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Subject: Toastmasters International FAQ part 3 of 5: Educational Advancement
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alt.org.toastmasters Frequently Asked Questions part 3 of 5:
Educational Advancement in Toastmasters International
1. What should my main objective be as a new Toastmasters member?
Well, there are two "right" answers to this question. The first is that
your main objective should be to attend every meeting you can and
participate to the fullest, helping yourself and the other members of
the club to become better communicators. The other "right" answer is
that you should be working toward the CTM award.
2. What does CTM stand for?
It stands for "Competent Toastmaster." The CTM is the basic speaking
certification offered through Toastmasters. Many members join, earn
their CTM, and drop out of the organization. It's the basic "diploma."
3. What do I have to do to earn a CTM?
You have to complete the Communication and Leadership (C&L) manual,
which in effect means you have go work your way through the ten speech
projects contained therein. When you finish your manual, you'll
complete the registration information in the back of the manual and send
it in to World Headquarters in California.
4. Do I have to give all the speeches at Toastmasters club meetings?
No. So long as you are giving the speech to an audience with at least
one Toastmasters member in attendance, and so long as a fellow Toastmas-
ter completes the manual evaluation for that project, you may count that
speech toward a CTM.
5. Do I have to work through the C&L manual in the order the projects are
given?
No. You can do the projects out of order if you like. It is
recommended that you follow the order given since the projects progress
upwards in difficulty but if you have a speech idea or opportunity that
better suits one of the later projects you may skip over earlier ones
and do that one first.
6. When I finish the CTM what happens?
When you finish, there's a form in the back of your manual to fill out,
sign, and send in to World Headquarters. When your paperwork is
received at World Headquarters they enter it into the computer and you
are issued a CTM certificate. If you mark it on the registration sheet
they will also send a letter to your employer letting them know. Also,
when you send in the registration sheet you're asked what three advanced
manuals you'd like copies of, so you can start working on the ATM.
7. What's the ATM?
ATM means Able Toastmaster. It's the next level of Toastmasters
achievement after the CTM. If you like, you can consider the CTM the
"core curriculum" and the ATM your actual "major." As there are 12
"specializations" you can work on to get your ATM, this is a fairly
accurate generalization.
8. What do I have to do to get an ATM?
Well, it's a little more difficult than a CTM, for starters. You have
to:
1) have received a CTM,
2) completed three of the Advanced manuals, each of which has five
speech projects,
3) have served a complete term as an elected club officer (e.g.
President, VP Education, VP Membership, VP Public Relations, Secre-
tary, Treasurer, or Sergeant at Arms). A term is one year in clubs
that meet twice monthly or monthly and six months in clubs that
meet weekly.
4) have given three speeches before non-Toastmasters groups
9. What advanced manuals are available?
There are fourteen manuals available, each with five speech projects of
various lengths:
The Entertaining Speaker
Speaking To Inform
Public Relations
The Discussion Leader
Specialty Speeches
Speeches By Management
The Professional Speaker
The Professional Salesperson
Technical Presentations
Communicating On Television
Storytelling
Interpretive Reading
Special Occasion Speeches
Interpersonal Communication
You receive three of these for no cost when you complete your CTM.
Additional manuals cost $2.25 plus postage and handling.
10. Other than the CTM and ATM, what educational opportunities are there in
Toastmasters?
Well, there's the DTM, of which more in a moment, but there are also
Success/Leadership modules. If you'd like to delve in detail into
subjects such as management, the qualities of a leader, effective
listening, parliamentary procedure, creative thinking, and so forth,
Toastmasters International offers pre-packaged course materials for you
or a member of your club to present to a group of participants. These
courses are called Success/Leadership modules.
The modules come complete with instruction manuals for the participants
and for the coordinator, as well as overhead transparencies and so forth
to use during the session. The modules cost anywhere from $15 to $45,
with proceeds going to pay for development of MORE modules.
Modules are currently available on the following subjects: conducting
productive meetings, parliamentary procedure, Speechcraft (an eight-week
public speaking education program), effective listening, effective
evaluation, mental flexibility, the power of ideas, characteristics of
effective leaders, developing leadership skills, training, and develop-
ing management skills. There is an additional course available called
"Youth Leadership" which is similar to Speechcraft except that it's
targeted for children and teenagers and it's not formally part of the
Success/Leadership program.
The modules average just over two hours each. Modules are ordered
through the Supply Catalog (available for a dollar from World Headquar-
ters), but veteran members own many of them and will share them with
newer members.
Toastmasters International has recently published a Leadership Manual
which contains various leadership projects. If you wish to undertake a
personalized development of your leadership skills, you may purchase the
Leadership manual and get the assistance of your club in working on its
projects. This training in leadership takes you along the same path you
travel on the way to a DTM and when you complete the Manual, you receive
a certificate attesting to your leadership excellence.
11. What happens after I earn an ATM?
The first thing that happens is that you send in the registration and
receive your certificate for your achievement. Members who earn ATM's
are listed in Hall of Fame section of the Toastmaster magazine, and TI
World Headquarters will send a letter to your employer if you wish
notifying them of your accomplishment.
After earning an ATM, you have two courses of action open to you. One
is to continue giving advanced manual speeches, and work towards the ATM
Bronze and ATM Silver awards. The other is to seek leadership opportuni-
ties and earn the DTM. The paths are NOT mutually exclusive; members
are encouraged to continue working down both avenues as they continue
their membership in Toastmasters.
12. What is an ATM Bronze and ATM Silver?
The ATM Bronze and ATM Silver are further advances along the Able
Toastmaster route.
The requirements for the ATM Bronze are as follows. You must have:
1) completed an ATM,
2) completed three ADDITIONAL advanced manuals,
3) given five speeches, seminars, or workshops to non-Toastmasters
audiences in the previous two years,
4) coordinated two additional Success/Leadership modules.
As with the ATM, you must send in the registration to receive credit,
and again you are recognized in the Toastmaster, and may have a letter
sent to your employer.
The requirements for the ATM Silver are as follows. You must have:
1) completed the ATM Bronze,
2) completed three more advanced manuals other than those used for
the ATM and ATM Bronze,
3) have conducted a training seminar in a company or in public OR
have conducted a Toastmasters training session for Club or District
officers within two years of application.
4) have judged two Toastmasters speech contests above the club
level.
5) presented a platform-style speech to an audience of not less
than 50 people.
As with the ATM, you must send in the registration to receive credit,
and again you are recognized in the Toastmaster, and may have a letter
sent to your employer.
13. Is there an ATM Gold award?
No.
14. What is a DTM?
DTM stands for "Distinguished Toastmaster." The DTM is the highest
level of certification presently awarded by Toastmasters International.
The DTM is also the hardest award to earn. In order to qualify for a
DTM, you must:
1) be an ATM,
2) have four years continuous membership as of date of application,
3) have coordinated at least one registered Speechcraft program
within two years of application,
4) have coordinated at least one registered Youth Leadership
program within two years of application,
5) have presented to other than a Toastmasters audience at least
five speeches,
6) have served a complete term as an elected club officer,
7) have served a complete term as a District officer (e.g. District
Governor, any District Lieutenant Governor, Division Governor, Area
Governor, Secretary, Treasurer, or Public Relations Officer),
8) have served as official sponsor or mentor of a new club within
four years of application (note, up to four members may so qualify
for each new club) OR have served as Club Specialist (appointed by
the District Governor) in rebuilding an existing club with 9
members or less to a total of at least 20 members within four years
of application.
9) have sponsored five new members within one year of application.
These may not be charter members of a new club sponsored or
mentored by the applicant. To receive credit your name must appear
as the sponsoring member on the new members' membership application
forms.
15. What happens after I've earned a DTM and an ATM Silver?
You have several options. You may go back at any point after earning a
CTM and work your way through the C&L manual again and earn another CTM.
Some members earn a new CTM every year. This is one way in which
veteran members may remain polished at the fundamentals of public
speaking. You may also earn multiple ATM's and DTM's if you fulfill the
requirements multiple times. You can work on the Leadership Manual or
on presenting Success/Leadership projects. Given that the DTM and ATM
Silver take a minimum of four years to complete, and often longer, one
will not soon run out of things to work on in Toastmasters.
16. Is there anything else?
Well, yes. The very, very best speakers may qualify for the Accredited
Speaker program, a TI program to recognize those with professional
speaking skills.
The requirements to qualify as an Accredited Speaker are as follows.
The applicant must:
1) be a current member of a Toastmasters club.
2) have given a minimum of 25 speaking engagements to non-Toastmas-
ters audiences within three years of application date. Copies of
five letters of acknowledgement or appreciation from any of the 25
engagements must be provided as documentary evidence of successful
presentations.
3) pass a rigorous two-stage judging process.
Fewer than 25% of the members who apply for the Accredited Speaker
program become Accredited Speakers, and very few Toastmasters apply in
the first place. This program is only for the best.
17. Have you considered making a "speech bank" of good speeches presented
by Toastmasters members available for gopher or FTP?
Yes, this has been considered. Some people think it would be an
excellent idea, as they feel that there is no better way to learn
how to write a good speech than to study others' speeches at length.
Others, however, feel that a speech bank would lend itself more to
Toastmasters and non-Toastmasters alike using speeches without
attribution in speaking assignments or in speech classes, and that's
not something we want to encourage. Toastmasters is a learn-by-doing
type of environment, not a "copycat, adhere to this form or that form
that someone, somewhere called 'good'" environment. Furthermore,
a written copy of a speech contains none of the presentation and style
the speaker put into its delivery and, as such, cannot be considered
a full speech. To appreciate a speech and learn from it, you must
see it presented. Hence, as yet, no "speech bank" has been set up.
There's a lot to do in Toastmasters! Start today!
