The following speech manuals and projects comprise a core foundation for members to exercise their speaking skills and advance along the communications track in the Toastmasters program.

To review supplemental articles and references covering many aspects of public communications and leadership go here.

New members receive a membership kit containing the Competent Communication manual, often called the "Basic Manual", and four other manuals: Competent Leadership, Your Speaking Voice, Effective Speech Evaluation, and Gestures: Your Body Speaks.

The Competent Communication manual is designed to give new members a strong start in developing a core set of skills for public speaking. Each of the ten projects in this basic manual focuses on a certain aspect of speech making - from organization to delivery.

Completion of the Competent Communication manual fulfills the requirement for the Competent Communicator or Competent Toastmaster award.

Each of the Advanced Communication manuals challenges members to further improve their skills in a specific area of public speaking. Some manuals focus on "real life" situations such as public relations and technical briefings, while others help develop more widely applicable skills such as humor and storytelling.

Completion of two Advanced Communication manuals fulfills one of the requirements for each of the Advanced Communicator or Advanced Toastmaster awards.

The Better Speaker Series is a set of educational speeches on speaking-related topics. This program is usually presented during a club meeting. Included in the program are a script outlining the workshop, a set of overhead transparencies and a PowerPoint presentation on CD.

Presentation of a Better Speaker Series module can help fulfill one of the requirements for Advanced Communicator Silver or Advanced Toastmaster Silver award.

The Success / Communication Program is comprised of several modular programs designed to offer a higher, more comprehensive level of training for developing and improving communication skills. Each program is conducted as a workshop of one or more sessions. Every program includes a script and instructions for presenting the program.

Presentation of a Success/Communication Series program can fulfill one of the requirements for Advanced Communicator Gold or Advanced Toastmaster Gold award.

The Successful Club Series is a set of educational speeches focused on improving the quality of club meetings, with tips on attracting and maintaining members.