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About Toastmasters

Toastmasters International is a world leader in helping people become more competent and comfortable in front of an audience. This non-profit organisation now has nearly 220,000 members in 11,300 clubs in 90 countries, offering a proven - and enjoyable! - way to practice and hone communication and leadership skills.

How Toastmasters started

Toastmasters was started by Ralph C. Smedley to train YMCA (Young Men's Christian Association) patrons in "the art of public speaking and in presiding over meeting". The first Toastmasters meeting was held in 1924 in the basement of the YMCA in Santa Ana, California. The social and supportive atmosphere of Toastmasters meetings was so successful that the concept soon spread throughout the United States and then the rest of the world.

The Toastmasters' Education Programme

When you join Toastmasters you will receive the Competent Communicator and Competent Leader Manuals and three speaking tips booklets.
The Competent Communicator Manual consists of ten speech projects, which provide a solid foundation in key public speaking skills. These skills range from structuring a speech, through to using body language and the art of inspiring an audience. Once you have completed these projects you will receive the Competent Communicator Award. Similarly, the Competent Leadership Manual consists of ten leadership projects which you may complete to qualify for the Competent Leader Award. The leadership skills range from listening skills through to facilitation and mentoring. You can work on both manuals at the same time, or each one independently.
Once you have successfully completed these manuals, Toastmasters offer fifteen more advanced speciality manuals, as well as leadership programmes, to assist in your personal development.

About our club

SKM Toastmasters was chartered in 2002 through Sinclair Knight Mertz, a consulting engineering company with offices on the Terrace in Wellington.
Membership is open to all and is not dominated by people from any one company or sector.

About our members

Our members are a mix of men and women of all ages and abilities. Most of us work nearby.
Our club is greatly enriched by a multi-cultural membership. We welcome and encourage members for whom English is a second language.
Membership is open to anyone over the age of 18.
[Group photo... coming soon]

Club Officers

Our club officers for 2007/08 are: