Not many Toastmasters know this, but Toastmasters International is inconsistent on how to time Table Topics. The back of the Competent Communication manual provides instructions for different roles. In the Timer section (page 70 in the edition I have), it says: Generally topic speakers should be more or less 15 seconds of allowed time; prepared speakers must be more...

How long does it take after the meeting starts before your prepared speaker begins? How long after the first opening sound of a conference keynote before the keynote speaker begins talking? How long after a speech contest opens before the first contestant begins? IMHO, five minutes should be a hard and fast maximum. In my experience, however, often it climbs up to 15...

“We’ll wait a few more minutes for more people to show up before we start the meeting.” “This meeting is now called to order. Now we will recess for five minutes while we prepare to begin.” “Oh, we just list that as our start time so that people show up in time for our real start time, which is 15 minutes later” Do these...

Some fortunate clubs are packed full of eager speakers competing for limited speaking slots. However, others find themselves challenged to get multiple speakers on the agenda for each week. What can you do when you regularly face the prospect of meetings without any speeches? Be warned; it’s possible to go too far with these tips! In one club where I was VPE, I...

Hopefully you try to have fun themes for your Toastmasters meetings. But how can you go above and beyond that, for special meetings like the one closest to Halloween? Costume Parties What a great time to get everyone to dress up! This can be especially fun if there is a connection between the speeches and the costumes the speakers wear. Also consider a theme for the...

Once you have your beautiful, bold Toastmasters club banner, you face a new problem: where do you put it? The official Toastmasters Banner Stand is insanely overpriced at $110. I’ve also heard several clubs complain about it being unstable. A frugal, opportunistic Toastmaster may try reusing an existing tripod or easel that a member has, and hanging the banner...