Lake Norman Toastmasters is considered a Community Club. There are also Corporate Clubs, Special Interest Clubs and Advanced Clubs. Regardless of the type of club you visit, most will follow a similar format of:
- Prepared Speeches – Individual Pathways Projects (most are 5-7 minutes)
- Table Topics – Impromptu Question Responses (1-2 minutes)
- Evaluations – Prepared Speech Feedback (2-3 minutes)
At Lake Norman Toastmasters the highest ranking Officer in attendance starts the meeting by discussing new club business and recognizing Guests. Then the meeting gets turned over to the Toastmaster.
The Toastmaster is the leader of the meeting and will usually set a theme. He / She is tasked with adding theme based content where appropriate and keeps the meeting running on time and smoothly.
Every meeting has an agenda where Members can sign up to give speeches and fill various roles. Other roles filled in the meeting include the JokeMaster, The Word of the Day Master, the Ah/Um Counter, the Grammarian, The Timer, The Table Topics Master, Speech Evaluators, The General Evaluator and The Quizmaster.
In the beginning of the meeting the Toastmaster will call on individuals to describe the role they are fulfilling. Below are some downloadable PDF’s with descriptions, scripts and checklists for each role. Members can use these scripts to start, but Lake Norman Toastmasters are encouraged to get creative in their descriptions. Every opportunity is a way to get better!
At the end of the meeting, the “Quizmaster” asks attendees questions in a free-for-all, call out your response format. It’s a fun way to end the meeting and reinforce learning. The Toastmaster then turns control of the meeting over to the following week’s Toastmaster who closes the meeting.
Overall, meetings are designed to maximize speaking opportunities and productivity. Ideally, if time permits, everyone including guests will have had an opportunity to speak. Good Toastmasters are dynamic and adjust on the fly to stay on time.
Check out #3 in this series here.
Role Descriptions and Scripts:
Table Topics Master Question Ideas:
Lake Norman Toastmasters Blog 