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Toastmasters is an international club whose purpose is to help
individuals develop themselves personally and professionally.
At Toastmasters, members learn by speaking to groups and working with
others in a very supportive environment. A typical Toastmasters club is
made up of 20 to 30 people who usually meet once a week for
approximately an hour. Each meeting gives everyone an opportunity to
practice his/her speaking and leadership skills.
There are a variety of roles in which everyone can participate during
the meeting. In addition, as with any club, there is a need for officers
who assist in managing the activities of the club. Club officers are
elected each year during the spring semester. Toastmaster Meetings
usually consist of the following:
Meetings usually begin with a short business session which helps members
learn basic meeting procedures. This portion of the meeting is followed
by impromptu speeches. These impromptu speeches are called table topics.
Members present one-to two-minute impromptu speeches on assigned topics.
In addition to impromptu speeches, members also give prepared speeches.
Usually up to three members present speeches based on projects from the
Toastmasters International Communication and Leadership Program Manuals.
Projects cover such topics as speech organization, voice, language,
gestures, and persuasion.
Each member who gives a prepared speech is evaluated. Every prepared
speaker is assigned an evaluator who points out speech strengths and
offers suggestions for improvement.
The Aggie Engineers Toastmasters Club meets every Thursday at 4:30 p.m.
in the McNair Hall Faculty Lounge. This club is open to all engineering
students, faculty, and staff.
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