What does Leadership have to do with
Public Speaking?

Toastmasters recognizes that an effective communicator is in the position to lead people. There are simply too many managers in the world today, with too few real leaders. To this end, Toastmasters International has put together a number of materials and opportunities to teach the club membership leadership skills.

When you join, you will receive a manual titled Competent Leadership. This manual is comprised of projects involving club roles and related tasks. Some of the projects include "Time Management," "Motivating People," and "Organizing and Delegating." There are ten projects in all, designed to help you learn the skills to become a leader.

Toastmasters also has a set of canned presentations to further teach you these skills. A few of the titles are "The Visionary Leader," "Building a Team," and "Giving Effective Feedback." These modules are designed for you, as a speaker, to have the materials and visual aids to build upon and present to the other members of the club, teaching you and your cohorts the skills of leadership.

The Toastmaster club is run by seven officers; members who volunteer for the various leadership positions and execute the duties for six month terms. This provides you an opportunity to exercise your leadership skills for a reasonable length of time in a laborotory type setting. When you join and after you've been part of the organization for awhile, you will be asked to serve a term or two on the board of officers to help you gain experience and to help the daily operation of the club.

If the officer roles are an exciting aspect of Toastmasters to you, there are additional leadership opportunities available, serving as district officers, helping others and learning from your experiences.

There is an entire formal leadership track in the Toastmasters program that runs parallel to the communication track. Awards for success are given at various stages of achievement within the organization.

Toastmasters, where leaders grow.