Saturday, January 03, 2009

Toasmasters Meeting Guide:Toastmaster of the Evening/ Day

As the host of the program, you are to create an atmosphere of interest, expectation, and receptivity. You will steer the program to ensure that goals are met and that guests and members leave feeling that they have enjoyed the meeting and learned how to be better communicators.

Here are some reminders to help you set the tone for a productive and enjoyable meeting.
Before the meeting:
-Discuss with the Vice President for Education and the General Evaluator the program, the meeting theme, and any changes to the printed program.
-Prepare an icebreaker or introduction exercise that goes with the theme.
-Check if the program role players are all in.
-Prepare Introductions for the Prepared Speakers, Table Topics Master, and the General Evaluator. Capture the following points for the prepared speakers:
-Speech Project
-Objectives of the Speech (You may ask the Individual Evaluator to read
the objectives)
-Title
-Evaluator
-Name of Speaker
-Prepare remarks to bridge gaps between program segments.
-Sit near the front of the room.
-Remind the prepared speakers and the Table Topic Master to sit close to the front of the room.
-Find somebody who can evaluate you using your Leadership Manual.

During the meeting:
-The President will introduce you. Thank the President and then take control of the proceedings.
-Preside with sincerity, energy, and decisiveness. Take your audience on a pleasant journey and make them feel that all is going well. Do not apologize for any glitches that might not be apparent to them anyway.
-Introduce the icebreaker/introduction process. Be extra warm and attentive to guests to make them feel welcome.
-Always lead the applause before and after each session.
-Shake the hand of each participant before and after her presentation.
-Introduce the Table Topic Master as you would any speaker. Very briefly share what Table Topics is. You do not need to go into detail since the TTM will give the details.
-Introduce the General Evaluator as you would any speaker. The General Evaluator will then introduce the evaluation team before every evaluation.
-After the evaluation segment, warmly thank the audience. Share some closing remarks, and turn the proceedings to the President.

After the meeting:
-Ask for your Leadership Manual. Discuss your evaluation if anything is unclear.
Checklist:
-Program
-Speaker Introductions
-Icebreaker/Introduction of Members and Guests
-Pen
-Your Leadership Manual

Here’s a summary of the Toastmaster of the Evening’s Roles in the meeting:

Tone Setter
Officer-in-Charge
Applause Leader
Speaker Introducer
Team Builder
Meeting Planner
Appreciation Giver
Session Facilitator
Time Manager
Energizer
Researcher

Toastmasters Quick Facts
INTERNATIONAL - THEN
•Founded in 1924
•By Ralph Smedley
•In Santa Ana, California.
•As an all-male club.
•Accepted female members in 1973.

INTERNATIONAL - NOW
•TM is now headquartered in Rancho Santa Margarita, California
•Has nearly 235,000 members
•11,700 clubs
•in 92 countries

PHILIPPINES - THEN
•In 1938
•Mauro Baradi established the Philippine Toastmasters Club
•But WW2 broke out
•After the war, one of the PTMC members, Teodoro Kalaw, Jr. reorganized TM in the Philippines.
•1952 - First chartered club – Tamaraw TMC

PHILIPPINES - NOW
•Also called District 75
•With 2500 members
•in 155 clubs throughout the country.
•BnT is part of Area 16 of Division B.

Before the meeting, you may want to review some basic information about Toastmasters. Do not memorize this information. Pick some points you think might be relevant to the audience. Do not make the mistake of reading this information for your audience.

What is Toastmasters?
•From a humble beginning in 1924 at the YMCA in Santa Ana, California, Toastmasters International has grown to become a world leader in helping people become more competent and comfortable in front of an audience. The nonprofit organization now has nearly 226,000 members in 11,500 clubs in 92 countries, offering a proven – and enjoyable! – way to practice and hone communication and leadership skills.

Most Toastmasters meetings are composed of approximately 20 people who meet weekly for a couple of hours. Participants practice and learn skills by filling a meeting role, ranging from giving a prepared speech or an impromptu one to serving as timer, evaluator, or grammarian.

There is no instructor; instead, each speech and meeting is critiqued by a member in a positive manner, focusing on what was done right and what could be improved.

How Does It Work?
Toastmasters makes learning fun!

This non-profit organization offers a proven – and enjoyable – way to practice communication and leadership skills. Here's how it works:
•A Toastmasters meeting is a learn-by-doing workshop in which participants hone their speaking and leadership skills in a friendly atmosphere.
•Members learn communication skills by working in the Competent Communication manual, a series of 10 self-paced speaking assignments designed to instill a basic foundation in public speaking. Participants learn skills related to use of humor, gestures, eye contact, speech organization and overall delivery. When finished with this manual, members can choose from 15 advanced manuals to learn skills related to specific interests.
•Members also learn leadership skills by taking on various meeting roles and serving as officers at the club and district levels, and by working in the Competent Leadership manual and the High Performance Leadership program. In our learn-by-doing approach, we don't lecture our members about leadership skills; we give them responsibilities and ask them to lead.
Thousands of corporations sponsor in-house Toastmasters clubs. Businesses and government organizations have discovered that Toastmasters is an effective, cost-efficient means of meeting their communication training needs.
Why Join?
Survey after survey shows that presentation skills are crucial to success in the workplace. Many people pay high fees for seminars to gain the skill and confidence necessary to face an audience. Toastmasters provides an option that is less expensive and held in high regard in business circles. This organization has been around for more than 84 years and offers a proven – and enjoyable – way to practice and hone communication and leadership skills.

You will:
•Learn to communicate more effectively
•Become a better listener.
•Improve your presentation skills
•Increase your leadership potential
•Become more successful in your career
•Build your ability to motivate and persuade
•Reach your professional and personal goals
•Increase your self confidence.
You do this by:
•Building speaking and leadership skills with time-tested methods
•Focusing on areas of interest in our self-paced curriculum
•Receiving suggestions for improvement through constructive evaluations
Toastmasters programs are . . .
•Inexpensive
•Interactive
•Convenient
•Friendly
•Supportive
More than four million people have discovered the benefits of this proven learning formula. What are you waiting for?
How to Join
•After you attend a meeting, you can apply for membership (minimum age 18.)
•At the meeting, ask for a membership application.
•Membership is affordable:
oPhP3,500 new member fee to cover your first 6 months
oPhP2,500 every 6 months
•The club officer will send your application and fees to Toastmasters’ World Headquarters.
•In the ideal world, your New Member Kit should arrive in the mail in about 10 days.
Information from: http://www.toastmasters.org/
About Toastmasters in the Philippines
Toastmasters Philippines is also called District 75. It has over 3,000 members in 155 clubs all over the country. The first Philippine club, Tamaraw TMC, started in 1938.

OBJECTIVES
10 Basic Speech Projects

1.The Icebreaker – 4 to 6 minutes
a.To begin speaking before an audience
b.To discover speaking skills the speaker already has and skills that need
some attention

2.Organize Your Speech – 5 to 7 minutes
a.To select an appropriate outline that to easily follow and understand the speech
b.To make the message clear, with supporting material directly contributing to that message
c.To use appropriate transitions when moving from one idea to another
d.To create a strong opening and conclusion

3.Get to the Point – 5 to 7 minutes
a.To select a speech topic and determine its general and specific purposes
b.To organize the speech in a manner that best achieves those purposes
c.To project sincerity and conviction and control any nervousness one may feel
d.To strive not to use notes

4.How to Say It – 5 to 7 minutes
a.To select the right words and sentence structure to communicate one’s ideas clearly,
accurately, and vividly
b.To use rhetorical devices to entrance and emphasize ideas
c.To eliminate jargon and unnecessary words
d.To use correct grammar

5.Your Body Speaks – 5 to 7 minutes
a.To use stance, movement, gestures, facial expressions, and eye contact to express the
message and achieve the speech’s purpose
b.To make body language smooth and natural

6.Vocal Variety – 5 to 7 minutes
a.To use voice volume, pitch, rate, and quality to reflect and add meaning and interest to your
message
b.To use pauses to enhance the message
c.To use vocal variety smoothly and naturally

7.Research Your Topic – 5 to 7 minutes
a.To collect information about the topic from numerous sources
b.To carefully support points and opinions with specific facts, examples and illustrations
gathered through research

8.Get Comfortable with Visual Aids – 5 to 7 minutes
a.To select visual aids that are appropriate for the message and the audience
b.To use visual aids correctly with ease and confidence

9.Persuade with Power – 5 to 7 minutes
a.To persuade listeners to adopt one’s viewpoint or ideas to take some action
b.To appeal to the audience’s interests
c.To use logic and emotion to support one’s position
d.To avoid using notes

10.Inspire Your Audience – 8 to 10 minutes
a.To inspire the audience by appealing to noble motives and challenging the audience to
achieve a higher level of beliefs or achievement
b.To appeal to the audience’s needs and emotions, using stories, anecdotes and quotes to add
drama
c.To avoid using notes

Introduction Starters:

It gives me great pleasure to bring you…
Let’s welcome…
Let’s give a big hand to…
Let’s all greet…
Tonight we bring you…
_____ needs no introduction…
Let’s say hello to…
We have with us this evening…
Welcome…
Here is …
Heeeeeeere’s…
It’s a delight to bring you…
It’s a delight to present…
Welcome to the stage…
Add more:
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Better leave out the name of Teodoro Kalaw Jr. It is very unflattering to Toastmasters. To this day more than 20 years after his death there are still people trying to recover the money he ran away with.

spoker said...

I'm already a toastmaster otherwise I would have signed up with your club already! You're site is well organized and highly informative. I believe a fellow club member is a regular visitor here. Congratulations and please maintain or improve your site, if indeed you can!

gege said...

Thanks, spoker. We try. It's challenging, but we try to keep this blog alive and relevant. Like replying to a 6 year old comment. Haha.

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