What goes on at a meeting : 

At first, our meetings look formal but there's a good reason. If you watch closely, you will see that the structure pushes people to speak in public.

Count the number of members who speak during the meeting. Every member will speak at least once - at the Topics session, in a formal presentation, or while doing a job at the meeting. The structure encourages this.

We all share jobs like Toastmaster, Topics Master, Timer, Evaluator, and General Evaluator. Different people do each of them at each meeting. You can't do a job without speaking, and you also gain skills in handling and communicating with groups of people.

We welcome visitors, and you may visit us as often as you like, with no charge. When you want to become a member, talk to any of us, and we'll organise this for you. Any club member will be happy to answer questions.

The Meeting

The President opens the meeting at 8pm sharp. He/she invites the Sergeant at Arms to the podium to welcome the guests, and the Secretary to read the minutes of the last meeting. Then the President introduces the Toastmaster of the evening.

The Toastmaster chairs the rest of the meeting. The Toastmaster usually proposes a toast, then introduces the Topics Master for the evening.

The Topics Session

The topics session is fun, but also interesting. The Topics Master picks a member, and gives him/her a topic. The member must speak on the given topic for up to two minutes. Other people may then contribute to the same topic. This helps us to improve 'off the cuff' speaking skills. We do not call upon visitors to speak, but we encourage them to contribute if they wish. Remember the limit of two minutes!

Break

Around 9pm we take a brief break. Some of us go upstairs for a chat in the bar, and please join us if you wish.

Speeches and Presentations

In the second half, some members give prepared presentations. They choose their own subjects and you will find them interesting. They have different objectives to meet in the Toastmasters programme. Some may be advanced speakers, while others are beginners.

Evaluations

Another member evaluates each presentation. This helps the speaker to improve, and it also helps the Evaluator to listen and assess a speaker. The other members complete evaluation slips too, to give more feedback. The General Evaluator comments on the Evaluators, and on the officers who ran the meeting. This gives everyone feedback on what they have done.

Close of the meeting

The President deals with routine club business, and the meeting ends at 10pm.

Join us for a chat afterwards

After the meeting, many members and visitors meet in the bar upstairs or in Buswells Hotel for a chat. We would like you to join us, if you can.