Club Meeting Flow
A meeting is the crux of a Toastmasters Club. Many people who attend a Toastmasters meeting for the first time are highly impressed by the strict educational agenda we follow. This is in direct contrast to other organizations where a structured agenda may not be the norm.
Therefore, if a club wants to do well, it needs to make sure that it conducts good, high-quality meetings.
Most club meetings in District 92 and 121 follow this agenda:
Start of the Meeting
The Sergeant-at-arms briefs the club about meeting etiquette.
The Presiding Officer welcomes guests and conducts any formal club business. They also talk about the meeting theme.
The Toastmaster of the Day (TMOD) sets the meeting agenda and talks about the theme. They also introduce every speaker afterwards. More on the TMOD role below.
The General Evaluator (GE) briefs the club about their role and allows their team to introduce themselves - the Timer, Ah-counter, Grammarian (TAG) roles. (Speech evaluators are introduced later.)
The TMOD begins the Prepared Speeches Section.
Prepared Speeches Section
The TMOD introduces the evaluator of the first speaker.
The Evaluator informs the club about the speaker's objectives, as well as any additional information the speaker has shared beforehand.
The TMOD introduces the speaker and the title of their speech.
The Prepared Speaker delivers their speech.
The TMOD repeats Steps 1-4 for each prepared speaker.
The TMOD then introduces the Table Topics Master (AKA Topicsmaster or TTM).
Table Topics Section
The TTM introduces the purpose and structure of the section.
The TTM selects a person from the audience to attempt a table topic, and reads the topic to them twice.
The Table Topic Speaker attempts the table topic.
The TTM repeats steps 2 and 3 until they run out of topics or until the designated time for the section is completed, whichever is earlier.
The TTM hands control of the stage to the TMOD.
Evaluation Section
The TMOD hands control of the stage to the GE.
The GE requests the evaluators of prepared speeches to provide their report in order.
The evaluator provides feedback to their target speaker.
The GE offers feedback to the evaluator on their performance.*
The GE repeats steps 2-4 for each evaluator.
The GE asks their auxiliary team to present their report.
The Timer presents their report.
The Ah-counter presents their report.
The Grammarian presents their report.
The GE provides any other feedback they may have, and hands the stage back to the TMOD.
End of the Meeting
Some clubs prefer the TMOD to end the meeting, some prefer the Presiding Officer, and some allow both to give closing remarks. This section assumes the latter.
The TMOD makes any closing remarks they may have, and requests the audience to vote for the best performers of the meeting.
The Presiding Officer:
makes any announcements,
conducts any last business,
collects guest feedback,
invites guests to join the club or attend again as guests,
announces the results of the vote for best performers, and
closes the meeting.
Also see:
Common Club Meeting RolesLast updated
