We meet on Monday evenings every second week.We start with socialising 18.15. The meeting starts at 18.30.
A typical meeting can look like this:
Each meeting has fairly standard key components. The components are prepared speeches, impromptu speeches and evaluations.
Toastmaster
The toastmaster is one of the most challenging roles, responsible for the smooth and timely running of the entire meeting and for introducing all participants.
Thought of the Day
Sets the tone of the meeting. Research a poem, quotation, or inspirational thought, something with meaningful content that you’d like to share with your fellow members.
Prepared speeches
These are speeches prepared in advance by members and given at the meeting. These speeches are based on different guiding manuals, and the aim is to practice specific skills in each speech.
Table Topics Master
The topics master’s job is to get people thinking on their feet. They do this by calling upon volunteers to stand up for a minute and a half and speak on a surprise topic, question, theme or scenario.
General Evaluator
The general evaluator looks at the whole meeting and evaluates all the functionaries.
Speech Evaluator
Each prepared speaker is assigned an evaluator to provide more thorough feedback to allow them to learn from their performance, usually involving a minute of recommendations sandwiched in between two minutes of recommendations to reinforce the strengths.
Grammarian/ah Counter
The grammarian is the wordsmith, introducing a Word of the Day which people can try to fluently work into their performances. Their main job is to listen to people’s use of language and comment on how they deploy it to spice up their act.
Time Keeper
The timekeeper helps everyone stick to their allocated time, a vital skill in all forms of public speaking and communication. They do this by signalling with different coloured light bulbs to let each person know how much time they have left.
Educational Program
The educational program is the heart of every Toastmasters club.
Communication Track
Members interested in building their public speaking and communication skills begin with Competent Communication.
Competent Communication
The 10 speech projects in the Competent Communication manual help you develop your speaking skills one step at a time. When you finish all of the projects, you are eligible for the Competent Communicator award.
Advanced Communication Series
After receiving the Competent Communicator award, you can begin to develop more advanced speaking and communication skills through theAdvanced Communication Series manuals. There are 15 in all, each containing five speech projects. Many of the manuals are career-oriented. You choose the manuals you want to complete and the skills you want to learn.
Members interested in building their leadership skills begin with Competent Leadership.
Leadership Track
This is the core of the Leadership track. The Competent Leadership manual features 10 projects that you complete while serving in various club meeting roles. An evaluator will give you feedback on each project, helping you to improve. When you complete the manual, you are eligible for the Competent Leader award.
After earning the Competent Leadership award, you can further refine and develop more complex leadership skills by completing projects in manuals that are part of the Advanced Leader Program.
Do you desire to achieve your highest potential as a speaker and leader? Members can further develop their skills both inside and outside of the club environment by participating in advanced programs, speaker series, and workshops, as well as leadership and volunteer opportunities. Read more here: https://www.toastmasters.org/Resources/Education-Program
