A Typical Meeting

7:30

Sgt-at-Arms: Calls the Meeting to Order

Introduction of the Chair

The Sgt-at-Arms sets up the meeting room and supports the members in conducting the meeting. He calls the meeting to order and introduces the Chair. He also calls the meeting back to order after the break.

7:31

Chair - Opening remarks

- Reviews discrepancies in the current agenda

- Reviews next week's agenda

The Chair conducts the first half of the meeting. This includes introducing various contributors as their role in the program arrives. Here, the Chair presents the final agenda with any changes from the published agenda. Contributors, scheduled for roles in the next meeting, are also confirmed at this time.

7:34

Introduction of Guests (2 min)

The Chair welcomes any guests and asks each to stand and briefly introduce themselves. Guests are always warmly welcomed and never need an invitation. They can call ahead or just show up, it matters not. A member of our club will try to sit with each guest to answer any questions they may have during the meeting.

7:36

Toast (2 min)

This is a traditional part of Toastmasters heritage. The Toast-Timer stands to present a toast often reflecting on the theme of the evening. Thereafter, they attend to timing each part of the meeting in support of speakers and other participants towards running a timely meeting.

7:38

Word of the Week (2 min)

Each week a new word is introduced to be used throughout the meeting to improve our vocabulary. The person responsible for selecting the word defines it, uses it in a sentence, and sets it in place by the lectern for all to see. They also remind us to try to use the previous two Words of the Week, which are always printed in the agenda.

7:40

Business Session

At this point, the Chair deals with club business including any old or new business from the floor. They also take reports from the floor by the officers The business session is to be conducted in line with Robert's Rules of Order.

7:50

Table Topics

This is a fun part of every meeting. The idea is for each person, including guests if they wish, to stand and present a short impromptu speech. It will be on a subject selected by the Table Topics Master. Each speaker has about one minute to prepare and one minute to speak. This develops abilities to think clearly and quickly on your feet. Everyone has a good time and there are always lots of laughs. The audience votes for the best Table Topics Speaker of the evening.

8:10

Thought or Joke of the Day (2 min)

The person responsible for this role is introduced by the Chair. They stand in place to present a thoughtful comment or joke relating to the theme of the meeting or, perhaps, events of the day.

8:12

Break (15 min)

This gives everyone a chance to enjoy some refreshments, meet with guests, and generally socialize. The Sgt-at-Arms uses this time to make changes in the arrangements to accommodate the speakers and activities following in the next session.

8:27

Recall from break by Sgt-at-Arms

8:28

Toastmaster introduces second half of agenda

The Toastmaster is in charge of the second half of our meetings, they are a true Master of Ceremonies. They introduce and thank the speakers, evaluators, and other contributors to this part of the meeting. As with the Chair, they are responsible for keeping the meeting running smoothly and on time.

8:30

Speakers and Evaluators

This is a favorite part of any Toastmasters meeting. We try to have at least three speakers. Speeches are to be carefully structured and presented towards a specific learning exercise in one of many varied Toastmaster speech manuals.
When all the speakers are finish, each is formally reviewed by an Evaluator. They consider the speech objectives as stated in the manual and as further outlined by the speaker. They provide positive feedback on what they personally thought about the speech, how it met the objectives, and how it might have been improved.
The audience also gives their comments on slips of paper that are passed along to each speaker after of their speech.
Finally, the audience uses ballots to vote for best speaker, based on their stated objectives, and for best evaluator. A trophy and ribbons are awarded to the winners.

9:10

Grammarian's Report (2 min)

The Grammarian listens carefully throughout the meeting to note any grammatical errors, filler words, use of the Word of the Week, and general use of language. This helps everyone become more precise and correct in their manner of speaking.

9:12

Quizmaster's Report (2 min)

This role defines yet another careful listening experience. The Quizmaster looks for about five questions over the course of the meeting to test the audience on how well they were listening. This often results in some interesting and funny answers. Toastmasters love having fun, and our club is well known for this.

9:14

Timer's Report - discrepancies only

Toastmasters are fanatic about keeping meetings on track. We all know how few people in the work world are good at this. The Timer uses a stop watch to check each element of the meeting. They then report on how well we did - or did not - do, primarily noting timing discrepancies. The Chair and Toastmaster are responsible for keeping their parts of the meeting running on time.

9:16

General Evaluator (5 min)

Each meeting receives a general evaluation. This helps everyone know how well they did in their individual roles. It also helps the Executive to present more interesting and useful meetings aimed meeting the objectives of the club, members, and Toastmasters program.

9:21

Presentation of Awards by Toastmaster

This is an exciting time when awards are presented for the best Table Topics, Speaker, and Speech Evaluator. Tension rises as the audience does a drum roll for the Best Speaker award. This is all part of the spirit of Toastmasters in recognizing personal contributions and accomplishments.

9:23

Comments from Guests (2 min)

Guests are always asked for feedback on how they liked the meeting and whether they feel they will be coming back. Our club allows guests up to three meetings to decide if they would like to join us. We also provide them with a guest ribbon to thank them and remind them to come back to see us anytime.

9:25

Adjourn Meeting