The Club Experience

You’ve taken that first step of coming along to a meeting… but what can you expect…”I’m going to be sat in room filled with strangers for between one to two hours, what’s it going to be like?

 

Everyone who has walked through those doors for the first time has had the very same thoughts. Rest assured, from the moment you arrive, members will do their utmost to make you feel welcome and ensure everything is explained along the way.

Typical meetings commence with opening comments from either the Club President, or the Toastmaster – the host for the meeting. Once the format of the meeting has been explained, the Toastmaster may introduce other functionaries, such as a Timekeeper or Grammarian, each fulfilling important aspects of the Toastmaster experience.

Our meetings contain three vital ingredients:

1. Prepared Speeches: Members deliver speeches on topics of their choosing, trying to meet the objectives of the project as well as keep to the allotted time.

2. Evaluations: Every speaker will have an assigned evaluator (another club member) who will provide both an oral and written evaluation, highlighting the positive aspects and potential areas for improvement.

3. Table Topics (impromptu speaking): Members in the audience are invited without preparation, to perform a speech on a chosen topic for 1-2mins.

Finally, the meeting is drawn to a close with reports from the functionaries and sometimes a General Evaluator, who ensures that any participant that has yet to receive feedback, has points of commendation or recommendation to take away.

 

Joining City Women Speakers helped me to become a more eloquent and confident speaker. The meeting environment is professional yet supportive, and the feedback from fellow members is invaluable!

Esmé Van Herwijnen

Immediate Past President, member since January 2017