Club History

River City Toastmasters

How Toastmasters Works

At Toastmasters, members learn by speaking to groups and working with others in a supportive environment. A typical Toastmasters club is made up of 20 to 30 people who meet once a week for one to two an hours. Each meeting gives everyone an opportunity to practice:

Conducting meetings. Meetings usually begin with a short business session that helps members learn basic meeting procedures.

Giving impromptu speeches. Members present one-to two-minute impromptu speeches in response to spontaneous questions.

Presenting prepared speeches. Three or more members present speeches based on projects from the Toastmasters International Communication and Leadership Program manuals. Projects cover such topics as speech organization, voice, language, gestures, and persuasion.

Offering constructive evaluations. Every prepared speaker is assigned an evaluator who points out speech strengths and offers suggestions for improvement.

River City Toastmasters was established in 1998, and has been a strong Toastmasters club ever since. River City Toastmasters currently has over 25 members including the current District 8 Governor, Mary Kerwin; the District 8 Evaluation Champion, Robert C. Gergen; and men and women with diverse backgrounds and a wide variety of careers.

Established in 1924, Toastmasters International uses time-tested programs that are continually updated to meet participants needs. Toastmasters International uses self-paced programs that allow members to progress as rapidly or gradually as the member decides.

Common goals among River City Toastmasters are to improve themselves, their communication skills, their leadership skills and their speaking skills. Members of River City value professionalism, dedication and a spirit of camaraderie. At River City meetings, you will be with people just like you who are supportive and genuinely interested in your success.

The River City Toastmasters club holds weekly meetings and regularly participates in local and regional speech contests. River City Toastmasters welcomes other professionals interested in improving their skills in speaking, presenting, conducting meetings, managing a department or business, leading, delegating, and motivating.