We meet almost every week
We meet on Zoom because we have members from around the world. We open the Zoom room at 3:00pm Eastern Time, USA so we can give members and guests a chance to ensure sound and lighting conditions are good. Meetings start promptly at 3:30pm Eastern Time and last about 90 minutes. If you are a guest, we will welcome you by asking at the start of the meeting your name, where you are from and how you heard about our club. You are welcome to tell us anything else you like. We'll invite you to take part in Table Topics if you wish, but you are free to pass. If you would like an agenda, just Send a message through our contact form and we'll do our best to get it to you before the meeting.
Our meetings give many people a chance to speak in assigned roles, as well as in Table Topics. After each meeting we make time for open mic, where you are free to ask questions and comment on anything Club and Toastmaster related or just chat with other members on any topic that comes up.
Parts of a meeting
We organize our meetings in 3 parts.
Prepared Speeches
Each meeting features two prepared speeches by our members. Most of these fall between 5 - 7 Minutes, but there are more advanced speeches from projects that can be as long as 20 Minutes. We all work from "Pathways", an organized education program provided by Toastmasters International that helps develop the speaking, listening, and leadership skills that are a hallmark of the organization and our club.
Table Topics
This is your chance to practice thinking on your feet. The Table Topics Master will ask some random question, usually centered around a theme of the day. You then get a chance to answer in a 1 - 2 Minute answer. These are open ended, no wrong answer questions, e.g. "What was the best piece of advice you ever received?". Everybody gets a chance to participate, including guests, but you are free to decline.
The Evaluations
We evaluate each speech. One member is chosen to evaluate each speaker to offer constructive ideas on how to improve a speech. We also keep track of how long each person spoke. We also pay attention to how often meeting participants, use filler words, e.g. "um", "ah", "you know" that don't help, but act like crutches for many people. Finally, we keep track of improper grammar and point out how a more correct way could be to say it. We also mention especially creative or colorful word and phrase choices. We also announce a word of the day each week. You get an honorable mention for using that word when you speak. This part of the meeting is served by many roles, explained on the roles page.