Toastmasters Youth Leadership Program: Overview

Does your school (or your kid’s school) teach public speaking skills? What about leadership skills?

There’s no doubt that people who are skilled in communication, public speaking, and leadership have an advantage. While schools provide a few opportunities for speaking and leading, precious few teach the skills. Toastmasters to the rescue …

Read more to learn how Toastmasters is helping young people learn and grow through the Youth Leadership program and the Interpersonal Communication module. We’ll even show you how students can get started improving their public speaking with Yoodli, the free AI powered speech coaching platform that Toastmasters International has partnered with.

Toastmasters Youth Leadership Program

Many students give presentations, participate in debates, and serve as class officers. They have college interviews and job interviews to look forward to. It’s never too early to start a lifelong pursuit of communication and leadership learning. People who have these in-demand skills—and the confidence that accompanies them—stand out from the crowd.

Toastmasters International has been teaching the world to speak and lead for almost 100 years. While you must be at least 18 years old to be a member of Toastmasters, you still can benefit from the organization’s education if you’re a student.

The Toastmasters Youth Leadership program is an eight-session workshop for up to 25 students. Each session lasts one to two hours. It’s offered on weekends, during school, or after school.

Participants in the Toastmasters Youth Leadership program get practical experience to develop communication and leadership skills, including:

• assessment of your own speaking ability
• preparation of speeches
• delivery of prepared and impromptu speeches
• management of your voice and body language
• development of your vocabulary
• service as an officer
• giving and receiving feedback

Take a look at what some of the workshop participants have to say about their experience.

The workshops function in a similar way to Toastmasters club meetings. They include speeches, practice in parliamentary procedure, and the election of officers.

A local Toastmasters club sponsors, coordinates, and presents the workshops. The club or a partner organization (e.g., a school) selects the program participants.

Those who complete the Youth Leadership program can receive credit toward a Distinguished Toastmaster award. This gives them a headstart on membership with Toastmasters when they’re old enough to join.

Interpersonal Communication Module

Maybe you’re not a Toastmasters member, but you want to help young people develop communication skills. You can use the Interpersonal Communication module. This is separate from the Toastmasters Youth Leadership program.

Participants complete assignments and enjoy group activities and discussions. They build valuable communication and listening skills that will set them apart in life, school, and their future career.

Teachers, guidance counselors, church leaders, or other community members who mentor young people can use this flexible youth communication module.

Yoodli: A Free Resource for Students

Young people, including participants in these Toastmasters programs, can take advantage of the free Yoodli AI speech tool. Yoodli is a partner of Toastmasters International. Yoodli uses artificial intelligence to analyze your speech and give you immediate judgment-free feedback on your most-used words, your ums and you knows, your eye contact, and more.

Practice an upcoming speech with Yoodli. Play the fun games to boost your confidence and skills. It truly is fun, and it’s free.

What’s more – Toastmasters has partnered up with Yoodli to bring AI powered speech coaching to ~300,000 members worldwide! More details in this video by the Toastmasters International President.

Wrapping Up

We all want to give kids the best chance to succeed in life and in their academic and professional pursuits. The Toastmasters Youth Leadership program and the Interpersonal Communication module give young people confidence and skills that will serve them the rest of their lives.

If you’d like to organize one of these programs or get your teen involved, the best place to start is a local Toastmasters club. They can let you know what’s on the calendar or get something scheduled.