Course Detail
Youth Toastmasters – Spring ‘10
Who is eligible? All members, all grade levels. Priority to those students who have not taken this course previously, though students are welcome to re-enroll on space available basis.
When is it? Eight Mondays, 2:00-4:00 PM, on the following dates:
Apr 12, 19, 26
May 3, 10, 17, 24
June 7
Who teaches it? Adults from the Lilac City Toastmasters Club
rs. Betsy Kalweit, a Christian and former home educator of four children, will supervise the course. Other members of her Toastmasters Club, such as Mr. Don Ducharme, will partner with her in the instruction; these members serve periodically and voluntarily to promote the skill of public speaking in the community.
Lilac City Toastmasters, which meets in Webster, is the oldest Toastmasters club in Rochester. Toastmasters is an international organization that encourages adults and teens to speak with confidence and enjoy making presentations.
About the course: At least half our TG members have successfully completed a Youth Toastmasters course. It’s fun and builds skill and confidence.
Students will learn how to:
1. Make formal introductions
2. Plan a meeting agenda and conduct a meeting
3. Follow Roberts Rules of Order
4. Present a variety of short speeches
5. Speak confidently with little or no preparation in fun activities called table topics, often using random props.
This is a tried and true, popular, international program to prepare students and adults for collegiate organizations, church administration, community and business leadership. It is about using effective communication and taking initiative and leadership responsibility.
This program has a wonderful mix of formality and fun. The short student speeches are usually about YOU and things you enjoy, allowing you to focus on the skill of speaking rather than trying to recall or read challenging information.
A different student will be selected each week to be the presiding member to run the meeting the following week. A typical meeting includes short speeches, student evaluations, and table topics, all done in a light, positive, and age-appropriate manner using topics of student interest.
As it is a two hour class, students will be given a short snack break halfway through class each week.
How much does it cost? FREE
What does it include? Highly skilled instructors, with many years of public speaking experience at local venues and regional and national competitions. The best part is that they ENJOY speaking and ENJOY encouraging others to gain the confidence to do the same.
All materials are also included.
What do I need to bring? Prompt attendance is expected at all meetings. Meetings begin at 2:00 PM, so arrive 10 minutes early.
Please give prior notice to teacher or presiding member if you must miss a class.
Each class participant will be asked to provide a snack for one of the Monday meetings.
Students MUST come prepared with any assignments from the previous week, such as a short speech (usually on something you know about personally, so the speeches do not require much research — just organization of content and nice delivery), a table topic, an agenda, etc.
Dress Code Exceptions: None
When do I need to register?:
Other notes:
We need 5 students minimum to run the course. Space is limited, as we will enroll 10-12 students maximum.
Multiple grade levels and both boys & girls represented in the class provide for a realistic varied audience; so if you are young, we want you to register for the course just as much as we do the older students!
After our previous Youth Toastmasters sessions, students were invited at the end of the course to attend a local chapter meeting of the Toastmasters International organization. These meetings are wonderful opportunities for students to observe parliamentary procedure, listen to a variety of short speeches, and join in the impromptu table topic discussions — all terrific preparation for college!
