“Quorum” simply means that enough people are represented to make a vote valid. (One would think in this day and age, electronic voting would mean everyone would get a chance to vote, making the traditional quorum concept unnecessary… but I digress.) As a club officer, you probably get frequent notices throughout the year about turning in proxy votes...

Does your club hold an official club vote on every new member who wishes to join? If not, they should. The Toastmasters Club Constitution for Member Clubs of Toastmasters International, Article II, Section 2 (page 110) says: The applicant shall be declared elected to individual membership upon the favorable vote of at least a majority of the active individual members...

On December 14, 2013 I had the honor of delivering a Toastmasters Leadership Institute (TLI) session to teach attendees about how to be a club president in Toastmasters. Perhaps my notes of that workshop will be beneficial to others. I decided to have the attendees themselves do most of the talking. I like to make sessions interactive and engaging. Also, I’m...

In District 55, some Toastmasters are quite certain that every club meeting, every contest, every event should open with the Pledge of Allegiance, and teach this to new and existing clubs. Toastmasters International has very little to say on the matter, but let’s take a look at what is in...

On December 14, 2013 I had the honor of delivering a Toastmasters Leadership Institute (TLI) session to teach attendees about how to run Table Topics in their clubs. Perhaps my notes of that workshop will be beneficial to others. I decided to have the attendees themselves do most of the talking. I like to make sessions interactive and engaging. Also, I’m...

Passing the Gavel Extend the gavel handle first when passing it off (for example, in an officer induction ceremony) Sounding the Gavel How many times do you pound the gavel on the lectern or table to open or close a meeting? Striking a surface with the gavel is known as sounding, rapping, tapping or knocking the gavel. Often people say they “bang the...