• How can Toastmasters help me?
  
• What kind of personality does the Lawson Thrill Speakers Toastmasters Club have?
  
• Do I have to be an employee of Lawson Software in order to join the Lawson Thrill Speakers?
  
• I'd like to attend a Lawson Thrill Speakers meeting as a guest. Do I need to let anyone know ahead of time?
  
• Can I attend more than once as a guest?
  
• Where and when do the Lawson Thrill Speakers meet?
  
• How do I become a member of the Lawson Thrill Speakers?
  
• How much does membership in the Lawson Thrill Speakers cost?
  
• What is in the new member kit?
  
• What other roles are available in Toastmasters meetings besides Speaker?
  
• Where can I find out how to perform the roles?
  
• What if I don't want to participate in a role or do a prepared speech right away?
  
• Do I pick my own topics for speeches?
  
• What happens in Lawson Thrill Speakers meetings?
  
• How do Lawson Thrill Speakers members give evaluations? Will they be mean to me?
  
• What happens if I get asked a Table Topic question that I can't or don't want to answer?
  
• I can't attend every week. Is that a problem?
  
• What is in the Members Only area on the Lawson Thrill Speakers website? How can I get access to that area?
  
• Do the Lawson Thrill Speakers use a buzzer during meetings? Buzzers scare me.
  

Your participation in Toastmasters can help you gain the skills and confidence to do more in your life and in your career. Lawson Thrill Speakers members work to improve their communication and leadership abilities every day, in their homes, in their workplaces, and in their communities. Our members are making a difference. What do our members do to with their newfound skills?

• Lead and participate in meetings
• Give presentations
• Communicate more easily with anyone
• Give and receive constructive feedback
• Participate in Toastmasters speech contests and win awards

What are your goals in life? Do you want to present your great new idea at work? Do you want to serve on the board of your favorite nonprofit organization? Do you want to convince your community leaders that the uncontrolled intersection near your home needs stop signs? If you want to make a difference, Toastmasters is for you!

See also what Toastmasters International has to say

We're enthusiastic and supportive. We appreciate the time we spend together, sharing our talents and learning from one another. We enjoy witnessing each other's progress and accomplishments. We're professional but not too professional. We stick to a schedule but we try to enjoy ourselves.

Lawson Thrill Speakers is a community club, so we welcome guests and members whether or not they work at Lawson Software.

We welcome guests to our meetings. There is no need to let us know ahead of time. However, if you'd like to speak with one of our members before you attend, you can contact us.

Yes. You may attend as a guest as many times as you want.

Every Thursday except holidays and under special circumstances. Click here for Directions.

See our club's VP Membership or any other club officer to get a new member form. To become a member, simply complete the form and pay the Toastmasters International and Lawson Thrill Speakers dues and fees.

Toastmasters is an inexpensive way to work on your communication and leadership skills. If you are new to Toastmasters, you pay a $20 new member fee, which gets you a new member kit. Every six months (in September and in March), you pay $33 to continue your membership. Of that $33, $27 goes to Toastmasters International, and $6 goes to the Lawson Thrill Speakers. The Lawson Thrill Speakers portion of your membership dues funds club activities and supplies.

The new member kit contains the Competent Leader Manual, Communication and Leadership Program manual and booklets that give advice about gestures, evaluations, your speaking voice, and meeting roles.

Toastmaster, General Evaluator, Table Topics Master, Timekeeper, Grammarian, and Ah Counter.

Information about the roles appears in the Communication and Leadership Program manual. For role information specific to the Lawson Thrill Speakers see this website's roles section.

You determine when it's time to start actively participating. Some new members prefer to observe a few meetings before they participate in any roles or present any prepared speeches.

Based on the speech projects in the Communication and Leadership Program manual, you pick your own topics for your prepared speeches. Examples of speech projects are "The Ice Breaker," "Organize Your Speech," "Vocal Variety," and "Persuade with Power."

In 2004, the education committee has put forth several types of agendas. We have several types of meeting agendas. However, the basic structure of our meetings is as follows.

1. President or senior presiding officer - opening announcements and other business
2. Toastmaster - introduction of the theme for the day
3. Evaluation team - introductions, schedule, and word of day
4. Speeches - one or more per day
5. Table Topics - usually several respondents per meeting
6. Speech evaluations
7. Timekeeper's, Ah Counter's, and Grammarian's reports
8. General Evaluator - report
9. Toastmaster - closing remarks

When we give evaluations, we like to focus on your progress from one speech to the next and give suggestions for improving your presentation skills. In effect, we hold up a mirror to show you what we see. By receiving evaluations, you can learn how to present yourself to match your intentions.

If you feel uncomfortable answering any Table Topics question, you can choose to speak on any topic you like. One of our guests answered with a previous question, when she did not like the question put to her originally. The main goal is to perform an off-the-cuff speech, with all of the normal speech guidelines in toastmasters - construction, timing, grammar. The Table Topics speeches are evaluated by the General Evaluator.

That's no problem. You can let our VP Education know which days you need to take off. If you find that you cannot attend during one of your scheduled days, you can find a replacement by e-mailing the other members. It's typically easy to find a replacement. If you can, you can trade a spot with them in the future so that you will still get a spot.

The Members Only area is a Yahoo Group site that contains club historical documents, such as regular and executive meeting minutes; tools for roles; club progress reports; and member contact information. If you are a member of the Lawson Thrill Speakers and you should have been invited as part of the new member process. If you change your email and want access to our Yahoo Group, please contact sandeep.chandak@lawson.com directly.

No. We use a stoplight and/or flash cards to indicate the time elapsed during your speech.