The Club
	Mole Valley Speaker's Club is a group, based in Surrey that gets together regularly at the Ashtead Peace Memorial Hall to help improve members public speaking skills. Abilities range from petrified beginner to professional speaker - so no-one needs to feel intimidated. There is an even mix of men and women and the age range is from early twenties to retirees. Members also come from the surrounding areas of Leatherhead, Dorking, Cobham, Claygate and Esher. The club is affiliated to Toastmasters International; a non-profit organisation dedicated to the development of communication and leadership skills. There are more than 9,700 Toastmasters clubs world-wide with around 100 in the UK and Ireland. In essence, the club is a self-help group that encourages "learning by doing" in an environment of mutual support.
	A typical meeting
	A toastmasters club is about public speaking and a typical meeting will give each participant an opportunity to speak should they so desire. Each meeting will include a session of prepared speeches that meet the objectives of designated speeches defined in the various Toastmasters public speaking manuals. There will also be a session of impromptu speeches in which members are invited to speak for around two minutes on a subject given without prior notice. Evaluation is an important part of the Toastmasters training process and each speech will be evaluated by a fellow member whose role is to encourage the speaker and recommend ways in which the speech might be improved as well as highlighting the strengths the speaker already possesses. This process of analysis and recommendation also improves the evaluator's own speaking skills. All club members take turns to perform the other functionary roles such as time keeper, warmer-up and topics master.
	Educational Programme
	All new members receive a copy of the Toastmasters basic manual which contains 10 assignments that address specific areas of speaking such as speech structure, vocal variety and body language. Completion of this manual earns the CTM (Competent Toastmaster) qualification. In addition there are a number of advanced manuals covering more specific areas such as management, public relations, special occasion and entertaining speeches. Members work through the manuals at their own pace although experience shows that progress is achieved by giving one prepared speech every couple of months, interspersed with impromptu speaking and functionary roles. Toastmasters International also produces a number of workshop-style educational modules which are presented within the clubs by teams of experienced Toastmasters. Toastmasters come from all walks of life and the club provides a great opportunity to meet a wide variety of interesting people whilst working towards the common goal of improving communications skills.
	Meetings
	Mole Valley Speakers Club meets from 7.15 p.m. to 9.30 p.m. on the second and fourth Wednesday of each month (except for August). Guests are always welcome FREE of charge and will not be required to speak unless they really wish to do so. If you decide to join Mole Valley Speakers Club there will be an initial fee of £10, which covers the cost of the basic Toastmasters manual on public speaking and various other educational materials. We also charge a half-yearly fee of £35, which covers the running costs of the club and a monthly magazine from Toastmasters International.