Toastmasters International is a world leader in communication and leadership development. Our organization has more than 357,000 members, who improve their speaking and leadership skills by attending one of the 16,600 clubs in 143 countries. Covering most of the countries of the world, we can call our network of meeting locations truly global.
The world needs leaders. Be it leaders of coach teams, businesses, schools or even families. They must not only accomplish, they must communicate. By regularly giving speeches, gaining feedback, leading teams and guiding others to achieve their goals in a supportive atmosphere, leaders emerge from the Toastmasters program. Every Toastmasters journey begins with a single speech. During their journey, they learn to tell their stories. They listen and answer. They plan and lead. They give feedback—and accept it. Through our community of learners, they find their path to leadership.
Toastmasters meetings are completely free and take place in the form of a workshop in which participants develop their skills in a friendly atmosphere and without any pressure. The meeting consists of prepared presentations as well as improvisations, and every visitor can try different forms of presentation according to the skills they want to focus on. There is no official supervisor at these meetings, the members give feedback to each other instead. This feedback process is a key part of the success of the program.
In addition to improvisation, the audience will also try to present under time pressure, use audiovisual technology, respond to audience queries and arguments, and much more.
The members of Toastmasters thus acquire a number of skills that they will use not only in their professional lives but also in their personal. And if you just want to watch and do not participate actively, that is ok. All you have to do is listen to others and you can engage actively when you feel it yourself. Activity in Toastmasters is completely voluntary and you can hold every meeting in a pleasant way.