Typical Meeting
The Toastmaster’s meeting has a consistent set of roles that are rotated amongst the various members of the club.
Preparation
for a Toastmaster’s meeting usually begins six weeks in advance (for
the by-weekly schedule). Members should contact the VP of Education six
weeks before the meeting to get a desired role. (Because of vacancies,
it is always likely that you can get a speaking role later.) Four weeks
prior to the meeting the VP of Ed issues a preliminary agenda. Check
your emails and the website to see if you have been scheduled. If you
know you will be away in the future or you have certain scheduling
constraints (eg can’t make the second meeting every month) let the VP
of Ed know so they don’t schedule you. At the meeting prior, all the
members scheduled for a role should confirm with the VP of Education
that they are aware of their role and will be able to fill it.
The
basic objective of the meeting itself is to give everyone the
opportunity to stand up and speak in a supportive environment where
they can gain confidence and improve their public speaking skills. The
agenda includes five speech roles and a variety of other prepared and
extemporaneous roles that are meant to meet this objective. The meeting
is scheduled for two hours. There is some setup and tear down time
before and after the meeting.
In
addition to the regular meetings, there are contest nights.
Toastmasters International runs contests in the fall and spring.
Contestants are screened beginning at the club level and compete all
the way up to the international level. The agenda will change for a
contest night, either to allow entrants to practice or if there are
multiple entrants to select one who will represent the club.
Before Meeting
Three meetings prior (six weeks on a by-weekly schedule) members let the VP of Education know of any roles you wish to fill.
Two meetings prior (four weeks on a by-weekly schedule) the VP of Ed
will issue the preliminary agenda. The VP of Ed will assign members to
unfilled roles. All members should review the agenda and let the VP of
Ed know if they cannot fill their role on the schedule.
One
meeting prior (two weeks on a by-weekly schedule) the Toastmaster and
General Evaluator confirm their intentions with the VP of Ed and each
other and any other members at this meeting.
One
week prior, all the roles are confirmed and substitutes arranged. The
Toastmaster now “owns” the agenda and posts any last minute changes.
Meeting Agenda7:30 pm
The Sergeant at arms calls the meeting to order and introduces the President.
The
President calls for introduction of guests and announces any changes in
tonight’s agenda. The President calls for an invocation, a short,
positive thought on the theme of the night given by the
Invocator/Timer.
(All
the jobs mentioned here, aside from the President and Sergeant at arms,
are rotated among the membership from meeting to meeting.)
The President runs the business session, which consists of:
Reports from club officers
Old or unfinished business
New business
The
President introduces tonight's Toastmaster who in turn introduces the
Educational Speaker, who speaks on some aspect of public speaking.
The
Toastmaster introduces the Table Topics Master. Table Topics is a
chance at impromptu speaking. All spectators it is hoped will get a
chance, and guests are invited to participate, time permitting.
8:20 pm
After Table Topics, a 10-minute break allows for members and guests to meet informally over refreshments.
8:30 pm
The
Toastmaster calls the meeting to order and introduces the Speakers in
turn. Once all speakers have spoken, the Toastmaster will prompt the
audience to vote for the Best Speaker.
The Toastmaster introduces the General Evaluator, who introduces the Evaluators in turn to evaluate each of the speakers.
After
all of the evaluators have spoken, the General Evaluator asks the
audience to vote for the Best Evaluator, and evaluates the meeting. The
General Evaluator calls for the Timer’s report, which tells how long
the speakers and evaluators spoke.
The General Evaluator returns control of the meeting to the Toastmaster, who in turn reintroduces the President.
The
President hands out the awards for Best Speaker and Best Evaluator and
then asks guests for their comments on tonight’s meeting.
Guests
who have attended the meeting twice are asked if they are interested in
joining. All guests are escorted out of the room and a vote of the
membership is taken agreeing to invite the potential members to join.
On returning into the meeting, new members are officially welcomed to
the club.
The President briefly runs through the next meeting’s schedule and confirms that members can fill their assigned roles.
9:30
The meeting is adjourned.
9:45
Some members gather for socializing and discussing club issues. Guests are welcome to join.
Top of Page
