Frequently Asked Questions
Non-Members Frequently Asked Questions
What is Table Topics?
Table Topics is the part of the meeting where we practice impromptu speaking. The Table Topics Masters will ask an open ended question and call on somebody to answer the question within 2 minutes. Guests get easier questions. If you feel comfortable, you can participate. You can also just observe the meeting.Do I have to give a speech or something when I'm just visiting?
Guests can participate in Table Topics if they want. They will also be asked to briefly introduce themselves at the beginning of the meeting and to provide some thoughts or feedback at the end of the meeting. Other than that you can just observe the meeting.How much does it cost to join and where does the money go?
Speakeasy II collects dues twice a year - once at the beginning of March, and then again at the beginning of September. There are two components to your dues - the part that goes to Toastmasters International (TMI), and the part that goes directly to funding the Speakeasy II club. There is a $20.00 one-time new membership fee that covers the cost of your new member kit and processing, and thereafter TMI charges $6.00 per month for membership. Speakeasy II club dues are also $3.00 per month and these funds are used to pay rent on our meeting room, purchase supplies and cover other costs of running the club. Bottom line: Membership costs about $54 bucks, twice a year - which is amazingly affordable given the benefits we all receive from Speakeasy II.Members Frequently Asked Questions
How long has Speakeasy II been around, and what is the makeup of the club?
Speakeasy II was founded in the 1980s and has distinguished itself as one of Colorado's best Toastmasters clubs. The club is pretty evenly balanced between male and female members and the median length of membership in Speakeasy II is about one to one-and-a-half years. Club membership is limited to a maximum of 35 so that everyone has ample opportunity to give prepared speeches and to participate in the various roles that make a successful meeting.What is a CC and how do I get one?
"CC" stands for Competent Communicator and earning your CC award is the first step in becoming a truly excellent speaker. Achieving your CC requires that you give 10 speeches to the Club, which are arranged in a proven manner to build your speaking skills. As part of your initial dues, Toastmasters International will send you your first manual that gives tips and guidelines for effective speaking. In each speech you are asked to focus on improving a certain skill such as vocal variety, body language, use of words, and the like. Most members of Speakeasy II are currently in the process of earning their CC, and the club is also home to some more advanced speakers that provide a great example for everyone. In recent years, every Speakeasy II member has become an effective and confident public speaker by the time they have completed the 10 speeches required for the CC - no matter how nervous and poor a speaker they were at the start. The program really works, with assistance from the supportive atmosphere and strong speech evaluations that are a hallmark of our club.So what should I talk about?
The range of things you will hear about each night at Toastmasters is as diverse and interesting as all of the people sitting around you. You choose the topics and develop the content of your own speeches, and each member is encouraged to draw upon his or her own unique interests and experiences to share with the club. Your first speech is called the "Icebreaker" and its purpose is simply to get you up in front of an audience and speaking for the first time. The Icebreaker speech is also a great opportunity to introduce yourself to the club and tell the members a little bit about yourself.What happens after the CC program?
Once you've earned your CC you will have a wide range of advanced manuals to choose from to help hone your speaking, presentation, and leadership skills even further. You can continue on to tackle some of these areas of speechcraft or simply continue to participate in the meetings and give the occasional speech to keep you in practice. Some members choose to work back through the CC manual a second time in order to really master the fundamental skills. What you do after your CC depends largely on what you want to get out of, and put into, the club. In addition to helping people improve their speaking and listening skills, Toastmasters also emphasizes programs that help people to improve their leadership skills. The first step in this is earning your Competent Leader (CL) award. In order to do this, you must serve in one of the club's officer positions.How do I get signed up to do a speech or fulfill other meeting roles?
At the end of each month the VP-Education will e-mail you with a request for your scheduling plans and desires the following month. Your response should tell the VP-Ed: (1) which meetings you will definitely attend, definitely not attend, or are not sure you will attend; (2) whether you wish to give a speech in the coming month; and (3) are there any meeting roles you want in the coming month. Be sure to respond promptly or you'll miss out on the chance to speak and perform desired meeting roles in the upcoming month. At the last meeting of each month VP-Education will distribute a schedule that lists out all of the assigned roles for each meeting in the upcoming month. The Toastmaster for the week then uses this schedule to confirm each of the speakers and all other roles for the upcoming meeting. To get on the schedule simply respond to the VP-Education's email request and let him/her know what roles you would like to fill in the upcoming month and any date restrictions you may have. You will almost certainly be scheduled to give your first speech (your "Icebreaker") in the upcoming months schedule and will likely also be scheduled for other meeting roles as well. In subsequent months, the VP-Ed will try hard to meet your speech and other role requests, but can't guarantee that they will be fulfilled each month. This scheduling method guarantees that every member of Speakeasy II has ample opportunity to practice a variety of speaking and presentation skills. One editorial note about the assigned roles: They are actually more challenging than they may at first appear - you will learn a lot from rotating through all the assigned roles of a successful meeting.What is the role of the Toastmaster?
Each Speakeasy II meeting is organized and presided over by the "Toastmaster" for that week. The Toastmaster is responsible for ensuring and confirming that all meeting roles are filled, and for coordinating any required changes and substitutions. Once at the meeting, the Toastmaster acts as the "Master of Ceremonies" for the evening, introducing the speakers, calling on the other assigned roles, making sure that the meeting flows smoothly, and keeping everyone on topic and on time. If you've ever attended any Speakeasy II meetings, you already know that we've got this down to an artful science! Believe it or not, YOU will be running one of our weekly meetings as the Toastmaster for the evening in the near future.I can't make it to the meeting, but I have a role. What do I do?
Email the toastmaster for the meeting as soon as possible so a replacement can be found. All members are encouraged to attend meetings regularly, because that's how we all become better speakers - by watching and learning from the experience of others, and by participating in a variety of situations. Your attendance at every meeting helps you, and just as important, your presence helps fellow members by giving them an audience, by adding energy to the meeting, and by the written feedback you will provide to the speakers. We encourage all members to think seriously about the time and energy input that Toastmasters requires and to make a solid commitment to contribute to the club. You are strongly encouraged to fulfill every role that you signed up for. However, if a true emergency or unforeseen schedule conflict comes up, you should immediately call the member who will be serving as Toastmaster for that night so that they can arrange for a substitute. Obviously, the more advance notice you can give, the better. Members who repeatedly fail to fulfill assigned roles will see fewer scheduled opportunities to advance their skills and may be voted out of the Club.What is the Mentor Program?
The Mentor Program is yet another reason that Speakeasy II is so successful in helping relatively novice speakers to become polished presenters. The Mentor Program pairs each interested new member with an experienced speaker that they can turn to for help, hints, and advice. You will soon be assigned a Mentor, who has volunteered to help you during the time you are working on your CTM. Your Mentor will give you as much help as you request - coaching you on new roles, giving you tips and feedback on preparing and presenting your speeches, etc. Participation by both the Mentor and the "Mentee" is completely voluntary, so it will be up to you to request as much or as little help as you want from your mentor. The idea is to provide an experienced speaker that you can turn to for help and advice from time to time - be proactive and take advantage of your mentor as a great source of advice.Who are the Officers of SpeakEasy II and what do they do?
Speakeasy II elects officers each spring to serve for our July through June fiscal year. The officer positions are: President, VP-Education, Treasurer, VP-Membership, VP-Public Relations and Sergeant at Arms. Together, the officers are responsible for all club activities and finances, and also help to represent Speakeasy II at the District and Area levels. If you are interested in becoming a club officer, be sure to let the club President know this. Serving as an officer is a great way to contribute to the club and to further exercise your leadership skills. If you ever have any concerns about the club or the progress you are making, please don't hesitate to discuss those with the club President or any other officer. Naturally, if you have any ideas for how we can make our club better we always want to hear those, too! All types of input, feedback, and suggestions are greatly appreciated. We are proud of our club and its achievements, but we are always looking for ways we can improve and serve our members better.What are the Area and District levels of Toastmasters?
The organizational structure of Toastmasters International starts with the individual clubs. There are usually several different Toastmasters clubs that operate in a given town or city, and these are grouped together into "Areas". These Areas in turn are grouped together into "Districts", and the Districts are grouped together into "Region". Speakeasy II is Toastmass club #3557, in Area E-2 (Boulder and Northern Denver-metro), District-26 (Greater Denver Metro), in the Colorado, Nebraska and Wyoming Region. This organizational hierarchy really comes in to play with the TMI speech contests that are held twice each year. Individual speakers compete first to represent their clubs at the Area level, and then progress on through various contests to represent their club at the District, Regional, and International levels.I don't have a role. Should I go to the meeting?
Why, Yes! There's always the table topics section of the meeting.I just joined and want to give my first speech as soon as possible. What now?
Make sure you respond to the VP of Education role request email at the end of the month to schedule your Ice Breaker speech. In the speech you will tell listeners a little bit about yourself, introduce yourself to the club and discover speaking skills you already have. The goal is to simply start speaking in front of a group of people. The speech will be between 4 and 6 minutes long.All rights reserved. Toastmasters International, the Toastmasters International logo and all other Toastmasters International trademarks and copyrights are the sole property of Toastmasters International and may be used only by permission.
[Members Only]