Although there are a large number of 'long termers' in any Toastmasters club, most members of Toastmasters are relative newcomers who are working toward achieving a basic qualification in public speaking, known as the Competent Communicator or CC. When a new member joins the club, they are given the Basic Manual, which provides them with the guidelines they need to achieve the CC qualification.

The Basic Manual is divided into ten stages, and each Toastmaster needs to deliver ten speeches - one for each stage. How long they take to deliver all ten speeches is up to them.The first speech is the icebreaker speech. The aim of this is to introduce yourself to the club, and to control your nerves in front of a group of people. The second speech is not much different: you are asked to select a topic that is close to your heart, and to expound on this for five minutes or so. Again, the focus of this speech is very much on controlling your nerves.

The next four speeches are more technical. They concentrate in turn on organizing the speech into a logical structure, using body language effectively, raising and lowering the tone and rate of your voice, and selecting the right words to maximize the impact on the audience. The later speeches focus more on the art of speech craft - bringing all your technical skills together, using props and flipcharts, designing a persuasive speech, and finally, delivering a speech that inspires your audience.

This program can seem daunting, but it is actually a lot of fun. The main thing to remember is that you are among friends, so if you freeze up, or forget your lines, or miss an entire section of the speech midway, nobody will belittle you or laugh at you. As you go from speech to speech, your style will improve. You will be told about things that are effective in your speaking style, and you will be alerted to unconscious distractions. You will become more confident about your speaking ability and less afraid to speak coherently in front of a large audience.

Toastmasters Speech Contests

from District 5

Two series of contests are held each fall and each spring. In the fall, Toastmasters may compete in the Humorous and/or Table Topics Contests. In the spring, members may compete in the International Speech and/or Evaluation Contests. See Toastmasters International 2009 Speech Contest Rule Book.

Toastmasters speech contests have three main purposes:

To provide an opportunity for proficient speakers and those Toastmasters who are interested in competitive speaking to gain contest experience.
To provide an interesting educational program for Toastmasters and the general public (contests can create a community awareness of the opportunities in the Toastmasters program).
To provide an opportunity to those Toastmasters who are not participating in the the contest to learn by observing proficient speakers. They are also a great way to meet other Toastmasters outside of your club, to see the "bigger" picture and scope of Toastmasters, and above all - have fun!

Each of these contests begins with competitions at the club level. Club winners compete at the local Area Contest. Area Contest winners compete at the local Division Contests. Division Contest winners compete at the District Conference. District International and Humorous Speech contest winners compete at the Regional Conference. Winners of the regional International Speech Contest go on to represent the region at the International level.

Contestant Eligibility

In general, to be eligible for any contest, a contestant must be a member in good standing of a club in good standing (dues current). If a member belongs to more than one club, the member may enter the club contest for each club where he/she maintains good standing. However, a contestant may not represent more than one club at the Area level, even if the clubs are in different Areas or Divisions. District officers may not compete in any contest.

For the International Speech Contest, the contestant must have completed six speech projects from the basic Communication and Leadership Program manual.

Toastmasters is for everyone, regardless of whether you think you are a horrendous speaker or a great one, and whether or not you will ever have to give a prepared speech to an audience or not. Toastmasters can improve all interpersonal aspects of your life. There are several distinct components that are phenomenal for refining your skills like answering questions on-the-spot for job interviews, telling stories or jokes to a small group of people, evaluating someone’s performance of a task, and of course, giving a prepared speech in front of a crowd of strangers or peers. Toastmasters will teach you to how to plan ahead, organize and motivate a group of people, delegate tasks, and hold others accountable. It is a rewarding experience when your hard work of organizing a meeting pays off as club members converge for a fun, educational, and meaningful meeting.

By far the most valuable resource of the Encinitas Toastmasters Club is our people. Everyone is friendly, supportive, and genuinely interested in helping other members achieve their goals. Countless guests have exclaimed that they were impressed with the nurturing environment of the Encinitas Toastmasters Club.

Many people have told me they wish they would have started Toastmasters when they were my age. It’s true that you are never too old and never too young to join Toastmasters. Now is the perfect time. Our club has a diverse crowd, including members who are in school, retired, raising children, and successful entrepreneurs. Many of our members first attended a meeting to see what a friend or family member had been doing on Thursday nights, and subsequently realized they could benefit from joining.

One of the most underrated aspects of Toastmasters is the opportunity to develop yourself as a leader. Our weekly meetings offer an unparalleled opportunity to set a vision for a group to follow and help members achieve their goals.

Toastmasters is an organization that will give back to you as much as you are able to put in. The more roles and responsibilities you volunteer for, the more you will learn and grow as a communicator and as a leader.

I want to share a story that has inspired me to strive to be my best at all times:

A man who owned a hot dog stand was known to have the best hot dogs in the whole city. Business was great, and he had a great time interacting with his customers. One day, a business man in a suit was buying a hot dog and told the hot dog stand owner that there was a recession coming, to which he asked, “Really? A recession?” The business man replied, “Yes, haven’t you heard! You had better start finding ways to save money now because hot dog sales are sure to decline.” So the owner of the hot dog stand started using day old buns and second class hot dogs, and cut back on condiments. A year later, the business man came back to the stand and asked the hot dog stand owner how he was doing. “You were right! My hot dog sales are half what they were a year ago. I’m so glad you warned me.”

It’s easy to see from this story that now is not the time to cut back on investing in yourself. Now is the time to thrive. Recessions are an opportunity to progress for those who take the time to better themselves. I am positive that no matter who you are, Toastmasters will be an invaluable asset in helping you achieve your goals and I encourage you to come see what it’s all about at this week’s meeting. Guests are always welcome with or without advanced notice.