three minute oral evaluation.

Evaluation is tough to do well, because it requires an evaluator to do more than say "here's what you did wrong." A good evaluator will say "here's what you did well and here's why doing that was good, and here are some things you might want to work on for your next speech and here's how you might work on them." It's important to remember that the evaluator is giving his/her point of view. In addition, club members and guests are invited to submit written feedback to each speaker.   (TOP)

As noted above, speeches have time limits, Table Topics have time limits (1-2 minutes, usually) and evaluations have time limits (2-3 minutes, usually). This is in order to drive home the point that a good speaker makes effective use of the time allotted and does not keep going on and on until the audience is bored. In the real world, quite often there are practical limits on how long a meeting can or should go; by setting time limits on speeches and presentations, participants learn brevity and time management and the club meeting itself can be expected to end on schedule.

Time limits are rarely enforced to the letter. In only a few situations will you find yourself cut off if you go too long, and that's up to the individual club. Most clubs don't cut speakers off, if they go overtime.

It is common for clubs to use a set of timing lights to warn the speakers of the time elapsed. All speeches and presentations have a time limit expressed as an interval, e.g.in a 5 to 7 minutes speech, a green light would be shown at 5 minutes, amber at 6, and red at 7. In Table Topics, the lights would go 1, 1.5, and 2 minutes respectively. When the green light comes on, you've at least spoken enough, though you need not finish right away, and when the yellow light comes on, you should begin wrapping up. If you're not done by the time the red light comes on, you should finish as soon as possible without mangling the ending of your speech.

The only times you're actually *penalized* for going over or under time is in speaking competition; in speech contests (see the "Contests FAQ") you must remain within the interval or be disqualified.

Some clubs hold an audience vote for "best speaker," "best table topic speaker," and "best evaluator" during the meeting and it's a practice in some clubs to disqualify people, who do not meet the specified time limits from these meeting awards. Check with the particular club to see what they do.   (TOP)

Meetings generally are not complicated, once you get used to the timing and the different roles members of the group display. Since the average club is expected to have 20 or more members, you need a lot of roles for people to play in order to involve everyone. Because meeting assignments vary from meeting to meeting, everyone gets practice doing everything over the course of several meetings.

One meeting, you'll be assigned to give a speech, the next you might be Timer, and the next you might be the Toastmaster of the meeting, running the whole show. This keeps you flexible and gives you practice at a variety of communication skills including speaking, listening, giving feedback, being creative and challenging, telling a joke, and so on.   (TOP)

We encourage you to visit a club and attend a session,

Complete listings for all clubs is available at the Toastmasters international here Or can be found at www.district70.org

If you cannot access then, send email to and ask; be sure to include your e-mail address so the information can be mailed to you.    (TOP)

Toastmasters welcome all guests.

If you plan to visit a club, it would be wise to phone the Club President, or other contact person, to let them know you are coming,

Community Clubs are almost always open to all and they'll be delighted to have you come to the meeting.

Clubs that meet at companies and organizations, on military bases, or in institutions are often, but not always, restricted to members or employees of the sponsoring body. We encourage you to call ahead and check whether visitors are welcome.   (TOP) 
 

A.

Not for the speeches you prepare. You can talk about things that interest you, tell stories, or do whatever you like. The main aim is to get your message across and Toastmasters gives you "tools" such as body language, voice variation and speech structure to help you do this. The topic, though, is up to you - although it never hurts to ask for suggestions if you're not sure. In District 79 members are requested from speaking on controversial topics like religion, sex and politics.

The shorter, off-the-cuff speeches (called Table Topics) do have topics chosen by the person running that session. Whether you are able to "say few words" on any topic is both a good skill to learn and great fun to do.   (TOP)

First, of course, you must find a club to join If you have visited a club and found it to your liking, ask a member (preferably an officer, who is more likely to be able to help you) for an application form. 

According to the bylaws all Toastmasters clubs operate under, any new member of a club must be voted into membership by the club. New members are welcomed enthusiastically into the club as soon as a membership application is turned in with payment of the appropriate dues.

For a list of Clubs that meet near where you live or work click here   (TOP)

How much does membership cost?

Upon joining Toastmasters, you will find yourself paying a fee which may include three different components. One is the standard fee that every new member must pay in order to receive their educational materials (see "new member fee" below). One is the standard Toastmasters International monthly membership fee. One is your club dues, if any.
All Toastmasters clubs are billed in March and September for semi-annual dues for their members who wish to remain members for the next six months.  If you join in between those periods, you submit a prorated share of the dues.

Clubs usually charge dues on top of the “Toastmasters International” dues.  This is so they'll have money in the treasury for expenses.  Each club decides what it wants to charge based on their expenses.

Depending on when you join, the dues would be as follows:

New Member Fee of US $20.00 (For the cost of new member kit and application processing by TMI)

Then, once you're signed up, dues of $27.00 are assessed every six months, in September and March.   (TOP)

Yes.  This is called "dual membership" even if you belong to more than two clubs.  When you join the second club, of course, you don't need to pay the New Member fee because you don't need a second set of starter materials.   (TOP)

 Your new member fee covers the cost of the following starter manuals which you will receive upon joining or shortly thereafter from Toast Masters International.

A "starter kit" containing two project manuals, one containing speech projects, the other on roles you perform at club meetings.

The starter kit also contains booklets on such topics as

1. How to use your speaking voice effectively.
2. How to use gestures to your advantage.
3. How to evaluate others.

The latter three are instructional manuals rather than project manuals. Only the first two are workbooks.   (TOP)

Your club dues generally go to pay for your club meeting venue rental, club's supplies such as ballots, awards, ribbons, and educational materials. In some cases, if your club has a snack or a meal at each meeting, your dues may go to pay for that. Your semi-annual dues paid to World Headquarters go partly for a subscription to the Toastmaster International to support development of new educational programs, to support operations at World Headquarters, and to support your local District organization.

Your subscription to Toast Masters International buys you :

• Participation in the Toastmasters program.
• A monthly copy of the award-winning magazine “The Toastmaster”, which provides valuable insights and hints on all aspects of speaking and leadership techniques and other Toastmasters activities
• Your first two "Advanced" speech manuals are pre-paid for, when you complete your first set of speech projects and attain a Competent Communicator award.    (TOP)

At the next meeting, there will be a short induction ceremony, to present you with your "New Member kit" and welcome you to the Club.

At that point, your name will appear on the duty roster, to get you involved in Club activities as quickly as possible.

You are officially welcomed to the club by the President. You will receive a set of four manuals and an experienced member of the club will be assigned to be your mentor to help you get started with your assignments in the club.

We promote self-paced learning. Nobody at a club will pressurize you to rush through the programme. In time you will be assigned for certain duties at each meeting. These start with easy tasks and you graduate to more complex duties as you become familiar with the club procedures.   (TOP)

Inform your Vice President Membership, your decision of not to continue with TM program, then simply wait for March or September to arrive and don't pay your dues again.

It'd probably be a good idea to let your Vice President Education know to stop scheduling you for speeches, though.   (TOP)

You would be enthusiastically welcomed into any club you join and immediately be considered as one of the group.

Visit different clubs in your area before deciding which one you want to join. Join a club, the environment of which you feel more comfortable with.   (TOP)

No. You will not be asked to speak unless you're ready to. If you feel more comfortable waiting a few months, that's fine.

Most clubs attempt to arrange the meeting schedules in such a way that most members are involved in some capacity at each meeting, so you'll need to let them know what your wishes are.   (TOP)

There are lots of opportunities to practice public speaking with Toastmasters. You are given the opportunity to speak for at least two minutes each meeting during the Table Topics impromptu speeches.

You can deliver, your prepared speeches to complete your goal of Competent Communicator in the time frame you set. In addition, members are given an opportunity to take up different roles needed during the meeting.   (TOP)

Right away or when you feel most comfortable. At your first meeting, you will be given the opportunity to speak impromptu, during Table Topics session if you wish. You can progress at your own speed, but generally we want to schedule your first "Ice Breaker" speech in the second or third week after you join.   (TOP)

After achievement of the CC award, you can follow the Advanced Communicator track to further your development. By completing additional projects you can be recognised as an Advanced Communicator Bronze, Advanced Communicator Silver and Advanced Communicator Gold. For each of these awards, you will be required to complete two Advanced Communicator Program manuals, each comprising five speech projects.
In the Leadership Track, you can be recognised as a Competent Leader by completing the Competent Leadership manual.

You can be recognized as an Advanced Leader by delivering educational presentations to your club, performing as Club or District officers and completing the High Performance Leadership Program.

The Communication and Leadership tracks are not mutually exclusive. We encourage members to work on both tracks simultaneously. When both tracks have been completed successfully, you will receive the ultimate Toastmasters recognition: the Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM) award.   (TOP) 

No.  There is no particular sequence to be followed. You can choose any project you like.

However, it is recommended that you follow the order given since the projects progress upwards in difficulty but if you have a speech idea or opportunity that better suits one of the later projects you may skip over earlier ones and do that one first.

It is not recommended that you skip around through the first six speeches, as each assignment builds on information and skills learned in the previous assignments.   (TOP)

The Communication and Leadership Manual speeches develop basic speaking skills and help you acquire a basic comfort with speaking in public.

The Toastmasters International Advanced Communication and Leadership manuals focus on more specialized speaking opportunities.  These manuals give speakers instructions and suggestions on how to handle these more advanced speaking assignments and allow Toastmasters members to hone their skills in specific areas of interest or to explore new territory they have never tried before.  Unlike the basic C&L manual, which encourages the speaker to carry out the assignments in the order they are listed in the manual, speakers doing advanced manual speeches can choose whatever manuals they wish and can do the assignments in any order.

The advanced manuals take you from being a competent speaker to being an effective, performer and leader. The Advanced Manuals include:

• Entertaining Speaker
• Speaking to Inform
• Public Relations
• Discussion Leader
• Specialty Speeches
• Speeches by Management
• Professional Speaker
• Humorously Speaking
• Technical Presentations
• Persuasive Speaking
• Communicating on Television
• Storytelling
• Interpretive Reading
• Interpersonal Communication
• Special Occasion Speeches   (TOP)

Toastmasters International changed its educational system.

The new recognition system features both a communication track and a leadership track. This will provide members with better opportunities for communication and leadership training and more recognition for leadership achievements.

The requirements for the communication and leadership track awards are listed below:

Competent Communication Track

Competent Communicator (CC)

• Completed Basic Communication and Leadership Program manuals

Advanced Communicator Bronze (AC-B)

• Achieved Competent Communicator or Competent Toastmaster (CTM) award,
• Completed two Advanced Communication and Leadership Program manuals

Advanced Communicator Silver (AC-S)

• Achieved Advanced Toastmaster ATM-B award or current AC-B award
• Completed two additional advanced manuals (may not be those completed for the ATM Bronze award or AC award)
• Conducted any two programs from the Better Speaker Series and/or The Successful Club Series.

Advanced Communicator Gold (AC-G)

• Achieved Advanced Toastmaster Silver award or achieved AC-Silver award
• Completed two additional advanced manuals (may not be those completed for ATM Bronze and Silver awards)
• Conducted a registered Success/Leadership Program, Success Communication Program or Youth Leadership Program (may not be those programs complete for ATM Silver or AC-Silver)
• Coached a new member with their first three project speeches. Leadership Track

Leadership Track

Competent Leader (CL)

The Competent Leadership manual is the core of the leadership track. It features 10 projects, which you complete while serving in various club meeting roles. An evaluator will give you feedback on each project, helping you to improve. When you complete the manual, you are eligible for Competent Leader (CL) recognition. Complete the CL application in the manual and ask your vice president education (VPE) to submit it online to World Headquarters. You'll receive a CL certificate and, if you wish, World Headquarters will send your employer a letter about your accomplishment.

Advanced Leader

After earning the CL award you can further refine and develop your leadership skills by working in the advanced leader program. Members working in this program are eligible for Advanced Leader Bronze (ALB) and Advanced Leader Silver (ALS) recognition.

Advanced Leader Bronze (ALB)

To be eligible for this award, a member must have:

• Achieved new Competent Leader award
• Achieved Competent Communicator award (or Competent Toastmaster award)
• Served at least six months as a club officer (president, vice president education, vice president membership, vice president public relations, secretary, treasurer or sergeant at arms) and participated in the preparation of a Club Success Plan while serving in this office
• While serving in the above office, participated in a district-sponsored club officer training program
• Conducted any two presentations from The Successful Club Series and/or The Leadership Excellence Series (may not be those completed for previous awards).

Advanced Leader Silver (ALS)

To be eligible for this award, a member must have:

• Achieved Advanced Leader Bronze award (or "old" Competent Leader award)
• Served a complete term as a district officer (district governor, lieutenant governor, public relations officer, secretary, treasurer, division governor or area governor). A complete term is defined as having served at least from September 1 through June 30. Those assuming office after September 1 do not qualify as having served a full term
• Completed the High Performance Leadership program
• Served successfully as a club sponsor, mentor or coach
• Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM)
• The Distinguished Toastmaster award is the highest Toastmasters International organization bestows and it recognizes both communication and leadership skills. To be eligible for the award a member must have:
• Achieved Advanced Communicator Gold award (or achieved Advanced Toastmaster Gold award)
• Achieved Advanced Leader Silver award (or achieved Advanced Leader award)   (TOP)  

High Performance Leadership is a program that offers instruction and practice in such vital leadership skills and activities as developing a mission and vision, goal setting and planning, identifying values and building a team.  The program requires you to assume a leadership role in your company, community or Toastmasters club or District.  A Guidance Committee you have selected offers advice and evaluates your efforts.   (TOP)

Both are sets of programs developed by Toastmasters International to further develop speaking and training skills of members.

The modules come complete with instruction manuals for the participants and for the coordinator as well as transparencies to use during the session.

The Better Speaker Series programs offer practical tips on speaking.  Modules include: Beginning Your Speech, Concluding Your Speech, Creating an Introduction, Using Body Language and more....

The Successful Club Series programs discuss what members can do to make their club successful.  Topics include: The Moment of Truth, Evaluate to Motivate, Meeting Roles and Responsibilities, Going Beyond Our Club...   (TOP)

Are there any other Skill Building Programs from TI?

As if all the above were not enough to occupy one for a lifetime, Toastmasters International offers several other speaking projects to help you develop your leadership and communication skills including:

• Speechraft - speech training program for prospective members,
• Youth Leadership - speech training program for youth
• How to Listen Effectively
• The Art of Effective Evaluation
• Build Your Thinking Power,
• From Speaker to Trainer
• How to Conduct Productive Meetings
• Parliamentary Procedure in Action
• Leadership Excellence Series
• Building Your Leadership Power
• Improving Your Management Skills

For more information about any or all of these programs or to purchase copies visit the Toastmasters International web site.

Modules are currently available on the following subjects:  conducting productive meetings, parliamentary procedure, Speechcraft (an eight-week public speaking education program), effective listening, effective evaluation, mental flexibility, the power of ideas, characteristics of effective leaders, developing leadership skills, training, and developing management skills.  There is an additional course available called "Youth Leadership" which is similar to Speechcraft except that it's targeted for children and teenagers and it's not formally part of the Success/Leadership program.

The modules average just over two hours each.  Modules are ordered through the Supply Catalog (available for a dollar from World Headquarters), but veteran members own many of them and will share them with newer members.   (TOP)

They are sets of programs that we can present to our club to heighten awareness of 3 areas of Toastmasters International at the club level.

1. Creating quality club meetings
2. Skills of speech preparation and presentation
3. Tips and techniques of leadership

These programs are in the form of a written script that provides the wording of the presentation, plus a CD that has PowerPoint slides on it.
There are 3 categories of educational presentations.

1. The Successful Club Series
2. The Leadership Excellence Series
3. The Better Speaker Series   (TOP)

The programs are to be delivered by members, to members, within regular club meetings throughout the year.

Any member may deliver an educational presentation in a meeting. This should be organised along with the Vice President Education (who is responsible for putting together the program of the evenings meeting and scheduling in speeches and educational).   (TOP)

Yes, you can.

If you are aiming to accomplish the Advanced Leader Bronze award, you should have presented two of the educational presentations. Those two presentations may be from either the Successful Club Series, or the Leadership excellence series (but not from the Better Speaker series).

Tips and options for presenting an educational presentation

You can experiment with presentation delivery by being extremely creative, or you can stick to the format and practice presentation skills.

You can…

1. Use the script word for word – that’s ok, that is what it is for. This way you can concentrate on your delivery of the wording, or use the experience as practice of using laptop and screen presentations.
2. Do not use any of the pre-written wording. Discover the essence of the message within the presentation, and deliver that to the club in your own way – that’s ok, too.
3. Do not use the power point slides – as above, that is absolutely ok, providing you are still presenting the essence of the educational message in your presentation.   (TOP)

The Successful Club Series - If you present an educational from this category, you can count it towards the Advanced Leadership Bronze Award and Advanced Communicator Silver.

1. Moments of truth –
2. Finding new members for your club
3. Evaluate to motivate –
4. Closing the sale
5. Creating the best club climate
6. Meeting roles and responsibilities
7. Mentoring –
8. Keeping the commitment
9. Going beyond our club
10. How to be a distinguished club –
11.  The toastmasters educational program

The Leadership Excellence Series - If you present an educational from this category, you can count it towards the Advanced Leadership Bronze Award.

1. The visionary leader
2. Developing a mission 
3. Values and leadership 
4. Goal setting and planning 
5. Delegate to empower 
6. Building a team 
7. Giving effective feedback 
8. The leader as coach 
9. Motivating people 
10. Service and leadership 
11. Resolving conflict

The Better Speaker Series - If you present an educational from this category, you can NOT count it towards the Advanced Leadership Bronze Award but you can count it for Advanced Communicator Silver.

1. Beginning your speech 
2. Concluding your speech 
3. Take the terror out of talk 
4. Impromptu speaking 
5. Selecting your topic 
6. Know your audience 
7. Organising your speech 
8. Creating an introduction 
9. Preparation and practice 
10. Using body language   (TOP) 

Usually, the VPE will think about scheduling the educationals into the annual program at the start of their Toastmaster year (July 1st).

Ask your VPE when he or she has the educationals planned, and put yourself forward to present one to the club at some point throughout the year.

Remember to mark down the date and title on your awards records so that you can prove that you can claim the award for the presentation that you give.   (TOP)

Well, yes.  The best speakers may qualify for the Accredited Speaker program, a TI program to recognize those with professional speaking skills. 

The requirements to qualify as an Accredited Speaker are as follows.

The applicant must:

1. be a current member of a Toastmasters club.
2. have given a minimum of 25 speaking engagements to non-Toastmasters audiences within three years of application date.  Copies of five letters of acknowledgement or appreciation from any of the 25 engagements must be provided as documentary evidence of successful presentations.
3. pass a rigorous two-stage judging process.

Fewer than 25% of the members who apply for the Accredited Speaker program become Accredited Speakers, and very few Toastmasters apply in the first place.  This program is only for the best.   (TOP)

Yes, this has been considered.  Some people think it would be an excellent idea, as they feel that there is no better way to learn how to write a good speech than to study others' speeches at length.

Others, however, feel that a speech bank would lend itself more to Toastmasters and non-Toastmasters alike using speeches without  attribution in speaking assignments or in speech classes, and that's not something we want to encourage. Toastmasters is a learn-by-doing type of environment, not a "copy cat, adhere to this form or that form that someone, somewhere called 'good’ " environment.  Furthermore, a written copy of a speech contains none of the presentation and style the speaker put into its delivery and, as such, cannot be considered a full speech.  To appreciate a speech and learn from it, you must see it presented. Hence, as yet, no "speech bank" has been set up.   (TOP)

There's a lot to do in Toastmasters! Start today!

In order to provide for members who enjoy competitive speaking and in order to "showcase the best speakers", Toastmasters clubs hold speech contests.  Each contest starts at the club level and works its way up the Toastmasters organization. One contest (International Speech Contest) culminates at the Toastmasters International World Convention each August.

Toastmasters Speech Contests are:

International speech Contest - 5 to 7 minutes in length on any topic. Any topic as long as it's original.To provide an opportunity for speakers to improve their speaking abilities and to recognize the best as an encouragement to all.Each August, winners from the 14 Regions compete at the World Convention in the World Championship of Public Speaking.

Humorous speech - 5 to 7 minutes on a topic selected by the speaker. Topic must be Humorous, clean & original but display good speechmaking abilities. Contest progresses as far as the District level.

Table Topics - 1 to 2 minutes in length.  All contestants are assigned the same impromptu topic to address. All contestants are taken out of the room and brought back in one by one to speak on the ‘same’ topic, which should be general in nature and not require specialized knowledge, which some contestants might have while others might not.
Since no contestant hears the topic before his turn to speak on it, you can judge their impromptu speaking abilities by the way in which each person's effort measures up against the others. Contest progresses as far as the District level.

Evaluation - 2 to 3 minutes in length.  A target speaker gives a speech, which all the evaluation contestants are to evaluate.  The contestants are given five minutes to prepare their speeches and make notes.  Then, their notes are taken away and they are taken out from the contest room to another room. They are brought back into the contest room one by one depending on their speaking order (at which time the contestant gets his notes back) to deliver their oral evaluation of the target speech.

Since no contestant hears what another said about the target speech, the judges can compare the analytical abilities of the contestants. Contest progresses as far as the District level.   (TOP)

Each contest has a set of rules which mandate originality and lay down the procedures. If you go over your time limit by thirty seconds, you're eliminated. If you go UNDER your time limit by thirty seconds, you're eliminated -- except in Table Topics, where you must speak at least for one minute.

There would be a set of judges scattered among the audience, each with a “Judging Ballot”, that they use to rate the contestants against what a winning effort should be and how they measures up against the others. “Judging Ballots” are different for each contest, since each contest involves different skills.   (TOP)

Any club, area, division or District which holds speech contests (International, Humorous, Table Topics and Evaluation), must use the official Toastmasters International rules and regulations. Districts or clubs are not permitted to change the rules published by Toastmasters International in any way and no deviations would be accepted. Any clarifications with regard to the TMIs regulations shall be addressed to District officers (LGET or PRO) or to TMI world head quarters.

Contests are educative in terms of individuals’ improvement and fun, but it's important to run them the same way everywhere around the world.    (TOP)

All clubs have a staff of club officers.  In district 79 all clubs elect these officers once a year.    Elections usually take place in May for the term July 1 to June 30.

Club offices (and their rank within the club) are as follows:

• President - chairs meetings and supervises all other officers
• Vice President Education - schedules meeting assignments and works with members to see that their needs are met
• Vice President Membership - runs club membership drive and also works to keep members satisfied and happy
• Vice President Public Relations - makes sure club meeting listings appear in the media, puts posters up, sends out “News Letters”, creates ‘Clubs Web Page”, co-ordinates for the venue etc.
• Secretary - sends correspondence on behalf of the club, keeps club records and minutes
• Treasurer - handles financial affairs, such as collection of dues from members, timely payment of dues to TMI and purchases from TMI as well as local purchases id any.
• Sergeant at Arms - sets meeting room up for the scheduled meeting arranges to display the Club Banner, Lectern, Mike, Sound System, Tea, snacks, takes care of the club’s property once meeting is over, greets guests, etc. 

TMI encourages limited democracy. A nomination team headed by the immediate Past President nominates personnel to the Club Office. This does not preclude any one running for the office as Club offices are open to ANY member.  There is no reason why a new member cannot run for President or Vice President – Education without serving in any other position of the club office.   (TOP) 

Clubs are grouped into Areas of three to eight Clubs.  Each Area has its own Area Governor, a member of one of the clubs is appointed by the District Governor to serve the Area or if there are more nominations then there would be a contest.  Area Governors are usually, but not always, members of a club in the Area they are responsible for.

Areas have Area Speech Contests several times a year, with winners from the Club levels going on to the Area Contest. The winner of the Area Contest goes on to the Division. 

Areas also share Area goals, set at World Headquarters. If an Area meets or exceeds all its goals, its Area Governor is recognized for his hard work in motivating the clubs.   (TOP)

Areas are grouped into Divisions.  Divisions may be as small as one Area in size (rarely) or as have five, six, or more Areas.  Each Division has its own Division Governor.  Division Governors are usually members of clubs within their Division and are elected once a year at the Annual District Business Meeting.  The Division Governor works with his Area Governors to motivate the clubs to improve membership and to have effective educational programs.

Divisions have Division Speech Contests once a year, with winners from the Areas coming together to compete.  The Division winners go on to the District level.

Divisions have Division goals, just as Areas do.  A good Division Governor will work with his clubs and Areas to increase membership and educational effort. If a division meets or exceeds all its goals, its Division Governor is recognized for his hard work in motivating the Areas and clubs.   (TOP)

Districts are comprised of several Divisions.  Districts are the main level of organization outside the Club; Areas and Divisions are _sub-units_ of the District.

Each District has its own set of officers, most of whom are elected at the District Conference.  The officers include: District Secretary, District Treasurer, District Public Relations Officer, District Lieutenant Governor Marketing (LGM), District Lieutenant Governor Education and Training (LGET), and District Governor (DG).  The last three are always elected and the first three are elected or appointed by the District Governor in consultation with LGET, LGM depending on local preference.

In District 79, it's the newly elected District Governor who does the appointing in consultation with LGET, LGM.

And yes, Districts have their own District-wide goals.  The various District officers work with the clubs, Areas, and Divisions to build membership, start new clubs, promote the educational goals of achieving number of CC's, CL’s and AC's, AL’sand so forth.

District 79 has speech contests once a year at the District Toastmasters Annual Conference (DTAC), which is held on rotation in a different country every year. The Division winners from each division come together at the District Toastmasters Annual Conference (DTAC) to compete for the District crowns.   (TOP)

If you want to be an Area Governor, show up at a lot of events outside your club and get to know the people around your District.  Work hard within your club.  Eventually, you'll be considered for appointment as an Area Governor.  It doesn't hurt to ask the people who are running for District Governor to consider appointing you. If necessary you can run for the office of Area Governor.

If you want to be a Division Governor or other District Officer, usually you have got to run for the office.  Each club in a District gets two votes and the clubs that have representatives (proxies are allowed) at the District Toastmasters Annual Conference (DTAC) vote and decide who'll serve for the next year. Terms always run July 1 to June 30, by the way, so elections are usually held in April or May.

Another good way to get to be a District officer is to volunteer to help a District committee. You don't get DTM credit for helping a committee or serving as a District committee chair, but you get *known* and that's usually all it takes to get asked to serve the next time around.   (TOP)

Technically, none -- just Toastmasters International.  The Districts *do* get together for *Regional* Conferences in June of each year, but the Regions are not formally constituted bodies.  They're just groupings of eight or so Districts. From 2010 the Regional Conferences have been eliminated and the contests for these are held along with the International Annual Convention.

Each Region is entitled to representation on the Board of Directors of Toastmasters International in the form of two International Directors who serve two-year terms, with one being elected each year. But it is the world body that elects these officers, not the Regions themselves. The main requirement for representing a Region is that you have residency and membership in a club in that Region.  Once you are elected, however, you serve the world, not just the clubs of your Region.

At the Regional Conferences, you also find speech contests, with the various District winners squaring off.  Only one contestant goes on to the World level; the humorous speaking and evaluation contests stop at the Regional level, leaving the International Speech Contest contestants to decide the World Championship of Public Speaking each August at the World Convention. From 2010 the Regional Conferences have been eliminated and the contests for these are held along with the International Annual Convention and only for the International Speech Contest only.

Regions do not have regional goals.  They're not organized bodies.   (TOP)

The World Convention takes place each August in a North American city.  The main feature of the Conference, other than presentation of awards for effort during the preceding year, is the Annual Business Meeting, at which International officers are elected and policies are made and changed.

The clubs have the voting strength at the world level, with two votes each.  Districts often wind up voting the proxies for clubs which don't make it to the Annual Business Meeting each August. 

There are a dozen elections to be held each August: eight (online, if it's the year to elect the director from Overseas) International Directors, three Vice Presidents, and one President.  As there are eight Regions (with two Directors each) and one amalgamated Overseas area (with one Director) sending Directors to the world board, necessarily there are seventeen Directors, serving two-year terms each. 

There is an International President and three International Vice-Presidents (First, Second and Third). They serve for a period of one year. Generally there is advancement for these persons in their positions, i.e. the First Vice President becomes the International President, the second Vice President becomes the First Vice President, Third VP becomes second VP.

From the year 2010 these positions shall be known as International President, International President Elect and two International Vice-Presidents. The progression would be the same. The IP elect becomes the International President. First Vice President becomes IP Elect, Second VP becomes First VP.   (TOP)

Yes and no.  Any proposals they wish to see adopted that constitute actual changes to the constitution and bylaws of the organization require a vote by the assembled clubs, with each club having two votes.  As above, the District officers gather proxies from any clubs that aren't going to be at the annual business meeting in August.   (TOP)

If you serve as a club officer, you earn credit toward an ATM.

If you serve as a District officer, you earn credit toward a DTM.  Service on the International level doesn't earn you anything in particular because you've usually already earned everything there is to earn by that point. 

But, more importantly, you get tremendous leadership experience.  With everyone a volunteer, you have to develop powerful persuasive abilities to guide the clubs and members in the right direction.   (TOP)