| When and where does the club meet? |
Morristown Toastmasters is open to
the public. We meet on
the first and third Thursdays of each month, beginning promptly at
6:45pm at the Honeywell corporate campus. Meetings last
until approximately 9pm. Click the Attend a
Meeting
link above to get more
information about attending a club meeting.
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| How much does it cost?
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Only one dollar a week! Clubs
charge dues to cover training materials, a subscription
to the monthly Toastmaster magazine and meeting
supplies. The dues to join Morristown Toastmasters run
$35 for a six month period. Your first year, the dues
are pro-rated depending on the month in which you join
the club. Dues are collected in two installments:
September and March. In addition, there is a one-time
initial charge of about $20 to cover new member
materials from Toastmasters International in California.
Rest assured, Toastmasters is a worthy, cost-effective
investment of time and money in your professional and
personal development.
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| Can I attend a meeting
without (or before) joining the club? |
Guests are always welcome to
attend. Feel free to bring a friend as well. There’s no
limit to the number of times you can attend as a guest.
On occasion, you might be asked to participate during the meeting, if
time permits. However there is
no requirement (or pressure) for you to do so. Of course,
to get the full benefits of Toastmasters, you
should consider joining. Click the Attend a
Meeting
link above to get more information about attending
a club meeting.
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| Two and a half hours sounds
like a long time for an evening meeting. |
The time flies when we’re having
fun! Every meeting has a well-organized agenda with
emphasis on starting and ending the proceedings on time.
You will find meetings to be professionally run in a
relaxed, enjoyable atmosphere. Meetings are both
educational and entertaining. You will find the time
passes quickly.
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| How can I contact
Toastmasters International? |
You can visit their web site at
www.toastmasters.org. Toastmasters International
is headquartered in California and maintains a complete
listing of all clubs in the US and Internationally. If
you have questions not answered on their site, feel free
to call Toastmasters International at 1.800.9WESPEAK
(1.800.993.7732).
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| Can I contact a club member
ahead of time with specific questions? |
Click the
Contact Us link at the top of this page; send us
an email or call one of our club officers.
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| Is Toastmasters a global
organization? |
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Yes! The 8,000
clubs of Toastmasters International are organized into
nine regions, within which are 75 districts comprising
about 174,000 members in 63 countries throughout the
world.
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As a member of Toastmasters, you are invited to
attend Area, Division, District and Region level contests.
Annually, you may attend the International Convention,
an exciting event held in a different city every year.
If you attend this convention, be prepared for something
special because Toastmasters presents some of the
finest, most inspiring speakers you will ever
hear!
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| What if I have no
experience with public speaking? |
Toastmasters excel at helping
inexperienced people learn public speaking skills. We
all start somewhere. All clubs are comprised of members
with a range of abilities. During any given meeting,
experienced speakers as well as newer members with
limited experience will be presenting. Perhaps one of
the greatest fears many people express is that of
speaking before a group. One of the objectives of
Toastmasters is to help members to understand this, then
to provide a "laboratory" to bring this fear under
control.
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| How does the program
work? |
Toastmasters are peer-driven and
club-oriented. Members are provided with training
materials through Toastmasters International. In the
club environment, new members have the option to request
an experienced member or mentor to guide them through
their initial speech assignments from the basic manual
(the Communication and Leadership Program manual). At
each step of the way, members receive an individual
assessment of how well they perform based on the
objectives of their speech assignment. All members
continually receive feedback on their speaking
performances. To assure that high standards are
maintained in the club environment, there is a District
organization which provides oversight as well as
training for club officers.
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| How do I get scheduled to
speak or fill another role during a meeting? |
To volunteer to be on the agenda
contact the club’s Vice President of Education, who
handles scheduling for all the meetings. A description
of the different roles for each meeting can be found on
this web site by clicking the Meeting Roles
link on the
left side of the page. Since the the VP of Education
usually schedules several meetings in advance, you will
have plenty of notice in order to prepare for your role.
If you have a specific goal in mind, be sure to let the
VP of Education know; he or she is also responsible for
helping you to achieve your speaking
goals!
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| What if I can’t make it to
one of the meetings? |
Everyone has outside
responsibilities that make it difficult to attend every
Toastmasters meeting. If, however, you are scheduled to
speak or fill another role on the agenda and you cannot
attend the meeting, you must notify the Toastmaster of
the Evening for that meeting. Be sure to call the
Toastmaster) as soon as possible (his or her name is on
the agenda schedule and you will find phone numbers on
the membership roster). Offer to help to find your
replacement. Be sure to alert the Toastmaster before
finding your own replacement because he or she may know
of someone who is ready and eager to speak and can
therefore save you a lot of effort.
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| How many speeches do I have
to make? |
As many as you want! One of
the great things about Toastmasters is that we are able
to progress at our own pace. Initially, you are
challenged to make ten speeches to achieve what is
called the CTM, or Competent Toastmaster level. Some
members achieve this designation within a year or two,
while others take more time. Once you earn your CTM, you
are offered a selection of advanced manuals which allow
you to focus on further enhancing your speaking or
leadership skills.
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| What do I talk
about? |
You are free to talk about anything
you wish within normal standards of taste. The manual
only provides techniques for you to focus on, such as
gestures or vocal variety. You choose a topic that best
allows you to work on the highlighted speaking skills.
While all speeches given by members are evaluated, they
are critiqued on delivery and effectiveness alone -- not
content. We are not a debate organization, so members do
not comment on the content of what a speaker says, only
on how it was said with an emphasis on improving its
effectiveness.
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| What is the first speech
about? |
It is about you. Your first speech
is appropriately called the Icebreaker. The purpose of
this speech is for you to introduce yourself to the
group so that they may learn something about you. This
first talk also aims at giving you a taste of speaking
in front of an audience.
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| What if I need some help
preparing my first speech? |
Morristown Toastmasters offers a mentor for
those who request it. Your mentor helps guide you
through your first few speeches or until you feel
comfortable working without assistance. However, any
member of our club is available to give advice and is
happy to do so. Don’t hesitate to ask. Also,
Toastmasters International provides books, manuals and
magazines designed to help the budding
speaker.
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