Toastmasters International is a non-profit English public speech training organization established on October 22, 1924, in Santa Ana, California. With a scientifically designed and applicable training system, Toastmasters International has thrived to approximately 10,500 clubs in 90 countries, including more than 50 clubs in China.
Zhongguancun Toastmasters club was founded in July 2007. As the only Toastmasters club in western Beijing, it is located in the centre of companies and famous universities. Our club members are from different fields, they are composed of domestic and foreign students and teachers, consultants, programmers, sales managers etc. We’re open to all people who’re interested and passionate in public speaking and who would like to learn by contributing and studying in the club.
As a Toastmaster, you can:
* Deliver great presentations
* Easily lead teams and conduct meetings
* Give and receive constructive evaluations
* Be a better listener
* Have fun and connect people from different backgrounds
Tools:
Communication Program manual: 10 speeches to develop your body language, speech organization, voice control, eye-contact skills.
Leadership Program manual: By taking roles like Toastmaster,evaluator... and officer roles(President, VP Education, VP Membership, VP Public Relation, Treasurer, Secretary, SAA), you’ll increase your management potential.
Member's Feedback
Justin Victor (Filipino)
Since joining Zhongguancun Toastmasters, I have always been amazed at its intense energy. For one, you can feel that people are very interested and supportive of each other. Even when someone commits several consecutive mistakes on stage as I have, people will cheer on for that person. They will push you to drive on. Plus, the club adds a unique flavor of history. When members do give feedback to each other, they point out the improvements you have made over the months. It’s amazing they keep track for you. No wonder you would often hear members say, “I really look forward to hearing your next speech!” What a confidence booster that is! And because everyone encourages each other, it becomes natural for people to express their own individual stories and ideas. Members have been known to dance, act, bring props and even sing out loud. Making these even fresher is the club’s brand of diversity. Members come from different countries, cultures and fields of endeavor. So from bungee jumping to dreams of running a coffee shop to wild trips in the airport and learning kung fu; almost any speech topic has been welcomed. With a strong culture like this, I have always looked forward to every session of ZGC Toastmasters. How can you not be? It’s a passionate club. Join now! You’ll love it.
Chris Haynes (Canadian)
Zhongguancun Toastmasters was where I went from being an average speaker to a competent one. The supportive culture gave me numerous opportunities to go from just having joined to getting my CC. ZGC's members are dedicated to helping each other learn to be great speakers and improve their English. Everyone who wants what TM can offer should look for ZGC TM!
Catherine Peyrols (French)
I joined Zhongguancun Toastmasters club in January 2008 because I was looking for a place to improve my presentation and delivery skills. What I found exceeded my expectations: a group of priceless friends, a bottomless well of passion, an inexhaustible source of creative energy...
In the 18 months I have been a member, I have seen the club become a well organized and very professional platform for learning and exchange. I have definitely benefited from it and I sincerely wish that I have paid it back by giving in return as much as I could.
I will be forever grateful to the founding members of Zhongguancun Toastmasters: Cliff, Gamp, Lily, Cindy, Dover, Kinky, Liu Yi and all the others. Dear all, thanks a lot for giving a chance to follow your steps in the Toastmasters journey…
Yudith Wahyuni (Indonesian)
I love to join and be an active member in a group since I was in high school. Before I came to Beijing, my friend said that there was one big organization that called Toastmaster. That Club can help me to develop myself. So, when i arrived in Beijing I'm looking for this Club as soon as possible.
Because I live in WuDaoKou, I joined in Zhongguancun Toastmasters. I'm so glad because all the old members are very nice people. I feel like I found new family here. Of course, now I have more confidence to speak in the public even I should still learn more and more to be a good speaker. But I believe that Toastmaster can help me to do it step by step.
Jaehyun Kim (Korean)
When I went to ZGC Toastmasters Club for the first time, I had been nervous to meet all new people especially in the foreign country.
I had hesitated a lot, but I decided to go since I already sent email to Luke (The president) which said “I will definitely attend!”
It turned out that everybody welcomed me very much and I felt very comfortable to attend my first Toastmasters meeting.If I had not attended the meeting that day, I would regret a lot.Or If I had attended other club’s meeting, I might not start my Toastmasters.
ZGC Toastmasters Club has a great inclusiveness so that it has a very diverse membership background.Or ZGC Toastmasters Club has a very diverse membership background so that it has a great inclusiveness.
Wherever I go in the future, I cannot forget the time I had spent with our dearest members.
Vivian Li (American)
I Will Go to Toastmasters Until I Die
“I will go to Toastmasters until I die” proudly sang all the officers and members of my new Toastmasters club in Beijing, the Zhongguancun Toastmasters club. I still remember these words vividly now half a year later. To open up their one-year anniversary celebration event last October, they sang their club anthem, composed by one of the officers. Titled “I will go to Toastmasters until I die,” (set to the tune of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame”) it is actually quite a funny rather than morbid ditty about their commitment to Toastmasters and attending every Toastmaster meeting like your postman would—come rain, snow, sleet or the dark of night.
That anniversary evening I was voted in as a member of ZGCTM and ever since I have been impressed with my new fellow Toastmasters’ professionalism and passion for the program. Previously I was a member for two years of South Main Speakers, a Toastmasters club in Houston, where I was working at the art museum there. I am a Chinese-American born in Seattle and who grew up in Dallas, Texas (as a joke and to promote ZGCTM to potential members, I sometimes say that my English is so good because of ZGCTM!).
I came to Beijing to study Chinese at Tsinghua and wanted to find a good Toastmasters club here to continue my personal growth through the excellent Toastmasters program and meet new people. The meetings are just as funny and at times down right hilarious like at my old club, but they are balanced always with a serious sense of mission and precision that I greatly admire. As I will be returning to the States in three months, I am already saddened that I will have to take my leave soon of this dynamic group of dedicated, sophisticated, and smart Toastmasters and friends who have taught me so much.
