Toastmasters International is a non-profit organisation that helps its members improve their communication and public speaking skills through convening Toastmasters Clubs which are learn-by-doing workshops at which participants hone their speaking and leadership skills in a no-pressure atmosphere.

Recognising that good communication skills are a quintessential project management competency, the PMI UK Chapter has decided to form the PMI UK Toastmasters Club for the benefit of PMI members.

Our Vision

Project professionals working together to give our ideas and wisdom a powerful voice

Our Mission

Our Club’s supportive community provides members with the opportunity to develop skills that can be applied both in their everyday jobs and also in more demanding situations, such as:

  • Enhancing your profile within your organisation.
  • Impressing your future employer at an interview.
  • Giving winning speeches on special occasions.
  • Succeeding in whatever journey you choose – so long as you come back and tell us about it….

PMI UK Toastmasters Group Photo

Benefits

Some of the unique benefits of the PMI UK Toastmasters Club are:

  1. An opportunity to participate in a mainstream Toastmasters Club albeit one with a project management focus, covering themes of a project management context including stakeholder engagement etc.
  2.  Being a PMI UK Chapter based construct, the Club will also offer members the opportunity of networking with fellow project management professionals.
  3.  The Club would leverage the advantages of being a PMI UK Chapter offering by availing of the services of the Chapter’s marketing, communications and events functions for the benefit of our members.
  4. An opportunity to share a stage with some of the country’s most prominent speakers / project managers in PMI’s annual flagship Project Management conference – Synergy – raising your profile professionally.

 

Toastmasters Activities

Activities you can take part in include, but are not limited to, the following:

  •  Prepared Speeches: 3-4 members deliver prepared speeches using projects from the Competent Communicator or an Advanced Communicator manual.
  • Table Topics: 5-7 members deliver a table topic or impromptu speech; Table Topics provide opportunities to practice responding to questions in an intelligent manner, critically important for both professional and personal interactions.

  • Evaluations: Everything in Toastmasters is evaluated – from the prepared and impromptu speaking to the evaluations and general meeting conduct;  this immediate feedback by fellow club members provides constructive and helpful assistance for all club members, and is based on specific guidelines provided in the speech project and Competent Leader manuals.
  • Conducting Effective Meetings: All meetings are conducted using a pre-prepared agenda with assigned roles where members prepare in advance of the meeting. Some of the assigned roles include the Toastmaster (emcee), Grammarian, Timekeeper and Table Topics Master, among others.
  • Leadership Development Opportunities: Each club has a club executive who have responsibilities to ensure club and member success; participation in the activities at this level will grow your leadership experience.

It goes without saying that members take turns practicing their listening and leadership skills when they take an active role in club activities. Members may choose to carry out their roles or do their speeches at another club but this exchange will typically be arranged by the Vice President of Education on a basis of reciprocity.

 

When and Where

Club meetings are taking place as Hybrid events. Attendees can now join the meetings either in person at the University of Westminster, 35 Marylebone Rd, London NW1 5LS or via Zoom.

Register your interest by dropping us a message via the Contact Us form.

 

Professional Development Units (PDU) & Toastmasters Certification

PMI credential holders earn valuable PDUs while improving important communications skills. PDUs for Toastmasters activities can be reported under the Leadership skill set as described in the PMI Talent Triangle. Keep in mind that just attending Toastmasters meetings does not necessarily qualify as self-directed learning. You need to participate. PMPs should follow the PMBOK Code of Ethics and will be subject to audit as any other type of PDU claim.

To report your PDUs, go to PMI.org and follow these steps:

1.     Log onto PMI.org

2.     Select myPMI

3.     Click Report PDUs in the left navigation pane.

4.     Click the method that you used to attain the PDUs. For participation in Toastmasters meeting, click “Organizational Meetings” and enter “PMI United Kingdom Chapter” in the Organization/Host field.

5.     Enter “PMI UK Toastmasters” in the Title field.

6.     Enter the start and end date of the meeting you attended.

7.     Scroll to the bottom of the page and enter 1 PDU under Leadership.

8.     Click I agree this claim is accurate then submit. You will be sent to a page confirming that you have submitted the claim and you will receive an email confirming the claim is submitted.

Under the Toastmasters curriculum, the completion of the Competent Communicator manual and Competent Leadership manual will entitle you to the Competent Communicator award (post-nominal CC) and Competent Leadership award (post-nominal CL) respectively. After achieving your CC/CL, you can go on to more advanced projects to the highest level, Distinguished Toastmaster award (DTM).

 

Membership

Membership in the PMI UK Toastmasters Club is open to all members of the PMI UK Chapter. Let a member of the Toastmasters Club committee know that you are interested to join and they will help with completing your application form. You can attend a PMI UK Toastmasters Club meeting or two free of charge as a guest to find out more about the activities of the club before joining.

There are two membership periods: October–March and April–September. The membership fee is £50 for each period and new joiners pay only for the months left in the period (pro-rata). For example, if you choose to join us in January, your first payment will be £25. From the following April the membership fee will be £50 every 6 months.

If you are not already a member of an existing Toastmasters club, you will also need to pay a one-off joining fee of £20 for a new member pack, plus the access to the resources available on the Toastmasters International website (https://www.toastmasters.org).

Leadership Opportunities

If you are interested in gaining leadership experience, you may choose to serve as a club officer in the capacity of President, VP Education, VP Membership, and VP Public Relations, Secretary, Treasurer, and Sergeant-at-Arms.

If you are aiming to become a Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM), you will have the opportunity to form and lead a High Performance Leadership (HPL) team to complete a specific project of your choosing. Whether it is reviving an existing club within Toastmasters or organising a Community Fair outside Toastmasters, you can put your project management skills to test!

Additional opportunities for leadership are available at Area, Division, District and International levels.

 

Mentoring Programme

PMI UK Toastmasters Club recently started a mentoring programme and offers the opportunity for every new member to benefit from being assigned a mentor at the club. A mentor will help you become familiar with the club, the Toastmasters community, roles at meetings and your first few speeches.  It can help you to develop speaking and leadership skills quicker, and participate more. Further details will be provided upon joining.

 

Training Workshops

In addition to normal meetings, learn-by-doing workshops are organised by club officers frequently, in which participants hone their speaking and leadership skills in a friendly atmosphere. Training topics can range from “Evaluators as leaders: Motivating speakers, staff, and companies” to “Table topics & impromptu speaking” to “Conflict management”. Workshops are free of charge for all club members.

 

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