Toastmasters International is a non-profit organization governed by a Board of Directors elected by the membership. The first Toastmasters Club was established on October 22, 1924, in Santa Ana, California, by the man who conceived and developed the idea of helping others to speak more effectively, Dr. Ralph C. Smedley
With more than 9000 clubs worldwide, Toastmasters International has been helping millions of people develop communication and leadership skills.
The Lee Emerson Bassett (LEB) Chapterwas chartered in 1935, which makes it one of the oldest in Toastmasters International. Dr. Lee Emerson Bassett, for whom the club is named, taught Speech and English at Stanford University for 39 years. This club was named in his honor after his death in 1959, in recognition of his enthusiastic support for Toastmasters. He had been a member for more than 20 years, and always endorsed the idea of helping others learn how to speak in public forums.
After 70 years, we continue to be one of the largest and most active clubs in the area, serve people from Stanford and the surrounding Palo Alto communities. We currently have over 50 members from a wide range of professional and cultural backgrounds, and age groups. The attendance at our meetings ranges from 15 to 20 members and 5 to 10 guests depending on the time of the year. Club membership is open to the public.
LEB is Club #33 within Toastmasters International District 4. Information about District 4 is available at their website at http://www.d4tm.org/.
We meet every Wednesday 7:15-9:00pm at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, Room 161. Please visit our Directions page for help finding us.
At LEB Toastmasters meetings, members learn by speaking to groups and working with others in a supportive environment. A typical LEB meeting is made up of 20 to 30 active members. Each meeting gives everyone an opportunity to practice the following:
- Conducting meetings. Meetings usually begin with an explanation of the meeting format and agenda, which helps members learn to conduct meeting by playing the toastmaster role.
- Giving impromptu speeches. Members present one-to two-minute impromptu speeches on assigned topics.
- Presenting prepared speeches. Three or more members present speeches based on projects from the Toastmasters International Communication and Leadership Program manuals. Projects cover such topics as speech organization, voice, language, gestures, and persuasion.
- Offering constructive evaluation. Every prepared speaker is assigned an evaluator who points out speech strengths and offers suggestions for improvement.
- Club Business Session. Club-Level announcements and decisions may be presented at the end of the meeting. Besides its primary role of facilitating decision makeing for the club, this intermittent portion of the meeting offers members a chance to practice following parliamentary procedure.
The Tools You Use. Upon joining a Toastmasters club, each new member receives a variety of manuals and resources on speaking. Members also have access to other books as well as audio and video cassettes on speaking and leading. They also receive the award-winning The Toastmaster, a monthly magazine that offers the latest insights on speaking and leadership techniques.
Toastmasters and Leadership. Leadership cannot be learned in a day. It takes practice. In Toastmasters members build leadership skills by organizing and conducting meetings and motivating others to help them. Club leadership roles and a leadership development program also offer opportunities to learn and practice. Just as Toastmasters members learn to speak simply by speaking, they learn leadership by leading.
Become a Member. Ready to join? Follow this link to our Become a Member page to find out how!
