These are from five minutes for beginning speeches to 20-25 minutes or longer for advanced speeches. In the Evaluation portion, members of the club who agree to be speech evaluators for the meeting evaluate the presentations. Each evaluator critiques one speech. In Table Topics, members who are not part of the program for the evening get a chance to participate. Ribbons are awarded for the top speech, evaluation and table topics offering.
Members take turns playing various roles during the meeting.
Each meeting needs a Toastmaster, Table Topics Master and General Evaluator. These people all have roles to play in helping each of the other members improve his or her speaking ability. By volunteering for these roles for the meeting, members who have not prepared a speech are able to practice speaking in front of the group. Members of Toastmasters range from teenagers to retired people, from housewives to doctors and other professionals. They are people who recognize that the ability to speak confidently in public is a valuable skill.