Toastmasters Clubs

in

Cochise County, Arizona

A Typical Meeting

The format of a Toastmaster meeting may vary in different clubs, but generally follows something along these lines:

Presiding Officer Calls Meeting to Order

The Presiding Officer (usually the President, or the Vice President Education in his/her absence) calls the meeting to order, makes introductory remarks, and introduces guests.

Presiding Officer Introduces Toastmaster

The Presiding Officer introduces the Toastmaster of the Day, who is the member that will run the bulk of the meeting.

Toastmaster Introduces the Meeting Principals

The Toastmaster introduces the members who have assumed formal roles for the conduct of the meeting.  This includes the Timer, the Table Topics Master, the General Evaluator, and the Grammarian.

Toastmaster Calls for the Word of the Day

The Toastmaster calls on the member who has taken on the role of Word of the Day.  This person introduces a word and includes its meaning, history, and usage.  All members strive to use the word appropriately during their portion of the meeting.  The Grammarian tracks how many times the word is used.

Toastmaster Calls for the Thought of the Day

The Toastmaster calls on the member who has taken on the role of Thought of the Day.  This person provides a thought, saying, or anecdote that they believe will be of value to the membership.  The thought may be of any type, including inspirational or humorous.

Toastmaster Introduces the Table Topics Master

A valuable skill for any person is the ability to speak extemporaneously.  This function is fulfilled through Table Topics.  The Table Topics Master calls on a number of members to speak for one to two minutes on a topic of the Table Topics Master's  choice.

Toastmaster Calls for the Table Topics Timer Report

The Toastmaster calls on the Timer for the times for each Table Topic Speaker.

Toastmaster Presents Speakers

The Toastmaster introduces each Speaker in turn.  There are generally three Speakers in the meeting.  Most speeches are five to seven minutes in length, although some advanced speeches may be longer.

Toastmaster Calls for the Speakers Timer Report

The Toastmaster calls on the Timer for the times for each Speaker.

Toastmaster Introduces the General Evaluator

The General Evaluator runs the evaluation portion of the meeting.

General Evaluator Calls for Speaker Evaluations

The members who have taken on the role of Speaker Evaluators present their evaluations of the Speakers to whom they have been assigned.  Evaluations are always positive and upbeat, while at the same time presenting Speakers with suggestions on how to improve in the future.  Evaluations are two to three minutes in length.

General Evaluator Calls for Speaker Evaluator Timer Report

The General Evaluator calls on the Timer for the times for each Speaker Evaluator.

General Evaluator Calls for Grammarian Report

The Grammarian presents a report on the effectiveness of the membership grammar, word usage, and number of times members are caught using filler phrases such as "ahhh" or "you know."

General Evaluator Presents Evaluation of Meeting

The General Evaluator evaluates the meeting, including such things as how well it was run and parliamentary procedure errors.

General Evaluator Calls for Toastmaster

The Toastmaster of the Day makes final remarks.

Toastmasters Calls for Presiding Officer

The Presiding Officer calls for a business meeting, as needed, and makes final remarks.

Presiding Officer Adjourns Meeting

Until next time...