Q: What is Toastmasters?

A: 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.

In the Exchange Park Club, we like to think of it as "a group of people coming together to support each other in being the best we can be - and having a lot of fun in the process." Mostly we practice improving our speaking skills and gaining confidence in speaking to others. There is also a potent leadership and management aspect to the organization, which can be a great asset in your career path.

Q: I'm scared to death of speaking! Why should I look into Toastmasters?

A: EVERYONE is afraid of speaking. In poll after poll, "public speaking" comes up as more feared than "death." Public speaking is the nation's #1 fear. You are no different. Even if you’re already pretty good at speaking, there may still be times when your heart stops and your palms sweat and you freeze before an audience. Toastmasters can help with that.

Remember that EVERYONE in a Toastmasters club is there because at some point they realized they wanted help communicating and speaking before audiences. Almost everyone will remember how wretched they felt when they gave their first speech. You may be startled to find out how supportive a Toastmasters club really can be.

If you're aware how nervous you are but aren't convinced that you should do anything about it, stop and think what skill is more important than any other when it comes to getting and keeping a good job? Communication.

Think you're already a good speaker? People who think they're really good sometimes come into Toastmasters and find out how much room there is for improvement. Being comfortable doesn't mean that you're actually GOOD. Even if you ARE good, you can always get better. Toastmasters can give you a lot of skills and keep good speakers improving.

If you still don't know whether you'd like Toastmasters, why not visit a meeting? If you decide it’s not your cup of tea, we'll still be happy you came by.

Q: How is Toastmasters more beneficial than other forms of speaking improvement?

A: Courses in public speaking usually involve the students sitting through lectures followed by one or two speaking opportunities. When the speeches are over, you get a grade. Often, you get graded on what you did wrong. This isn't a way to build confidence and motivation. Then too, you rarely get much of a chance to practice by doing. You get up at the end of the semester, give your speech, and sit down. Toastmasters is constant reinforcement and constant improvement. You learn by doing, not by sitting there while someone lectures for hours.

For-profit courses such as Dale Carnegie can be very good for their participants. They also cost a lot and when they're over, they're over. Toastmasters costs very little, and it can last a lifetime.

Q: What happens at a meeting?

A: The format varies slightly from club to club, but the basics include:

• Prepared speeches from members
• Impromptu speeches from members (known as Table Topics, see more below)
• Oral evaluations of the prepared speeches

Meetings usually last 1 to 1½ hours. At Exchange Park, meetings are one hour.

Q: What's a "prepared speech?"

A: When you join Toastmasters, you receive a basic speaking manual with ten speech projects. Each project calls on you to prepare a speech on a subject of your own choosing but using certain speaking principles. Each manual project lists the objectives for that speech and includes a written checklist for your evaluator to use when evaluating the speech. Thus, if you're scheduled to speak at a meeting, you generally pull out your manual a week or two in advance and put together a speech on whatever you like but paying attention to your goals and objectives for that speech. Then, when you go to the meeting, you hand your manual to your evaluator and that person makes written comments on the checklist while you speak. At the end of the meeting, that person (your evaluator) will give you the written checklist and oral commentary as well. The purpose of the extensive preparation and commentary is to show you what you're doing well, what you need to work on, and driving these lessons home so you're constantly improving.

Q: What is Evaluation?

A:  Each time you give a prepared speech, you receive a 2 to 3 minute oral evaluation from another member. A good evaluator will say "here's what you did well, here's why doing that was good, here are some things you might want to work on for your next speech, and here's how you might work on them."

Not only does the speaker receive very useful feedback, being an evaluator gives you the opportunity to improve your own ability to practice critical judgment and to give constructive feedback along with positive reinforcement, encouragement, and motivation for others.

Q: What are "Table Topics?"

A: Table Topics are fun! They may seem intimidating, but that's the point! You, the guest or member, are called upon to give a one to two minute answer to a question not known to you until the moment you get up to speak! Great practice thinking "on your feet!."

Topics might be serious (e.g. "What would you do about the national deficit if you were President?") or wacky ("Reach into this bag. Pull an item out. Tell us about it.").

Q: Why are there time limits?

A: Each type of speech has certain time limits. Most prepared speeches are 5-7 minutes, Table Topics usually 1 to 1½ minutes, and evaluations 2-3 minutes. This is in order to drive home the point that a good speaker makes effective use of the time allotted and does not keep going and going and going until the audience is bored. In the real world, quite often there are practical limits on how long a meeting can or should go. By setting time limits on speeches and presentations, participants learn brevity and time management, and the club meeting itself can be expected to end on schedule.

Q: How is Toastmasters organized?

A:  Clubs consist of at least eight members and may have forty or more. The recommended size for a club is twenty or more. There are, at present, over 8,000 clubs around the world, and most of them are in the United States. It's a rare locality in the United States that doesn't have at least one Toastmasters club within reasonable driving time. In a city of any size, there will be dozens of clubs that meet at different locations and times of day. You're sure to find one that suits you.

Some clubs are limited to members of a particular organization, but most have open membership. Exchange Park is a "community club" which is open to everyone. You can visit as many clubs as you like and as many times as you like before making your decision about joining.

We think you will find Exchange Park most effective, most friendly, and most fun. We invite you to visit us at any time, no advance notice required, and we hope you will choose us as YOUR TOASTMASTERS CLUB!!