A. Checklist for Toastmaster / Meeting Organizer

• Keep the meeting itself one hour in length--any longer, and potential members will be discouraged from joining. If food is served prior to the start of the meeting, guests could be asked to arrive early. Be sure members eat as soon as the food arrives if the meeting is already in progress – there is nothing more distracting than the smell of delicious food on an empty stomach!
• Schedule only one speaker, and keep that speech 5-7 minutes. See next point for reason.
• Allow at least 15 minutes at the end of the meeting for questions and answers. This is extremely important. The chances are almost all guests have the same questions, if nobody asks any, cover the questions listed in the last point.
• Choose the Toastmaster carefully for demo meetings. The Toastmaster is the most important role of a demo meeting. If the Toastmaster does not create a relaxed and entertaining environment, it could discourage many guests from joining (no pressure or anything).
• Make sure each member with a role is instructed to explain his or her role to the guests. If the team member leaves anything out or forgets to do this, the Toastmaster should explain the role.
• Invite the appropriate Division Governor and the Area Governor to the demo meeting.
• Give all the members of the demo team your cell phone number. Keep your cell phone on until the start of the demo meeting incase any member of the team needs assistance with directions.
• Bring a printed version of the agenda with you. You can print this out from the district calendar. You do NOT need to print out copies for all participants, just yourself and perhaps the GE.
• Come prepared with the contacts name and telephone number.
• Have a “briefing” with the contact before the meeting to prepare for the Q&A session. Be prepared to answer:
  
  1. When is the next meeting?
  2. Who pays the membership dues and how much?
  3. How do interested guests sign up?
  4. How often will the meetings be?
  5. What time will the meetings be?
  6. Will lunch be served? Can members bring lunch to the meeting? (if lunchtime meeting).

Checklist for all members with roles

• Bring with you directions and the cell phone number of the Toastmaster / meeting organizer. The Toastmaster / meeting organizer should keep his or her phone on until the start of the meeting.
• Take the time to explain your role to the guests. A short, concise explanation is all it takes so the guests get an idea of what you are doing up there. Only the speech giver should not have to explain his or her role.
• Be prepared to be at the location 15 minutes before the start of the meeting, or earlier if instructed.
• Remember protocol. Be sure to address the toastmaster/TT master/GE, and guests when arriving at the lecturn. Shake hands, speaker taking control of lecturn is in front.
• During the Q&A session, feel free to take questions. Be concise in your answers and stick to answering the question asked. If more details are required, the guests will ask.
• Have FUN!!!

Checklist for Table Topics Master

• Ask a demo team member (one with a minor role) to take the first table topic, ask for volunteers from the audience--guests should never be picked on or pressured into speaking at a demo meeting (at least not by the demo team). Be sure to let the participant know the goal is 1-2 minutes.
• Keep the topics "light" and uncontroversial. The goal is to create questions that will prompt even the most shy of guests to come up and talk. Stay far away from topics that would make others uncomfortable.
• When you call on a guest, be sure to ask his or her name. This will give credit to the guest as well as assure that the evaluators know the speaker’s name.
• Keep your comments and transitions short. We want to allow as much time for guests to speak as possible.

• Keep your speech 5-7 minutes in length. If possible, the topic should be a motivating speech about public speaking or the benefits of Toastmasters.
• Relax. The guests do not need to see a perfect speaker or speech – it needs to be real and even somewhat flawed! We want the guests to say to themselves, “Hey, I can do that!”

• Get the names of your evaluation team members. Some members of your evaluation team will be guests. Be sure to get their names and clearly explain to them what they need to do for their roles.
• Go easy on the “feedback”. Make the team look good :)
• Wrap up at least 15 minutes before the end of the meeting. If time is short, allow the timer, grammarian, ah-counter, and wordmaster to give their reports from their seat.

:created by Bo and last updated by Bo on 2007-02-28 00:00:00 - viewed 419 times