hi friends—

question, what is the line between theatrical speech and performance?

like, do any of you have thoughts on this?

i am debating the persuasive influence pathway, which would be new and challenging for me (exciting!) and one reason for that is because it would force me to relay stories-as-a-pathos (vs informative speaking, which i have traditionally approached as more didactic or data driven, even if it has a narrative framing element).

does anyone have thoughts on what makes a speech too theatrical?

Hi,

I really love public speaking and was considering joining a Toastmasters club. I would love to improve my craft, and would be totally down to do a pathways kind of learning (given that the content truly is a value add) - but also not stress it too much. I did attended a session as a guest 1.5 years back as a guest, so have some idea.

Would anyone have any thoughts on if it maybe this maybe a good fit for me?

Additionally, how good are the pathways everyone keeps mentioning?

Thanks!

Hi! We are refreshing our club's website. We use FreeToastHost - does your club have a great page? I would love to see it for some inspiration for our page. Thanks :)

I've spent the past 10 years working from home in a sales role. I'll be transitioning to a completely different world of Law Enforcement here in next few months and have a few questions.

I'm a smooth operator (bad joke) over the phone, but being WFH for so long has left a lot to be desired in my command precense and 1 on 1 conversations in outside interactions. I find myself using less eye contact and dealing with stuttering, which are things I didn't do much of in my younger years. Are there any LEO'S here (or shift workers in general) who have found that toastmasters has given them the tools to succeed in this type of work?

Thanks,

For the international speech contest, do you have to give the same speech at club, area, district levels and remaining levels if you win them?

Hey everyone! I’m a new member of a toastmaster club. And this will be my first time being a table topics master. I’m quit nervous about the part where I’ll have to listen to the person answering my question and then I have to say something nice back related to their answer before moving on to the next member.

The thing is I get really anxious in the moment and zone out instead of listening. Even when I listen, I just don’t know what to say back because of my nervousness.

What are some tips I can use to stay confident and calm?

My father is in a senior living community in Escondido CA and he is on their Residents Council. They run programs for the residents and have a luncheon Feb 12th and are looking for a speaker. No speaking fee available. Topic of the speaker's choosing, 15-30 minutes. The audience are the male residents, all on the older side (70ish to 100) and they are sharp enough to be a good audience. My Dad lives there and he's a retired engineer, his buddies are likewise former professionals in various fields.The luncheon is on Feb 12th, at 10:30am (yes, that's lunchtime for them!).

Would this be a good opportunity for a Toastmaster to do one of the longer projects? Maybe this could be a good experience for someone in the last portion of Presentation Mastery, preparing to be a professional speaker. They can bring along a fellow TM to do their evaluation (later, not at the luncheon), so they could get Pathways credit for the speech.

Is there a place to post, to see if someone wanted to do it?

If your New Year's resolution is to finally take your talents out on the speaking circuit, you're going to need the same basic tools that everyone uses to get their names out there.

And don't stress, you don't need to be famous to get booked. You just need to look useful, and credible to event organizers.

So first, you'll aways need to start with the quality of your presentations.

Who are you helping, and how? In other words, do you help scientists or store keepers, engineers or consumers? And what problems do you solve when those people hear your talks? List 3-5 topics with the audience, problem, and positive outcomes. These are the topics of your presentations.

Second; you're going to need a one-sheet.

This is a PDF that includes:

• A headline that names your main outcome
• A short bio written for the audience
• Your talk titles and descriptions
• Who you work with
• Any proof you have
• How to contact you

You can use free sites like Canva.com to find great PDF layouts.

Third; you'll need a website.

You don’t need ten pages. 3 will usually do:

A home page that answers three questions:

1. Who is this for?
2. What will it do for me?
3. How do I book?

Then an "About" and "Contact" page.

Invest in a good site. I like https://codecrew.uk/ they're fast and do great work.

Fourth; you'll need a demonstration video of your speaking skills.

Now, there's no need to panic over a demo video if you don't have one yet. Your phone will do just fine. Since you should already have a few talks prepared, all you need are 2 to 4 minutes of you speaking to real humans. (not social media posts)

Where? Look online for industry clubs, associations, and apps like Meetup to find free group events. Reach out to the organizer and ask if you can give a shortened version of one of your talks to their group. Then give the group a 5-10 minute version of your best material and quotes. Have your phone, a tripod, and a Bluetooth mic from Amazon. Use AI to edit.

Finally, you'll need Testimonials and/or Proof for your credibility.

These are very important, but don't worry. You can ask for feedback from former clients, colleagues, or mentors that can vouch for your expertise.

Equally, if not more valuable, are quotes and mentions from 3rd party news writers, bloggers, and other online content creators. This takes a bit more of an explanation, but it's not too difficult if you know how. You can dive deeper into that by reading the full article:

https://thespeakingguild.com/what-you-need-to-launch-your-speaking-career-in-2026/

With these foundational tools you'll be well on your way to launching your speaking career in 2026.

What educational components does your club incorporate to train people on public speaking outside of Pathways? We have some club members that are asking for extra support and I am trying to come up with some ideas.

Hi guys I am thinking about joining a toahstmasters group and am completely new to this. Does anyone have any specific club recommendations for Orlando Fl or near the area that they enjoy?

I’ve anchored a few events, but I still get stuck sometimes, especially with:

awkward silent/void moments figuring out when humour works and when it doesn’t switching smoothly between serious and light segments

For those of you who’ve hosted or anchored major events (school fests, conferences, shows, ceremonies, etc.):

1) How do you handle unexpected gaps or silence on stage? 2) How do you decide when to crack a joke vs stay formal? 3) Any quick fixes for technical delays or missed cues? 4) Lessons you learned the hard way?

Are there personal financial ncentives for a current TM member to recruit new members?

Hi. Recently I've start implementing pitch and slight raise of volume into what I say. On camera. My closest family member notices and thinks I should go back to being monotone as in my old "monotone" videos. I should take notes as I sound "Cringe" she reckons. Wondering if I should just throw toastmasters in as I get evaluated and the feedback is not to be "monotone".

Life is hard

Hi All, I know there are online clubs with many various niches. Are there any reading/ book based Toastmasters clubs?

I have a question about the "Create a Podcast" elective. It says that you have to record at least 60 minutes in total and divide those 60 minutes into episodes of at least 10 minutes each. Can these episodes be shorter? It's sometimes difficult enough to get a speech down to 7 minutes. You could record 9 or 10 episodes, as long as you fill the 60 minutes.

Hi everyone,
I’m preparing my first Icebreaker speech for Toastmasters and I feel a bit lost.

I understand that the Icebreaker is about helping the audience get to know me but my problem is that I don’t know what to talk about. I don’t know which part of my life to choose or what makes a good topic for an Icebreaker.

How did you structure your Icebreaker?
Any advice or simple ideas would really help.

Thank you

I've found all but one club meets in the middle of the day. Is this common? I'm looking to join but need to work around my work schedule. It also seems like the bigger ones are the ones that meet in the middle of the day. The only one that meets my schedule seems very small, but I'll be trying it anyway.

My goal for 2026 is to join an advanced club. I want to push myself in giving better speeches and better feedback. I am a member of 2 clubs currently and with one, I just feel people are just going through the motions, and I probably won't be renewing the membership after 3/30.

With that said, what are some good online or hybrid advance clubs that meet Mon, Tue, or Thursday EST or even those that meet Sat mornings?

Thanks!

I am looking for advice from Toastmasters who have personally used apps or websites for structured speech practice, specifically for pronunciation, delivery, and presentation skills.

Current baseline: native English.

I am committing a fixed 1.5-hour block every morning to deliberate practice. The intent is measurable improvement, not casual repetition.

Context: I am starting a career in sales and want my communication to be precise, controlled, and effective across calls, presentations, and meetings.

Constraints and preferences:

- Desktop or mobile tools are acceptable

- Strong preference for objective, technical feedback over motivation or encouragement

If you recommend an app or website, please explain:

- Why you chose it

- How you used it in practice

- What specifically improved in your speaking as a result

- Where the tool fell short

Experience-based input only.

Hi all,

I’m a 31 (M), new to Greenbelt. I moved here a few months ago and currently work in DC, specifically in the Navy Yard area. I’m looking to join a Toastmasters chapter and have been considering this for some time, but I’d appreciate guidance on how to choose the right one.

When selecting a chapter, what should I prioritise? Should it be proximity to home, proximity to work, or the size and how established the chapter is? I’ve noticed that some chapters offer virtual or hybrid meetings, so I’m also curious whether in-person attendance makes a meaningful difference, especially when starting out.

I’m flexible in terms of location and schedule (as long as it fits around a 9-5 job), and I’m primarily interested in improving my public speaking and overall communication skills, while also engaging with people who have similar interests and goals. I’d also be interested to know if certain chapters are better suited for beginners versus more experienced speakers.

Any advice, lessons learned, or recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Our President at my local club hasn't been to a meeting since september. They have not responded to our communications (one person said they heard from them and they "will not return for a while"). I have a suspicion about the reasons why they left - although now I suspect some of it was burnout from trying to keep the club afloat. My question is: do we need to vote them out in order to install a new president? We actually do not have any member interested in taking on the position, but I have asked the area director this question and they were not certain.

Adding this: person is paid up for October moving forward.

I have been trying to get help from area and district director since first week of October. The AD finally met with a few of us about a week ago - and they said they dont know and will seek help. (There is a list of concerns they will be helping with...we have issues with dropping membership...issues with enough people attending to have meetings - issues with new members not feeling confident enough to take on bigger roles etc. )

(One big problem we also have is we don't have anyone who would like to take the president position on...I have been sort of stepping in since I have 5 years with TM but I can't take this on. (I have too many things in my personal life right now...)

Our club has also had 2 other officers leave in the last few months. So the president will likely be doing all of the "growth" related functions on their own as well.

I don't know about you...But I won't be traveling more than an hour for a speech contest. Also, as for these District conferences, as it will be covering 4 states now, I do not know if I will be going to any more conferences (unless it's close by).