The success of a Toastmasters club depends greatly on the members’ ability to function as a team. Members of the Toastmasters club practice coordinating and functioning as a team both within club meetings and for coordinating the activities of the club. These skills are valuable both within and outside the Toastmasters environment.
During club meetings a team of 8-10 people must coordinate to create a well-organized, cohesive and positive environment. The meeting roles include:
- Invocation / Prayer / Thought of the Day – This person starts the meeting off right!
- Toastmaster – This person acts as the master of ceremonies for the meeting, introducing participants and smoothing transitions between participants.
- Grammarian – This person listens to language usage to call attention to great words and impactful phrases – as well as tracking unwanted filler words and noises which we seek to eliminate.
- Timer – This person times speakers and evaluators, giving visual cues that facilitate keeping presentations within scheduled time limits and reporting the final times of each participant.
- Prepared Speaker – Typically two prepared speeches are scheduled per meeting, usually with a speech length of 5-7 minutes.
- Table Topics Master – This person leads the “impromptu” speaking portion of the meeting. Asks questions of participants, allowing 1-2 minutes for unrehearsed responses.
- General Evaluator – This person coordinates and introduces the evaluation team, including the speech evaluator(s), grammarian, and timer.
- Speech Evaluator – This person provides feedback for a prepared speech including praise for things done well and opportunities for future improvement.
The club leadership team consists of 7 club officers as follows:
- President – Head of the Executive Committee, presides over each meeting
- VP Education – Schedules club members for meeting roles, runs the club’s mentorship program
- VP Membership – Develops and implements a club recruitment strategy, assists guests with membership applications
- VP Public Relations – Maintains the club website, promotes and publicizes the activities of the club to the community
- Treasurer – Prepares the club budget, manages club expenses, collects dues payments from members
- Secretary – Maintains minutes for club and executive committee meetings, assists in maintaining the club website
- Sergeant at Arms – Sets up the meeting room in advance of meetings, greets members and guests on arrival, maintains order during meetings
A more detailed description of the club officer roles and responsibilities can be found in the Club Leadership Handbook.