About the club
A place to practice speaking.
The Business Speakers Gavel Club gives students a supportive, non-competitive place to build the communication and leadership skills they'll use in college, interviews, internships and careers.
Our mission
Our mission
“Helping young people in Warren speak with confidence in the classroom, the interview room and the boardroom.”
We started this club in 2026 because there wasn't a place outside of school where students could practice speaking just to get better at it. The Warren Township Library gave us a room, a team of student officers stepped up, and Toastmasters International chartered us as a Gavel Club on October 7, 2026.
Meetings use the proven Toastmasters approach: practice, structured evaluation, and a chance for every member to lead. Our themes lean toward business and careers, like elevator pitches, interview practice, networking and explaining numbers clearly.
Students in grades 6 through 12 are welcome, from Warren and nearby towns like Watchung, Green Brook and Long Hill.
How we're different
Not debate. Not a competition.
Debate and Model UN are great programs. They focus on research, argument and competing. We focus on how you speak.
| Topic | Business Speakers Gavel Club | Typical debate or Model UN team |
|---|---|---|
| Main focus | Delivery, organization and confidence | Research, argument and rebuttal |
| Competition | None. You grow at your own pace | Tournaments, conferences and rankings |
| Feedback | A personal evaluation after every speech | Judges' scores at events |
| Topics | You choose, with business and career themes | Assigned resolutions and countries |
| Leadership | Every member helps run meetings | Varies by team |
What you'll learn
Ten speeches that build on each other.
New members work through the Competent Communication manual from Toastmasters International. Each project adds one skill. Finish all ten and you earn the Competent Gavelier Communicator award.
The Ice BreakerIntroduce yourself to the club.
Organize Your SpeechBuild a clear opening, body and conclusion.
Get to the PointChoose one purpose and stay on it.
How to Say ItPick words that are clear and vivid.
Your Body SpeaksUse posture, gestures and eye contact.
Vocal VarietyChange your pace, pitch and volume.
Research Your TopicBack up your points with facts and examples.
Get Comfortable with Visual AidsUse slides and props without hiding behind them.
Persuade with PowerConvince an audience to act.
Inspire Your AudienceLeave the room motivated.
After that, members can choose advanced manuals and the Competent Leadership track:
- Persuasive Speaking
- Professional Speaker
- Speaking to Inform
- Storytelling
- Entertaining Speaker
- Competent Leadership
Our goals for 2026–27
What we're working toward this year.
- Everyone speaksEvery member speaks at every meeting, through a speech, Table Topics, an evaluation or a meeting role.
- Three speeches eachEvery member gives at least three prepared speeches from the manual during the year.
- A strong core groupA committed group of regularly attending members by the end of the fall semester.
- Real leadershipEvery officer gets real experience running meetings, committees and events.
- Community connectionsAt least one guest speaker from a local business or Toastmasters club.
- A club that lastsClear records, trained officers and a plan for next year's elections in May.
Why it matters
What you take with you.
Every member
- Confidence from speaking at every meeting in a supportive room.
- Interview practice: answering questions on the spot in Table Topics.
- Clearer communication, with fewer filler words and better use of voice and body language.
- Honest, personal feedback after every speech.
- Better presentations, discussions and group projects at school.
- New friends from across Warren and nearby towns.
Officers and leaders
- Real leadership: running meetings, leading committees and managing a team.
- A founding or officer role in a Toastmasters-affiliated club for college applications.
- Specific accomplishments that teachers and counselors can write about.
- Business skills: planning, budgeting, marketing and Robert's Rules of Order.
- The chance to mentor other students and build something that lasts.
The Gavel Club program
Part of Toastmasters International.
Gavel Clubs are affiliates of Toastmasters International for groups that can't join regular Toastmasters clubs, including students under 18. Members use the same education program that Toastmasters clubs have used for decades.
Our club is chartered as the Business Speakers Gavel Club of Warren, New Jersey (charter GC-28681013), and follows the Gavel Club Constitution and Toastmasters policy.
World Championship of Public Speaking®
See where practice can take you.
Every World Champion gave a first nervous speech somewhere, many of them in clubs like ours. Here are six of our favorites.
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2020
“The Librarian & Mrs. Montgomery”
Mike Carr
World Champion, 2020
A story about the grown-ups who believe in us, and the difference they make.
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2025
“Just Nod”
Sabyasachi Sengupta
World Champion, 2025
A very funny look at chasing your own dream when your family has other plans.
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2023
“Have You Been There?”
Jocelyn Tyson
World Champion, 2023
New Jersey's own World Champion, on the grit it takes to finish what you start.
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2018
“Still Standing”
Ramona J. Smith
World Champion, 2018
Resilience, told through a boxing match: what it takes to keep getting back up.
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2022
“Ndini”
Cyril Junior Dim
World Champion, 2022
A speech about identity, heritage and knowing who you are.
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2016
“I Will Be There”
Josephine Lee
Third place, 2016
A story about friendship, and proof you don't have to win to move a room.
Videos are from Toastmasters International's YouTube channel. They load from YouTube only when you press play. Every World Champion since 1938