Toastmastersland | St. Louis Toastmasters in Midtown Clayton

A Preview of Membership for Future Toastmasters

By Rosemary Wilson, DTM

This is what you must pack to embark on this life journey:

- Personal purpose in taking this self-improvement trip
- Lifelong learning attitude
- Correctable public speaking and leadership skills

Team spirit
Time dedicated to experience new ideas and principles
Interpretation of abundant abbreviations
Willingness to share and invest personal competencies
Self-confidence deficit in public speaking and/or leadership
Friendliness in the face of diverse faces networking in-person and virtually
3 P’s:
- High Priority for this journey
- Persistence to maintain focus en route
- Active Participation everywhere along the route

Here is what you will use along your way to, into, and around, Toastmastersland:

Passport of expectations in the “Toastmasters Promise”
Magazine published monthly on line
Computer or surrogate with a computer
Special accommodations for English Language Learners
Itinerary in 6 virtual Pathway educational programs
Tickets purchased in the form of dues
Tourist hubs at club website, district website, international website
Souvenirs in the form of Pathways milestone badges/certificates
Contestant roles
Tour guide job description as an officer
Cornucopia of content of virtual speaking and leadership educational texts

Once you have been to Toastmastersland for any length of time remember:

“If you get out of Toastmasters all there is to get out of Toastmasters, you will never get out of Toastmasters.” – Helen Blanchard, DTM & Past International Toastmasters President

Club Success Stories

I’ve gained a lot of confidence in my speech. I still drop in a few ums and that. I’m getting better at organizing my thoughts and in my preparation. I’m spending more time in my preparation.

John

Well, most definitely, it has lifted a weight in terms of the fear of public speaking and getting up in front of a group of people.

Regina

Toastmasters has given me the opportunity to develop, not just as a speaker, but as a person. It’s helped me to get closer and another step on the journey to being the best version of myself. There are leadership opportunities. There’s character development. There’s the ability to meet new people, build new friendships, forge new interests, and to realize just how much beauty, how much greatness there is in one little club, in one little community, is a reflection of our world.

Kiren

Faye sharing her public speaking testimonial through the St. Louis Toastmasters club in Midtown Clayton

Toastmasters has helped me a lot. I used to be really afraid of speaking in public and I still kind of am, but it’s helping me along the way, so I’m not as shaky when I’m talking in public and I begin to get a hold of myself more quickly when I’m in Toastmasters. And this club has definitely helped me do that and helped me grow.

Foye

Toastmasters has made me more comfortable speaking in front of a group, and Toastmasters has and will continue to be a very positive, motivating and self-improving experience for me.

Jerry

The benefit of the club for me was that I grew professionally. I became more confident. Now, I lead a lot of team meetings at work weekly, some of them monthly, quarterly for small or large groups of people and I feel more confident.

Aida

Joining Toastmasters put me outside of my comfort zone and it helped me understand that showing up is 90% of the journey. Just showing up, walking in the door. And so, I take that with me and I show up in more places than I ever did before.

Catherine

I’ve gained a lot of confidence in my speech. I still drop in a few ums and that. I’m getting better at organizing my thoughts and in my preparation. I’m spending more time in my preparation.

Dennis

The ability to communicate is of utmost, number one. Number two, a better listener. As you’re an evaluator and you listen to people, you really have to listen for the key points. And I think the other part is a mentor and that to see new people come into the club and as they progress from their first speech to their other speeches, and everybody gets something different out of it. The stories that you hear about where people came from and what their life experiences are.

Mark

I can definitely see a difference since I joined Toastmasters in being comfortable in uncomfortable situations. So, it’s not necessarily eliminating the jitters, but being able to succeed despite them.