Our meetings are friendly and supportive with a relaxed but businesslike agenda. They last for two hours exactly and start promptly at the advertised time. You may participate as much or as little as you wish.
Each meeting follows an agenda with time slots for various activities designed to help develop various skills that surround the art of public speaking and speech making. The meeting is run by the Toastmaster who is appointed via an informal rota system. His or her job is to control the meeting and keep to schedule. Supporting the Toastmaster several other roles exist, each person providing input or content during the course of the meeting. These roles are normally appointed informally after a round of emails or phone calls a few days before the meeting. Some roles require standing to address the group, others do not. The “Ah Counter” for example is tasked with keeping a tally of “ums” and “ahs” something that everyone new to public speaking finds a challenge to control. The main event for the evening is the speeches; we like to have two. The last approximately seven minutes each and are prepared in advance by the volunteer speech makers. No one has to make a speech ever; it is entirely up to each member to decide when they are ready. After the speeches other members make a short evaluation and the meeting is rounded off with a listening quiz.
