The purpose of Toastmasters
is to help people overcome apprehensions about
speaking in public and to improve their communication
skills. This is accomplished by providing
a self-paced, focussed speaking programme
with a supportive, experienced group of people
to assist you. This mutual support will help
you become more effective in many skills,
including formal public presentations, individual
communications, impromptu speaking situations,
managing and participating in meetings, and
leading and managing people.
The
chief mechanism in developing these skills
is through the typical club meeting, which
is designed to provide an opportunity to
practice various techniques in a variety
of situations. A normal Toastmasters meeting
will therefore contain a number of individual
sections within the meeting, as described
below.
At
a typical club meeting, members are given
a chance to practice the given below:-
(i) Chairing a meeting
(ii) Impromptu speaking
(iii) Prepared
speeches
(iv) Giving feedback on the
speeches and other aspects of the meeting.
The atmosphere is always supportive, and
usually light-hearted. Almost all members
start out being afraid to speak in public
and within six months are comfortable with
public speaking. Ask any Advanced Toastmaster
what it was like on their first day!
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