What Level 1 is for
Current Pathways Level 1 is the Mastering Fundamentals stage. Toastmasters lists four projects—Ice Breaker, Writing a Speech With Purpose, Introduction to Vocal Variety and Body Language, and Evaluation and Feedback—and uses them to build speech writing, delivery, feedback, and evaluator skills.
Treat Level 1 as a communication loop rather than a race to a badge: prepare one message, rehearse it, deliver it, receive useful feedback, and apply one change in the next project. SpeechTimer can help you rehearse against the time target in your project, but Base Camp and your authorized Base Camp manager determine completion.
The four current Level 1 projects
The current Level 1 core is shared across updated paths, while project wording and supporting resources can vary. Open the project brief in Base Camp before you plan a speech so its objectives, evaluation instructions, and completion action remain the source of truth.
- -Ice Breaker — introduce yourself while practicing basic speech structure, preparation, and delivery.
- -Writing a Speech With Purpose — choose a focused topic, define what the audience should think, feel, or do, and organize the message with clear transitions.
- -Introduction to Vocal Variety and Body Language — notice and deliberately use pitch, tone, volume, pace, gestures, and stillness.
- -Evaluation and Feedback — give and receive constructive feedback across two speeches, then serve as a speech evaluator before Level 1 completion.
A practical order for new members
Your path may let you open projects in a different order, but a simple sequence keeps the feedback connected. Ask your Vice President Education or mentor to help you find speaking slots without turning the club meeting into a deadline contest.
- -Open the current path in Base Camp and write down each project objective before choosing a topic.
- -Schedule the Ice Breaker, then ask the evaluator for one strength and one change you can test next time.
- -Use Writing a Speech With Purpose to narrow the message to one audience outcome, not a list of unrelated facts.
- -Use the vocal-variety project to mark one planned change in pace, pitch, volume, or gesture rather than adding movement everywhere.
- -Complete both Evaluation and Feedback speeches and evaluate another member so you practice the skill from both sides.
- -After each project, follow the Base Camp completion action and keep a private note about what you will carry into the next speech.
Use a timer as a rehearsal partner
The time target belongs to the project brief, not to a generic internet checklist. Configure SpeechTimer to match that target, rehearse out loud, and use the warning cues to practice a clean ending. The timer measures elapsed time only; it does not validate a project, replace an evaluator, or submit a Level 1 completion.
- -Structure run — speak from your outline and check whether the opening, transitions, and close support one purpose.
- -Timing run — rehearse at normal pace with the project target and leave room for a deliberate conclusion.
- -Delivery run — keep the same message while testing one vocal or body-language choice, then ask whether it improved audience connection.
Base Camp completion and club handoff
Toastmasters Education Programs FAQ guidance says projects can be completed in a learner-chosen order, but level completions must be submitted sequentially. When the project work is ready, submit the level completion request through Base Camp so the Base Camp manager can review it; a club officer may not approve their own completion.
Updated digital projects may show a speech log for a title, date, and evaluator. The FAQ says speech logs are not required, so do not treat a missing log as a failed project or copy private member information into a public tracker. Keep the official completion record in Base Camp and Club Central.
- -Read the project objectives and evaluation instructions again before submitting.
- -Confirm that required speeches, evaluations, and the evaluator role are complete for your path version.
- -Send the completion request to the authorized Base Camp manager and wait for the club-side approval.
- -Keep your improvement notes private and use the next meeting role or speech to apply one specific change.
Legacy Level 1? Check the path record first
Toastmasters introduced the updated Level 1 for paths purchased after October 27, 2021. Paths already in progress or completed at that transition can retain the previous format. The original Level 1 included Researching and Presenting; the upgraded Level 1 does not, and that project appears as a Level 3 elective in current path materials.
If Base Camp shows the older project set, do not force the four-project checklist or assume that a project is missing. Ask the Vice President Education or Base Camp manager to review the path purchase and completion record, then follow the transition option Toastmasters provides for that record.
A feedback loop that survives busy meetings
Before a speech, write the audience outcome, one structure decision, and one delivery experiment. During the speech, give the evaluator a specific question such as “Did the purpose land before the close?” Afterward, record one observation and one next action instead of trying to fix everything at once.
When you evaluate someone else, separate what you observed from what you assume. Name a concrete strength, describe the audience effect, and suggest one actionable experiment. That habit makes Evaluation and Feedback useful beyond Level 1 and keeps the club learning environment respectful.