I have been involved with Grand Pioneer Toastmasters for over five years now, and it is a source of great pleasure and growth! Tomorrow night I will be the Toastmaster for the evening which means that I have organized the meeting and will facilitate parts of it. I have been credentialed to the Advanced Toastmaster Silver Level, Competent Leader levels, which means that I have basically done 3 levels of speeches (30 speech projects completed) and one leadership track. For those of you who are not familiar with Toastmasters International, it is a non-profit organization established in 1924 to help people overcome their fears about public speaking and learn leadership skills. Eighty-four years later, Ralph Smedley's dream that began at the YMCA in Santa Ana, California flourishes and is international in scope.
Toastmasters offers personal growth and development at your own pace. You can be laid back or more aggressive about how much you learn and grow. The members learn not only about public speaking, but also how to run effective meetings. You can find a Toastmasters club near you by checking the Toastmasters International website at: www.toastmasters.org and use a tool found on the homepage to find a club close to your home or office. You can visit most clubs for free and several times at that. Clubs that meet at restaurants often expect you to place an order for a sandwich or meal item as that is often part of the meeting arrangements with the restaurant.
What I have been recommending for several years now, is to shop around and check out several clubs in your area. Different clubs have different temperaments or personalities if you will. You may want a small, quiet club. Others may want a larger, boisterous club. There are no rights or wrongs here, just different clubs to fit different people. We frequently have people visit our club multiple times before they join. What growth and development could you use in your life when it comes to public speaking or running meetings? How much training in this area have you had in your life? Are you up for learning in a fun environment? Maybe it would be worth your while to check out a local Toastmasters Club! If you are in Buffalo, I'd love for you to visit our Grand Pioneer club (2nd & 4th Monday Nights at 7 pm at Lasertron off Maple Rd in Amherst).
Love,
Lisa
I have visited many clubs in the Philadelphia area and I found, although all of the clubs followed the same template for a Toastmasters meeting, there are no two clubs that are exactly alike. There is definitely a club for everyone in Toastmasters.
Posted by: Mike Donlan | September 10, 2008 at 06:25 AM