HOW IT WORKS
In Toastmasters, members learn by studying the manuals, practicing, and helping one another. Learning takes place in the club environment. Club meetings are workshops where you study and practice communication and leadership skills with others who are there for the same reasons you are. You learn by doing and by watching fellow club members.
COMMUNICATION TRAINING
During club meetings you'll build "quick thinking" skills as you give one-to two-minute speeches on general subjects during Table Topics. You'll introduce speakers, conduct meetings, and perform other roles that will give you plenty of practice in a variety of communication experiences. But your greatest learning will come from preparing and presenting speeches based on the projects in your manual.
The Competent Communication Manual guides you through 10 speeches. Most of these speeches are five to seven minutes long but the principles you learn translate to a 40 minute formal address or a two minute impromptu speech. You'll learn to speak with confidence, clarity persuasiveness, and enthusiasm.
An evaluator will give you verbal and written feedback on every speech you present. The evaluator provides a personal opinion of your talk, pointing out its strengths and offering suggestions for improving your next speech. Evaluations have one purpose: to help you become a more effective speaker. Eventually, as you gain more experience, you will evaluate the speeches of others. After you achieve your Competent Communication Award, you may want to advance your skills with the Advanced Communication Series. The series consists of 15 manuals with 5 speech projects each. Some manuals focus on career-related presentations, such as public relations and technical speeches, while others address topics such as interpersonal communication, humor, and storytelling. You choose the skills you want to learn.
LEADERSHIP TRAINING
You'll learn more than just communication skills in your club. You'll build leadership skills when you complete the 10 projects in the Competent Leadership manual. You can develop additional skills by serving as a club officer, formulating and implementing plans to help the club meet member's needs. You may also complete the High Performance Leadership program, working on a leadership project related to your personal or professional life. Serving in leadership positions at other levels of the organization also will help improve your leadership skills.
In Toastmasters, members learn by studying the manuals, practicing, and helping one another. Learning takes place in the club environment. Club meetings are workshops where you study and practice communication and leadership skills with others who are there for the same reasons you are. You learn by doing and by watching fellow club members.
COMMUNICATION TRAINING
During club meetings you'll build "quick thinking" skills as you give one-to two-minute speeches on general subjects during Table Topics. You'll introduce speakers, conduct meetings, and perform other roles that will give you plenty of practice in a variety of communication experiences. But your greatest learning will come from preparing and presenting speeches based on the projects in your manual.
The Competent Communication Manual guides you through 10 speeches. Most of these speeches are five to seven minutes long but the principles you learn translate to a 40 minute formal address or a two minute impromptu speech. You'll learn to speak with confidence, clarity persuasiveness, and enthusiasm.
An evaluator will give you verbal and written feedback on every speech you present. The evaluator provides a personal opinion of your talk, pointing out its strengths and offering suggestions for improving your next speech. Evaluations have one purpose: to help you become a more effective speaker. Eventually, as you gain more experience, you will evaluate the speeches of others. After you achieve your Competent Communication Award, you may want to advance your skills with the Advanced Communication Series. The series consists of 15 manuals with 5 speech projects each. Some manuals focus on career-related presentations, such as public relations and technical speeches, while others address topics such as interpersonal communication, humor, and storytelling. You choose the skills you want to learn.
LEADERSHIP TRAINING
You'll learn more than just communication skills in your club. You'll build leadership skills when you complete the 10 projects in the Competent Leadership manual. You can develop additional skills by serving as a club officer, formulating and implementing plans to help the club meet member's needs. You may also complete the High Performance Leadership program, working on a leadership project related to your personal or professional life. Serving in leadership positions at other levels of the organization also will help improve your leadership skills.