Things to Know - When you are the Toastmaster

                The main duty of the Toastmaster is to act as a genial host and conduct the entire program, including introducing participants. If the Toastmaster does not perform the duties well, an entire meeting can end in failure. For obvious reasons this task is not usually assigned to a member until he or she is quite familiar with the Club and its procedures. Program participants should be introduced in a way that excites the audience and motivates them to listen. The Toastmaster creates an atmosphere of interest, expectation, and receptivity.

 

PRIOR TO THE MEETING

- Check with the Vice President Education to find out if a special theme has been set for the meeting and if there are any program changes.

- Call the table topics master to discuss his or her duties. Also provide the table topics master with a list of program participants to insure these people will not be called on for responses.

- Call all speakers in advance to remind them they are speaking. Interview them to find out their speech title, manual project number, purpose to be achieved, time requested, and something interesting which you can use when introducing them (job, family, hobbies, education, why this topic for this audience, etc.).

- Call the general evaluator to confirm the assignment. Ask the general evaluator to call the other members of the evaluation team (speech evaluators, topics master, timer, grammarian, ah counter, etc.) and remind them of their responsibilities.

- Prepare introductions for each speaker. A proper introduction is important to the success of the speaker’s presentation.

- Prepare remarks which can be used to bridge the gaps between program segments. You may never use them, but you should be prepared to avoid possibly awkward periods of silence.

- Remember that performing as Toastmaster is one of the most valuable experiences in your Club work. The assignment requires careful preparation in order to have a smoothly run meeting.

 

AT THE MEETING

 

- Arrive early in order to finish any last-minute details.

 

- Check with the speakers for any last-minute changes.

 

- Sit near the front of the room and have your speakers do likewise for quick and easy access to the lectern.

 

DURING THE MEETING

 

- Preside with sincerity, energy, and decisiveness. Take your audience on a pleasant journey and make them feel that all is going well.

 

- Always lead the applause before and after the topics session, each prepared speaker, and the general evaluator.

 

- Remain standing near the lectern after your introduction until the speaker has acknowledged you and assumed control of the meeting; then be seated.

 

- Introduce the general evaluator as you would any speaker; the general evaluator then will introduce the other members of the evaluation team.

 

- Introduce the table topics master as you would any speaker. If the table topics master forgets to call for the timer’s report and vote for “Best Table Topics Speaker,” you do it.

 

- Introduce each speaker in turn.

 

- At the conclusion of the speaking program, request the timer’s report and vote for “Best Speaker.”

 

- Briefly reintroduce the general evaluator. If the general evaluatorforgets to call for the timer’s report and vote for “Best Evaluator,” you do it.

 

- While votes are being tallied, invite comments from guests and announcements (such as verification of next week’s program).

 

- Award trophies if your Club does so.

 

- Request the “Thought for the Day” if your Club has one.

 

- Adjourn the meeting, or if appropriate, return control to the chairman.

Leaders' Garden Club's First Meeting

bullient!! That’s the right word to describe the ambience of the first meeting of Leaders’ Garden Toastmasters. Our first milestone! What a day it was! Full of enthusiasm, excitement and radiance! All of us had butterflies in our stomach as to how it will shape up, but am glad and overwhelmed by the way the meeting was conducted.

Am sure all of you have read and heard quite a lot about Toastmasters in the past few months but it was totally a different experience to be a part of it.

Where do I start? What do I say? Humor, fun, excitement, tension, pride, learning, knowing and enjoying, yes! A Toastmaster meeting is all about this and much more. Knowing our fellow Toastmasters from a different but pleasant perspective, we are colleagues for years but it was surprising to know all those facts about the five different ice breakers of the meeting who broke the ice and introduced themselves to all of us.

Everyone has the urge to be a great speaker and in our meeting everyone is a learner. We learn from each others’ mistakes. As one of our speakers aptly said “I am glad to be a Toastmaster, because I am not expected to be a fluent speaker or give a good public appearance, I do, I learn, like everyone else in the club; with no inhibition of being embarrassed”. A Toastmasters club adopts a "learn-by-doing" philosophy, wherein each member learns at a pace suitable to his or her developmental needs. The Toastmasters program is divided into two separate tracks, Communication and Leadership, with members progressing along each track by presenting speeches and taking on roles within their club, district, and Toastmasters International itself.

We are not alone; we have able mentors from Oratorium MyInfy Toastmasters who will be mentoring and evaluating us. Their honest and positive feedback is a boon to us. As a grammarian, it was my duty to be a keen observer and a patient listener. Moreover, we can keep changing our roles in every meeting. Like this all of us will learn to be good leaders too.

All said and done, it doesn’t end there, you are generously lauded for taking the courage to be one of the speaker or role taker for the meeting, which definitely boosts our self confidence.

If you are like most people, then public speaking is not your favorite pastime. Yet survey after survey shows that presentation skills are crucial to success in the work place. The person with strong communication skills has a clear advantage over tongue-tied colleagues – especially in a competitive job market.

Many people pay thousands of dollars for seminars to gain the skill and confidence necessary to face an audience. But another option is less expensive and held in high regard in business circles – Toastmasters International!!

This organization has been around for more than 80 years and offers a proven – and enjoyable – way to practice and hone the communication and leadership skills of its members. The nonprofit organization now has approximately 235,000 members in 11,700 clubs in 92 countries.

Don’t delay!

Become the speaker and leader you want to be. Confident, charismatic leaders weren’t born that way. As you progress in Toastmasters, you’ll get to practice your skills by organizing and conducting meetings and motivating others to help you. Become a better negotiator. Gain trust. Sharpen your management skills. Inspire your team. Be decisive!

Be a Toastmaster!

Tahera Haq

Vice President – Public Relations

Leaders’ Garden Toastmasters