About us > What we do
WHAT WE DO AT OUR MEETINGS
We meet twice a month, typically bringing in 20-30 people each time (visit us at our next meeting). If this is your first time, you will be greeted by our Sergeant-at-Arms and welcomed by the other club members.
You can choose to speak, or you can just watch and enjoy the performances. The meetings last about 2 hours (7.30-9.30pm).
The basics
The first half of a meeting consists of a Table Topics session – where participants give impromptu 1-2 minute speeches on a random topic given to them by the Table Topics Master. In the second half, members give Prepared Speeches and are given constructive evaluation to help them improve.
The meeting is presided over by the Toastmaster of the Evening, whose role is to introduce the speakers, and to keep the evening running smoothly. There is also a Grammarian, a Timekeeper, and General Evaluator.
At each meeting, different members of the club take on the different roles, so that everyone gets the chance to experience different aspects of speaking.
The Table Topics Session keeps us on our toes
The Table Topics Master will challenge the participants with interesting and unexpected topics. The participants will have to speak on that topic for 1-2 minutes, and at the end everyone will vote (on slips of paper) for their favourite performance.
Previous themes have included: Talking about things beginning with the letter B (such as a bucket, beards, and bishops) or even Selling stuff (like double-glazing, a grey squirrel charity).
Finally, the Table Topics session is evaluated by the Table Topics Evaluator, who gives all participants (including the Table Topics master) useful pointers for improvement and commends them on what they did well.
The Table Topics session is great fun, and a terrific way to develop your ability to think on your feet. After some practice, you will be able to speak on any topic, in a very structured and fluent way. Very impressive and useful!
Prepared Speeches: The way to great speaking
In the second half of the meeting, we have Prepared Speeches, by members who are working their way through the Competent Toastmaster Manual or Advanced Manuals. The speeches usually last for 5-7 minutes and are aimed towards improving a particular aspect of speaking (e.g., vocal variety, using visual props etc). The speakers choose their own topics for the speeches. There are 3-4 speeches.
After the speeches, each speech is evaluated by an Evaluator, usually a more experienced member of the club. The Evaluator will point out the strong aspects of the speech, and make one or two positive suggestions for improving the presentation.
Everyone votes for the Best Speaker and Evaluator.
Next, the General Evaluator for the evening will give their thoughts on how the meeting has been run, and also evaluates the evaluators on their feedback to the main speakers. And at the end the President presents to prizes for Best Speaker, Best Evaluator, and Best Table Topics.
Come along to our next meeting
It is a great experience, you learn some valuable communication skills, meet friendly new people, and, of course, it is good fun too! We meet on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of every month at the Town Hall at 7.15pm (for a 7.30pm start).
Find out how to come to our next meeting...
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Toastmaster of the evening
The Toastmaster of the evening acts as a genial host, introducing participants and guests, and keeps the program running smoothly.
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Table Topics Session
This is when participants have an opportunity to present 1-2 minutes impromptu talks. It is fun!
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Table Topics Master
The Table Topics master prepares and presents the theme of topics to give to participants. Each speaker is given a random topic to talk about.
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Table Topics Evaluator
The Table Topics Evaluator gives feedback on all the Table Topics performances.
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Prepared Speeches
The Speakers give a speech!
When you join Toastmasters, you are given the Competent Toastmaster Manual, which has ten speech assignments to guide you through various aspects of speaking, such as vocal variety and hand gestures.
Later manuals offer opportunities to specialise, depending on the direction the speaker wishes to take.
For all speeches, the subject is entirely up to you.
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Evaluator
The Evaluator gives feedback to the Speaker that he/she is assigned to. The purpose of an evaluation is to help the speaker to become less self-conscious and to grow into a better speaker.
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General Evaluator
The General Evaluator evaluates everything that has taken place during the meeting.
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Grammarian
The Grammarian introduces the "Word of the Day".
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Timekeeper
The art of expressing yourself within a given space of time is a precious skill. The timekeeper is responsible for keeping track of time.
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Sergeant at Arms
The Sergeant at Arms sets up the rooms, collects votes, and welcomes the guests.
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