Toastmasters Austria

Communication Track

Competent Speakers

Competent Communicator

Members who wish to focus on communication skills begin with the Competent Communication manual.

The 10 speech projects in this manual will help you develop your speaking skills one step at a time. When you finish all of the projects, you are eligible for Competent Communicator (CC) recognition.



1. Icebreaker: The first speech of the Toastmasters program is about introducing yourself to your peers, providing a benchmark for your current skill level, and standing and speaking without falling over.

2. Organize your Speech: Introduces the basic concepts of organizing a speech around a speech outline to promote audience understanding.

3. Get to the point: Clearly state your speech goal, and make sure that every element of your speech focuses on that goal.

4. How to Say It: Examines word choice, sentence structure, and rhetorical devices.

5. Your Body Speaks: Shows how to complement words with posture, stance, gestures, facial expressions, and eye contact.

6. Vocal Variety: Guides you to add life to your voice with variations in pitch, pace, power, and pauses.

7. Research Your Topic: Addresses the importance of backing up your arguments with evidence, and touches on the types of evidence to use.

8. Get Comfortable With Visual Aids: Examines the use of slides, transparencies, flip charts, whiteboards, or props.

9. Persuade With Power: Discusses audience analysis and the different forms of persuasion available to a speaker.

10. Inspire Your Audience: The last of ten speeches, this project challenges the speaker to draw all their skills together to deliver a powerful inspirational message.

After completing these 10 projects you have reached the Competent Communicator level and are prepared to go on with advanced manuals.


Advanced Communication Series

After receiving CC recognition, you can work in the Advanced Communication Series manuals. There are 15 manuals, each containing five speech projects.

Advanced Speaker
  • The entertaining speaker
  • Speaking to inform
  • Public Relations
  • Facilitating Discussion
  • Specialty Speeches
  • Speeches by Management
  • The Professional Speaker
  • Technical Presentations
  • Persuasive Speaking
  • Communicating on Television
  • Storytelling
  • Interpretive Reading
  • Interpersonal Communication
  • Special Occasion Speeches
  • Humorously Speaking

You choose the manuals you want to complete and the skills you want to learn. Working in the advanced manuals, you’ll refine and enhance your speaking skills and become eligible for several awards:

Advanced Communicator Bronze (ACB)
To be eligible for this award, you must have:

  • Achieved Competent Communicator award
  • Completed two Advanced Communication manuals

Advanced Communicator Silver (ACS)
To be eligible for this award, you must have:

  • Achieved Advanced Communicator Bronze award
  • Completed two additional advanced communication manuals (may not be those completed for any previous award)
  • Conducted any two programs from The Better Speaker Series and/or The Successful Club Series

Advanced Communicator Gold (ACG)
To be eligible for this award, you must have:

  • Achieved Advanced Communicator Silver award
  • Completed two additional advanced communication manuals
  • Conducted a Success/Leadership, Success/Communication or a Youth Leadership program
  • Coached a new member with the first three speech projects

Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM)

The Distinguished Toastmaster award is the highest our organization bestows and it recognizes both communication and leadership skills. To be eligible for the award a member must have:

  • Achieved Advanced Communicator Gold award
  • Achieved Advanced Leader Silver award
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