Frequent Questions About Toastmasters
What is Toastmasters International?
Toastmasters International is a non-profit educational corporation
headquartered in Rancho Santa Margarita, California. Its mission
is to improve communication and leadership skills of its members.
Improving public speaking skills is a key element but there is also
a potent leadership and management aspect.
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, and it's
a rare locality in the United States that doesn't have at least one
Toastmasters club within thirty minutes driving time. There are,
at present, over 8,000 clubs around the world with over 180,000
active members.
Where did Toastmasters come from?
In October 1924, a group of men assembled by Dr. Ralph C. Smedley
met in the basement of the Santa Ana, California YMCA to form a
club "to afford practice and training in the art of public
speaking and in presiding over meetings, and to promote sociability
and good fellowship among its members. The group took the name
Toastmasters.
What is special about San Carlos-Belmont
Toastmasters?
The special advantage of San Carlos-Belmont Toastmasters is that
we are a community-based organization that offers a very
rich mix of members representing a broad range of professional,
ethnic, age and cultural diversity. Besides insuring that
no meeting is ever dull, this vibrant and enthusiastic membership
base allows us to offer a friendly, supportive and accepting
atmosphere that will foster your growth as a public speaker.
What is a "Prepared Speech"?
Upon joining Toastmasters, each new member receives a set of
educational materials that includes the Basic Communication and
Leadership Program manual. The manual contains a series of
speech assignments that provide
instruction and practice in the basic techniques of public
speaking. Upon completing the manual, a Toastmaster will know
how to organize and present a dynamic and effective speech.
As a member you will be scheduled a few weeks in advance to present
a speech from the manual. You can then review the goals of the
speech assignment and prepare a speech on whatever you like, while
paying attention to the objectives and goals. On the day of the meeting
you will meet with your evaluator, discuss any special goals you
want to work on, then present your speech to the club. Later in the
meeting your evaluator will give an oral review of your speech. The
purpose of the commentary is to show you what you are doing well, what
you need to work on, and driving these lessons home so you are
constantly improving.
I'm scared to death of speaking! Why should I look into Toastmasters?
EVERYONE is afraid of speaking. Public speaking is the nations's
#1 fear. Even if you think you are a really good speaker, there will
be times when your heart stops and your palms sweat and you freeze
before your audience. Toastmasters can help you with that. Remember
that EVERYONE in a Toastmasters club is there because at some point
they realized they needed help in communicating and speaking before
audiences. Almost everyone will remember how nervous they felt
when they gave their first speech. You may be startled to find out
how supportive a Toastmasters club can be. If you are already aware
of how nervous you become when speaking in front of a sizeable number
of people, Toastmasters is an easy and relatively inexpensive way to
get over your fears.
If you don't know whether you would like Toastmasters, why not
visit one of our meetings? Guests are gladly welcomed and your visit
is free. If after your visit, you don't think Toastmasters is
your cup of tea, we'll still be happy you dropped by.
I'm a good speaker! What can Toastmasters do for me?
If you are a good speaker, Toastmasters can keep you in shape.
Good speaking, unfortunately, is not a skill that is learned once and
never forgotten (like swimming or bicycling). It takes constant
practice to keep your skills current. Joining Toastmasters will also
provide you with opportunities to improve upon your existing skills by
experimenting with different approaches and practicing impromptu
speaking and evaluating.
How is Toastmasters more beneficial than other forms of speaking improvement?
High School and College courses in public speaking usually involve
the students sitting through dozens of lectures followed by very
few speaking opportunities. When the speeches are over, you get a
grade. Often, you get a grade on what you did wrong. This is NOT the
way to build reassurance and motivation. Then too, you rarely get
much of a chance to practice by doing. You get up at the end of the
semester, you do your speech, and you sit down. Toastmasters teaches
us through constant reinforcement and improvement. You learn by
doing, not by sitting there while someone else lectures for hours.
