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MANCHESTER TOASTMASTERS |
About Manchester Toastmasters
There are currently three Toastmasters clubs meeting in the Greater Manchester area. More details can be found on their respective websites:- Manchester Orators - city centre, meets at the Rain Bar
- Didsbury Speakers - meets at The Didsbury pub
- Salford Speakers - meets at Salford University
About Toastmasters International
Toastmasters International is a non-profit organisation governed by a Board of Directors elected by the membership. The first Toastmasters club was established on October 22, 1924, in Santa Ana, California, by Dr. Ralph C. Smedley, who conceived and developed the idea of helping others to speak more effectively. More clubs were formed, and Toastmasters International was incorporated on December 19, 1932.Community Benefits
Toastmasters has helped many members in their community service activities. Using the speaking and leadership skills developed in Toastmasters, people have become more active in business, churches, and service and charity organisations. Toastmasters members are able to organise activities, conduct meetings, and speak in public as their organisation's representative. Some even become active in local or national government.How Toastmasters works
At Toastmasters, members learn by speaking to groups and working with others in a supportive environment. An established club has up to 40 members who meet every two weeks.Each meeting gives everyone an opportunity to practice:
- Conducting meetings. Meetings usually begin with a short session which helps members learn basic meeting procedures.
- Giving impromptu speeches. Members present 1-2 minute impromptu speeches on assigned topics.
- Presenting prepared speeches. Three or more members present speeches based on projects from the Toastmasters International Communication and Leadership Programme manuals. Projects cover such topics as speech organization, voice, language, gestures, and persuasion.
- Offering constructive evaluation. An evaluator is assigned to every prepared speaker, to point out speech strengths and offer suggestions for improvement.
The Tools You Use
Upon joining a Toastmasters club, each new member receives a variety of manuals and resources on speaking. Members also have access to other books as well as audio and video tapes on speaking and leadership. They also receive the award-winning monthly magazine The Toastmaster that offers the latest insights on speaking and leadership techniques.Toastmasters and Leadership
Leadership cannot be learned in a day. It takes practice. In Toastmasters, members build leadership skills by organizing and conducting meetings and motivating others to help them. Club leadership roles and a leadership development program also offer opportunities to learn and practice. Just as Toastmasters members learn to speak simply by speaking, they learn leadership by leading.Company Benefits
A company's success also depends on communication. Employees face an endless exchange of ideas, messages, and information as they deal with one another and with customers day after day. How well they communicate can determine whether a company quickly grows into an industry leader or joins thousands of other businesses mired in mediocrity.Toastmasters provide the tools that enable employees to become effective communicators and leaders all at a very low cost.
Toastmasters Training Helps Individuals
- give better sales presentations
- hone their management skills
- work better with fellow employees
- effectively develop and present ideas
- offer constructive criticism
- accept criticism more objectively
The cost of Membership
Those who are familiar with the costs of training courses and professional tuition of the above skills will realise that conventional training could cost hundreds or thousands of pounds. The Toastmasters system of learning is designed to provide high-quality personal development at nominal membership costs. Of course, there are social reasons for being a member as well as the educational ones.As a guide, membership of a Toastmasters club works out at less than £6 per meeting.
Toastmasters produces results
Around the world, more than three million men and women of all ages and occupations have benefited from Toastmasters training, and more than one thousand corporations, community groups, universities, associations, and government agencies now use the training.Toastmasters International's business and services are administered by its World Headquarters, located in Rancho Santa Margarita, California. It employs no paid promoters or instructors. It has no salaried staff except the Executive Director and World Headquarters staff, who provide services to the clubs and Districts.