Toastmasters Port of Antwerp

Easyspeak

The Easy-Speak software allows our club to automate our meeting planning and to track and support members' development.

Share your attendence to a meeting and request a speech via http://tmclub.eu.

Pathways

Continue your journey of personal and professional development through Pathways, Toastmasters’ new education program! As the foundation of your Toastmasters experience, Pathways is designed to help you build the competences you need to communicate and lead.

Learn more abouth Pathways here.

Go to Base camp to choose your path and follow your progress.

Take a look at our Pathways user's guide.

Meeting roles

Toastmaster of the Evening

Taking on this role improves your organizational, time management skills and public speaking.

The Toastmaster is the meeting's director and host. As Toastmaster, you:

• Contact the speakers in advance to give a description about their speech.
• Assign roles to members.
• Select a theme for the evening
• Print the meeting agenda.
• Introduce speakers during the club meeting, including their speech topic, project title, objectives, delivery time, etc. during your introduction.
• Ensure smooth transitions between speakers during the club meeting.

Script and checklist

General evaluator

Taking on this role improves critical thinking, organization, time management, motivational and team-building skills.

The General Evaluator evaluates everything that takes place during the club meeting. In addition, the General Evaluator conducts the evaluation portion of the meeting and is responsible for the evaluation team: the speech evaluators, Ah Counter, grammarian and time keeper. As General Evaluator, you:

• Ensure other evaluators know their tasks and responsibilities.
• Explain the purpose and benefits of evaluations to the group.
• Identify and confirm meeting assignments with the time keeper, grammarian and Ah-Counter.
• Confirm the club meeting program and/or checklist with the Toastmaster.
• During the meeting, take notes and report on all club proceedings to evaluate things such as timeliness, enthusiasm, preparation, organization, performance of duties, etc.

Script and checklist

Ah-counter

Taking on this role improves observational and listening skills.

The purpose of the Ah-Counter is to note any overused words or filler sounds used as a crutch by anyone who speaks during the meeting. Words may be inappropriate interjections, such as and, well, but, so and you know. Sounds may be ah, um or er. As Ah-Counter you:

• Request a copy of the Ah-Counter’s log from. If a log is not available, be prepared to take notes.
• When introduced during the club meeting, explain the role of the Ah-Counter.
• In the Ah-Counter’s log, record overlong pauses, overused words and filler sounds relied upon too often by all speakers. Examples include: and, but, so, you know, ah, um.
• During the evaluation portion of the meeting, report your observations when called upon.

Script and checklist

Grammarian

Taking on this role improves vocabulary, grammar, critical listening skills and evaluation skills.

The grammarian plays an important role in helping all club members improve their grammar and vocabulary. As grammarian you:

• Introduce new words to meeting participants and monitor language and grammar usage
• Introduce a "Word of the Week" that helps meeting participants increase their vocabulary; display the word, part of speech, and a brief definition with a visual aid and prepare a sentence showcasing how the word should be used. Note who uses this word or any derivatives thereof correctly or incorrectly during the meeting.

Script and checklist

Time keeper

Taking on this role improves time management skills.

One of the skills Toastmasters practice is expressing a thought within a specific time. The timer is responsible for monitoring time for each meeting segment and each speaker. As Timer, you:

• Acquire the timing/signaling equipment from the sergeant at arms and know how to operate it.
• Explain the timing rules and demonstrate the signal device if called upon to do so.
• Throughout the meeting, listen carefully to each participant and signal them accordingly.
• When called to report, announce the speakers' names and the time taken.
• After the meeting, return the timing/signaling equipment to the sergeant at arms.

Script and checklist

Speaker

Taking on this role improves critical thinking, confidence and public speaking skills.

Every speaker is a role model, and club members learn from one another's speeches. As a meeting speaker, you:

• Prepare, rehearse and present a speech during the club meeting.
  
• Discuss your goals, strengths and weaknesses with your evaluator prior to giving your speech.

Speaker introduction form

Evaluator

Taking on this role improves active listening, critical thinking and positive feedback skills.

Evaluation is the heart of the Toastmasters educational program. You observe the speeches and leadership roles of your fellow club members and offer evaluations of their efforts, and they do the same for you. As evaluator you:

• Ask those you've been assigned to evaluate what they will present and what they wish to achieve.
• Provide objective verbal and written evaluations for speakers.
• When giving any evaluation, offer praise as well as constructive criticism.

Effective evaluation

Table topics master

Taking on this role improves organization skills, time management and facilitation skills.

The Topicsmaster delivers the Table Topics portion of the meeting, which helps train members to quickly organize and express their thoughts in an impromptu setting. As Topicsmaster, you:

• Select topics in advance of the meeting that allow speakers to offer opinions.
• Give members who aren't assigned a speaking role the opportunity to speak during the meeting by assigning impromptu talks on non-specialized themes or topics.
• Don't ask two people the same thing unless you specify that it is to generate opposing viewpoints.
  

Script and checklist

Table topics speaker

Taking on this role improves confidence and impromptu speaking skills.

Table Topics is a long-standing Toastmasters tradition intended to help members develop their ability to organize their thoughts quickly and respond to an impromptu question or topic.

• Table Topics typically begins after the prepared speech presentations.
• The Table Topics master will give a brief description of Table Topics and then call on respondents at random.
• Your response should express your thoughts clearly and succinctly, lasting one to two minutes.