Guest Pack
- What is Toastmasters?
- The Programme
- A Few of the Benefits
- Who may Join?
- Who should Join?
- The Meeting
- Protocols
- General
- Membership Fees
What is Toastmasters?
The Toastmasters movement was launched by Dr Ralph Smedley in California in 1924 with the object of developing the oral communications and leadership abilities of its members.
Toastmasters has become a world-wide adult education organisation dedicated to helping its members improve their communication, leadership and management skills, and in so doing they increase their self confidence and marketability in the workplace.
There are over 120 clubs in the Southern African district (District 74) and over 8000 clubs world wide across 60 countries.
Most people believe that Toastmasters is only about public speaking, but it is a lot more. The essence of Toastmasters is about building self-esteem - and public speaking is our chosen vehicle.
The Programme
For many people their greatest fear is of speaking in public, be it at a meeting in the office, at a social gathering or on a platform. Research has shown that this fear, when graded on a stress scale, is pretty close to the top of the scale. If we learn to cope with this fear, we place other fears in their proper perspective, and as Franklin D. Roosevelt one said, "The greatest fear is the fear of fear itself!" Life is not static. This means that we either grow or decline, and the growth that Toastmasters nurtures helps us to learn to manage our fears more effectively through developing our skills. This is done at a pace that suits each and every individual because we set our own pace.Everything is done in a friendly, warm and supportive environment which results in a mutual learning process.
One of the cornerstones of the Toastmasters method of learning is the unique process of evaluation. Each time we perform an activity, we are given a recommendation for improvement (nobody is expected to be perfect) - growth is then inevitable and we become increasingly more successful.
Active participation is the only way to grow and improve your skills and confidence. Throughout your Toastmasters career you will be evaluated (receive constructive criticism) formally and informally by your peers.
Participation is not limited to delivering prepared speeches. To derive the full benefit of Toastmasters you are encouraged to fulfil the roles of the different officers at a meeting. When participating in all the facets that Toastmasters offers, you will enjoy the full benefit.
A Few of the Benefits
- Increase your self-esteem and confidence.
- Get your message across effectively.
- Make your presentations memorable events.
- Turn a social chat into a friendship.
- Develop your leadership skills - latent in all of us.
- Learn to manage media encounters.
- Feel comfortable in any management meeting.
- Learn to be a team leader as well as a team member.
- Discover hidden / undeveloped talents.
Who may Join?
Anybody over the age of eighteen who is prepared to accept the benefits and responsibilities of membership and who pay their fees.
Who should Join?
Every person interested in personal growth and development.
The Meeting
Some points of explanation.
The President, who is the club CEO for a year, opens the meeting and conducts the business session.
The Toastmaster for the evening is in charge of running most of the evening.
The Wordmaster is a member who chooses a word, explains it, pronounces it correctly and challenges everyone present to use the word correctly some time during the evening.
The Table Topicsmaster leads the session on the programme to practice impromptu (off the cuff) speaking. The Topicsmaster will select members and give them a topic on which they must present a one to two minute talk on that topic - not as easy as it sounds - but lots of fun!
The Grammarian for the evening listens carefully to the use of language and highlights the good, the bad and the ugly.
The Pausemaster counts pauses, ums and errs. Speakers are often not aware that they use ums and errs in abundance. The pausemaster focuses on this.
The prepared speeches and their subsequent evaluation is one of the most important sessions of the evening. Members working their way through the Toastmaster programme deliver their prepared speeches which have specific objectives at the various speaking levels.
Protocols
You will notice a great deal of applause during the meeting. This is to encourage, support and thank those giving a presentation.
After a toast has been presented, please remain standing until the person proposing the toast is seated. The Loyal Toast is the only toast after which no applause is given.
When speaking, address the person in charge first, e.g.: Mr/Madam Toastmaster, Mr/Madam Topicsmaster.
The formality of meetings varies from club to club, some are very formal and others extremely informal. Please keep to whatever the club expects.
After the meetings, many clubs, including West Rand , have an informal social gathering. Please feel free to join with us.
General
Through Toastmasters you can learn many valuable life skills and have fun doing so. How far you go and when you get there is entirely up to you.
Membership Fees
There is a one time life-membership joining fee and a pro rata semi-annual fee, depending on which time of the year you join, thereafter fees are paid half yearly in March and September.
The fees vary with the US dollar exchange rate and are currently:
Joining fee: R200
Full semi-annual fee: R300