Questions and Answers with Division A Toastmasters.
Q. When I googled the definition of ‘Toastmaster’ I got ‘An official responsible for proposing Toasts, introducing speakers and making other formal announcements at a large social event’. I sthat what Toastmasters is about?
A. Not at all! Our organization’s aim is to develop the ability to communicate confidently in public, something that most of us will have to do at one time or another; for example giving a presentation at work or a wedding speech.
Q. Speak in public! That’s enough to frighten the living daylights out of most people. How can Toastmasters help?
A. We introduce people to public speaking in a supportive environment. Everyone learns at their own pace and is given help and encouragement along the way.
Q. If I went to one of the meetings I might be asked to speak. I’d be mortified! Why should I attend?
A. Guest will not be asked to speak (unless they wish to do so at the topics session.) You have no fears in that regard. Why not attend a few meetings of your local club and see how we operate?
Q. What is a typical meeting like?
a. There are three parts in a normal Toastmaster meeting; Prepared speeches, Topics and the Evaluation session.
Q. What are prepared speeches?
A. When you join first, you make a series of speeches from the basic Toastmaster manual Competent Communication. There are ten speech projects in the manual, each of which have specific objectives such as organizing material and using vocal variety. The subject of each speech is up to the speaker, once the speech covers the objectives of the project. The first speech icebreaker is about the one subject you are an expert on, yourself! When one has completed the basic manual, you can deliver speeches from specialized manuals, which cover humorous speeches and storytelling, for example. There are a great variety of speeches at each meeting. At the end of a typical meeting you will leave both enlightened and entertained!
Q. What are topics?
a. Topics are subjects chosen by a club member who acts as the Topicsmaster for the meeting. The topics are not known by the other club members. The topicsmaster will ask individual club members to speak on topics for up to two minutes. Topics can be serious or frivolous, for example ‘What was your worst fashion disaster’.
Q. I’d imagine they can get pretty heated when political or religious topics are chosen?
A. There is a standing rule: no politics, religion or sex. Nobody will be embarrassed or made feel uncomfortable at our meetings. Also the aim of Topics to encourage impromptu speaking, not to catch out people with difficult topics.
Q. What is the evaluation session?
A. This is an important aspect of Toastmasters. Each of the prepared speeches will be evaluated by another club member and this will be done in a supportive manner. The evaluator will identify your strengths as a speaker and will suggest areas you can improve on for future speeches. By taking these suggestions on board, members improve their speaking abilities and such improvement will spill over into one’s everyday life.
Q. How do I prepare speeches?
A. Most members write out speeches at home and deliver it at home before presenting it at the meeting. Using notes is acceptable. Yet as members gain in confidence it becomes easy to abandon written notes.
Q. Sounds good! Where and when?
A. Meeting times and the location of your local club are available at the Division A Blog. We are always looking for new members for our clubs so guests are always welcome and can simply turn up to a meeting. We are a friendly bunch and value the social aspect of Toastmasters.
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