Our meetings begin early Saturday mornings and last for an hour and forty-five minutes.
At the beginning of the meeting, the President of the club leads the Flag Salute and the Pledge of Allegiance. You are not required to join the Pledge, but as a courtesy, we will ask you to stand up. Next, a member of the club leads a short exercise and inspiration session. At some point, the President may ask you to introduce yourself and briefly state the reason you are interested in our club.
The President hands over control of the meeting to the Toastmaster for the main part of the meeting. He/she presents a supportive team – The Timer (person who keeps track of time), The Grammarian (he/she listens carefully and then comments on the English language use), and The Wizard of Ahs (the wizard listens for vocal fillers, such as um, ah, well, you know, like, so etc.).
The body of the Toastmasters meeting has three distinctive parts – Prepared Speeches, Table Topics and Speech Evaluations.
Speeches - You can expect to hear 2-4 prepared speeches that last 5-10 minutes each. After each speech, 1 minute is allotted for written feedback. As a guest, you are encouraged to provide your feedback too.
Table Topics – Time for impromptu speeches on a given topic. Each Table Topic speech lasts for 1 minute. You may be also asked to participate. The participation is voluntary and it is ok to refuse, if you feel uncomfortable.
Evaluations – During this part of the meeting, our Evaluators will give an oral evaluation for each speaker. Toastmasters’ evaluations are positive, encouraging, as well as practical and sincere. The General Evaluator will then ask for the reports from The Timer, The Grammarian and The Wizard of Ahs, and carries out a general evaluation of the meeting.
At the end of the meeting, the members vote for The Best Table Topic Speaker, The Best Evaluator and The Best Speaker. The winners are awarded a ribbon. At this point you may be asked to stand up and give your opinion of the meeting. After announcements and awards, The President adjourns the meeting.
Please click here for meeting role introduction.
As a guest, you may be asked
How you learned about our club and how you chose to come to our club?
To participate table topics speech (optional.)
To vote for the Best Speaker, Best Evaluator and Best Table Topics (optional.)
How you liked our meeting after it is over?
During the break, we have free refreshments and drinks. Our VP Education will greet you and give you a guest folder that includes Toastmaster club information and an application form. We ask our guests to attend a minimum of three times before committing to join our club.
After the meeting, people like to stay for a while and socialize. This is a good time to ask any questions you might have.