A typical meeting Guests are encouraged to print off this page, and take it to the meeting with them. At a typical club meeting, members get a chance to; (i) run a meeting (person who runs the educational part of the meeting is called Toastmaster), (ii) give prepared speeches, (iii) develop impromptu speaking skills, and (iv) develop listening skills and give feedback on the speeches and other aspects of the meeting. We maintain a cordial environment that encourage members to develop communication and leadership skills. We all joined the club by realizing that we need help communicating and speaking before an audience. Most of us started out being afraid to speak in public and after six months of membership, we became very comfortable with public speaking.
Below is an outline of a typical meeting:
1. Call to order. The club President calls the meeting to order and requests a member of the club to lead the pledge of allegiance.
2. Opening Thought. The thought for the day or a joke of the day that serves as a convocation.
3. Introduction of guests. Club president asks the members to introduce their guests.
4. Business Meeting. Club president leads a brief business meeting that includes approving the minutes of the last meeting, obtaining reports from the officers, and discussing old and new business. Usually the business meeting lasts less than 10 minutes.
5. Introduction of Toastmaster. The President introduces the Toastmaster who acts as a master of ceremonies during the educational portion of the meeting. (The Toastmaster telephones the scheduled speakers, the General Evaluator the Table Topics Master four to seven days prior to the meeting to remind them about their assignments. The Toastmaster also prepares the agenda and makes copies for members and guests.
6. Introduction of Evaluation Team. The Toastmaster introduces members who will provide suggestions and feedback concerning the meeting and the speakers. They give brief summaries of their duties.
They include: **1. General Evaluator who assigns members to evaluate the scheduled speakers and also evaluates the meeting as a whole. **2. Timer who assists the speakers by signaling their progress through a presentation. As a basic rule the timer will show the speaker a green card/light when the speaker reaches the minimum required time for a speech, a yellow card/light at the midpoint between minimum and maximum times, and a red card/light at the maximum time. Once the maximum time is reached, a speaker is expected to finish within 30 seconds. The timer records the time used by each speaker. **3. Ah Counter / Grammarian gives a report about the use of `filler' words and grammar at the conclusion of the meeting.
To help members develop impromptu speaking skills, every meeting has time set aside for Table Topics. The Toastmaster introduces the Table Topics Master who is responsible for presenting several impromptu topics. The Table Topic Master selects members and guests -if they wish to participate - to speak for one to two minutes on the given topic. Topics may include current events, philosophical issues, hypothetical questions, etc. Since no one knows the topic beforehand, members have an excellent opportunity to develop impromptu speaking skills. Many members look forward to this segment of the meeting. The Table Topic Master usually selects those members who are neither giving prepared speeches nor evaluating a prepared speech. This way every member gets a chance to speak during the educational portion of the meeting.
The members and guests casts their vote for the best Table Topic Speaker that spoke within the qualifying time limits (1 to 2.5 minutes).
To help members participate in a discussion or debate about a current topic, every meeting includes a Current Topics session. The Toastmaster introduces the Current Topics.
Depending upon the length of the meeting 2 to 4 members are scheduled to speak. The Toastmaster introduces each speaker, defines the purpose and objective of the speech, and announces the time limit. (When a person joins a Toastmasters Club, he or she receives a New Membership Kit from Toastmaster International office which includes a copy of the basic Communication and Leadership manual. This basic manual contains the new member's first 10 speech projects.) Although speakers choose their own subjects, their speeches should meet the objectives of the project.
The timer reports the time used by each scheduled speaker. Then the members and guests cast their votes for the best speech that was within the time limits.
The Toastmaster introduces the General Evaluator who in turn introduces individual evaluators. Each prepared speaker has handed his/her manual to the assigned evaluator before the start of the meeting. The evaluator writes comments in the speaker's manual according to guidelines for the speech. The evaluator also makes notes on what to say during the 2 to 3minute oral evaluation that she/he later presents to the group. The purpose of the evaluation is to not merely point out the mistakes of the speaker. Instead, a good evaluator acknowledges the strengths of the speaker and provides valuable insights and suggestions.
At the end of the evaluation speeches the General Evaluator asks for a Timer's report. The General Evaluator then conducts a vote to determine which of the evaluators (that were within 2-3.5 minutes time limit) presented the best evaluation.
The Grammarian briefly provides the participants with feedback regarding the use of `filler' words (ah,um, well), incorrect language and noteworthy phrases.
The General Evaluator analyzes the meeting and provides an overall evaluation. Where appropriate, the General Evaluator offers suggestions to individual participants.
The Toastmaster presents awards (usually a certificate or a ribbon) to the best impromptu speaker, best prepared speaker and the best evaluator. Many clubs also vote and recognize the best `leader' of the meeting from among the Toastmaster, Table Topic Master and General Evaluator.