The St. George Loquacious Linguists Toastmasters Club is located in Southern Utah in St. George, Utah and is one of more than 8,300 Toastmasters Clubs around the globe. Our club is in Area 54, Division E, District 15 and Region 1 of Toastmasters International, the largest public speaking improvement organization in the world.

We meet every Tuesday morning at 7:00 a.m. until 8:15 a.m. at the JB's Family Restaurant located at 1245 South Main Street in St. George, Utah. The early morning breakfasts are wonderful and inexpensive. The only times we do not meet is when the date falls on a significant holiday such as Christmas, New Year's Day, etc.

The general meeting format and job descriptions of the St. George Loquacious Linguists is set forth below; however, each meeting is guided by one of our members who has been assigned to be the "Toastmaster" for the day, and he or she may vary from the general format as circumstances or desires dictate. But, generally speaking, the format of our meetings follows this general outline.

This brief overview of our club meetings and job assignments will explain some of the things you will see and hear when you attend a Toastmasters meeting. If you have any questions, please ask any member and they will be happy to answer them for you, or send us an e-mail inquiry to loqlings@sginet.com

At the conclusion of each meeting, we always ask our guests what they thought of our meeting. Your comments will be most welcome. We hope you enjoy your visit and will eventually decide to join us or another club in the area where you live and work. When you join, you will look back on it as one of the smartest things you ever did.

Please keep in mind that the primary purpose of our Toastmasters Club is to develop communications skills. These skills include speaking, listening and thinking. Secondary benefits include increased self-confidence, information from speeches that may be useful in your life and the camaraderie of being around the other Club members who want to improve their communication skills and help you to improve yours.

Presiding Officer

The St. George Loquacious Linguists Toastmasters Club is usually called-to-order by the President. In his or her absence, the meeting will be opened by one of the other officers. The Invocation is given by one of the members, guests are introduced, general announcements are made and, finally, the Toastmaster for the day is introduced to begin the real substantive portion of the meeting program.

Invocator

The Invocator begins the meeting with a thought for the day to get the meeting started on a positive note. He or she will also lead the members in the Pledge of Allegiance to Old Glory.

Toastmaster

The Toastmaster acts as master of ceremonies and maintains the flow of the meeting. He or she may also provide a theme for the meeting, if desired, and contacts in advance the members who are to fulfill roles on the meeting program. He or she is responsible for introducing each speaker which should contain the following information: name, which speech project will be given, goals of the speech, speech title and time, as well as personal information about the speaker which may enhance the introduction.

The Toastmaster will also award colored ribbons to the best impromptu speaker, best prepared speaker and best evaluator at the end of the meeting. In addition, the "Ah" award will be given to the member who said the prohibitied word the most times during the meeting.

Jokemaster

The Jokemaster simply tells a joke at the beginning of the meeting to get the meeting off to a good start. Hopefully, it will be funny and the members will laugh.

Grammarian

The Grammarian is the Club's wordsmith for the day. The primary obligation is to introduce a "word of the day" by writing the word and its definition on a poster to be displayed on the lectern. He or she will also give the derivation of the word, all uses of it which will be acceptable usage, and will give examples of how the word is used correctly. All Club members should try to use the word correctly during their oral presentations. Failure to do so - if you had a chance to speak thereafter - results in a ten cent fine which goes into our educational fund for the purpose of buying future club supplies. He or she will report on the word's usage at the end of the meeting as well as review the members' grammatical mistakes which the Grammarian noted during the meeting..

Table Topics Master

The Table Topics Master handles the impromptu portion of the meeting. He or she gives a brief introduction of what is to be anticipated and then begins calling on those members who are not scheduled to speak, and then on those having less difficult positions on the schedule to respond. Generally speaking, the questions are on a subject based on the meeting's theme, if the Toastmaster of the day has selected one. The goal of each person called on is to speak with conviction on the spur of the moment. The Topics Master should not call on the Toastmaster, the prepared speakers, the General Evaluator or the speakers' evaluators, if at all possible.

The Table Topics Master will also give a 30-second Book Report to the members on a book he or she has read, is reading or would like to read. It is briefly reviewed by the Table Topics Master, and a copy of the book is passed around for members' review and notes.

Speakers

Each of three speakers presents a prepared speech based on one of several Toastmaster manuals. For example, the Beginning Manual has ten speeches emphasizing gestures, vocal variety, organization, word selection, etc.. You are to stress the particular manual requirement in selecting your subject and in giving your speech. Most speeches have a time requirement of 5 to 7 minutes.

There are 15 Advance Manuals containing five speeches each which focus on single objectives, such as humor, overhead projector usage, appearing on television, debates, speaking on the radio, speaking from prepared texts, etc. These are selected by more experienced speakers as they advance through the various manuals, and as their own desires dictate. While most speeches require 5 to 7 minutes, several Advanced manual requirements require 8 to 10 minutes, and occasionally 10 to 12 minutes. Some involving panel discussions require 20 to 30 minutes. When a speaker is presenting one of these more lengthy requirements, the regular meeting format has to be modified to accommodate it.

Evaluators

The Evaluator evaluates the speaker he or she is assigned to evaluate, including accomplishment of the speech objective, aspects of the presentation that the speaker did well on and suggestions for improvement. This is not intended to be either a "whitewash" affair or a "scathing critique." It is designed to compliment the speaker on what he or she did right, and recommend ways that the evaluator thinks could help them improve. Evaluations are between two and three minutes long. In addition, the assigned Evaluator will complete a written evaluation of the speech, and the other club members will also write their somewhat briefer comments on small sheets of paper which will be given to the speaker at the conclusion of the meeting.

General Evaluator

The General Evaluator conducts the evaluation of the three prepared speakers, and gives an overall evaluation of the meeting, including the business meeting, general quality of speeches and evaluations, the presiding officer, the Toastmaster, the Table Topics Master, the other positions, if necessary, and comments on whatever aspect he or she desires to emphasize in an effort to make our meetings better . Suggestions for improvement are also part of this position.

Ah Counter

The Ah Counter, who is sometimes referred to as the "Wizard of Ah's," records the use of the non-word "ah" - or similar audible pauses - by the use of a horn which you will hear periodically throughout our meeting. The champion violator is awarded the Ah Award at the end of the meeting. This is not an award you want to get since we try to eliminate them from our normal speech patterns as much as possible.

Timer

The Timer keeps the times of the impromptu and prepared speakers, as well as the times of the evaluators. He uses a stop watch and a green/yellow/red devise to assist him in doing so. Our club uses the following time limits as a general rule:

                  Table Topics   Speeches   Evaluations               
                                                     
GREEN (to qualify) 1.0 min.      5 min.     2.0 min.          
YELLOW (to warn)   1.5 min.      6 min.     2.5 min.          
RED (to conclude)  2.0 min.      7 min.     3.0 min.        

We allow +/- 15 seconds for Table Topics and +/- 30 seconds for speeches and evaluations to qualify for a vote. (Note: Timing for advanced speeches varies and will be announced as required).

Story Teller

The Story Teller tells a brief story which contains a message that has some specific application to everyday life. It is supposed to take between 1 and 2 minutes.

Vote Counter

The Vote Counter tallies all of the votes for the best Table Topics response, best Speaker and best Evaluator, and announces the results at the end of the meeting. Best presenter colored ribbons are presented to each of the three weekly winners.

Presiding Officer

Once the Toastmaster relinquishes control of the meeting back to the Presiding Officer, the latter will ask the guests for their comments, make other announcements concerning Club activities, conduct any last-minute business of the Club and adjourn the meeting promptly at 8:15 a.m.

If you would like to visit as a guest, or perhaps join in our merrymaking while we practice our oratorical skills, you may contact us by telephone at (435) 652-8500, send us a fax at (435) 652-8599, or forward e-mail inquiries to loqlings@sginet.com We welcome your inquiries and desire to either become a member of our Club or simply enjoy attending one of our meetings as a guest.