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FAQ  

 

Visitors' FAQ

What is Toastmasters?

Toastmasters International is a non-profit organisation, founded in 1924 in the US, to make education in communication and leadership skills accessible to everyone. Worldwide, Toastmasters has nearly 300,000 members.

What happens during a meeting?

Other clubs sing, play musical instruments or drama. At Toastmasters, we speak. Check out the following video of an example meeting of an American club with commentary. While we do many things very differently, the video will still give you an idea of the rough format and the different speaking roles at a meeting.

Can anyone come and visit?

Yes, we are open to everyone anytime! Just come along and visit us – guests are always more than welcome. You can either contact us beforehand, or just show up on the night! When you come and visit us, we will explain to you the programme of the night and answer any questions you may have. Just let us know whether or not you would like to speak on the night! We offer the opportunity to introduce yourself with a few words, or you could even challenge yourself with answering a random question during Table Topics, the impromptu section of the meeting. Many meetings also start with a warm up activity, such as sharing a story on a given topic or a collection of viewpoints from the audience. If there is a warm up, you can find this on the agenda.

We suggest you visit us at least twice or three times. No two meetings at the Riccarton Toastmasters Club are the same, so make sure you experience our club not just once to get the best impression of what we do!

What educational opportunities are there?

With Riccarton Toastmasters, you will improve your communication skills, your leadership skills or both! Upon joining, you will get two manuals: Competent Communication (CC) and Competent Leadership (CL). The CC manual covers the ten basics of communication, from organising a speech to effectively using your hands, vocal variety or visual aids. The CL manual focuses on the ten most important leadership skills, among these time management, motivation or facilitation. You can practice those skills by fulfilling speaking roles during meetings.

After you have completed the ten speeches from the CC manual, there are 15 advanced manuals for you to choose from. Do you want to become an entertaining speaker, do you want to communicate on video, deliver technical presentations, facilitate discussions, speak persuasively...? The opportunities are endless.

On top of that, members of Riccarton Toastmasters receive the monthly magazine TOASTMASTER with in depth information on communication and leadership free of charge. You will also be able to attend training workshops at the biannual Division conferences for free. Here you will meet Toastmasters from the upper half of the South Island, from Timaru to Nelson, from Greymouth to Christchurch. A fantastic networking opportunity!

How much does it cost?

At Riccarton Toastmasters we still follow the original Toastmasters philosophy to make training in public speaking accessible to everyone. This is why we have very reasonable fees: $20 per month. For new members, there is a one-off joining fee of $40. If you are employed, it is certainly worth checking whether your employer would be willing to sponsor you (many do!). With every award you complete, there is an opportunity to have a letter of acknowledgement sent to your company free of charge. International students from some countries (e.g. Germany) can also deduct their membership dues from their tax as income-related expenses.

How do I join?

We would love to welcome you as a new member of our club. Everyone is welcome to join. We have members from various countries of origin, members who speak English as their mother tongue or as a foreign language, members of all genders, students and non-students, from no to several years of public speaking experience.

Download our application form now!

What happens next?

After getting comfortable with some of the smaller meeting roles, you will be given a slot for your first speech, known as the Ice Breaker. This gives you the opportunity to talk about yourself and hence to introduce yourself to the club. We always love listening to Ice Breaker speeches, as they showcase the unique diversity of members in our club. Check out the official project description for the Ice Breaker speech in the Competent Communication manual.

What is easy-Speak?

Easy-Speak is a universal club management software. You simply request all your speeches online and you can even volunteer for roles at meetings, such as Grammarian, Timer, Table Topics Master, etc. Easy-Speak also sends out automatic email invitations to all meetings. For the organisation of meetings, it is crucial that you always RSVP as soon as possible - it only takes exactly one mouse click! How does it work? Just download our easy-Speak induction which explains it all on one page.

How long does it take to complete the CC manual?

With everything in Toastmasters, you progress at your own pace. Many of our members are very ambitious and aim to complete their ten speeches for the CC Award or the ten speeches for any Advanced Communicator Award as soon as possible. Then the VP Education will ensure that you have the opportunity to achieve one communication award per year.

 


Members' FAQ

How can I request speeches or volunteer for roles? How does this website work?

Check out our easy-Speak induction! This contains all you have to know on one page.

How can I find out what to do for a role?

The red tiles in the main menu directly link to PDF guides for all roles. These are also linked in the email you get when you are assigned a role. Even if you have done a role before, it pays to read through the guide again. Not only because roles may change from time to time, but primarily because there is always something to work on. Do you know how to make guests feel welcome in your role? What is important, what optional? Handy hints? Find out more by reading through the guide again. If you have something to add, please email the VP Education!

Do some people get roles more often than others?

In a fictitious utopia no. In utopia, everyone attends every meeting, everyone always advises attendance and confirms role assignments within the 2 day deadline. In practice, if someone does not click on the link on time to confirm that they are able to do the role, the VP Education will assume that they cannot attend and reassign the role to someone who did confirm attendance. As a result, the very reliable members will get roles more often than the less reliable ones.

I get so many emails from easy-Speak. How can I stop this?

We have taken various measures to ensure our members are not spammed with club emails. If you get emails, say, every other day, then these will most likely start with “The web-site does not yet show a reply to my email from...”. These are automatic emails reminding you that your confirmation of a role is still pending. As soon as you click the link to confirm or decline the role, no further emails will be sent. Conclusion: it really pays to RSVP directly after the first email, as this will not only ensure that you get no further emails, but it also secures the role.

I forgot to click the role confirmation link on time. Has the role been reassigned to someone else?

If you don't RSVP by Wednesday, 7pm, then your role will normally be reassigned. In this case you get an email beginning with “This is an update on role assignments for the next Riccarton Toastmasters meeting” which tells you that someone else got the role.

When I volunteer to do a role, have I secured that role for me?

Normally yes. However, the VP Education reserves the right to reassign roles, for instance to stop potential role hogging. It seems like everyone is very considerate in our club, as this has never become necessary so far. With current membership numbers, members can expect to get a role on average at every other meeting.

 

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