Meet Raksha Patel and Alissa Niblock. They both received recent promotions and their respective supervisors cited their efforts in Toastmasters as contributing factors.

Raksha Patel
Sr Software Quality Specialist
The Nielsen Company

Since I joined Toastmasters, I have seen a huge improvement in my confidence and ability to take on challenging responsibilities. I would have hesitated to take on these types of challenges prior to joining Toastmasters. This year I was selected to lead National Reporting and all Data Warehouses as Quality Assurance (QA) Manger. In this position, I am responsible for managing all QA resources both in Tampa and in India and for making sure that the highest quality software is implemented in production and the data warehouses are providing accurate data to all upstream systems. I would not have been able to take on or even have earned this promotion had I not joined Toastmasters and explored my ability to stand up and speak in front of a large audience. Thank you to all my fellow Toastmasters for being there for me and for encouraging me to meet my potential.

Alissa Niblock

Senior Associate Buyer

Home Shopping Network

"In August 2009, my boss gave me the goal of improving my speaking and presentation skills with a completion date of December 2010. After a little research on ways to improve speaking in public, I joined Toastmasters in September 2009. I enjoyed practicing speaking in front of a group of people when I participated in the general meeting roles. In February 2009, I received an unexpected promotion at work! One of the key reason's for my promotion was that I made an effort by joining an external group to conquer my public speaking fears. I have flourished and my confidence is apparent. Now, I am an effective group presenter to all levels of management and vendors. I can be given minutes notice to speak in a meeting and be able to present to upper management with confidence. Six months ago I would have had a nervous voice and been shaking like a leaf.

Presenting and speaking to groups of people is a major part of my job. I am now used as an example and some co-workers are now starting to receive the same goal. For me, the consistency of speaking in front of people on a regular weekly basis is most important. Toastmasters has provided me with this opportunity."

SPC EpiCenter – Corporate Training Room

13805 - 58th Street North, Largo, FL 33760

(Rooms vary, check the signage)

Every Tuesday from 6:45-7:45 PM

Please arrive early to meet everyone!

Interview skills, Networking Impact, and Employment Evaluations all improve as confidence rises, due to practice within the Toastmaster meetings.

Experienced professionals and beginning speakers alike can benefit from our practical, face-to-face learning program.

Whether you're speaking to the board of directors, your customers, your co-workers or your kids, Toastmasters can help you do it better.

You'll learn and practice in a friendly, comfortable environment with people who are there for the same reason you are—to become better communicators.

Today, Toastmasters International is a non-profit organization which gives its members the opportunity to develop and improve their public speaking abilities through local club meetings, training seminars and speech contests. Toastmasters International includes more than 199,000 men and women in more than 9,300 clubs in more than 70 countries.

how? 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 about an hour. Each meeting gives everyone an opportunity to practice conducting meetings, giving impromptu speeches, presenting prepared speeches, and offering constructive evaluation.

Toastmasters International History

In October 1924, a group of men assembled by Dr. Ralph C. Smedley met in the basement of the YMCA in Santa Ana, California, U.S.A., forming a club “to afford practice and training in the art of public speaking and in presiding over meetings, and to promote sociability and good fellowship among its members.” The group took the name “Toastmasters.” We are a local chapter of Toastmasters International.