Some Toastmasters are concerned that speaking order makes a huge difference in who wins or loses a contest—more so than actual skill. Unfortunately, they are right. Mike Raffety has numbers to show that speaking order makes a difference in Toastmasters contests. If you are a contestant, this is just one of many unintentional judging biases you will face. There...

The “Moments of Truth” manual suggests it is important for clubs to work together to hold special events where members meet members from other clubs. Bear in mind that this does not refer to standard Toastmasters events organized by areas, divisions or districts: contests, officer training and so on. No, this means several clubs working directly together...

The “Moments of Truth” manual suggests it is important for clubs to hold occasional social events for their members to get to know each other outside the club. Some feel social events are a waste of time, or that they are only important for community clubs. Others say social events are quite important for all Toastmasters clubs, that they help the members...

Toastmasters International has this to say about the Ah Counter: The purpose of the Ah-Counter is to note any word or sound used as a crutch by anyone who speaks during the meeting. Words may be inappropriate interjections, such as and, well, but, so and you know. Sounds may be ah, um or er. You should also note when a speaker repeats a word or phrase such as “I,...

If you ever have trouble falling asleep, read through Toastmasters Policy and Protocol or Robert’s Rules of Order. After a few months of intense study, you’ll know everything you ever need to know about running business meetings in Toastmasters. For the rest of us, here’s a quick cheat sheet. If you do run into issues, reach out to your District...