Are you a "Toastmaster" or "Dale Carnegie Graduate"?

[May K. Toney]

Hello Robert,

I am by no means an authority on Toastmasters International (TM) or Dale Carnegie. As a former member of TM, I do have a binder filled with information somewhere. However, I can tell you that the program is a public speaking and leadership development program operating at the regional, state and national levels. Many employers act as sponsors for the program by supplying free meeting space and encouraging employee participation. Each group is chartered and is assigned to an area and regional president. Each charter elects their own officers; i.e.; President, Treasurer, Secretary, etc who perform specific duties outlined in the by-laws. The meetings are held as frequently as desired by the charter and each meeting lasts between 1-2 hours (mostly over the lunch hour). Charter members are scheduled to give prepared speeches that are timed and critiqued by their peers. Comments are made regarding diction, articulation, presence, eye contact, etc.

Novice TMs advance from one level to another after presenting so many speeches. This is strictly legit and confirmed by pins and TM titles. The information is reported to the Regional Toastmasters division and remains a part of your record throughout the TM organization. TM has numerous events outside the workplace and also compete against one another at the regional, state and national levels. I was a participant for several years and truly enjoyed the program. It's also good to discover and address some of those "speaking deficiencies" and mannerisms we're totally unaware of. Certain things like "um" and other "dead space" counts against your final score for each speech. You need to score so high on each speech or repeat the presentation in order to receive credit. Amongst other things, you learn how to capture and maintain the attention of your audience and effectively use visual aids to enhance your presentation. A few speeches and you'll know whether or not you can take constructive criticism. It helped thicken my skin, I'll tell you that.

Since IPIU is involved, I would think that they have the information on the sign-up process. Otherwise, you can try www.toastmasters.com on the web. That will give you all the different TM areas. Or, try www.toastmasters.org which is the website for Toastmasters International.

I hope this answered some of your questions.