About Toastmasters Clubs

A Friendly, Supportive Environment

Every club has its own culture and personality, but all are welcoming. No matter the club, the goals are the same: help people improve their communication and leadership skills in a mutually supportive atmosphere.

How Clubs Work

Types of Clubs

Our clubs extend across a broad range, from beginner to advanced and specialty clubs.

Range of Clubs

Clubs in Action

Visiting a club meeting may be the single best way to learn about Toastmasters.

Visit a Club

How a Club Meeting Works

A Toastmasters club is a shared “learning lab” where members learn by doing in a friendly, mutually supportive environment. Meetings typically last 60-90 minutes and consist of three main sections:

Prepared Speeches: 2-3 members prepare a speech to deliver in front of club members for feedback.
Table Topics: Members have an opportunity to practice impromptu speaking skills.
Evaluations: Members provide constructive feedback to those who participated in the meeting.

Meeting Roles

In addition to giving a speech, there are many ways that club members can participate during a club meeting. Here is a quick summary of common roles for most meetings.

Toastmaster of the Day

Leads the meeting. Responsible for the agenda and confirming all meeting roles.

Speaker

Prepares a speech using project guidelines in Pathways, and delivers the speech to meet the speech objectives.

Table Topics Master

Prepares topics for attendees to address in an exercise of impromptu speaking.

General Evaluator

Leads the team of Evaluators, Grammarian, Ah-Counter, and Timer. Provides overall evaluation of the meeting.

Evaluator

Evaluate a prepared speech according to the criteria for that speech.

Grammarian

Listens to all speakers and makes note of exemplary use of grammar, or areas where usage can be improved. Reports on usage of the ”word of the day.”

Ah Counter

Listens to all speakers and makes note of filler words used such as “uh,” “um,” and “you know.”

Timer

Gives green/yellow/red timing signals to Speakers, Table Topics participants, and Evaluators.

A Wide Range of Clubs

District 101 includes clubs from Mountain View to Monterey, including a variety of clubs with different levels of experience, different areas of focus, and different special interests.

Regular Clubs

While each Toastmasters club has its own unique atmosphere, there are typically three common sections of a club meeting that give participants an opportunity to learn and grow.

Table Topics: answering impromptu questions
Speeches: giving prepared speeches based on a specific set of objectives
Evaluations: providing and receiving feedback

If you’d like to learn more about our clubs, visiting one or more clubs can help you find one that suits you.

Types of Clubs

Community
Corporate
College
Government
Religious

Find a Club

Specialty Clubs

For people looking for a more advanced or specialized experience, District 101 also has several specialty clubs that offer members a variety of unique experiences.

Here are a few clubs that focus on a specific speaking skill or area, that provide advanced leadership training, or that conduct their meetings in languages other than English.