A message from Rotary International President Mark Daniel Maloney:

Dear Rotarian,

I am excited to share some good news: Rotary International and Toastmasters International are working together to provide our members with even more opportunities for personal and professional growth.

Toastmasters International is a global nonprofit organization with more than 16,800 clubs in 143 countries. Its members attend club meetings where they give speeches, evaluate the speeches of others, and perform other club duties, with the goal of ultimately becoming more confident speakers, communicators, and leaders. Our organizations are complementary in many ways, but we are each unique in what we offer our members.

I hope you will join us in supporting this alliance in your community. You can start by learning more about Toastmasters, exploring its resources and public speaking tips, or visiting a local Toastmasters club. Although the structure of club meetings is consistent, Toastmaster clubs are similar to Rotary clubs in that they each have their own personality. If you do not have a club in your area, you can watch a video to learn what happens at a Toastmasters meeting.

You can also invite members of Toastmasters to visit your club and learn more about Rotary. If you have a Toastmasters club in your area, consider meeting with its members to explore opportunities to collaborate or inviting a member of Toastmasters to participate in a service activity or speak at your club.

Toastmasters will create a leadership development program for Rotarians and Rotaractors. A structured, robust leadership and communication curriculum can help members develop practical skills that will serve them not only in Rotary leadership roles, but in their professional and personal lives as well. Effective leadership skills can strengthen our clubs and increase our impact. We will provide updates about this program when we have more details.

Many of us joined Rotary to make a difference and connect with others in our communities. By working with Toastmasters, our members can discover new ways to network and learn from others, while finding even more value in their Rotary membership experience.

Learn more by reviewing these frequently asked questions. You can also send your questions and your stories about local collaboration efforts to toastmastersalliance@rotary.org.

Mark Daniel Maloney
President, Rotary International 2019-20