Thank you and Happy Birthday, Dr. Ralph C Smedley

• Author
• Recent Posts

Atul Sharma

An extrovert by nature, Atul has been sharing his opinions and views on various social network platforms. He always had been thinking about having his own platform and here it is. Creative and tech-savvy Atul has a good sense of humor and when he is not programming or writing blogs or traveling, you can find him cooking, Netflixing or sleeping.

Latest posts by Atul Sharma (see all)

• RISE FROM THE ASHES – Sanjib Nandi - November 1, 2021
• साथ में मेरे दोस्त खड़े थे - August 1, 2021
• BenchmarkDotNet: Advanced Features - June 20, 2021

Dr. Ralph C Smedley, the Father of Toastmasters, was born on 22 Feb 1878. Yes, today we are celebrating his 143^rd birthday.

In 1903, after graduating from Wesleyan University, Bloomington, IL he started working at YMCA as Director of Education. There he observed the need for interpersonal communication, leadership in youth, and on 24 March 1905, he started a speaking club, named The Toastmasters Club, as a part of the YMCA. This is supposed to be the first (unofficial) meeting of Toastmasters.

Yes, it was more than 19 years before the Toastmasters International was launched.

He was a very visionary leader who saw the need for interpersonal communication way back. Here are my 10 most favorite quotes –

Faultfinding without suggestions for improvement is a waste of time

Understanding comes through communication and through understanding we find the way to peace.

Whatever your grade or position, if you know how and when to speak, and when to remain silent, your chances of real success are proportionately increased.

Ours is the only organization I know dedicated to the individual, we work together to bring out the best in each of us and then we apply these skills to help others.

The greatest speakers have usually been remarkable for the abundance of their ideas and their economy of words

We learn best in moments of enjoyment

The well-balanced, intelligent speaker is the natural leader in any group of which he is a part.

A speech without a specific purpose is like a journey without a destination.

Learning to give a speech is important, but almost equally so is learning to listen critically, analytically and then to give the speaker the benefit.

Real communication is impossible without listening.

Toastmasters Magazines are a great resource of knowledge and you have been receiving, reading it, though It had been benefitting the community since April 1933, here is the first edition of Toastmasters Magazine.

Toastmasters is of great benefit for anyone and here I have listed them based on my personal experience.

If you reached here and don’t know what is Toastmasters, no worries, here is fresh start for you.

Once again, Thank you and Happy Birthday to you Mr. Ralph C Smedley.

P.S. – I have been with Toastmasters for over 4 years and taken many club officers’ roles. Currently, serving as an Area Director.