Group 1
The Toastmaster: You Are the Captain of Our Ship
Discuss the role of the Toastmaster of the club meeting. Consider these questions:
1. What are the Toastmaster’s duties prior to the meeting? Consider agenda, theme,
contact of participants, and preparation of introductions.
2. What are the Toastmaster’s duties upon arrival at the meeting site? Consider time
of arrival, adjusting the agenda, checking with meeting participants, etc.
3. What does an effective Toastmaster do to keep the meeting flowing smoothly?
Consider choice of seating, skill in keeping the meeting on track, effective
introductions of meeting participants, control of the lectern, timing of the
Toastmaster’s own remarks (i.e., Should the TM intersperse throughout the
meeting several 5-7 minute speeches on the theme?)
4. What is the Toastmaster’s responsibility for assuring that the meeting starts and
ends on time? Should the Toastmaster adjust the agenda to end the meeting on
time, even if it means foregoing some of the reports at the end of the meeting?
5. What is the Toastmaster’s role in creating a positive atmosphere and expressing
appreciation for the other meeting participants?
Group 2
Calling 911: The Emergency Meeting Planner
Discuss what happens when your carefully planned meeting (or maybe NOT so carefully
planned meeting) falls apart. Here are some questions to consider:
1. What happens if the Toastmaster fails to show up? What if there is no agenda?
2. What happens when one (or all) of the speakers fail to show up? Should
experienced Toastmasters be expected to fill in--to have a hip-pocket speech
ready? Should the club keep modules from the Better Speaker Series or
Successful Club Series on hand for emergency speech substitutions?
3. Should some meeting roles be sacrificed rather than asking members present to
double up on duties (for instance, one person being ah counter, grammarian, and
timer)?
4. Is it okay to do an All Table Topics meeting when there is no speaker(s)?
5. Should a meeting ever be canceled because of expected low attendance? Because
of a holiday? Because the regular meeting place can’t accommodate the group at
the regular meeting time? How are members and prospective guests notified in the
event of a cancellation or change of time/venue?
Group 3
Be Our Guest, Be Our Guest! Put Our Meeting to the Test!
Remember the first time you went to a Toastmasters meeting as a guest? Did the club
welcome you? Did it have a friendly atmosphere? Think about the culture of your club. Is
your club as guest-friendly as it could be? Consider the following questions:
1. How is the guest greeted at the meeting? Consider who greets guests (just the SAA
or VPM? Or everyone?), invites the guest to sit with a member, introduces the
guest to fellow members, etc. (Don’t forget that the CL manual has a meeting role
on assisting a guest at a meeting!)
2. How do these items contribute to a welcoming atmosphere: guest book, visitor
cards, name badges?
3. Is a guest packet presented to the guest upon arrival? What should be included in
the guest packet?
4. Should guests be asked to introduce themselves, or does a member introduce the
guest? Which is preferable? Should the guest be called upon for comments at the
end of the meeting?
5. Who follows up with the guest at the end of the meeting? Does the VPM ask about
the guest’s goals? Does the VPM go over the TM program with the guest? Is the
guest invited to join? What happens when the VPM misses a meeting? Is someone
designated to take over these duties if a guest appears?
6. Does the club follow up with the guest to let him/her know the visit was
appreciated or to ask if the guest had any questions that weren’t answered?
Group 4
Miss Manners: Toastmasters Etiquette
The purpose of protocol or etiquette is so that everyone feels comfortable at a meeting
and knows what to expect. Discuss how protocol/etiquette contributes to the flow of a
meeting and how it enhances the atmosphere of the meeting. Consider the following:
1. How is a speaker or meeting participant introduced? Should educational titles
and/or officer titles be used when presenting each meeting participant? How is the
TM, GE, etc, apprised of each participant’s educational title (On the agenda? On a
separate list?) How are guests introduced?
2. How is the flow of the meeting enhanced by members knowing where to speak
from (at the lectern or at their seats) for each event? Is speaking from the lectern
necessary for such meeting roles as Table Topics respondent or speech evaluator?
What are the advantages/disadvantages of speaking from one’s seat? From the
lectern?
3. How is the flow of the meeting enhanced by the exchange of control at the lectern?
Be prepared to demonstrate for the group how someone at the lectern greets the
next and departs the lectern. Is it necessary to stay at the lectern until the next
speaker approaches?
4. How is the flow of the meeting enhanced by having main meeting participants
(TM, GE, TT) sit near the lectern instead of returning to a seat in the audience?
Are there disadvantages to taking a seat nearby?
5. How much applause is necessary for each participant in the meeting? Is it
necessary to applaud while the speaker makes his way to the lectern, even if from
the back of the room? When a meeting participant stands at his seat to perform the
role (as opposed to going to the lectern), is it necessary to applaud when he/she is
introduced, or just after when finished with the remarks?
6. What are your pet peeves when it comes to etiquette at a Toastmasters function?
Group 5
Closing the Back Door: Member Retention
Some clubs lose as many members as they induct each year. Discuss best practices for
how your club can retain members. Here are some questions to consider:
1. How can practices such as surveying members’ goals, giving a Moments of Truth
module, etc, contribute to a positive experience for club members?
2. What can clubs do to encourage members to meet their communications goals?
Consider scheduling/frequency of speeches, encouraging busy or reluctant
members, bringing manuals, insisting on manual speeches, etc.
3. What can clubs do to encourage members to meet their leadership goals? Consider
use of the CL manual, CL manual management, encouragement to take leadership
roles, mentoring, etc.
4. What can clubs do when a member begins to skip meetings? Consider use of
telephone committee, buddy contact, etc.
5. What is the advantage to conducting an “exit interview” when a member chooses
not to renew in order to learn the reason for nonrenewal?
6. What can clubs do to show appreciation for members’ efforts or to celebrate the
accomplishment of goals?
Group 6
Fun: The Secret Ingredient
Discuss how fun activities and variety can enhance the club atmosphere and lead to a
“never-miss-a-meeting” enthusiasm. Consider these questions:
1. How can meeting themes add fun and variety to meetings? Who comes up with the
themes: the toastmaster, the VPE, or the Executive Committee? How far in
advance should meeting themes be announced? Should Table Topics contribute to
meeting themes?
2. What kinds of occasional “special meetings” with a different format can a club
host? Consider such variations as the backward meeting, grab bag meeting
(everyone draws for roles), special event meetings (such as holiday meeting),
funny hat meeting, etc. What other variations add a spark to meetings and make
them lively and entertaining?
3. How can Table Topics add variety to meetings? Consider use of props, role play,
debates, etc. What other Table Topics variations add to the fun and ultimately to
the success of meetings?
4. How can a pot luck dinner or snacks make meetings more fun? Consider
decorations and/or themed foods (for example “Just Desserts” to go with a
meeting theme of Sweets for the Sweet for a Valentine’s Day meeting).
5. What other fun, exhilarating, vibrant, exciting, weird and wonderful ideas can be
used to make a meeting fabulous?
Group 7
Speakers and Evaluators: The Heart of the Meeting
Discuss how these meeting roles are the main events in the Toastmasters meeting and
how clubs can encourage members to grow in their skills as speakers and evaluators.
Consider these questions:
1. What should the speaker do prior to the meeting to help the meeting run smoothly?
Consider scheduling of speeches, preparation of the introduction, talking to the
evaluator about goals, bringing the manual, speech preparation, etc. What goes
into a well-written introduction?
2. How often should beginning Toastmasters be encouraged to speak? Should they be
encouraged to or discouraged from rushing through the CC manual?
3. What happens if the speaker forgets his/her manual? Is there a back-up plan in
place to make sure that the speaker gets credit for a manual speech?
4. Should a club allow nonmanual speeches? What are the perils and/or benefits of
disallowing such speeches?
5. What should the evaluator do prior to the speech to ensure that his/her evaluation is
encouraging and helpful to the speaker? How can constructive criticism be
phrased in order to be encouraging instead of damaging?
6. What can be done about a negative evaluator whose criticism comes across as
harsh rather than helpful? What can be done about an evaluator who sugar coats
the evaluation and has no suggestions for improvement for the speaker?
Group 8
Taking Care of Business: Handling Meeting Roles Effectively
Other groups are discussing the meeting roles of Toastmaster, Speaker, Evaluator, and
Table Topics. Your group will take care of the remaining roles. Each is listed below with
a question or two for your consideration.
1. Is it important for members filling roles as timer, grammarian, ah-counter, etc., to
explain their roles at each meeting? What are the advantages/disadvantages to such
explanations? Is there some occasion when it would always be advisable to have meeting
roles explained?
2. Does the grammarian select and explain the word of the day? Should the word of the
day always a useful one? What kinds of errors should the grammarian point out? Should
a “Texanism” or English as a second language pronunciation be considered a
grammatical error and pointed out? Does the grammarian need to give examples of how
an error would be corrected?
3. Does the ah-counter also listen for inappropriate filler words and “double dribbles”
(such as “I, I”) or just for pauses and filler sounds? Does the club use a noise maker (bell,
clicker, etc.) to signal an error or just count the errors? What are the
advantages/disadvantages to an auditory signal? Are these auditory signals given during
all parts of the meeting, or are prepared speeches excluded?
4. How does the general evaluator’s role contribute to the success of the meting? What
are his/her responsibilities in introducing the evaluators? Does the GE assign the
evaluators to the speakers, or does someone else do that? Does the GE only praise all
evaluators or does he/she point out areas where the evaluations could be improved?
5. What other meeting roles do some clubs have that might be considered as additions to
the meeting roles? Would these roles be unassigned if fewer members were present?
6. How does the club handle the Competent Leader manual evaluations? Do members
bring their CL manuals? Are they left in the club? Who fills out evaluations for the CL?