Using Free Toast Host

  How we schedule our meeting roles on the website (FreeToast Host) H

  When you log in it will look like this :

In upper Left Hand Corner Under the Members only Tab click on "Meeting Agendas"

It will take you to this page :

On this first page there is a box "are you planning to attend this meeting?  with a yes or No selection.  

As much as possible  Select the answer to this question.   More importantly fi you are NOT going to be able to make a meeting please select NO.  This will illuminate you from you being selected on the members list for a role in this meeting.

I try to maintain four weeks schedule into the future.  I also try to have at least 8 weeks out meeting templates on website. So what this means is you will have four weeks notice of the roles you are being assigned and four weeks beyond that  you can select roles in weeks four to eight should you desire to do that. 

 Please feel free to elect when you wish to perform a role in the future especially speaking roles.  

We typically try to fill two speaking roles each week minimum but we have three slots. So if you want to jump in or practice a speech you have that opportunity. 

As we scroll down the page you will see the different roles assigned. Some may be needed filled and so forth: 

At the bottom of the agenda is a note section that one can add notes. Some will add "Will not be at this meeting".  or I will be online for this meeting"    

The selection of roles and removal is fairly self explanatory. "Sign up" buttons to add yourself to a role and the "X" by your name when you are assigned the role to remove yourself. 

When you're assigned  a role and something changes that you cannot make the role please do your best to see if someone can fill that role for you.   We are a team and we need to help one another with the meeting roles.  

Going back to the top of the agenda you will see a row of icons. These are very handy for things like Mailing our the agenda. When you are assigned the Toastmasters role on Sunday or Monday click on that Envelope looking icon and it will allow you to message the whole club with that agenda attached. Just  send a polite reminder message saying something like "Looking forward to seeing you this week please be prepared for your assigned role. " 

There are other icons that will allow you to print the agenda and other things. Primarily mots members willies the email and print functions.

More Tips for Toastmasters

I have referenced this article several times now and it is because I think it has a lot of good tips in it. I will personalize these tips in this weeks educational Moment I have referenced this article several times now and it is because I think it has a lot of good tips in it. I will personalize these tips in this weeks educational Moment 

• Use humor when things go wrong.   If something goes wrong during your speech, tell a quick joke to help put you and your audience at ease.  Much of this will come with experience and getting more comfortable in front of an audience. I shared a while back about someone falling flat on there face when walking up to speak and they made a joke out of it. Just own it and move on it will make you more human an endear you to the audience. 
• Gain experience.    It has been said but an mentor of mine at one time that “Speaker speak”    So try to never pass up and opportunity to speak!   Toastmasters of course offers many avenues for this From participation in your club,  to being a guest speaker at other clubs or even participatin  speech contests.  At TLI’s.  (Toastmaster leadership Institutes.) when you have been a little more seasoned you can lead sessions about officer roles and other subjects!  And more!

•  Eliminate filler words  This will largely vwith practice.  WEE have a grammarian role at our meetings and we really do need to use our clicker more regularly especially for our new folks to get used to hearing the click and realizing they hare using filler words. 

• 

   Ditch distracting mannerisms.  A good evaluator will point these out for your benefit, as you progress!   An example I have seen a lot with some new speakers is the leg slap.  I know that may sound funny but it is when they gesture and they just let their hand fall and it hits there leg. This is an example of what will be eliminated with practice in Toastmasters. 

https://www.toastmasters.org/about/90th-anniversary/90-tips

Distinguished Club Program Goals Status

Here is the latest on our Distinguished Club Goals. Looking real good, keep going. 

 

Artificial Intelligence as a Tool for speech preparation and practice.

 I want to briefly just mention something that probably the younger folks will perhaps view as just commons sense to them.  Many of them are probably fully embracing this technology while some of the, shall we say,  more seasoned folks are not. 

  My youngest son is in college now and he was sharing with me, that one of his classes actually requires him to us AI for assistance in writing a draft for a paper he has to submit.   I found that at first glance strange maybe. However it make some sense in that I think AI is here to stay!  So Learning how to make the most of this tool is a good thing.

   As for use in preparing a speech?  After our club speech contest recently when we were discussing some thing one of the contestants answered a question about how he prepared his speech. He said how he used AI to do certain things to help him prepare.

 I have also used AI for ideas about speech ideas and potential outline points etc… I of course tailored its suggestions to make it my own and to make it better! 

 A couple years,  ago a program called Yoodli ,  was demonstrated for our club  and it basically takes a video recording of a speech and will do many things. It will make a transcript of the speech. It will analyze many aspects like how many word per minute were spoken and suggest more or less words. It  will pick out filler words.    And so forth.  At one time we as toastmasters member had free access to yodlii but Think that is no longer true I will check on that and let you all know in a future Educational Moment 

Making the Most of your Toastmasters Membership

    I read the Toastmasters magazine among other things not only for my own edification but for ideas to share during the Educational Moment. 

 In this month's issue there is a good article titled : 10 Tips for making the most of Membership. By Bill Brown 

 I would like to share a few of these tips today and talk briefly to them. 

• "Take the time to learn new skills. Public speaking is more than just opening your mouth and talking."

  It involves planning, organization, word selection, and delivery. And there are many subcategories under each of these. If you want to be an effective speaker and accomplish an objective, then dedicate yourself to learning new skills and becoming excellent in each of these categories

• Use the resources Toastmasters provides.

  There is a wealth of information in the Toastmasters Resource Library. Some of it relates to the education program and some pertains to the officers. But there are also a lot of resources that can help you grow your speaking skills. Take time to learn what the organization offers.

• Challenge yourself to try new things.

  From time to time, you may be asked to take on a project that is outside of your comfort zone. For example, years ago I was asked to write an article for the Toastmaster magazine. I did not view myself as a writer, but I said “yes” anyway. That ultimately resulted in me writing this monthly column. What hidden skills can you discover?

• Expand your network.

  Toastmasters offers many opportunities to meet and interact with others you may not otherwise have met. Don’t be reluctant to get involved in Area, Division, and District activities. Those who attend are leaders. They are good people to know and to learn from, and who knows where these connections may lead.

 These were just a. few of the tips that were offered. I would recommend you check out this article and consider what it has to say. 

https://www.toastmasters.org/magazine/magazine-issues/2024/dec/toolbox

What if you are completing a Pathway that is no longer available?

   In October 2025 Toastmasters made some changes to the Pathways program that "retired" certain pathways.  (Effective Coaching, Innovative Planning, Leadership Development, Strategic Relationships, and Team Collaboration ).    If you purchased these pathways before the closure date you can work on and receive credit when completed.   I personally have more than one of these in my Base camp and I am continuing to work through them. Nothing appears different when accessing via my computer. When these changes were made they did not update and are not mobile friendly for phone or pad users. The other pathways are,  so that may appear differently when accessing the website that way. 

  Completing and signing off of levels and ultimately the pathway itself will be accomplished on the website just like any other path. The completion notices will come to the VP of Education like normal. 

  If you have one of these pathways you will be able to access it after completion but will not be able to re-purchase it to do it another time as it is now in a legacy status. 

500 Lunches

   In the January Toastmasters magazine there was a short article about a man named Nick Bendel.    In 2019 he set out on a goal to have lunch with 500 strangers.  He wants to do this to 

As. Away to improve his social skills.     He has accomplished this and  is continuing on with more lunches. 

 For some reason I just really like this idea!.Since I have been in toastmasters I certainly believe that one of the things that has improved for sure is my social skills.  I suppose improving ones communication through speech giving and table topics etc will also help you with social skills that maybe you did not even think about before. 

  This obviously is quite an endeavor and Nicks suggestions for undertaking large goals like this are these:

1. Have enough time, money, and bandwidth to complete the goal.
2. Form new habits and new relationships.
3. Ignore self-doubt.
4. Make sure the goal aligns with your values.

  The link below is that brief article and there is an imbedded link in the article to the original one about his goal. 

https://www.toastmasters.org/magazine/magazine-issues/2026/january/500-more