Education Program
A: You progress along communication & leadership tracks by working through a series of manuals with a set of projects to complete:
- The communication track begins with Competent Communication (CC), and then Advanced Communication Bronze (ACB), Advanced Communication Silver (ACS) and Advanced Communication Gold (ACG);
- The leadership track begins with Competent Leadership (CL), and then Advanced Leadership Bronze (ALB) and Advanced Leadership Silver (ALS).
- After accomplish both communication and leadership tracks, you can achieve the highest award, Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM).
Related Resources:
A: Read your New Membership Kit carefully and ask your mentor, club officers and members to have a basic picture of Toastmasters Education System. Then, make your commitment, set your goal(s) and make your plan accordingly. For instance, if you aim to accomplish CC within one year, you need to deliver one speech per month.
Related Resources:
A: Except for the project completion record at the end of each manual, you can also download this easy form to record your progress The DTM Track by Danial Smith, DTM
Work on Communication Track
A: In preparing your speeches, you will want to go through the four step method that you might:
- Read the manual carefully. Notice the tips and specific requirements for the project.
- Select topic and content. Find and organize the topics and materials based on what you have learned from the project.
- Compose and rehearse. You can rehearse the speech by yourself, with a mentor or with friends to polish, sharpen and refine your skills.
- Deliver the speech in the meeting, receiving feedback and a written and verbal evaluation.
Related Resources:
- Best Ways to Prepare for a Speech
- Looking for Speech Ideas? Look at Your Life!
- The Art of Speech Writing
A: There are 15 Advanced Communication Manuals. Each focuses on different topics and areas of speaking skill.
You will probably find that you get the most from doing projects that you find interesting and challenging.Some manuals might relate closely to your work or prior experiences. If so, you might do this manual so that you get even better at that style of speaking, or you might do other manuals since you already can do that area. The manual projects are of widely differing durations too. You will probably find that shorter speeches are more easily scheduled into your regular meetings than a 40-minute presentation. Consider where your strengths and weaknesses are, how you want to develop your personal speaking skills, and just what intuitively interests you.
You will find a brief introduction to these manuals by following the links:
- The Entertaining Speaker
- Speaking to Inform
- Public Relations
- Facilitating Discussion
- Specialty Speeches
- Speeches by Management
- The Professional Speaker
- Technical Presentations
- Persuasive Speaking
- Communicating on Television
- Storytelling
- Interpretive Reading
- Interpersonal Communications
- Special Occasion Speeches
- Humorously Speaking
Related Resources:
- A Beginner’s Guide to Advanced Speaking(pdf) by Susan Zhou, DTM and Danial Smith, DTM
- Humorously Speaking Manual(pdf) by Friedhelm W Maur, DTM from Pudong Toastmasters Club and Susan Zhou, DTM from China Advanced Toastmasters Club
- Interpretive Reading(pdf) & Public Relations(pdf), The Professional Speaker Manual(pdf) By K. Beate Richter, DTM from iGrow Toastmasters Club
- Specialty Speeches Manual(pdf) by Danial Smith, DTM from China Advanced Toastmasters Club
Work on Leadership Track
A: As a competent leader, you can help your family, friends, colleagues and community for better life and great achievement. The more capable and competent a leader you are, the more powerful and influencial you will be. Leadership is learned by practice. The best way to learn how to lead is to become a leader. Members working in the leadership track learn and practice leadership skills by serving inside and outside of the club:
- Competent Leadership Manual is designed to learn 10 basic leadership skills by taking meeting roles and accomplishing tasks for club development;
- There are officer manuals, trainings and more manuals for you to learn and practice, such as to serve as club and/or District officer from and practice, to deliver trainings, and to accomplish project as a team leader, etc.
- Yourfellowmemberswillgiveyoufeedbackandsupporttohelpyougrow at the same time.
Related Resources:
A: Following steps might help you to work on your CL projects more efficiently and effectively:
- Read all 10 projects or the projects you are most interested first (by that, you can plan better and also can serve impromptly while other role takers can’t serve the role)
- Make your plan, set date of meeting for you to accomplish specific task in a specific project and book the slot to the VPE (especially those roles that are out of club meeting)
- Bring the manual to the meeting or special event and give to your evaluator before the meeting/event. Explain to your evaluator about your role/objectives/special points to be evaluated
- Accomplish the project and get evaluation from your evaluator
Related Resources:
A: Use the new CL Matrix from TI Project Completion Record
Related Resources:
- New Improved Competent Leadership Manual
Take Meeting Roles
A: The typical meeting roles including (click the link to see detailed guidance):
- Toastmaster: a meeting’s director and host, you can use the Toastmaster’s Check List to help you prepare.
- Topicsmaster: to challenges each member with a subject for impromptu talk.
- TABLE TOPICS™ Speaker: to deliver a 1-2 minutes impromptu speech according to the question raised by the Topicsmaster
- Meeting Speaker: to use the guidelines in the CC and AC manuals to prepare and deliver presentations
- Evaluator: to provide verbal /written evaluations for speakers using the guide in the manual
- Ah-Counter: to note any word or sound used as a crutch by speakers during the meeting
- Grammarian: to help people improve their grammar and word use
- Timer: monitor time for each meeting segment and each speaker.
- General Evaluator: to evaluate everything that takes place during the club meeting and make sure each activity is performed correctly
A: Yes. Please download Club Officer Roles (PDF), including duties, scripts and evaluation forms of meeting role takers for your reference.
A: Read the “Effective Evaluation” manual you received in your New Member Kit and get the basic idea of effective evaluation; Talk with the member that you will evaluate before the meeting so that you will know the objectives and criterias to evaluate according to the manual and the member’s needs; Give oral/written evaluation during the meeting.
Related Resources:
- 3Rs of evaluation – Review, Reward and Respond
- 3 Points to Keep your evaluation on target – Analysis, Recommendation and Encouragement
- What? A Standing Ovation for an Evaluation? – Thoughts on giving an exceptional evaluation.
- “317 Giving Effective Feedback” from The Leadership Excellence Series
- “292 Evaluate to Motivate” from The Successful Clubs Series
Participate in Speech Contest
A: Speech contests are an important part of the Toastmasters Inter national educational program. Speech contests provide an opportunity for proficient speakers to gain contest experience, and they provide interesting educational programs for members and the public. They also allow those Toastmasters who are not participating in the contest to learn by observing proficient speakers.
A: In order to be eligible for these and other Toastmasters benefits, each member and club must be in good standing with Toastmasters International.
- A member in good standing is one whose dues have been paid by the club and received at Toastmasters World Headquarters (WHQ) by May 31 for the April through September period and by November 30 for the October through March period. A member will remain delinquent after May 31 and after November 30 until dues have been received at WHQ.
- A new member is in good standing as soon as the new member application and appropriate fees and dues are received at WHQ.
- A person must be a member in good standing of a Toastmasters club in good standing to be nominated for or to serve in any office in Toastmasters International.
A: Subject for the prepared speech shall be selected by the contestant. Contestants must prepare their own 5-7 minute speeches, which must be substantially original and certified as such in writing to the chief judge by the contestants prior to the presentation of the speeches (on Item 1183, Speaker’s Certification of Eligibility and Originality). Any quoted material must be so identified during the speech presentation.
Related Resources:
Get Help
As a new member, you can ask your VPE (Vice President of Education) and VPM (Vice President of Membership) to give you a New Member Orientation; you can ask your Mentor to help you prepare the first three speeches. Participate in club activities and learn from your fellow members.
You can also surf on www.chinatoastmasters.org to obtain resources from District 85.
You can surf on www.toastmasters.org to reach out. Most answers can be found quickly by typing a keyword into the Web site’s Search box at the top of the screen.
If you don’t find an answer, you can e-mail the appropriate department: Member-specific questions. Such as Missing your magazine, Education awards, Dues renewals.