FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Who are the Düsseldorfer Toastmasters?

We are the first Toastmasters club in Düsseldorf, founded in July 2005. So we are already proudly looking at a long history. As in all Toastmasters Clubs, at the Düsseldorfer Toastmasters people of different personal and professional backgrounds and all age groups get together.

Be a guest

How to register

Please use our guest registration form so that we can welcome you in person and send you directions. In doing so, you much facilitate our planning.

Do I have to bring anything to the club evening?

No, you will be given everything you need.

Is there a dress code?

No. But some of our members come directly from work and are dressed accordingly.

Are all club meetings the same?

There is a typical procedure in all club meetings to be found similarly in all Toastmasters clubs, so that, if you are travelling, you will be able to orient yourself easily in other clubs. Yet, each club has its own culture. Diversity is brought about by special events such as further training speeches regarding communication and leadership, or the participation in club contests.

Membership

How to become a member

By expressing your wish to a member of the club’s board of directors and together filling in a membership application of the Düsseldorfer Toastmasters. Membership begins when the form has been signed and the entrance and membership fees (see below) have been paid.

What does the membership cost?

The membership fees for 6 months is € 120 (€ 20/month) There is a one-time fee of €20 for new members for your Toastmasters Starter-Package. This includes the login information to our “Pathways-Program”. A personalisable online course with which we work. We are a non-profit association and all work is done on a volunteer basis.

Which obligations does one assume?

Formally, as a Toastmaster you only have the obligation to pay your membership fees. But the success of the club relies on mutual help and is thus based on the active participation of its members.

Within their individual possibilities we expect members to regularly participate in the club meetings, to actively contribute with prepared speeches, by taking on tasks during the meetings, e.g. speech evaluations, and perhaps by getting involved in the organisation of the club. There is no obligation to attend.

What is the equipment of the venue?

Our club evenings proceed in a pleasant and professional atmosphere. Our room can approximately hold 50 persons approximately. We have our own mobile beamer, which we gladly supply on request. If you want to give your beamer presentation from a tablet (e.g. iPad) you will need an adapter. Our club owns two iPad-adapters, for older and newer connections (Apple 30-pole on VGA respectively Lightning on VGA). These are at our members’ disposal. Please inform the committee in time, so that they can be brought to the club evening.

How to end a membership

A membership can be canceled every six months (at the latest two weeks before March 31st or September 30th).

Mentoring Programme

For whom is the mentoring programme suitable for?

For all members of Toastmasters who wish to be accompanied in their first three speeches and first three evaluation speeches. The mentor can help orient oneself within the club, e.g. by giving hints on which role the new member might take over on a club evening to begin with.

Is the participation in the mentoring programme required?

No, the participation in the mentoring programme is absolutely voluntary; still, the programme offers many advantages.

Which are the advantages of the mentoring programme?

• Exchange of ideas, hints and tips concerning future speech projects
• Discussion of the speech concept and rehearsal before the speech evening
• A second subjective opinion by an experienced toastmaster besides the official speech evaluation on the club evening
• Help with the other roles to be taken over on a club evening, especially with the evaluation of the speech by another club member

The mentoring programme can be tailored exactly to the needs of the new member; all the points mentioned above are optional and other subject areas can be added in agreement with the respective mentor.

I would like to have a mentor:

Speak to our Vice President Leadership/Mentoring on a club evening.

Toastmasters International

Does Toastmasters International pursue other interests besides the training programme?

No. In particular, Toastmasters is not profit-oriented and acts in no way religiously or politically.

Who can participate?

Everyone who is more than 18 years old. The programme is not only addressed to experienced speakers but to everyone. On those club evenings held in a foreign language, language skills as needed in a normal conversation are sufficient.

How does the programme work?

It is the aim of the club meetings to give as many members as possible the chance to give a speech. There are different types of speeches. Some of the Toastmasters will give a prepared speech. The preparation for these follows the manuals, in which different speech projects with different tasks are described. Title and content of these speeches are optional. But the tasks – e.g. the clear structure of a speech or the use of gestures and mimics – should be met. The speakers learn in the preparation phase, during the actual experience of speaking, and through the feedback of fellow members. In particular will there be a toastmaster who fulfills the role of “evaluator”: she/he describes in a short talk her or his own reaction to the speech and gives constructive suggestions for improvement. Additionally, the observance of the time limits and the use of language will be controlled.

Another important point on the evenings’ agendas is the Table Topics Speeches: a Toastmaster presents several speech topics and asks individual members to present impromptu speeches of one to two minutes. The aim of this exercise is to learn to speak logically and with a clear structure without preparation. Toastmasters is no ready-made product to be consumed easily. The success of the programme relies on the active participation in and shaping of the club evenings by its members. Members who participate regularly progress astonishingly fast and soon go on stage confidently.