Federal
Way Toastmasters Club# 2079
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Table of Contents
What is Toastmasters?Toastmasters International is a non-profit educational corporation headquartered in Rancho Santa Margarita, California. Its mission is to improve communication and leadership skills of its members and in general. Mainly, this works out to 'improving public speaking skills' but there is also a potent leadership and management aspect to the organization if you aspire to reach that level. Back to TopHow is Toastmasters Organized?All Toastmasters members belong to one or more clubs. Clubs consist of at least eight members and may have forty or more. The recommended size for a club is twenty or more. Clubs exist in communities around the world, especially in North America, and it's a rare locality in the United States that doesn't have at least one Toastmasters club within thirty minutes' driving time. There are, at present, over 8,000 clubs around the world, and most of them are in the United States. There are many sorts of clubs: community clubs, military clubs, company clubs, prison clubs, collegiate clubs, and so on. At this time, the majority of the *new* clubs being chartered are 'company clubs', i.e. clubs chartered at and meeting at businesses and organizations, in many cases open only to employees or members of those organizations. Never fear, however; there are thousands of community clubs already in existence as well. Back to TopHow can I find club in my area?You can find the club in your are by searching at the Toastmasters website: http://www.toastmasters.org/find/ Back to TopDo I have to ask permission before attending a meeting?Usually No, You can walk into meetings at toastmasters clubs. Just get in touch with us we will have a call Toastmaster member to greet you and personally escort you to the meeting! Note we meet every Thursday 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm Back to TopI'm scared to death of speaking! Why should I look into Toastmasters?EVERYONE is afraid of speaking. Almost everyone will remember how wretched they felt when they gave their first speech. You may be startled to find out how supportive a Toastmasters club really can be. Toastmasters can give you a lot of skills and keep good speakers improving. If you still don't know whether you'd like Toastmasters, why not visit a meeting? If you still don't think it's your cup of tea, we'll still be happy you came by. Back to TopHow does one go about joining Toastmasters?First, of course, you must have found a club to join. If you have visited a club and found it to your liking, ask a member (preferably an officer, who is more likely to be able to help you) for an application form. According to the bylaws all Toastmasters clubs operate under, any new member of a club must be voted into membership by the club. In practice, this rarely happens. Instead, members are welcomed enthusiastically into the club as soon as a standard membership application ("Form 400") is turned in with a check for the appropriate dues. Back to TopWhat does CTM stand for?It stands for "Competent Toastmaster." The CTM is the basic speaking certification offered through Toastmasters. Many members join, earn their CTM, and drop out of the organization. It's the basic "diploma.". Back to TopWhat's the ATM?ATM means Able Toastmaster. It's the next level of Toastmasters achievement after the CTM. If you like, you can consider the CTM the "core curriculum" and the ATM your actual "major." As there are 12 "specializations" you can work on to get your ATM, this is a fairly accurate generalization. To get an ATM you have to: 1) have received a CTM, 2) completed three of the Advanced manuals, each of which has five speech projects, 3) have served a complete term as an elected club officer (e.g. President, VP Education, VP Membership, VP Public Relations, Secretary, Treasurer, or Sergeant at Arms). A term is one year in clubs that meet twice monthly or monthly and six months in clubs that meet weekly. 4) have given three speeches before non-Toastmasters groups Back to TopWhat is an ATM Bronze and ATM Silver?The ATM Bronze and ATM Silver are further advances along the Able Toastmaster route. The requirements for the ATM Bronze are as follows. You must have: 1) completed an ATM, 2) completed three ADDITIONAL advanced manuals, 3) given five speeches, seminars, or workshops to non-Toastmasters audiences in the previous two years, 4) coordinated two additional Success/Leadership modules. As with the ATM, you must send in the registration to receive credit, and again you are recognized in the Toastmaster, and may have a letter sent to your employer. The requirements for the ATM Silver are as follows. You must have: 1) completed the ATM Bronze, 2) completed three more advanced manuals other than those used for the ATM and ATM Bronze, 3) have conducted a training seminar in a company or in public OR have conducted a Toastmasters training session for Club or District officers within two years of application. 4) have judged two Toastmasters speech contests above the club level. 5) presented a platform-style speech to an audience of not less than 50 people. As with the ATM, you must send in the registration to receive credit, and again you are recognized in the Toastmaster, and may have a letter sent to your employer. Back to TopWhat is a DTM?DTM stands for "Distinguished Toastmaster." The DTM is the highest level of certification presently awarded by Toastmasters International. The DTM is also the hardest award to earn. In order to qualify for a DTM, you must: 1) be an ATM, 2) have four years continuous membership as of date of application, 3) have coordinated at least one registered Speechcraft program within two years of application, 4) have coordinated at least one registered Youth Leadership program within two years of application, 5) have presented to other than a Toastmasters audience at least five speeches, 6) have served a complete term as an elected club officer, 7) have served a complete term as a District officer (e.g. District Governor, any District Lieutenant Governor, Division Governor, Area Governor, Secretary, Treasurer, or Public Relations Officer), 8) have served as official sponsor or mentor of a new club within four years of application (note, up to four members may so qualify for each new club) OR have served as Club Specialist (appointed by the District Governor) in rebuilding an existing club with 9 members or less to a total of at least 20 members within four years of application. 9) have sponsored five new members within one year of application. These may not be charter members of a new club sponsored or mentored by the applicant. To receive credit your name must appear as the sponsoring member on the new members' membership application forms. Back to TopWhat happens after I've earned a DTM and an ATM Silver?You have several options. You may go back at any point after earning a CTM and work your way through the C&L manual again and earn another CTM. Some members earn a new CTM every year. This is one way in which veteran members may remain polished at the fundamentals of public speaking. You may also earn multiple ATM's and DTM's if you fulfill the requirements multiple times. You can work on the Leadership Manual or on presenting Success/Leadership projects. Given that the DTM and ATM Silver take a minimum of four years to complete, and often longer, one will not soon run out of things to work on in Toastmasters. The very, very best speakers may qualify for the Accredited Speaker program, a TI program to recognize those with professional speaking skills. The requirements to qualify as an Accredited Speaker are as follows. The applicant must: 1) be a current member of a Toastmasters club. 2) have given a minimum of 25 speaking engagements to non-Toastmasters audiences within three years of application date. Copies of five letters of acknowledgement or appreciation from any of the 25 engagements must be provided as documentary evidence of successful presentations. 3) pass a rigorous two-stage judging process. Fewer than 25% of the members who apply for the Accredited Speaker program become Accredited Speakers, and very few Toastmasters apply in the first place. This program is only for the best Back to TopWhat is an Area?Clubs are grouped into Areas of three to eight Clubs. Each Area has its own Area Governor, a member of one of the clubs appointed by the District Governor to serve the Area. Area Governors are usually, but not always, members of a club in the Area they are responsible for. Areas have Area Speech Contests several times a year, with winners from the Club levels going on to the Area Contest. The winner of the Area Contest goes on to the Division. Areas also share Area goals, determined by formulas set at World Headquarters, such as "x number of clubs at 20 members in strength" and "x number of CTM's in the various clubs." If an Area meets or exceeds all its goals, its Area Governor is recognized for hard work motivating the clubs. Back to TopWhat is a Division?Areas are grouped into Divisions. Divisions may be as small as one Area in size (rarely) or as have five, six, or more Areas. Each Division has its own Division Governor. Division Governors are usually members of clubs within their Division and are elected once a year at the Annual District Business Meeting. The Division Governor works with his Area Governors to motivate the clubs to high membership and to have good, effective educational programs. Divisions have Division Speech Contests several times a year, with winners from the Areas coming together to compete. The Division winners go on to the District level. Divisions have Division goals, just as Areas do. A good Division Governor will work with his clubs and Areas to increase membership and educational effort. Back to TopWhat is a District?Districts in some cases are equivalent to "states" and in other cases are smaller or larger. If you think of a District as "the state organization" you won't be too far off. Districts are comprised of several Divisions. Districts are the main level of organization outside the Club; Areas and Divisions are _sub-units_ of the District. California has several Districts because there are so many clubs there. North Carolina, on the other hand, is a single District. England and Scotland and Ireland are one District all together, and Australia and New Zealand comprise several Districts. Smaller countries with only a few clubs each are Unincorporated clubs which report directly to World Headquarters instead of to Districts. Each District has its own set of officers, most of whom are elected at the District Spring Conference (or Fall Conference in the Southern Hemisphere). The officers include: District Secretary, District Treasurer, District Public Relations Officer, District Lieutenant Governor Marketing, District Lieutenant Governor Education and Training, and District Governor. The last three are always elected and the first three are elected or appointed depending on local preference. If they are appointed in your District, it's the newly elected District Governor who does the appointing. And yes, Districts have their own District-wide goals. The various District officers work with the clubs, Areas, and Divisions to build membership, start new clubs, promote the earning of CTM's and ATM's, and so forth. Districts have speech contests several times a year, as the Division winners come together at the District Conferences to compete for the District crowns. Back to TopWhat levels are beyond the District?Technically, none -- just Toastmasters International. The Districts *do* get together for *Regional* Conferences in June of each year, but the Regions are not formally constituted bodies. They're just groupings of eight or so Districts. Each Region is entitled to representation on the Board of Directors of Toastmasters International in the form of two International Directors who serve two-year terms, with one being elected each year, but it is the world body that elects these officers, not the Regions themselves. The main requirement for representing a Region is that you have residency and membership in a club in that Region. Once you are elected, however, you serve the world, not just the clubs of your Region. At the Regional Conferences, you also find speech contests, with the various District winners squaring off. Only one contestant goes on to the World level; the humorous speaking and evaluation contests stop at the Regional level, leaving the International Speech Contest contestants to decide the World Championship of Public Speaking each August at the World Convention. Regions do not have regional goals. They're not organized bodies. Back to TopWhat's the World Convention?The World Convention takes place each August in a North American city. The main feature of the Conference, other that presentation of awards for effort during the preceding year, is the Annual Business Meeting, at which International officers are elected and policies are made and changed. The clubs have the voting strength at the world level, with two votes each. Districts often wind up voting the proxies for clubs which don't make it to the Annual Business Meeting each August. There are a dozen elections to be held each August: eight (or nine, if it's the year to elect the director from Overseas) International Directors, three Vice Presidents, and one President. As there are eight Regions (with two Directors each) and one amalgamated Overseas area (with one Director) sending Directors to the world board, necessarily there are seventeen Directors, serving two-year terms each. There is an International President and three International Vice-Presidents who serve over the whole kit and kaboodle. They serve one year each. Back to TopWhere do I start?Right here at Federal Way Toastmasters!!! What are you waiting for join us for our next weekly meeting. See ya.. Back to Top
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