Talk of the Farm Speaking Club

Want to build your confidence? Grow as a leader? Improve your communication and public speaking skills? Join us at Talk of the Farm to learn how our speaking club can help you achieve your personal and professional goals.

Our club provides a safe, free, and effective learning environment for Stanford faculty, staff, students, post-docs, Stanford retirees, and previous club members looking to improve their communication and leadership skills. Although membership is limited to the aforementioned population, we welcome all visitors. Learn more about the history of our club.

Don’t be shy—club members represent a wide range of University departments, job functions, and titles, as well as levels and years of professional experience. Our informal and supportive learning environment will help you take your communication skills to the next level.

We partner with Stanford UIT Technology Training to provide speaking opportunities beyond scheduled classes. This club was formerly known as  "Stanford Toastmasters" and was affiliated with Toastmasters International.

How do I join?

We meet the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays of each month from 12:00 - 1:00pm via Zoom. Right now our only membership requirement is for you to

1. join on our members mailman list
2. join our Slack channel  (with your @stanford.edu account, go to any Stanford enterprise workspace click on the + sign beside "Channels", click "Browse channels" search for "talk-of-the-farm" channel and join)
3. participate in our meetings on a regular basis

Club membership is free! 

Visitors are always welcome.

Club Meetings

Club meetings are generally held from 12-1pm on the first and third Tuesday of each month on Zoom (Please get the zoom link by joining our mailing list or Slack channel)

Before signing up to give speech, we ask that you become a member and have participated in several meetings.  We encourage everyone to take a role in each meeting (Please use your Stanford account to access our signup sheet). Each role in a meeting has specific responsibilities.

1. Learn more about meeting roles
2. Sign up for a meeting role
3. Speech Timer: Download these slides, watch this video.
4. Delivering a speech? Register your speech by Monday 11:59pm. 
5. Submit a speech evaluation. Be sure to enter the speaker's email address.
6. Track your speeches here
7. Learn more about our meetings

Educational Program

Talk of the Farm is committed to helping members develop both communication and leadership skills. To track and encourage this growth we have developed an educational program. Our educational program consists of a variety of speeches and club leadership opportunities.

Learn more about the educational program

Leadership

Talk of the Farm is committed to developing both communication and leadership skills. As an officer you get a chance to practice those leadership skills. An officer position is a year-long commitment. Terms begin in February. Officer meetings are held the second Tuesday of each month. Anyone is welcome to attend.

Learn more about officer roles and responsibilities

Have more questions? Ask you question here.