We have a few new members in our Cottonwood Toastmaster's club which is always wonderful! There are many things that go on during a meeting that I thought it appropriate to do a little post about it to assist our new members and curious readers in their learning.
The first thing that happens when you attend a Toastmasters meeting is to sign in at the front door. If you are a member, wear your name badge. If a guest, get a name tag and sign the guest book. In our club we have a guest packet that we give to our visitors. I love this because our guest packet is full of information that teaches more about what Toastmasters is and how you can benefit from the program. We also have information in our packet about our club web site
(http://cottonwoodaztoastmasters.toastmastersclubs.org) and blog (
www.cottonwoodtoastmasters.blogspot.com).
After you get signed in and meet some of the members, at the scheduled time the club president stands at the podium and opens the meeting, welcoming members and guests. He/she then turns the meeting over to the designated Toastmaster. The Toastmaster and other roles are preassigned. In our group this is done on a monthly calendar which is very helpful for it gives each club member time to prepare, call other members and remind them of their roles, and also assists with a smooth functioning club.
The Toastmaster then introduces the theme and then each of the following, leading with applause:
Joke Master: who starts our meeting with a joke or humorous story
CL (Competent Leader) Evaluator: who is there to sign any books for leadership roles being fulfilled
General Evaluator: who will give a general meeting evaluation at the end of the meeting
Then the Toastmaster turns the time over to the General Evaluator who introduces his/her team:
Grammarian: Gives a report of their responsibilities and word of the day
Ah Counter: listens for "ah's" ums, you knows, etc..., rings bell when "ahs, or ums" are used
Timer: runs the timer for speeches and evaluations, also Table Topics participants
Speech Evaluators: Evaluates the speakers
The General Evaluator then turns the time back to the Toastmaster who introduces the speakers. After the speakers we hear from the speaker evaluators. Then the Toastmaster turns the time over to the
Table Topics Master. The Table Topics master introduces the questions following the assigned theme of the day and calls on club members at random to stand and give a 90 second impromptu speech. After all the Table Topics speeches are done, the Table Topics master turns the time back over to the Toastmaster who then invites the General Evaluator to give their summary including reports from their functionaries. Finally the Toastmaster announces the winners of the day which include the Best Speaker, Best Evaluator, and Best Table Topics Speaker. The thought of the day is then introduced followed by the release of the meeting by the Toastmaster to the Club President who does final announcements and adjourns the meeting until the following week.
All in all, the meeting should only last one hour. There is a degree of protocol to be followed, including the turning of the podium over to the next person in charge, never leaving it unattended; applause after each functionary or speaker is introduced; and the presiding authority of the club president. Each club may do their agenda a little differently, but the basic structure is the same. Toastmasters learn speaking and leadership skills that may assist them in their lives, jobs, and other leadership opportunities they may encounter.
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Mondays theme was "colors" and here was our thought for the day:
"A friend is like a rainbow, they are always there after a storm."
Cottonwood Toastmasters meets every Monday 12:00 to 1:15 at the Cottonwood Village, 201 E Mingus Ave. Guests are welcome. For more information call Laina at 928-300-8638 or Dave at 634-6540
