All About Toastmasters

About Toastmasters International

Toastmasters International is a nonprofit educational organization that teaches public speaking and leadership skills through a worldwide network of clubs. Headquartered in Rancho Santa Margarita, California, the organization’s membership exceeds 345,000 in more than 15,900 clubs in 142 countries. Since 1924, Toastmasters International has helped people of all backgrounds build confidence as speakers and leaders.

Better Speakers and Leaders

Toastmasters is the best way for anyone—whether a working professional, student, stay-at-home parent or retiree—to improve his or her communication and leadership skills. Members overcome the fear of public speaking and learn skills that aid them in becoming more successful. Toastmasters creates better listeners and stronger team members and leaders who can comfortably give and receive constructive evaluations.

Joining Toastmasters

Joining a Toastmasters club is easy. A listing of clubs by geographic area can be located on the Toastmasters website at www.toastmasters.org/find. Visitors to the website can select the most convenient club, attend a meeting and apply for membership. (Applicants must be 18 or older.) New clubs can be started with permission and assistance from Toastmasters International.

Toastmasters and Leadership

Leadership takes practice. In Toastmasters, members learn leadership skills by organizing and conducting meetings and completing projects. The projects address skills such as listening, planning, motivating, and team building and give members the opportunity to practice them. Just as Toastmasters members improve communication by speaking, they learn leadership skills by leading.

Company Benefits

A company’s success depends on communication. Employees interact with their colleagues and customers to exchange ideas, messages and information. How well they communicate and share their ideas can determine whether a company grows into an industry leader or is mired in mediocrity. At a very reasonable cost, Toastmasters teaches employees to become better presenters and leaders:

• Give better sales presentations
• Hone their management skills
• Work better with fellow employees
• Develop and present ideas more effectively
• Offer constructive criticism
• Accept feedback more objectively

Toastmasters produces results. Around the world more than four million men and women of all ages and occupations have benefited from Toastmasters. Thousands of corporations, community groups, universities, associations and government agencies currently use the Toastmasters program.

Community Benefits

Toastmasters helps many members in their community-service activities. Using the skills developed in Toastmasters, members have become more active in business, church, service and charity organizations. Toastmasters are able to organize activities, conduct meetings and speak in public as their organizations’ representatives. Some even become active in local, state or national government.