Visitors are Welcome!
Siemens Toastmasters is a Toastmasters International club that is open to the public. You are welcome to stop by and visit several times before you decide whether to join.
- No invitation is necessary; all visitors are welcome to visit a scheduled meeting!
- No previous speaking experience is required.
- We are conveniently located in Malvern, PA. Click here for directions.
- Visitors who are not Siemens employees must register at the front desk of Siemens' Corporate One building. Simply tell the receptionist that you are there for the Toastmasters meeting.
- Visitors are welcome to participate in some portions of the meeting, but only members are given official club roles (such as running the meeting or presenting prepared speeches).
- Feel free to contact our VP of Membership for more information about visiting our Club!
Following is detailed information to get you acquainted with Toastmasters in general and our club in particular. (Thanks to the Blue Bell Toastmasters club for some of the general information provided here.)
When and where do you meet?
You are welcome to come to our regularly scheduled lunchtime meetings. No invitation is necessary, and you are welcome to visit as many of our meetings as you like before you decide whether or not to join.
- When: Every Wednesday from 12 to 1:00 PM; visitors are met at 11:50AM (see club schedule)
- Where: Siemens Medical Solutions Health Services Corporation
51 Valleystream Parkway, Malvern PA, Building 1 Lobby (Click here for directions)
Visitors who are not Siemens employees must register at the front desk of Siemens' Corporate I building. Simply tell the receptionist that you are there for the Toastmasters meeting.
I am scared to death of public speaking! So, why should I join Toastmasters?
Everyone is afraid of speaking. In poll after poll, public speaking comes up as a fear more terrifying than death! Even excellent speakers still experience sweaty palms from time to time. Toastmasters can help you overcome your fears about public speaking.
Remember that everyone in a Toastmasters club is there because at some point they wanted help with communicating and speaking before audiences. Almost everyone will remember how awkward they felt when they gave their first speech. You may be surprised to find out how supportive a Toastmasters club can be.
We have all experienced the terror of public speaking and the excitement of developing greater speaking ability through Toastmasters. However, we are not a club that "sells" membership to visitors. We are enthusiastic about the program, but we encourage you to shop around and find the best club for you. If you need recommendations on other local Toastmasters clubs, we can help.
What is Toastmasters?
Toastmasters International is a nonprofit educational organization headquartered in Mission Viejo, California. Toastmasters International is the leading movement devoted to making effective oral communication a worldwide reality.
Toastmasters International empowers people to achieve their full potential and realize their dreams. Through local member clubs, people throughout the world can improve their communication and leadership skills, giving them the courage to change. The mission of our club is to provide a mutually supportive and positive learning environment in which every member has the opportunity to develop communication and leadership skills, which in turn foster self-confidence and personal growth.
How is Toastmasters organized?
Clubs consist of at least eight members and may have forty or more. Clubs exist in communities around the world, especially in North America, where it is rare not to find at least one Toastmasters club within 30 minutes driving time (see the Find a Club topic on the official Toastmasters website for a club near you: www.toastmasters.org). Today more than 175,000 members are active in 8,600 clubs in 68 countries. Every day, 250 people join Toastmasters. During the past 75 years approximately four million people have benefited from Toastmasters programs.
What happens at a meeting?
Our meetings usually last one hour. The format varies slightly from week to week, but the basics include:
- Introduction of the Toastmaster (equivalent to a Master of Ceremonies), who presides over the program and explains the meeting as it goes along
- Impromptu speeches from members (also known as Table Topics)
- 2-3 prepared speeches from members
- Oral evaluations of the prepared speeches
- Reports from other evaluation personnel, such as the timer, grammarian, and general evaluator
- Awards
What is a prepared speech?
When you join Toastmasters you will receive the Communication and Leadership Manual that includes your first ten speech projects. Each project calls on you to prepare a speech on a subject of your choice. Each project comes with specific objectives, such as organization or vocal variety. Each project also comes with guidelines for your evaluator to use when evaluating the speech.
Thus, if you are scheduled to speak at a meeting, you will prepare by following the directions in the CTM manual. You might pull out your manual a week or two in advance to review your goals and objectives for the speech. Ideally, you would consider the stated objectives of the speech, and then formulate your topic. Then, when you go to the meeting, you hand you manual to your evaluator, who makes written comments on the checklist while you speak. At the end of the meeting, your evaluator will talk about your speech. The purpose of the evaluation is to show you what you are doing well, what you need to work on, and to drive these lessons home so you are constantly improving. This is all done in a friendly and supportive manner.
The ten manual projects are generally flexible, as far as content is concerned. Even if you pick a controversial subject, most Toastmasters will evaluate you on how well you presented your subject, not on whether or not they agreed with you. Once you complete your first ten speeches, you can move on to more advanced speeches and continue learning.
What is a speech evaluation?
The evaluation program is the third of the three main parts of the meeting. All prepared speakers, as noted above, should have their speaking manuals with them and will have passed their manual on to the evaluators beforehand. During and after the speech, each evaluator will make written notes and plan what to say during the 2-3 minute oral evaluation.
Performing an evaluation well is a challenge because it requires an evaluator to do more than say, "Heres what you did wrong." A good evaluator will say, "Heres what you did well, and heres why doing that was good. Here are also some things you might work on for your next speech, and heres how you might work on them." It is important to remember that the evaluator is just one point-of-view, although from a person who has focused closely on your speech. In addition, other members of the audience are encouraged to you written comments on your speech. Feedback is provided within a positive and supportive environment: the goal is to motivate the speaker to improve.
What are Table Topics?
Table Topics test your ability to think and act quickly on your feet -- a skill many of us would probably like to improve. Table Topics are fun, but they may also be terrifying! A member assigned to be the Table Topics Master will prepare a few questions and will call on members (guests will not be called on but are very welcome to volunteer) to stand up and speak on the topic. Topics might include current events ("What do you think about gun control?"), or philosophy ("If you were so poor that you had no shoes but met a man who had no feet, how would you feel?"), or the unusual ("Describe a toothbrush to a Martian.").
We encourage members to join in on Table Topics, since they are a wonderful way to improve your ability to speak off-the-cuff and in prepared speeches. You may be surprised at how well you can do.
Membership information
You are welcome to visit several of our meetings before you decide whether join the Club. If you would like to become a member, simply ask the VP of Membership for a Membership Application. There is a one-time initial fee and a pro-rated payment of the semiannual dues (and this fee is only a few dollars a month).
You will receive:
- A New Member Kit that includes many helpful materials to help you get started. Among the materials will be your Toastmasters Communication and Leadership Manual.
- The official Toastmasters monthly periodical called The Toastmaster, which will be mailed to your home.
- The chance to improve your public speaking skills in a friendly and supportive Toastmasters club.
For More Information
Any of our Club's officers will be glad to help you learn about our Club. Please contact us by phone or email, or look for us at a meeting to ask your question in person.
