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Where's my nearest club?
Eldergate Toastmasters meets in Loughton Lodge near central
Milton Keynes and North Bucks Speakers meets in Willen,
to the east of Milton Keynes. For a full list of clubs
please visit the
Toastmasters
District 71 (United Kingdom) web site
where you can search for clubs using an interactive map.
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Do I have to wear a
red coat?
No! The Toastmasters organisation
is nothing to do with being a Master of Ceremonies at
a wedding or public function. It is about learning every
day public speaking skills to use at work, at home and
in life. You don't need a red coat, and we never shout
"Order!".
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Do I have to join straight
away?
No. You are welcome to come along to any club meeting
as a guest, just to see what happens and to decide whether
membership is right for you. There is no pressure to join
and you can come back as a guest as many times as you
like, over as long a period as you like.
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How can I come along as a Guest
to a meeting?
Check the meeting schedule to see when the next meeting
is that you wish to attend. You can turn up on the night,
though we would recommend calling in advance so that you
can be greeted on the door and given any necessary directions
to find the venue.
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Why would I want to join Toastmasters?
Everyone joins Toastmasters for their own personal reasons.
You would join Toastmasters because you can see a benefit
to yourself in improving your confidence and ability to
speak in public. You will also get to practise a variety
of other skills at Toastmasters, including running meetings
and evaluating other people's speeches. Toastmasters also
run regular training courses on such subjects as Team
Building, Leadership, Evaluation and more, which each
member attends. There are also speech and evaluation contests
which you can enter too.
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What sort of people attend?
We have a variety of people from all walks of life and
all ages in Toastmasters. Though we are a diverse group,
we all have one thing in common, we want to improve our
ability to speak in public. Whether you are a trainer,
a businessman, a parent or a salesman, you can benefit
from improving your ability to speak in public.
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What will I gain from Toastmasters?
You will improve your ability to speak in public, which
can help you in a wide variety of ways. This can help
you in your career. It can help you in your personal life.
It can help you boost your confidence.
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What happens in a meeting?
A typical meeting lasts for about two hours, including
a break. During the first half of the meeting the prepared
speeches are delivered and the topics session held (this
helps Toastmasters learn to think on their feet). In the
second half, the speeches and the meeting are evaluated,
and ribbons given out to the best speaker, most humorous
speaker and so on.
The agendas are very detailed because they set out the
time allowed for each part of the meeting. A sample
agenda will give you an idea of the structure of a
meeting.
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Why do you do all this evaluation?
We all attend Toastmasters in order to learn to speak
better. In order to achieve this objective, we need feedback
in order to improve our abilities. The evaluation is a
vital part of the meeting in order for the speakers to
improve their skills and to develop. The evaluations are
always delivered in a positive manner with the aim of
helping the speaker become even better. At the end of
each speech, every member is encouraged to provide feedback
to the speaker on the forms provided.
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Do I have to take on a role
every meeting?
No, it is not necessary that you do so, though you will
find you get more from a meeting the more involved you
are in it. Each member should take each role at least
once a year. You will discover that with each different
role you learn a new set of skills. For example, as Grammarian
or Grunt Counter, you learn to improve your listening
skills.
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How Much Does
Membership Cost?
Eldergate: There is a joining fee of £20 and then
a 6-monthly membership sub of £30.
North Bucks Speakers: There is a joining fee of £25
and then a 6-monthly membership sub of £42.
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