Zahndri (left) comes 1st in the Division H International Speaking Contest and third in the Division H Impromptu Speaking Contest. She faired well at the District 74 International Speaking Contest and we applaud her achievement.What is Toastmasters?
Better Communication is One Meeting Away!
Whether you're a professional, student, stay-at-home parent or retiree, Toastmasters is the best way to improve your communication skills. Toastmasters can help you lose the fear of Public Speaking and learn skills that will help you be more successful in whatever path in life you've chosen.You'll easily lead teams and conduct meetings, and you'll comfortably give and receive constructive evaluation.
You already have some of these skills.
In Toastmasters, you will enhance them.
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 twice a month for 1 to 3 hours.
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 videos 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 to 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 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.
Becoming a Member
Toastmasters is for individuals 18 years or older. The more than 330,000 members are from a variety of occupations and backgrounds. They include doctors, auto mechanics, executives, teachers, homemakers, artists, college students, supervisors, attorneys, engineers, salespersons, and more.
Joining a Toastmasters club is easy. Come visit Transformers at our next meeting, or visit our "Find another club" link on this site to find a club closer to home.
We're looking forward to meeting you!