Wikipedia

Toastmasters International

"Toastmasters" redirects here. For the general term, see Toastmaster.

Toastmasters International
AbbreviationTI, TM
FormationOctober 22, 1924; 100 years ago (1924-10-22)
TypeINGO
95-1300076[1]
Legal statusNon-profit organization
PurposeEducational
Headquarters9127 South Jamaica Street, Meridian, Colorado, US
Region
Worldwide
Membership265,261 [2] (2025)
International President
Radhi Spear
Revenue$38,571,257 [3] (2024)
Staff198[3] (2016)
Volunteers117,789[3] (2016)
Websitetoastmasters.org

Toastmasters International (TI) is a US-headquartered nonprofit educational organization that operates clubs worldwide for the purpose of helping people develop communication, public speaking, and leadership skills. Most clubs accept guests for free to get a Toastmasters Experience.

History

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On 24 March 1905, Dr. Ralph C. Smedley, a 1903 graduate from Illinois Wesleyan University, who was also the educational director for Bloomington YMCA in Illinois, started a club in a dinner meeting, to train young boys and men in speech, to face an audience, and to express their thoughts. He envisioned it as a weekly social club, with training programs for short speeches, debates, and work in chairmanship. The members took turn to speak in 5 to 6 minutes while the elder men served as speech evaluators. George Sutton, General Secretary of YMCA, named the club "a Toastmasters Club". Smedley later noticed a significant improvement in his members' speeches and leadership abilities. When YMCA transferred Smedley to another city named Freeport in Illinois, he decided to expand his club to the new city.[4]

The organization grew out of a single club founded by Smedley on October 22, 1924, at the YMCA in Santa Ana, California, United States.[5] It originated as a set of classes with the aim of improving the communication skills of the young men under his charge.[6][7] Toastmasters International was incorporated under Californian law on December 19, 1932.[5][8]

The first international chapter was established in Vancouver, Canada, in 1932. The organization began admitting women in 1973.[5][9]

In 1999, Toastmasters International (TI) had 170,000 members spanning 68 countries.[4] By 2016, TI had 345,000 members and 16,000 clubs worldwide.[10][10] By 2025, TI had 265,000 members across 149 countries and 13,833 clubs worldwide.[4]

Toastmasters club structure

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Toastmasters International uses a local club-based structure, with an average club size of around 22 members. Meetings are held every week or bi-weekly and usually in the evening, although some clubs meet in the morning or afternoon.[5][6][8] Each club operates as a separate entity with a set of requirements leading to chartered status for them to be recognised as official Toastmasters clubs. The chartered status allows clubs to use the names, promotional material and program of Toastmasters International.[11]

Every meeting is based on a set of organized speeches. Speakers are given feedback, often by a more experienced member, who then gives an impromptu speech with constructive feedback based on their performance.[12]

Part of the meetings is devoted to Table Topics, which are impromptu speeches that are assigned on the spot by a Topicsmaster. The goal of this is to think on one's feet with minimal preparation. In most clubs guests can choose to participate in the Table Topics segment of the club meeting. In some clubs, attendees are then asked to vote on who they thought gave the best speech.[5][6][8]

Education programs

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Toastmasters International places a large emphasis on building the public speaking and leadership skills of its members.[12] The current education system Pathways consists of 6 differing paths suited to their needs and requirements, based around Public Speaking, Interpersonal Communication, Management, Strategic Leadership, and Confidence. The available pathways are ‘Dynamic Leadership, Engaging Humor, Motivational Strategies, Persuasive Influence, Presentation Mastery and Visionary Communication’. Every path is made up of at least 14 projects.[13] Content consists of online and print materials, it being the first time in the organization’s history to provide modern technology in its programs.[13][14] Content is available in English,[15] translations are available in 5 languages.[16] Speechcraft is a 4- to 8-week program with materials hosted online and is conducted by experienced Toastmasters members for non-members.[17] To develop leadership skills, members lead at the club, area, or district levels, focus on content development, and participate in speech contests.[18]

Public speaking championship

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Toastmasters runs an international public speaking championship formally known as the Toastmasters International World Champion of Public Speaking, which is held annually at its International Convention in August.[19][20][21][22] It started in 1938 and involves over 33,000 participants in 141 countries, making it the world's largest oratory contest.[20][23] There is a six-month process of elimination to reach the semifinals; in 2018, there were 106 participants who made it that far. There are ten places in the final, and speeches are judged on content, gestures, organization, and style.[23]

2024 World Championship of Public Speaking (WCPS)

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  • The contest began with 30,000 participants across 150 countries, going through several elimination rounds over six months.[23]
  • At the International Convention in Anaheim, 28 semifinalists competed across four semifinal rounds; eight finalists (two from each round) advanced to the WCPS final.[23]
  • Luisa Montalvo won the championship, becoming the first Hispanic to do so. She triumphed over seven other finalists.[23]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Ralph C. Smedley Memorial Fund contribution form" (PDF). Toastmasters International. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
  2. ^ [1]
  3. ^ a b c [2]
  4. ^ a b c https://content.toastmasters.org/image/upload/ceo-report-august-2025.pdf
  5. ^ a b c d e Scott, Majorie (November 1990). "Out of the Past: Toasting the Toastmasters" (Digitised magazine). Orange Coast. No. November 1990. pp. 45–46. Retrieved June 12, 2018 – via Google Books.
  6. ^ a b c Synge, Daniel (September 12, 1995). "How to speak in public". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on June 21, 2022. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
  7. ^ Hamashige, Hope (October 29, 1994). "Smedley: A Quiet Man With Lots to Say About Speech". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles. Archived from the original on November 25, 2019. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  8. ^ a b c "Unaccustomed as I am to public speaking..." Changing Times (The Kiplinger Magazine). The Kiplinger Washington Editors. April 1970. pp. 17–18. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
  9. ^ Laviola, Karen (October 24, 1989). "A toast to Toastmasters' 65 years". Orange County Register.
  10. ^ a b Arjan (September 7, 2016). "Toastmasters International Hits New Milestones".
  11. ^ Dewey, Larry (January 1966). "Score Yourself as a Public Speaker" (PDF). Montana Prison News. Vol. VII, no. 1. pp. 51–52. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  12. ^ a b Delacruz, Bernard (PhD) (June 2016). "My Road to Toastmasters". Postscripts. Vol. 6, no. 44. American Medical Writers Association – Pacific Southwest Chapter. pp. 96–97. Retrieved June 22, 2018.
  13. ^ a b "Toastmasters modernizes its education program with Pathways".
  14. ^ Majumdar, Meghna (March 6, 2018). "Pathways: Toastmasters' programme goes online". The Hindu. Retrieved June 22, 2018.
  15. ^ Bauldry, Jess (May 31, 2018). "Public speaking in Luxembourgish". Delano – Luxembourg in English. Luxembourg. Retrieved June 22, 2018.
  16. ^ "Toastmasters International -Translated Options". www.toastmasters.org.
  17. ^ "Toastmasters International -Speechcraft". www.toastmasters.org. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
  18. ^ Sha, Mandy; Lee, Cassandra (2023). If we can do it, you can, too! Inspirations from award-winning speakers & leaders. Amazon Digital Services LLC - Kdp. ISBN 9798379235413.
  19. ^ Mooney, Harrison (August 28, 2017). "Vancouver lends an ear to world's best speakers; Toastmasters holds 86th convention, crowns new international champion". The Vancouver Sun.
  20. ^ a b Nasir, Noorain (October 26, 2014). "Winning with Words". The Hindu. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  21. ^ Murphy, Dave (March 20, 2002). "Sometimes you can be a successful flop". Chicago Tribune.
  22. ^ Basheda, Lori (August 26, 2001). "Stand and deliver Speaking Toastmasters select their world champion, whose theme is failure's value. Series". Orange County Register.
  23. ^ a b c d e "Resident of France is semifinalist in the world's largest speech contest". Toastmasters International. August 2024.

Further reading

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  • Smedley, Ralph (1959). The Story of Toastmasters. Toastmasters International.
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