The Renaissance Speakers is an enthusiastic and fun Toastmasters speaking club with the purpose of training participants in the skills of leadership and public speaking.
Members are from all walks of life and share a desire of learning and helping others by way of bettering communications.
You, too, are welcome to visit us as a guest for no cost! (And you might even enjoy a few laughs).
At an absolute minimum, you will be entertained by the friendly banter and welcoming warmth extended as a result of your visit.
In addition to the the original Renaissance Speakers located in Pasadena, CA, there are affiliated chapters in Clearwater, Florida, and Las Vegas, Nevada.
Any and all are welcome and encouraged to visit any of the Renaissance Speakers clubs as guests, for free!
THE THREE MAIN PARTS OF A TOASTMASTERS MEETING
A typical Toastmasters meeting is comprised of three primary sections:
1) Impromptu Speaking
2) Prepared Speeches
3) “Coaching” (positive evaluation) of the Prepared Speakers
As part of the “Impromptu Speaking” segment of the meeting, a different person each week is in charge of asking unique questions to the audience. For each question, an audience member is randomly called upon to immediately take the stage and make a brief presentation in response to the question they just heard for the first time. This is a challenging, exciting and often entertaining part of the meeting.
The “Prepared Speeches” feature members who are working on presentations that correspond to Toastmasters International educational manuals. These speeches are usually 5-7 minutes long, (although there are some that are shorter or longer). The diversity of speeches can be breathtaking: within the space of a few minutes you may find yourself agreeing, disagreeing, crying, smiling or laughing uproariously.
The “Coaching” (positive evaluation) of the prepared speakers is one of the most important ingredients making up the secret sauce of the Renaissance Speakers success. It is here the speakers are offered tips for improvement and are also apprised of their public speaking strengths. The coaches base their guidance upon the instructions provided within the Toastmasters manuals used by the speakers. Not only do the prepared speakers gain valuable feedback regarding their speeches, but every person in the audience benefits from the coaching section as well, by gaining insights into all manner of fundamental and nuanced public speaking effectiveness. And as reflected throughout the meeting, the Renaissance Speakers “Spirit of Play” underlies the foundation of helping others on their way to becoming more powerful public communicators.
Everybody Wins
Every Sunday morning, each meeting is conducted by different members wearing a variety of “hats” in a coordinated (and often entertaining) presentation of organized camaraderie, with a shared purpose of helping each other improve leadership and public speaking skills, regardless of how much – or how little – experience a person already has. The underlying goal of all meetings is “EVERYBODY WINS!“
Guests may visit as often as they wish for no charge and parking is free. Members contribute a token amount of dues every 6 months.
Membership Benefits
Members of the Renaissance Speakers improve their public speaking and communication skills by preparing and delivering speeches from the Toastmasters International educational manuals and further benefit by receiving “coaching” on their prepared speeches in the same meeting.
Toastmasters educational manuals offer a gradient approach to developing public speaking skills and a new member’s first speech project (“Icebreaker”) is simply speaking about oneself for 4-6 minutes.
After completing the basic manual, which is comprised of 10 speech projects, the member is presented a “Competent Communicator” award and may then select from many “Advanced Manuals” to further develop public speaking skills.
For those members who are interested, they are also offered leadership and personal development opportunities, including:
♦ Helping to run club meetings
♦ Leading portions of club meetings
♦ Leading the entire meeting
♦ Helping others become better speakers
♦ Participating in leadership programs
♦ Helping to manage the group as a club officer
♦ Helping to oversee and manage multiple clubs
Giving speeches and partaking in leadership opportunities are subject to the personal schedule and desires of each member.
For many members of the Renaissance Speakers, the greatest benefit of all is the camaraderie and laughter that prevails at every meeting and the enduring friendships that are developed as a result of personal associations within the club.
The best way to find out about the benefits of the Renaissance Speakers is to visit a meeting as a guest any Sunday morning.
Special Events Calendar
Two times a year, Renaissance Speakers participate in speech contests which are begun in the spring and fall around the globe.
At these special meetings, members of the club vote to select a contestant to represent the club in various speech contests with other Toastmasters clubs that evolve through a hierarchy of greater and greater competitiveness that result in the best speakers in geographic zones such as Areas, Divisions, Districts and Regions. (“District” is the highest level for several contests). One of the contest evolutions, which begins in the spring, called the International Speech Contest, results in one single “World Champion of Public Speaking,” each year.
The Renaissance Speakers club is well known for offering contestants who regularly win the various contests at the highest levels, including Lance Miller, who won every presentation he gave as part of the International Speech Contest to become a Toastmasters International “World Champion of Public Speaking,” which was a truly outstanding accomplishment.
Renaissance Speakers Toastmasters Club #2374 in District 100
The Renaissance Speakers Toastmasters club was founded in 1989 by Roberta Perry and Richard Stewart.
Toastmasters International was founded on October 22, 1924, in Santa Ana, California, by Ralph C. Smedley, and is a nonprofit educational organization that operates clubs worldwide for the purpose of helping members improve their communication, public speaking and leadership skills.