Toastmasters International (TI) is a nonprofit educational organization that operates clubs worldwide for the purpose of helping members improve their communication, public speaking and leadership skills. Through its thousands of member clubs, Toastmasters International offers a program of communication and leadership projects designed to help men and women learn the arts of speaking, listening, and thinking.

The organization grew out of a single club, Smedley Club Number 1, which would become the first Toastmasters club. It was founded by Ralph C. Smedley on October 22 1924, at the YMCA in Santa Ana, California, United States. Toastmasters International was incorporated under California law on December 19 1932. Throughout its history, Toastmasters has served over four million people, and today the organization serves over 230,000 members in 92 countries, through its over 11,500 member clubs.

Membership

In 2008, there are more than 223,000 members and over 11,500 clubs located across the United States, Canada and in 90 other countries. Membership in the US has grown by 3% in 2007 while it continues to grow more rapidly in many foreign nations. Toastmasters members belong to local clubs, which generally have between six and 40 members, with 20 members being a typical size. The local clubs meet on a regular basis for members to practice various skills useful in public speaking, including giving speeches, speaking extemporaneously, listening, and providing each other with feedback and evaluation. Some clubs meet monthly, some meet twice a month, and some meet weekly.

Membership is open to all people ages 18 and above wishing to improve their communications skills. In certain rare cases, where previous links to Toastmasters can be found, people under 18 are allowed to participate, even though they are not allowed to join officially until their 18th birthday. Any speeches toward an official award completed before their 18th birthday are accepted retroactively.

Toastmasters International has a policy of non-discrimination (including based on ethnicity, nationality, and gender). Although Toastmasters was initially formed as a male-only organization, membership was opened to women in August 1973. Certain clubs (referred to as "closed clubs" or "in-house clubs") organized within businesses restrict membership to people in the organization; this is the only restriction on membership permitted by the international organization. From time to time, advanced clubs form and it is preferable that one has completed a certain number of speeches (e.g. 10) before joining these clubs.

Gavel Clubs (Toastmasters-sponsored groups for teenagers or other groups who may be ineligible for membership in Toastmasters International) may be set up upon request at schools and institutions to provide them with the Toastmasters experience. Other than the mix of membership and that no official Toastmasters titles such as CC, CL, AC, etc., will be awarded, the benefit received from a Gavel Club is essentially the same as that of a Toastmasters club. Toastmasters also has a Youth Leadership program, which is an eight-session program that introduces school-aged children to the art of public speaking. These Youth Leadership programs are conducted by members of Toastmaster Clubs in the local area. They allow active members who put in effort to gain confidence and expertise in the art of public speaking.