Toastmasters International

Toastmasters International - How to Succeed at Public Speaking.

Toastmasters International has been helping people with public speaking since 1924. What started as a meeting in a basement in California quickly swept across the globe and is now available in over 106 countries! Toastmasters International trains people in the art of public speaking. Many corporations actually have their own chapters of Toastmasters International and allow their employees to attend on company time because it helps them with their development plans and increases the quality of their presentations on behalf of the company. It is a win win situation for them. Many people get tongue tied when they get up in front of people to give a speech or presentation. It does not even matter if it is 3 people or three hundred people in the audience they just freeze up. Toastmasters International has a program that helps you overcome your fear of public speaking. They will show you how to hold yourself, where to stand and what to do with your hands while you are speaking.

Some props are allowed but do not carry a pen up with you. People will be concentrating on what you have in your hands rather than what you are saying. Toastmasters International hands out various roles to its members for each meeting. You might be the time keeper or the "UM" counter or the Master of Ceremonies. Whatever your role is it is crucial for the success of the program. Many people say "um" when they are nervous but do not realize how many times they say it. Having someone count your "Um's" makes you notice it more.

They teach you to pause rather than saying "um" and it really works. Toastmasters International also helps you keep a positive attitude. Your attitude and how you hold yourself is conveyed whenever you give a speech or presentation. They say "Good communicators make good leaders" and this is evident in every successful enterprise. What is unique about Toastmasters International is that each chapter runs itself with just a little guidance from the main office. You are judged by other members in your chapter and the roles and responsibilities is rotated so that one day you are the judge and the next day you are giving your speech.