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Table of Contents

1. What is the layout of a typical Longwood Toastmasters meeting?
2. Who can attend a meeting of Longwood Toastmasters?

FAQs

1. What is the layout of a typical Longwood Toastmasters meeting?

   Toastmasters meetings are organized into three sections:

   1. Prepared Speeches: members volunteer to deliver prepared speeches, generally 5-7 minutes each. These speeches generally are given toward a goal, such as achieving the Competent Communicator award by completing the ten speeches in the Competent Communication manual.
   2. Table Topics: during this section, a member leads volunteers from the audience in 2-3 minute impromptu speeches. The subject of the speeches is up to the Table Topics leader.
   3. Evaluations: Members volunteer to give formal 2-3 minute evaluations of the prepared speeches.

   Additionally, members volunteer for several unique roles:

   • Ah Counter: This person counts the number of times each person uses filler words, such as Ah, Uhm, Er, etc. during the meeting and delivers a report at the end.
   • Timer: The timer keeps track of the length of each speech or evaluation, holding up cards to let the speaker know when he is over time. The timer also keeps track of the progress of the meeting, making sure that each section ends on time.
   • Grammarian: The grammarian listens to the grammar of everyone in the meeting, delivering a report on grammatical triumphs and fopahs at the end.
   • Word Master: The word master chooses a word at the beginning of each meeting and counts the number of times that each person uses it during the meeting.
   • Table Topics Leader: This person chooses topics for the Table Topics section of the meeting and calls on audience members to speak about them.
   • General Evaluator: The general evaluator leads the evaluation section of the meeting and calls for reports from the other meeting roles at the end of the meeting. The general evaluator also gives a report on the meeting as a whole.
   • Toastmaster: The toastmaster leads the entire meeting, passing control to other roles as appropriate.

2. Who can attend a meeting of Longwood Toastmasters?

   Anyone who has access to Harvard buildings in the Longwood Medical Area can attend a meeting of Longwood Toastmasters. Guests are always welcome!