When someone mentions "Toastmasters," most people immediately think of the manufacturing company that literally makes toasters, convection ovens and fryers.
The name of that company is Toastmaster, not Toastmasters.
Toastmasters International is based in California; its primary mission is to serve as "the leading movement in making effective oral communication a worldwide reality."
To put it in simpler terms, it is "public speaking training for the layperson."
Although many of its members are professional speakers (or at least comfortable with public speaking), TI studies indicate that 72 percent of members join the organization to overcome their fear of public speaking. Then, using their improved communication skills, they begin to develop their leadership and management skills.
The first Toastmasters club was founded by a Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) Director Ralph C. Smedley in the basement of a friend's home on Santa Anna, Calif., on Oct. 22. 1924. Throughout its history TI has served more than 4 million members and today the organization serves more than 332,000 active members in 135 countries through its 15,400 clubs.
Smedley created the concept of the Toastmasters' meeting to help young men in the YMCA develop speaking and leadership skills. After a few years. he decided to offer it to adults.
Smedley said that while most nonprofit organizations are founded to serve others, the Toastmasters Club was founded to benefit its members.
In other words, it is an educational organization that operates clubs worldwide for the purpose of helping members improve their communication, public speaking and leadership skills that are so important in all aspects of business and interpersonal communication.
Professionally speaking, Toastmasters might be the best kept secret in personal and professional development. The one-hour weekly meeting is a learn-by-doing workshop where members hone their communication and leadership skills in a most friendly environment.
In fact, the Mission of a Toastmasters Club is to "provide a mutually supportive and positive learning environment in which every member has the opportunity to develop communication and leadership skills, which in turn foster self-confidence and personal growth."
The basic agenda for each weekly meeting is divided into two parts: speaking and evaluating, which is presided over by the Toastmaster of the Day.
The speaking portion of the meeting is usually two prepared speakers who are guided by speech manuals that take the speaker in hand and walk them through various aspects of effective public speaking, such as gestures and vocal variety; speech organization and the power of eye contact; projection and enunciation.
And that's just the "basic manual" of 10 speeches, averaging 5 to 7 minutes per speech and the speeches are timed. There are two dozen "advanced manuals," from "Speaking to Inform" to "Public Relations" to "The Entertaining Speaker" and others.
Following the Prepared Speakers portion of the meeting, the Table Topics Master is introduced. This is the impromptu speaking portion of the meeting where the Table Topics Master brings three or four questions before the group and randomly calls upon other Toastmasters. They are each required to speak from a minimum of one minute to not more than two and one-half minutes.
Then the General Evaluator is introduced to take control of the lectern (and it is a "lectern," which one stands behind, and not a "podium," which is what one stands upon). The General Evaluator introduces the Toastmasters who have been assigned to "evaluate" each of the Prepared Speakers.
To some, this is the most important part of the meeting, as the evaluators can offer tremendous growth opportunities in two ways. First, what are the strengths of the speaker and everybody has them, even the brand new member. Second, what are one or two suggestions for improvement that each evaluator can provide?
Toastmasters don't like to use the word "criticize." They would rather offer "suggestions for improvement" which are couched in the most constructive and encouraging manner possible.
The General Evaluator then calls on three reports from duty-holders who are introduced at the beginning of the meeting.
The "WordMaster/Grammarian" is a Toastmaster who posts a word that speakers are encouraged to work into anything they say during the meeting, and he/she also keeps an ear out for grammatical errors and makes a report at the end of the meeting.
Probably the one thing guests will take away from the meeting is the "Ah Counter," who is introduced at the beginning of the meeting. He/she operates a small bicycle horn, which is squeaked when anybody utters speech fillers such as "Uh" or "Ah," or repetitive "Ands" or "Sos."
The Ah Counter also makes a report during the Evaluation portion of the meeting.
The Vote Counter is called upon last by the Toastmaster of the Day, when "winner ribbons" are handed out for "Best Prepared Speaker," "Best Table Topics" and "Best Evaluator."
To the guest, everything seems to go fast and furious during a regular Toastmaster meeting, but Toastmasters are the friendliest and most supportive people in the world when it comes to helping guests understand what's going on or encouraging other Toastmasters, especially new members.
One Toastmaster with Twin Cities Toastmasters mentioned a few weeks ago why she had come back to the club as a member three different times since first joining almost a decade ago.
"The great thing to watch in this club is how everybody supports and encourages one another during the meeting," said Jennifer Hagebusch, who was serving as General Evaluator and presenting a "general evaluation" of the meeting. "If there is advice to be offered or correction to be made, it is given in the gentlest manner. It's why I keep coming back to this club."
Another Toastmaster of 31 years says, "It's the most fun I have all week."
There are three Toastmasters clubs locally, which are part of District 50, which includes 187 clubs with 3,800 members in seven Divisions ranging from Dallas, Texas, to Shreveport, La., to Texarkana, Texas.
Twin Cities Toastmasters meets at noon Thursday in the Fellowship Hall at First Lutheran Church, 4600 Texas Blvd., Texarkana, Texas. For more information, call Club President Bonnie Champion at (903) 244-6620.
Solid Rock Toastmasters meets at 6:45 every Tuesday evening at Downtown First Baptist Church, 401 Pine St., Texarkana, Texas. For more information, call Club President Anne Redelfs at (903) 306-5286.
University Toastmasters meets at 6:30 every Monday evening at First United Methodist Church in downtown Texarkana, Ark. For more information, call Club President Cindy Elkins at (903) 244-5720.