TOASTMASTERS INTERNATIONAL

  • Established in California, USA, in October 1924
  • To help people learn how to speak before an audience, how to conduct meetings, plan programs & work on committees
  • 300 000 members in 149 countries spread throughout ±16000 clubs
  • 24 clubs in Belgium: in Brussels (12), Zaventem (3), Antwerp (2), Beerse, Gent, Hasselt, Waterloo, Mons, Liège and Leuven

For more details, visit Toastmasters.org or Wikipedia.

Toastmasters FONSKE LEUVEN

  • Bilingual club (Dutch & English), chartered on May 1st 2010
  • 35-40 members representing 15-20 nationalities, students, starters, employees, indepedents & retirees, a healthy mix of beginning, intermediate & advanced speakers (dd. 01/01/2023)
  • Meetings every 2nd, 4th and 5th Thursday of the month, from 19:30-22:00 (doors at 19:15)
  • Meetings are usually in the center of Leuven at the Romaanse Poort or café Leuven Central, or in Kessel-Lo in Café Tempo which is a 10 minute walk from Leuven Station.

You can attend 3 meetings as a guest, 100% free - no strings attached. There are opportunities for guests to speak at each meeting, but this too is 100% optional. It's completely up you as a guest to decide if you want to do so or not. Most people take their time to build up to speaking, and that's fine.

If you're curious and want to attend a few of our meetings, check our calendar for the exact timing & location and book a seat on the event page so we know you're coming.

Contact us if you have more questions or doubts.

For more details on the founders of our club & the current officers team, check our officers page.

MEETING STRUCTURE & ROLES

Standard meeting (2.5 hours):
▶ Welcome & introductions
▶ Speeches : 5 speakers deliver a speech according the curriculum (5-7 minutes each)
   15 minute break
▶ Evaluations : 5 evaluators give feedback to the speakers (2-3 minutes each)
▶ Table Topics : ±5 speakers give an impromptu speech (1-2 minutes each)
▶ General evaluation : evaluation of evening’s proceedings, awards & announcements

Club meeting roles:
▶ Toastmaster of the Evening : the Master of Ceremonies, chooses a theme & hosts the evening, introduces all speakers
▶ Grammarian : helps the speakers improve their grammar and vocabulary
▶ Ah Counter : notes any overused words or filler sounds (so, like, ah, euhm, …)
▶ Timekeeper : responsible for monitoring the time of meeting segments and speakers
▶ Video Director : records speeches, evaluations & Table Topics
▶ Table Topics Master : delivers the Table Topics portion of the meeting, provides the inspiration for the impromptu speeches
▶ General Evaluator : evaluates everything that takes place during the club meeting (except the speeches)

For more detailed guidelines on how to tackle each meeting role, take a look at our complete guide to Toastmasters Meeting Roles.