Congratulations! You have made the step from Toastmasters guest to Toastmasters member! We are always happy to see new people become part of the team that is Nanjing No.1 Toastmasters Club, and are looking forward to see you become an active member and hopefully even an club officer. There is so much to do and so many things to learn in Toastmasters, that in the beginning it might be a bit overwhelming and confusing. On this page you we will give you some basic information to help you get started, and a lot of links you can follow for more information, please read it carefully!
1. Using the Website
2. Participating in the Meetings
3. Giving your first Speeches
4. Become an active member and officer
5. About Toastmasters International
6. Toastmasters in China
7. A Toastmasters Promise
8. And more…
First, this website. If you haven’t done already, please sign up here to create an account. Please use your real name when you sign up, so our webmaster can recognize members from others.
After you have signed up, please take some time to familiarize yourself with the site. Especially important is the “Community” menu, from where you can access “groups” and “forums”. Using the forums you can communicate with other members, ask questions and have discussions. You can also send other members private messages, and you can add an avatar picture to your profile. For more detailed instructions, click here. If you have any questions about the website or if you encounter any problems, send us a mail or post it on the forum.
2. PARTICIPATING IN THE MEETINGS
Now you are ready to participate! First of all, get yourself familiar with the principles and guidelines of a meeting. Furthermore, as you might have seen already, toastmasters meeting consists of members performing various roles:
Toastmaster: The toastmaster is the master of ceremonies of the meeting, He sets the theme, prepares the agenda, make sure all the roles are filled and controls the meeting. (detailed description here)
Prepared Speeches: Prepared speeches according to the projects in the Toastmaster manuals.(detailed description)
Motivational Quote: Tells a short motivational or inspirational story or quote. (detailed description)
Joker: Tells a short joke or funny story
Table Topics Master: The TTM prepares a few questions related to theme for the other members to give a short speech about. (detailed description)
Speech Evaluator: Evaluates a speaker’s presentation providing encouraging comments and suggestions for improvement. (detailed description)
General Evaluator: Provide feedback about the whole meeting. (detailed description)
Timer: Times the speeches, table topic responses, speech evaluations and the General Evaluator’s summation. Announces times during the evaluation portion of the meeting. (detailed description)
Ah-Counter: Counts people “ah’s” and “uh’s” etc. (detailed description)
For your first meetings, why not volunteer for a table topics question, do some simple roles like timer or ah-counter, tell a joke or motivational quote, before moving on to your first big project, the Icebreaker speech???
Project 1: The Icebreaker
The first speech is called the “icebreaker” speech: You will introduce yourself to fellow club members and give them some information about your background, interests and ambitions. You may use notes during your speech if you wish. You can see the complete instructions from the Competent Communicator Manual here: Project 1 The Icebreaker
For more tips see also here:
-How to survive your Icebreaker speech
-Breaking the Ice: Ready for your first speech?
Project 2: Organize your speech.
In your second speech project you will learn to properly organize your speech with an introduction, body and conclusion. Click here for the full instructions
Project 3: Get to the Point
The third speech project will teach you how to organize your speech around its general and specific purpose. Click here for the full instructions
4. BECOME AN ACTIVE MEMBER AND AN OFFICER!
The club can only continue to exist if there enough active members willing to take on meeting roles. So after you have done your first speech don’t stop! By now you should have received your manuals and are ready to follow Toastmaster’s Communication Track and Leadership Track. (Please do study about the Toastmasters Educational Programme!)
You can now give more speeches and take on roles such as Table Topics Master, Evaluator, General Evaluator and of course Toastmaster! As a new member, you can also ask for a more experienced member to become your mentor.
And of course, our club also needs Officers! A Toastmasters club needs at least the following officers:
President: The president is responsible for providing the overall management of the club.
Vice President Education: The vice president education is responsible for ensuring members will learn and grow in accordance with the Toastmasters Educational Programme.
Vice President Membership: The vice president membership is responsible for attracting and keeping members.
Vice President Public Relations: The vice president public relations is responsible for coordinating the public relations and publicity program.
Secretary: The secretary is responsible for keeping clear and accurate records of club business.
Treasurer: The treasurer is responsible for keeping clear and accurate financial records of club business and for seeing that the club remains financially stable.
Sergeant at Arms: The sergeant at arms is responsible for maintaining club properties, arranging the meeting room and welcoming members and guests at each meeting.
The club cannot exists without the officers, and being active as an officer also helps you gain leadership experience, and you will be also be able to attend valuable officer trainings! So come on board and help maintain and grow Nanjing no.1 Toastmasters Club!!!
5. ABOUT TOASTMASTERS INTERNATIONAL
Our club is an officially chartered club of Toastmasters International. On the Toastmasters International website you can find a wealth of information about Toastmasters. From Toastmasters International you will get your Toastmasters Manuals, a monthly magazine and also access to the member pages of the website, for which you can login here.
If you didn’t get your login/password, use this page to retrieve it, using the e-mail address you filled in when signing up with us. There is also a Toastmasters Podcast, which you also can listen to directly from the sidemenu of this website on the right. If you haven’t received your manuals or are not receiving the monthly magazine, get in touch with the Secretary.
If you are abroad or in another city in China, you are always welcome to visit other Toastmasters clubs and make new friends. You can find the meeting times and locations of the other clubs on the Toastmasters International Website!
Toastmasters clubs are divided in Districts, Division and Areas, with China being District 85 of Toastmasters .District 85 has 12 divisions, 41 areas, 180 clubs and 4500 members from mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau. Each level has its own officers, and there are area, division, district and even international contests as well as yearly get-togethers, training seminars and conferences. Nanjing Toastmasters is therefore part of Divison L, Area L3, together with a few other clubs from the Yangtze River Delta area.
In Nanjing there is one other Toastmasters Club, which is a corporate club of Alcatel Lucent, the Alcatel Lucent Nanjing Smart Speakers Club, with which we have a close cooperation.
As a member of Toastmasters International and Nanjing No.1 Toastmasters Club, I promise…
- To attend club meetings regularly
- To prepare all of my speech and leadership projects to the best of my ability, basing them on projects in the Competent Communication, Advanced Communication or Competent Leadership manuals
- To prepare for and fulfill meeting assignments
- To provide fellow members with helpful, constructive evaluations
- To help the club maintain the positive, friendly environment necessary for all members to learn and grow
- To serve my club as an officer when called upon to do so
- To treat my fellow club members and our guests with respect and courtesy
- To bring guests to club meetings so they can see the benefits Toastmasters membership offers
- To adhere to the guidelines and rules for all Toastmasters educational and recognition programs
- To maintain honest and highly ethical standards during the conduct of all Toastmasters activities
We hope the information and links on this page will help you get started to become active in your new club, Nanjing No.1 Toastmasters! If you have any questions, send an e-mail, talk to any of the officers or older members at the meetings, ask for a mentor, or start a thread in the forum on this website!
And rememeber: Being a member of Toastmasters is more than just showing up at meetings and giving a speech now and then. You’re part of a fun, supportive group of friends with common goals of self-development!
