What to Expect from a Sample Meeting
Content
What To Expect
At A Sample Meeting
A Sample Meeting is organized for the purpose of introducing the
Toastmasters format to a Prospective Club. While all clubs are based on the
same format, each members who makes up the new club will contribute a local
flavor. Are you planning a Community Club? Gavel Club? Corporate Club?
Specialty Club? These cause your club to develop its own "Personality".
A Sample Meeting gets the group headed in the right direction.
An meeting agenda will be distributed before the meeting. Every segment
of the meeting is given a timeframe (a Timer keeps track of the time). The
meeting starts with a Joke of the day. It won't necessarily be a Great joke, but
it should be clean and set a light tone for the meeting. The Toastmaster
introduces the Grammarian, who gives us a Word of the Day (a word that we
try to include in each presentation). Most Toastmasters meetings will have 2
to 4 speeches. But a Sample Meeting will have a single prepared speech .
After the speech portion of the meeting, the Topicsmaster invites guests to
give a short (1-2 minute) talk on a given topic. Table Topics are designed to get
more attendees participating in the meeting. A table topic can be on any topic,
but should include an introduction, body and conclusion.
District 31 Toastmasters
Serving Eastern MA and RI
Typical Agenda for A Sample Meeting
6:00-7:30 p.m., Thursday, August xx, 20xx
Your Town, MA 018xx
Welcome & Introduction – Host Name
Welcome all to the Sample Meeting and introduce Toastmaster.
Toastmaster – Team Member Name
Introduce each role, its purpose, and the person who will perform the role.
Humorist – Team Member Name, 1-3 minutes
Start the meeting on a light-hearted note.
Word Master – Team Member Name, 1-3 minutes
Encourage each of us to add a new word to our vocabularies by using the
chosen word spontaneously.
Speaker – Team Member Name, 5-7 minutes
Give a prepared speech.
Topicsmaster – Team Member Name, 1-2 minutes per topic speaker
Demonstrate how Toastmasters helps people hone vital skills for speaking.
General Evaluator – Team Member Name
Introduce evaluation team members and evaluate the evaluators and the
meeting in general.
The second half of the meeting is handled by the General Evaluator. A
Speech Evaluator offer a 2-3 minute overview of a written evaluation of the
prepared speech. The evaluation will be supportive, including a few specific
areas that "worked" for the speaker. It should also include one or two specific
suggestions of what might improve the presentation. Then the General
Evaluator calls for reports from the Grammarian and Timer. Finally, the
General Evaluator also offers an evaluation of the meeting as a whole.
Evaluator – Team Member Name, 2-3 minutes
At the close of the meeting, the Club Sponsor and District Leaders will
answer questions from the group. The meeting will conclude in about 1 hour.
Most will end with some planning of the new club details.
Q & A – Team Member Name
Provide the helpful, supportive feedback given in a positive and friendly way.
Word of Day Counter/Grammarian – Team Member Name, 1-3 minutes
Report on how many times speakers used the Word of the Day and how we
used the English language.
Timer – Team Member Name, 1-3 minutes
Demonstrate how members learn to accomplish tasks within set time limits.
What’s next? Come join the club and improve your communication and
leadership skills!.
Toastmasters Tips for Public Speaking
Feeling some nervousness before giving a speech is natural and even
beneficial, but too much nervousness can be detrimental. Here are some
proven tips on how to control your butterflies and give better
presentations:
1. Know your material. Pick a topic you are interested in. Know more
about it than you include in your speech. Use humor, personal stories
and conversational language – then you won’t easily forget what to say.
You were invited to a Toastmasters Sample Meeting.
2. Practice. Practice. Practice! Rehearse out loud with all equipment
you plan on using. Revise as necessary. Work to control filler words;
Practice, pause and breathe. Practice with a timer and expect the
unexpected.
3. Know the audience. Greet some of the audience members as they
arrive. It’s easier to speak to a group of friends than to strangers.
4. Know the room. Arrive early, walk around the speaking area and
practice using the microphone and any visual aids.
5. Relax. Begin by addressing the audience. Pause, smile and count to
three before saying anything. ("One one-thousand, two one-thousand,
three one-thousand. Pause. Begin.) Transform nervous energy into
enthusiasm.
6. Visualize yourself giving your speech. Imagine yourself
speaking, your voice loud, clear and confident. Visualize the audience
clapping – it will boost your confidence.
7. Realize that people want you to succeed. Audiences want you
to be interesting, stimulating, informative and entertaining. They’re
rooting for you.
8. Don’t apologize for any nervousness or problem – the audience
probably never noticed it.
9. Concentrate on the message – not the medium. Concentrate
on your message and away from your own anxieties .
Now What?
A Toastmasters meeting is a learn-by-doing workshop in which
participants hone their speaking and leadership skills in a nopressure atmosphere. Membership in Toastmasters is one of the
greatest investments you can make in yourself. At $36 every six
months (club dues may vary), it is also one of the most costeffective skill-building tools available anywhere.
Are you looking to develop speaking and leadership
skills? Ace a job interview? Ignite your career?
10. Gain experience. Experience builds confidence, which is the key
to effective speaking. A Toastmasters club can provide the experience
you need in a safe and friendly environment.
TOASTMASTERS CAN HELP
At A Sample Meeting
A Sample Meeting is organized for the purpose of introducing the
Toastmasters format to a Prospective Club. While all clubs are based on the
same format, each members who makes up the new club will contribute a local
flavor. Are you planning a Community Club? Gavel Club? Corporate Club?
Specialty Club? These cause your club to develop its own "Personality".
A Sample Meeting gets the group headed in the right direction.
An meeting agenda will be distributed before the meeting. Every segment
of the meeting is given a timeframe (a Timer keeps track of the time). The
meeting starts with a Joke of the day. It won't necessarily be a Great joke, but
it should be clean and set a light tone for the meeting. The Toastmaster
introduces the Grammarian, who gives us a Word of the Day (a word that we
try to include in each presentation). Most Toastmasters meetings will have 2
to 4 speeches. But a Sample Meeting will have a single prepared speech .
After the speech portion of the meeting, the Topicsmaster invites guests to
give a short (1-2 minute) talk on a given topic. Table Topics are designed to get
more attendees participating in the meeting. A table topic can be on any topic,
but should include an introduction, body and conclusion.
District 31 Toastmasters
Serving Eastern MA and RI
Typical Agenda for A Sample Meeting
6:00-7:30 p.m., Thursday, August xx, 20xx
Your Town, MA 018xx
Welcome & Introduction – Host Name
Welcome all to the Sample Meeting and introduce Toastmaster.
Toastmaster – Team Member Name
Introduce each role, its purpose, and the person who will perform the role.
Humorist – Team Member Name, 1-3 minutes
Start the meeting on a light-hearted note.
Word Master – Team Member Name, 1-3 minutes
Encourage each of us to add a new word to our vocabularies by using the
chosen word spontaneously.
Speaker – Team Member Name, 5-7 minutes
Give a prepared speech.
Topicsmaster – Team Member Name, 1-2 minutes per topic speaker
Demonstrate how Toastmasters helps people hone vital skills for speaking.
General Evaluator – Team Member Name
Introduce evaluation team members and evaluate the evaluators and the
meeting in general.
The second half of the meeting is handled by the General Evaluator. A
Speech Evaluator offer a 2-3 minute overview of a written evaluation of the
prepared speech. The evaluation will be supportive, including a few specific
areas that "worked" for the speaker. It should also include one or two specific
suggestions of what might improve the presentation. Then the General
Evaluator calls for reports from the Grammarian and Timer. Finally, the
General Evaluator also offers an evaluation of the meeting as a whole.
Evaluator – Team Member Name, 2-3 minutes
At the close of the meeting, the Club Sponsor and District Leaders will
answer questions from the group. The meeting will conclude in about 1 hour.
Most will end with some planning of the new club details.
Q & A – Team Member Name
Provide the helpful, supportive feedback given in a positive and friendly way.
Word of Day Counter/Grammarian – Team Member Name, 1-3 minutes
Report on how many times speakers used the Word of the Day and how we
used the English language.
Timer – Team Member Name, 1-3 minutes
Demonstrate how members learn to accomplish tasks within set time limits.
What’s next? Come join the club and improve your communication and
leadership skills!.
Toastmasters Tips for Public Speaking
Feeling some nervousness before giving a speech is natural and even
beneficial, but too much nervousness can be detrimental. Here are some
proven tips on how to control your butterflies and give better
presentations:
1. Know your material. Pick a topic you are interested in. Know more
about it than you include in your speech. Use humor, personal stories
and conversational language – then you won’t easily forget what to say.
You were invited to a Toastmasters Sample Meeting.
2. Practice. Practice. Practice! Rehearse out loud with all equipment
you plan on using. Revise as necessary. Work to control filler words;
Practice, pause and breathe. Practice with a timer and expect the
unexpected.
3. Know the audience. Greet some of the audience members as they
arrive. It’s easier to speak to a group of friends than to strangers.
4. Know the room. Arrive early, walk around the speaking area and
practice using the microphone and any visual aids.
5. Relax. Begin by addressing the audience. Pause, smile and count to
three before saying anything. ("One one-thousand, two one-thousand,
three one-thousand. Pause. Begin.) Transform nervous energy into
enthusiasm.
6. Visualize yourself giving your speech. Imagine yourself
speaking, your voice loud, clear and confident. Visualize the audience
clapping – it will boost your confidence.
7. Realize that people want you to succeed. Audiences want you
to be interesting, stimulating, informative and entertaining. They’re
rooting for you.
8. Don’t apologize for any nervousness or problem – the audience
probably never noticed it.
9. Concentrate on the message – not the medium. Concentrate
on your message and away from your own anxieties .
Now What?
A Toastmasters meeting is a learn-by-doing workshop in which
participants hone their speaking and leadership skills in a nopressure atmosphere. Membership in Toastmasters is one of the
greatest investments you can make in yourself. At $36 every six
months (club dues may vary), it is also one of the most costeffective skill-building tools available anywhere.
Are you looking to develop speaking and leadership
skills? Ace a job interview? Ignite your career?
10. Gain experience. Experience builds confidence, which is the key
to effective speaking. A Toastmasters club can provide the experience
you need in a safe and friendly environment.
TOASTMASTERS CAN HELP
