Speechcraft

Here are the steps involved in putting on a Speechcraft:

• 8 sessions, hour to hour and a half per session
• 5 to 10 participants (aka. non-Toastmasters) - any more than that means that the meetings will be too long
• Participants will make from 3 to 6 speeches during the 8 sessions
• Participants will be included in the Table Topics at every session (except maybe the first session when it is demonstrated by experienced Toastmasters)
• Catalog item #205 is $20.00 for 5 participants
• One coordinator (who gets credit towards the ACG). This person will do much preparation work for the 8 sessions.
• Each session needs a Table Topics Master, a Timer, a General Evaluator. These roles are initially handled by experienced Toastmasters but later are filled by the participants.
• One experienced Toastmaster is assigned to each participant to serve as their advisor and speech evaluator.
• An education presenter is needed at each session. This is a 3 - 5 minute speech (no credit) on some topic of Toastmasters. The speech information is gotten from the following sources:
  • The Leadership Excellence Series - leadership development skills
  • The Better Speaker Series - fundamentals of speech development #269
  • The Successful Club Series - club improvement and attracting new members #289
  • The Success/Leadership Series - procedures and management skills
  • The Success/Communication Series - listening and training others
• Promotion probably needs to be done to get the participants into the Speechcraft
• Typical session agenda (excluding the first session):
  • Opening remarks -- 1 - 3 minutes
  • Table Topics -- 10 - 20 minutes
  • Educational presentation -- 4 - 6 minutes
  • Speechcraft speakers -- 15 - 40 minutes
  • Evaluations -- 10 - 20 minutes
  • Speaker/Advisor workshop -- 5 - 10 minutes
  • Announcements -- 1 - 3 minutes
  • Adjournment

Resources provided by Toastmasters Clubs:

• Toastmaster willing to serve as Speechcraft coordinator
• $20 for each Speechcraft kit needed (materials for up to 5 participants per kit)
• Dates, times and places for eight two-hour sessions
• Toastmasters willing to serve 1 to 3 times as Timer, Table Topics Master, General Evaluator, and Table Topics speakers
• Toastmasters willing to serve as Speechcraft participant advisors and their speech evaluators
• Toastmasters willing to give from 1 to 8 educational speeches, each being 3 to 5 minutes long (note: these speeches will require some study and preparation using resources listed above)