What can you expect to see at a Toastmasters meeting?


Barcelona Toastmasters Club meetings last an hour and a half.

The agenda of the meetings is structured in such a way that makes participation easy for all those attending. The main sections are:

  • Toastmaster of the day. The TM of the day is the "master of ceremony". He/she conducts the meeting and explains the program (Introduction, sections, guests, news, etc.).

  • Table topics. The Table Topics master of the day presents one topic or theme and launches 3-4 questions or situations about that and invites individual members of the club to speak spontaneously about the theme they are given for 1-2 minutes. This helps the speaker to develop extemporaneous speaking skills. And it's always very funny...

  • Speeches. This is the core section. Every meeting we have 3 to 4 speakers who present self-chosen topics according to their specific level. Every level has a different objective such as focusing on body language, correct use of the voice, speech structuring, etc.

  •  Evaluations. Each speech is evaluated immediately afterwards by an experienced Toastmaster, who has prepared to evaluate the speaker. As well as the oral evaluation, the speaker also receives written feedback from all attendants (members and guests).

  • General evaluator. The General Evaluator points out the DOs and DON’Ts of the night. He/she also requests a report from the evaluation team. The "Ah" counter listens to all the speakers recording any filler words and sounds they may have used such as "and", "so", "uhmm", etc. All speakers, including Table Topics volunteers, learn which and how many times filler words have been used in their speeches. The Timer records the exact time each speaker uses, as there are specific limits for each type of speech/intervention (prepared speeches CC 2 to 9 have 6 minutes +/-1,5 minutes margin). Finally, the Grammarian takes note of good and bad use of the language and suggests a Word of the Day to introduce in all the speeches.

  • Training. Once a month a training session is organized by one of the Club's more advanced members. This session aims to improve on aspects such as mentoring, evaluations or club management.
  • Contests. Our Club is part of a network of 12.500 Toastmasters Clubs worldwide. Twice a year, in Spring and Autumn, we organize Speech Contests, Evaluation Contests, Humorous Speaking Contests and Table-topics Contests. Progress of contestants evolves at Club, Area (Catalonia-Balear Islands), Division (Spain-Portugal) and District (Continental Europe) level. Each instance qualifies the best Toastmasters up to the District level, from which the winners go on to compete at the World Championship held in the USA in a different city each year.
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