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You're listening to the Talkative Toastmaster podcast. I'm your host, melanie Surplus. In this podcast, we explore how Toastmasters can help you to polish your public speaking skills, communicate with confidence and amplify your authenticity. You'll hear from my fellow Toastmasters and I how this global organization has impacted our lives for the better and how it could impact yours. Now let's get talkative. Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to episode 48.

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This week, I'm going to continue to explore some of the more specialist Toastmasters clubs around the world. In episode 46, I talked about corporate Toastmasters clubs, which are usually set up for employees of just one particular company, although some of these do open up a little bit more to the public, as well as gavel clubs, which are predominantly for kids. But in researching other types of Toastmasters clubs, I have discovered some very specialist clubs which highlight the creativity and innovation amongst our global community. These clubs have a unique twist that makes them stand out from your traditional Toastmasters experience, and, whether it's a focus on a specific industry, language or culture, or even a quirky theme, they all contribute to creating a unique public speaking journey. So let's explore a few of these one-of-a-kind types of clubs and what makes them so unusual and remarkable. Firstly, there's the Silicon Valley Storytellers based out of the US. This club is based in the heart of tech innovation, the Silicon Valley, and the club focuses on the art of storytelling, as its name suggests. While the club aims to build general public speaking and leadership skills, it also specializes in helping members to craft compelling narratives. So from my research, it seems that members dive into story structure, character development and the emotional arc of storytelling. Many members in this club come from the tech world and are needing to use storytelling to make their complex ideas more accessible to a broader audience. The fact that this club focuses singularly on storytelling does make it unique. Although there is a general theme of storytelling throughout most Toastmasters clubs, but particularly in an area like Silicon Valley, where complex technological topics need to be communicated in engaging ways, this club is obviously serving that particular niche and apparently engineers, product managers and entrepreneurs all benefit from learning how to tell a story that resonates in this club. So whether they're presenting a new app idea or explaining cutting edge technology to investors or to the public, they just need to be able to do that in a compelling way. The emphasis on storytelling here helps members to shift from that technical presentation to captivating narratives. Members to shift from that technical presentation to captivating narratives, improving communication with non-specialists, and, as someone who's worked in technology in and out of technology all my life, I definitely think that's a skill. You can definitely tell people who know how to articulate the benefits of technology while keeping it in plain English and in words and concepts that people can understand.

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Then, number two we have the Flying Toastmasters Club, which is a virtual and international club. This club is specifically designed for digital nomads and frequent travellers, so people that have a problem getting to a club regularly. Now this club meets entirely online and it accommodates members from different time zones and countries from all over the world. Now it serves individuals who are constantly on the move and, yeah, just really can't settle into a regular Toastmasters in-person meeting. And I think, with the rise of remote work and the digital nomad lifestyle, there is definitely need for clubs like this that help people with irregular schedules and who do lots of travelling and are cutting across international time zones to foster a community. What I love about this concept is that you would get a very broad perspective because, with members from all around the world, you know sharing their perspectives and learning from each other. It's just, I think, another great example of how people are adapting the Toastmasters framework to current trends in work and communication.

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Then we have the Toast of Broadway Club in New York. This one is located near the theatre district. It's for actors, directors, playwrights and anyone who is interested in the world of performance. From my research, it seems as though meetings offer feature rehearsals of monologues, dramatic readings and scene enactments from famous plays. What a great way to practice. The members focus on mastering voice projection, emotional expression and stage presence all skills that are integral to both acting and public speaking. So the Toaster Broadway Club merges the world of public speaking with theatrical arts and while the traditional Toastmasters focus on persuasive speeches is still there, this club emphasises the art of performance and helps its members to build both their dramatic and oratory skills. So for anyone who is a budding actor and happens to be in New York, and for theatre enthusiasts in general, it's a great way to merge passion with skill building.

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Then I came across the Laugh Lovers Comedy Club in Las Vegas. This club, as its name would suggest, is all about humour. It's a specialist Toastmasters club for those interested in stand-up comedy, improvisational comedy and humorous speeches, and, as we know, we have a humorous speech contest each year that goes to district level, so plenty of practice opportunities there. But this club's focus is on developing members' comedic timing, joke writing and the ability to engage an audience with humor, and the exclusive focus on comedy is probably what makes this club stand out. So members can practice both prepared comedic speeches and improvisational exercises honing their skills in making people laugh, improvisational exercises honing their skills in making people laugh and obviously, with Las Vegas and all the casinos and so many options for people to potentially get work as comedians there, I think the emphasis on humor in this club, in this location, provides a great opportunity for people who might want to break into that industry or just continue to hone and refine their skills.

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Then I was reading about the Lensmasters Toastmasters Club in California, and this is a photography focused Toastmasters Club that combines the standard communication training that we know and love with a passion for visual arts. So members in this club develop skills in both public speaking and storytelling, while sharing, discussing and critiquing each other's photographs, and as a photographer and someone interested in communication, this club would be ideal for me. I would love to visit this club one day. And so this club adapts Toast me. I would love to visit this club one day, and so this club adapts Toastmasters techniques to a visually driven agenda. From my research table. Topics involve evaluating submitted photos, allowing members to learn both public speaking and photography critique, and this unique focus makes it an ideal community for photographers at any skill level who want to grow as communicators. I love this. I love the idea of this club. I really wish I could go visit.

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Then we have Medically Speaking Toastmasters, based in Texas, and this club is comprised of people working, studying or living in the Texas Medical Center. So it's very niche and it's dedicated to medical professionals, including doctors, nurses, pharmacists and researchers Although from their website it says that you don't have to be a health care provider to join and members in this club focus on improving their skills in patient communication, presenting complex medical information in layman's terms and navigating difficult conversations in healthcare settings, learn face-to-face communication techniques, and they face some of the most challenging communications I guess the most challenging conversations you know whether that's delivering complex diagnoses to explaining treatment options. So this club provides a valuable space for healthcare workers to develop clarity, compassion and confidence in their communication, which is going to benefit their own professional practice and patient care, and I love how this again just adapts the framework of Toastmasters to put into real world situations. After all, we don't just go to Toastmasters to be better speakers in front of other Toastmasters. If we can take these skills out into the world, out into our real lives and our jobs, and do that competently and confidently, then yeah, absolutely, toastmasters is fulfilling its mission.

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Then I was also reading and I heard quite recently about Toastmasters for people with different kinds of disabilities. So one example is Audible Talkers in the States and this is very much designed for Toastmasters who are deaf and it caters to individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing with meetings conducted in sign language. So this club focuses on enhancing, again, communication skills in both signed and spoken language for the deaf community. This club isn't just about public speaking, it's about breaking down communication barriers and building confidence for the deaf community and the use of sign language at these meetings really enriches the diversity of communication methods within Toastmasters. And you know from the club's website it really does appear that the club provides a supportive environment for members to fully express themselves. Similarly, in Australia, on the Gold Coast in Australia, we have a club called Southport Endeavour Toastmasters and this club serves people with intellectual disabilities and, again, like any Toastmasters club, it does focus on enhancing communication skills and confidence in a supportive environment. These clubs are going to be a little bit more flexible and definitely very inclusive and, again, just sort of helping individuals with disabilities in a club that is tailored for them is going to give them the best experience. I believe there are multiple other clubs around the country and around the world that support people with different types of disabilities, so if that is something you're looking for, definitely do a Google search and see if there is one near you.

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Then I was reading about Toastmasters Bilbao in Spain, and I've actually been to that beautiful little town on the Spanish coast, and this club is a trilingual club where members practice public speaking in English, spanish and Euskera. I don't know if I'm butchering that, but that is the ancient Basque language. Members at this club alternate languages at weekly meetings, with a dedicated Euskera session each month, supporting both linguistic and cultural preservation, and this language is one of Europe's oldest languages and, again, I love the idea of Toastmasters clubs doing what they can to preserve historic languages. So you know, recognised as a cultural association here, this club benefits from local support, which allows it to host innovative sessions and collaborative activities with Basque communities globally. So I mean very niche, but you have a global niche and this club is serving that need by preserving that language, which I think is fantastic.

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And then we have the Tokyo Debate Toastmasters Club, and I was reading that this club specializes in structured debate, helping members to refine their critical thinking, persuasive speaking and quick decision-making skills, and the meetings are a blend of the traditional Toastmasters agenda and also include debate topics or debate formats on various topics, which you know gives members both a chance to support and counter arguments, and this is such an important skill. You know we all have to debate points or come up with either supportive points or counterpoints in our everyday lives, and so the fact that this club combines public speaking structure, or the public speaking framework from Toastmasters with competitive debate allows its members to develop confidence in presenting ideas while handling opposing viewpoints. So it's a great way of ensuring that people can practice different skills. What I love about all of these clubs and this was just some of the many specialist clubs I came across, and I might do another episode to talk through some even more of those specialist clubs around the world is that it shows the diversity of Toastmasters and the flexibility of the program to be able to weave it into a framework for like-minded people to get together and really talk about absolutely what they want to talk about, while improving their skills.

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I know from my research and from speaking with other Toastmasters that there are Toastmasters clubs who meet at different restaurants each week or different countries or online and discuss all manner of different themes. I've heard of I think it was a Dungeons and Dragons club and there's a Jedi Masters club. I think that's only online now, but it's purely focused on all things Star Wars and that's the themes of their meetings. And if that's your thing and you want to hear about Star Wars and talk about Star Wars every couple of weeks, then there's probably a club that's going to allow you to do that, then there's probably a club that's going to allow you to do that. So we can see, through just these few brief examples, how Toastmasters really does strive to bring people together to support their development of communication and leadership skills, while giving them the chance to talk about the things they're passionate about. So I just feel that these specialist clubs really contribute to the broader Toastmasters mission in their own unique way and it's really all about fostering growth and community around the world.

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If you're ready to unlock your potential, consider joining a Toastmasters club near you. Check out the find a club link on the Toastmasters International website at wwwtoastmastersorg. It's worth visiting a couple of different clubs as a guest to see which club best suits you. If you do take the leap and visit a meeting, I would absolutely love to hear your experience. Feel free to message me at talkativetoastmaster at gmailcom or tag me in the comments if you found this podcast on YouTube, facebook, instagram or Twitter. Thanks for listening to today's show. Head to talkativetoastmastercom where you'll find the show notes for this and all other episodes, as well as links to some awesome Toastmasters resources. If you found value in today's content, I'd really appreciate if you could share it with friends and colleagues who may be interested or leave a review on iTunes. This helps more people to find us. Until next time, remember the words of Seth Godin if it scares you, it may be a good thing to try. Have a great week.