Frequently Asked Questions
About Toastmasters|Membership|Advancement|Leadership/Organization|Contest
Toastmasters International publishes a complete set of materials in English and basic materials in French, Spanish, and Japanese. As translators make themselves available, more materials are translated.
Remember that EVERYONE in a Toastmasters club is there because at some point they realized they needed 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?
Think you're already an excellent speaker? People who think they're really good sometimes come into Toastmasters and find out how unstructured and sloppy they really are. 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 still don't think it's your cup of tea, we'll still be happy you came by.
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 $36 per year (plus club dues, if any) and it can last a lifetime.
Clubs exist in communities around the world, especially in North America, and it's a rare locality in the United States that doesn't have at least one Toastmasters club within thirty minutes' driving time. There are, at present, over 8,000 clubs around the world, and most of them are in the United States.
There are many sorts of clubs: community clubs, military clubs, company clubs, prison clubs, collegiate clubs, and so on. At this time, the majority of the *new* clubs being chartered are 'company clubs', i.e. clubs chartered at and meeting at businesses and organizations, in many cases open only to employees or members of those organizations. Never fear, however; there are thousands of community clubs already in existence as well.
You may be VERY surprised by how many clubs there are in your area. Quite a few clubs don't get around to advertising in the newspaper.
If you're visiting a community club, it might not be a bad idea to let them know you're coming so they can tell you any details like what time members arrive to eat and what time members who don't come to eat arrive, but community clubs are almost always open to all and they'll be delighted to have you come to the meeting.
Clubs that meet at companies and organizations, on military bases, or in prisons are often, but not always, restricted to members or employees of the sponsoring body. These clubs are happy to have guests but you sometimes need to call ahead to get through security or to find out specifically where the club meets.
Unlike some other organizations, where one must have a sponsoring member who _invites_ you to the meeting and introduces you to the group, Toastmasters welcomes all guests. If the club is open to membership from the community, you will usually be offered a membership application at the end of the meeting.
For more information about membership see the Membership FAQ.
Clubs that have a meal with their meeting may charge their members for the meals in advance and pay the restaurant in one lump sum or may have members order off the menu. Since breakfast and lunch clubs are popular with the business community, you can often kill two birds with one stone by joining Toastmasters: educating yourself and having a meal with business associates. You'll also find some clubs that get meeting space by having dinner before their meetings -- and half the members wait until dinner is over to arrive. There's infinite variety to it all. This is one good reason to call in advance.
Many clubs do *not* have meals with their meetings, though. Quite a few clubs meet after dinnertime in a public meeting room at a bank or library or at a church, have their meeting, and go home.
Everything presented in Toastmasters has a timing requirement and is evaluated by fellow Toastmasters.
Meetings last anywhere from one hour (especially at lunch or breakfast) to three hours (if the club meets infrequently or is conducting a special event).
Also you can:
| Terry McCann | Executive Director | tjm@toastmasters.org |
| Daniel Rex | Marketing Division - Club Extension, New Member Processing, and Merchandising | drex@toastmasters.org |
| Stan Stills | District Admin, International Convention, Trademarks, etc. | sstills@toastmasters.org |
| Nancy Langton | Finance and Policy Administration, including Club, District, and International bylaws, policy administration, and proxies | nancyl@toastmasters.org |
| Debbie Horn | Education and Club Administration | dhorn@toastmasters.org |
| Suzanne Frey | Publications and Public Relations, including Club bulletins and "The Toastmaster" magazine | sfrey@toastmasters.org |
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