What is Toastmasters?

“We empower individuals to become more effective communicators and leaders.”

Toastmasters International Mission

Toastmasters International is a non-profit educational organization that teaches public speaking and leadership skills through a worldwide network of clubs. Headquartered in Englewood, Colo., the organization’s membership exceeds 358,000 in more than 16,800 clubs in 143 countries. Since 1924, Toastmasters International has helped people from diverse backgrounds become more confident speakers, communicators, and leaders.

• 358,000 members
• 143 countries
• 16,800+ clubs

If you’re interested in being a more effective communicator and leader, please feel free to join our meeting all over Japan!

Toastmasters International

Toastmasters International is a world leader in communication and leadership development. Our membership is more than 332,000 memberships. Members improve their speaking and leadership skills by attending one of the 15,400 clubs in 135 countries that make up our global network of meeting locations.

The world needs leaders. Leaders head families, coach teams, run businesses and mentor others. These leaders must not only accomplish, they must communicate. By regularly giving speeches, gaining feedback, leading teams and guiding others to achieve their goals in a supportive atmosphere, leaders emerge from the Toastmasters program. Every Toastmasters journey begins with a single speech. During their journey, they learn to tell their stories. They listen and answer. They plan and lead. They give feedback—and accept it. Through our community of learners, they find their path to leadership.

Toastmasters International Mission

We empower individuals to become more effective communicators and leaders.

Toastmasters International Values

• Integrity
• Respect
• Service
• Excellence

District Mission

Toastmasters International consists of Districts. We, District, build new clubs and support all clubs in achieving excellence.

Club Mission

We provide a supportive and positive learning experience in which members are empowered to develop communication and leadership skills, resulting in greater self-confidence and personal growth.

How Does It Work?

This non-profit organization offers a proven – and enjoyable – way to practice communication and leadership skills. Here’s how it works:

• A Toastmasters meeting is a learn-by-doing workshop in which participants hone their speaking and leadership skills in a friendly atmosphere. A typical group has 20 to 40 members who meet weekly or biweekly to practice public speaking techniques. The average meeting lasts one hour.
  How dose it work?
• Members learn communication skills by working in the Competent Communication manual, a series of 10 self-paced speaking assignments designed to instill a basic foundation in public speaking. Participants learn skills related to use of humor, gestures, eye contact, speech organization and overall delivery. When finished with this manual, members can choose from 15 advanced manuals to learn skills related to specific interests.
• Members also learn leadership skills by taking on various meeting roles and serving as officers at the club and district levels, and by working in the Competent Leadership manual and the High Performance Leadership program. In our learn-by-doing approach, we don’t lecture our members about leadership skills; we give them responsibilities and ask them to lead.
• There is no instructor in a Toastmasters meeting. Instead, members evaluate one another’s presentations. This feedback process is a key part of the program’s success. Meeting participants also give impromptu talks on assigned topics, conduct meetings, serve as officers in various leadership roles and learn rules related to timing, grammar and parliamentary procedure.

Thousands of corporations sponsor in-house Toastmasters clubs. Businesses and government organizations have discovered that Toastmasters is an effective, cost-efficient means of meeting their communication training needs.

Toastmasters groups also can be found in governmental agencies, as well as in a variety of community organizations, prisons, universities, hospitals, military bases and churches.

Interested? Visit a group near you!

Why Join?

Survey after survey shows that presentation skills are crucial to success in the workplace. Many people pay high fees for seminars to gain the skill and confidence necessary to face an audience.
Toastmasters provides an option that is less expensive and held in high regard in business circles. This organization has been around for more than 84 years and offers a proven – and enjoyable – way to practice and hone communication and leadership skills.

You will…

• Learn to communicate more effectively
• Become a better listener.
• Improve your presentation skills
• Increase your leadership potential
• Become more successful in your career
• Build your ability to motivate and persuade
• Reach your professional and personal goals
• Increase your self confidence.

How you do it…

• Build speaking and leadership skills with time-tested methods
• Focus on areas of interest in our self-paced curriculum
• Receive suggestions for improvement through constructive evaluations

Toastmasters programs are…

• Inexpensive
• Interactive
• Convenient
• Friendly
• Supportive

More than four million people have discovered the benefits of this proven learning formula.