Toastmasters International -The Pursuit of Eloquence

Toastmasters' International was founded by Dr Ralph C Smeadley in the USA in 1924 and is committed to making effective oral communication a worldwide reality.

Currently there are 7 Toastmasters Clubs in Thailand with 300 members. The first club to founded in Thailand and Southeast Asia was Bangkok Toastmasters established in October 1955. The Laemthong Toastmasters Club in 1960 and, the Siam Toastmasters in 1983 followed this. The Unocal Toastmasters was established in 1992 and became the first In-house Club. Subsequently the Dusit Toastmasters Club was founded in 1998. 1999 was Thai Toastmasters Golden Year with the chartering of Thai Airways International Toastmasters Club and Lumpini Toastmasters Club.

At club level, Toastmasters International teaches its members the arts of speaking, listening and thinking - vital skills that promote self-actualization, enhance leadership potential, foster human understanding and contribute to the betterment of mankind.

So how does it work? When a new member joins Toastmasters they receive a "Basic Communications and Leadership" manual with 10 speech writing assignments each with a different objective. Upon completion the member is awarded the title Competent Toastmaster Award (CTM).

At the weekly club meetings there is a session called Table Topics when each member is given a subject at random on which they are invited to give a two minute speech which gives members the opportunity to polish their listening, thinking and impromptu speaking skills. It is a Toastmasters worldwide protocol that all speeches are given in English and foreign words may only be used to give a specific example that relates to the speech.

Members can than progress using the Basic and Advanced Communications Manual to the level of Advanced Toastmaster Bronze (ATM-B) and finally to the highest accolade of Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM).

There is a lot more to Toastmasters than just standing up and saying "I would like to propose a toast to...." It is an ideal environment for anyone to develop his or her presentation skills, wether it's just to give a new idea to your boss in a more professional and confident manner, to addressing an International Convention. However the presentation is being made in should be sealed with a KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid).