Downtown Berkeley Toastmasters

Our Toastmasters club continues to attract new members and many visitors. I so enjoy acting as the club’s VP of Education and scheduling program. And, after a long summer of itinerant meetings — during which we stayed on track to meet our membership and speaking goals– our club has a new home! We are so grateful to Berkeley Repertory Theater for providing us meeting space at 2071 Addison St., the Bakery Room. It’s a perfect spot for us: in an historic building in the heart of downtown Berkeley. So much better than the old spot at Berkeley City College where we were at the mercy of confusing schedule changes and surrounded by the chaos of student life. Current membership ranges in age from 30s to 70s and includes students, professionals and retirees as well as members from France, China, Israel and Iran.

This is a terrific, smart group of people who want to improve their presentation skills «in real time.» It’s a supportive environment with enough structure to get the job done. Many members have developed presentations they later took to their place of work or to their own business.
It’s listing as a «social club» is a bit odd, as it’s more of a skill building opportunity. I encourage anyone who wants to be better at presenting their ideas and wants to be part of a group that fosters that to at least attend a couple meetings and see how it fits.

Please visit the club’s website for location information, as location is occasionally subject to change:

I joined Downtown Berkeley Toastmasters in January and have found it to be a highly valuable experience.
I joined to strengthen my confidence and communication in the workplace, and have experienced three recent situations, where I realized I had accomplished just that.
I was impressed to see such impact so quickly – not only from having the experience of getting comfortable being up in front other others to give speeches, but in learning how to think faster on my feet during Table Topics (Impromptu speaking), and in assuming other roles that require evaluation, feedback, and presentation skills.
Additionally, Downtown Berkeley Toastmasters is an hour I look forward to each week. It is a very warm welcoming group that manages to balance structure and efficiency with a down-​to-​earth tone. And, I have heard about fascinating topics I would otherwise know nothing about through hearing the speeches of others.
All in all a great way to learn, grow, and spend one lunch hour a week!