April 5th, 2009
Toastmasters teaches you good communication skills to be a good leader
From a humble beginning in 1924 at the YMCA in Santa Ana, California, Toastmasters International has grown to become a world leader in helping people become more competent and comfortable in front of an audience. The nonprofit organisation now has nearly 235,000 members in 12,036 clubs in 106 countries, offering a proven – and enjoyable! – way to practice and hone communication and leadership skills.
Most Toastmasters meetings are comprised of approximately 20 people who meet weekly for an hour or two. Participants practice and learn skills by filling a meeting role, ranging from giving a prepared speech or an impromptu one to serving as timer, evaluator or grammarian.
Toastmasters makes learning fun
There is no instructor; instead, each speech and meeting is critiqued by a member in a positive manner, focusing on what was done right and what could be improved.
Good communicators tend to be good leaders.!
This non-profit organisation offers a proven – and enjoyable – way to practice communication and leadership skills. Here’s how it works:
- A Toastmasters meeting is a learn-by-doing workshop in which participants hone their speaking and leadership skills in a friendly atmosphere. A typical group has 20 to 40 members who meet weekly or biweekly to practice public speaking techniques. The average meeting lasts one hour.
- Members learn communication skills by working in the Competent Communication manual, a series of 10 self-paced speaking assignments designed to instill a basic foundation in public speaking. Participants learn skills related to use of humor, gestures, eye contact, speech organization and overall delivery. When finished with this manual, members can choose from 15 advanced manuals to learn skills related to specific interests.
- Members also learn leadership skills by taking on various meeting roles and serving as officers at the club and district levels, and by working in the Competent Leadership manual and the High Performance Leadership program. In our learn-by-doing approach, we don’t lecture our members about leadership skills; we give them responsibilities and ask them to lead.
- There is no instructor in a Toastmasters meeting. Instead, members evaluate one another’s presentations. This feedback process is a key part of the program’s success. Meeting participants also give impromptu talks on assigned topics, conduct meetings, serve as officers in various leadership roles and learn rules related to timing, grammar and parliamentary procedure.
Thousands of corporations sponsor in-house Toastmasters clubs. Businesses and government organisations have discovered that Toastmasters is an effective, cost-efficient means of meeting their communication training needs.
Toastmasters groups also can be found in governmental agencies, as well as in a variety of community organisations, prisons, universities, hospitals, military bases and churches.
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April 3rd, 2009
Blue Tongue Toastmasters will help your public speaking
Blue Tongue Toastmasters (BTTM) is apart of the international Toastmasters organisation whose primary aim is to help you and it’s other members improve their public speaking skills. This is achieved through a number of different speaking exercises to cover the various types of situations where you will be addressing an audience. Toastmasters Clubs in Australia are the best place to improve both your communication skills and your leadership skills. Toastmasters will help you overcome any fear of public speaking while learning skills that will allow you to become more successful in whatever path in life you have chosen.
BTTM meets every second Wednesday at 5:45pm in the IBM Centre
Meetings are bi weekly on odd numbered weeks of the year e.g. week 1, 3, 5…51 of year. We meet at the IBM Centre on Level 13 Room 5 (601 Pacific Highway St Leonards, NSW). The meetings are held on Wednesdays nights at 5:45pm.
Blue Tongue is a non-profit educational organisation
Blue Tongue and Toastmasters International are non-profit educational organisations. Our members learn communication and leadership skills by practicing public speaking and working with others in a warm and friendly environment.
BTTM is a diverse group of professionals
Blue Tongue is a friendly group of professionals. Our members range from those who are just starting out their careers to members who are enjoying volunteering in the community since retiring. Our members include business owners, professionals working in the North Shore, PhDs and community leaders.
Everyone is welcome to come along and participate for free
Everyone is welcome to come along, watch, participate and join. It is completely free to come along and participate! When you come along you will be welcomed into the group of warm, kind-heart people who want to help you. It is free and there is no obligation to join so come along to the next session.
After a few sessions if you wish to join, the membership is great value
While it is free to come along membership offers a range of benefits primarily teaching you to be a better speaker and leader. BTTM and Toastmasters International runs a number of courses for the members to progress from their first speech (the Icebreaker) to being a Distinguished Toastmaster. Membership is $40 (once off) + $50 each six months i.e. $90 for the first six months than $50 for each six months after that. Initially membership includes several manuals to guide you to be a more effective speaker and leader and continues to provide more advance courses as you progress over the years.
BTTM opens up networking and mentoring opportunities
How we communicate informally at events is every bit as important, if not more so, than being in the spotlight giving a speech. Knowing how to mingle and network may be more important to our overall success in life than anything else. BTTM gives you the skills and opportunities to network and have a mentor or mentoree which will help you grow professionally.
Tags: blue tongue, exercises, giving a speech, leadership, leadership skills, public speaking, public speaking skills, six months, toastmaster, toastmasters, toastmasters club, toastmasters clubs, toastmasters international
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