For each meeting an agenda is drawn up by the chairperson for the meeting which shows the timing of each activity and the person undertaking that role.
A schedule of future meetings and their themes is distributed every six weeks and lists the duties assigned to club members.
Visitors and guests are usually expected to participate in table topics (impromptu speaking) if they wish, and will be approached by the Table Topics Master on arrival.
You are most welcome to visit our clubs and participate in meetings before deciding if you wish to join.
Once you have joined a club, your first speech will be scheduled as quickly as possible. You will be invited to participate with other duties to be performed at club meetings, according to your level of experience. For instance, the timekeeper role is a good job to start with.
At each meeting, members perform specific roles that have been previously assigned. These roles rotate amongst the members, meeting by meeting, so that everyone in the club gains experience in a variety of speaking and meeting roles.
Chairperson
The Chairperson organises and runs the meeting by preparing and publishing a written agenda, and may introduce each speaker. The Chairperson may also assign other roles such as Grammarian, or Listening Post.
Table Topics Master
The Table Topics Master prepares the topics for the impromptu speaking part of the meeting. The speakers chosen from the audience are those who do not have an assigned role during the meeting. Visitors can participate in table topics if they wish.
Speakers
The Speakers deliver speeches they have prepared on a topic of their choosing from an assignment in a Toastmasters manual. Each speaker has particular goals that they are aiming for - these are specified in the Toastmasters programme.
Evaluators
An evaluator is assigned to each speaker. The evaluator's role is to introduce the speaker and provide both verbal and written feedback on how well they met the objectives of the speech. Evaluators comment on the speaker's strengths as well as areas where they might improve. Evaluations are the cornerstone of Toastmasters and the most valuable part of the meeting.
Timekeeper
The Timekeeper times each participant and ensures they do not exceed the time that the Chairperson has allocated. Three lights are used to indicate how close the speaker is to the end of their time. When the green light comes on, the speaker is nearing the end of the speech, when the orange or yellow light comes on, it is time to start winding up the speech, and when the red light comes on, it is time to end the speech. At a WOW club meeting, coloured cards are used to indicate time.
General Evaluator
The General Evaluator is the final speaker, who evaluates all meeting participants who haven't received evaluations, especially the Chairperson and Speech Evaluators. They comment on how well the meeting was run and where improvements can be made.