Toastmasters urban myths and legends

by Mike Raffety

myths bustedIt’s really interesting how certain “rules” get made and passed around, and eventually these myths are thought to be fact.  Here’s a few I’ve found.  These are all FALSE.  If someone tells you what’s below is required, they are incorrect, and I’ve included links where possible to the TI web site.  Many of these were gathered from a discussion on the Facebook members group.

Contest myths

  1. You can’t be a contestant in April/May if you haven’t paid your membership renewal by April 1, or in October/November for October 1 dues. (There’s a two-month grace period for both clubs and members where they’re still in good standing and eligible for all benefits of membership.)
  2. Telling someone you’re interested in being appointed Area Governor next year disqualifies you from competing. (No, the rulebook allows even announced candidates for appointed office to compete until they take office.)
  3. For the international contest, your 6th speech can be the contest speech itself. (No, the rulebook says “a member must have completed at least six speech projects in the Competent Communication manual prior to the club contest”.)
  4. A speaker who misses the draw must speak first, or last, or any specific place when they eventually show. (This is obviously unfair, as it effectively allows a speaker to pick their place in the order, and we know later speakers have an advantage.)
  5. Prepared speech contestants cannot (or must) leave the room before/after they speak. (No, they’re free to come and go during the minute’s silence, just like any other audience member.  Table topics and evaluation contestants must stay out until their turn, but once they’ve spoken, they’re also free to come and go.)
  6. You can’t wear a generic Toastmasters pin in a contest. (The rulebook does not mention this, but the rulebook does say you cannot add rules.  It is a good practice to remove anything showing office or educational award level, but cannot be required.)
  7. You have to address the Toastmaster or Contest Chair during a speech or at a contest. (Also not in the rulebook, but a common custom, and some judges may mark down a contestant who does not follow this myth.)
  8. The contest emcee stays standing at their seat after introducing the speaker until the speaker acknowledges them. (See above.)
  9. You can be disqualified from a speech contest for stepping outside of the speaking area. (Again, not in the rulebook, but a common custom, and speakers who go outside the box might be marked down by some judges who believe in this myth.)
  10. You cannot re-use a contest speech in another contest. (No, you can use any speech or any variation of a speech at any level, as long as it’s your speech, until the World Championship of Public Speaking final round, when the speech must be “an entirely new and different speech than given in any International Speech Contest since January 1 of that same year.”)
  11. You can charge speech contestants to participate. (No, as this would constitute an additional eligibility requirement, a new rule, and is not permitted.  Charging for a meal or any other participation outside of the contest is permitted.)
  12. Contest judges must be trained.  (No, the contest rulebook does not say this, and rules cannot be added.  A chief judge could well prefer a trained judge, but they cannot be required to pick only trained judges.)
  13. Judges must use the scoring criteria on the ballot. (No, this is a guide, not a requirement, but I would avoid selecting judges who do not use the criteria.)
  14. The tie-breaker judge is not required, they are never used.  (Obviously, they are, or they would not be required, and ties among the voting judges is not unusual.)
  15. No one can leave or enter the room until the ballots are collected (or tabulated). (No, only silence is required, the same as between speeches.)

Speech myths

  1. The top fear of Americans is public speaking. (Another  myth; it’s not even in the top 10 in most actual surveys.)
  2. 70 (or 93) percent of communication is non-verbal. (A myth resulting from a misunderstanding of an academic study.)
  3. You can’t use certain types of speech at a meeting (sex, religion, politics). (TI has no rules limiting topics, but some clubs do. The key is to be respectful.)
  4. You can fail a speech and have to redo it. (There is no pass/fail, you always get credit for trying.  An evaluator might suggest a re-do, but it cannot be required.)
  5. You can’t change the timing objective in the speech project. (All objectives are goals, not requirements, see above.  If the agenda and VPE or whomever controls the agenda has enough time for a longer speech, it’s OK on occasion.  It’s more important to have a timing objective, and strive to meet it, it doesn’t have to be the manual timing.  I would not generally recommend a shorter time, as that reduces the learning opportunity.)
  6. It is required that you talk about yourself in your Ice Breaker speech (see above).
  7. You have to finish one manual or award before starting another. (No, you can work in any manuals or awards you like in parallel.  You can start in an advanced manual before finishing your CC, though it’s not recommended. You just can’t file an award until all prerequisites are completed.)
  8. You can’t evaluate a speaker who is more advanced than you are; a beginner just starting on their CC manual cannot evaluate a DTM. (There are no TI requirements on who can evaluate whom, though some clubs set rules.)
  9. You have to do all 15 advanced manuals before doing any over, or for another DTM. (No, the rules say that each DTM must be with six different advanced manuals, but each DTM can use the same six, a different six, or any mix-and-match as other DTMs a member may have earned.)
  10. You can have a meeting with just speeches, no evaluations. Only the written evaluation is necessary. (Both a written and oral evaluation are required, though the oral evaluation could be delivered privately afterwards.)
  11. You shouldn’t thank the audience. (Sometimes it is quite appropriate, but it probably shouldn’t be the last thing you say.)

Club operations myths

  1. Voting in a member is the only way a member can be voted out. (Not required at all, you can vote someone out regardless.)
  2. Only the Sergeant at Arms can open or close the meeting. (Do whatever works for your club.)
  3. Table topics evaluations are a standard and required part of the program. (No, they’re not in the standard program, though many clubs find them valuable.)
  4. Advanced clubs must require dual membership, or must require a CC, or anything else. (No, it’s up to the club to decide and enforce what the membership requirements might be.  WHQ only takes an interest a the time of charter, when at least 17 members must be dual, OR 17 non-dual.)
  5. District officers have authority over your club. (Area Governors and the like can only coach and advise. If there’s a legal issue, contact only WHQ.)
  6. Responses from WHQ must be followed.  (No, only the written documents with policy and protocol, and manuals, and the like, are mandatory; responses from individual WHQ staffers are great advice and should be strongly considered, but are not mandatory unless they point to a written rule somewhere, as they have not been reviewed and approved organizationally.  They do make mistakes, they’re human.)
  7. All HPL projects must be approved by the District Governor (or someone else outside the club). (Only the HPL guidance committee and club VPE have to sign off.)
  8. If your HPL project fails, you cannot get HPL credit.  (No, if your guidance committee signs off on it, if you’ve learned something, then the HPL is a success!)
  9. Club meetings (or district events) must start with a prayer and/or pledge of allegiance.  (No, this is a club choice, and obviously not right for all clubs.  Do consider how these rituals might make guests feel though; be inclusive.)

What are some myths you’ve heard?  Sound off in the comments!

Posted on (Updated: )

45 thoughts on “Toastmasters urban myths and legends”

  1. I know of at least one club (not mine) who won’t give you credit in your CL manual for a task done if you don’t have the CL manual with you at the exact time that you performed the task. Even if they KNOW you did it last week or whenever and can even remember it well enough to evaluate what you did. No manual = no credit.

    My club gives you credit for anything you’ve done as long as they know you did it. You don’t have to HAVE your manual with you at the time.

    Obviously one of these practices is wrong.

    1. Well, that’s where it gets interesting. I think it’s quite reasonable to write the evaluation on a piece of paper, referencing the questions in another CL manual, to be stapled into the member’ manual later, just like doing a CC project but forgetting the manual.

      A key thing is to NOT treat the CL as a box-ticking exercise — there is a real learning opportunity if the member reads the project requirements in advance, does some planning, and takes the evaluation comments to heart afterwards.

    2. Our club strongly encourages CL participation – and includes a reference on our standard agenda. However, I find that many newer members find it difficult to get started. I will often take some notes and speak or email with them after a meeting about their role. Then follow-up by emailing my evaluation. I type it out so it closely resembles the format of the specific project – and invite them to print the email and fasten it into their books. Once they have received feedback a few times they start to ask for it as part of their role.
      For myself, I’ve occasionally forgotten my CL book, but asked a member to take note of my role performance – then I’ll follow-up by email with him/her to get feedback and credit for the role.

  2. Mike, I’m confused by your comment on the voting in of members. the myth seems to indicate that voting in a new member is not a requirement. Section 2 of Article 2 of the Toastmasters Club Constitution for Clubs of Toastmasters International states the following about active membership:

    “The applicant shall be declared elected to individual membership upon the favorable vote of at least a majority of the active individual members of this club present and voting at a business meeting of the club membership”.

    This seems to require election to the club to become an active member.

    1. It does indeed, and voting members in is required. But if, for whatever reason, a club did not, or does not, vote them in, it can still vote them out.

  3. I think this paragraph is somewhat misleading … Telling someone you’re interested in being appointed Area Governor next year disqualifies you from competing. (No, the rulebook allows even announced candidates for appointed office to compete until they take office.)” … There is a provision in the District Leadership Handbook for the election of Area Governors. So if the AG is elected and you are a declared candidate, you would be barred. All I m suggestion is that you point out in this item that the key word in your analysis it “Appointed” and not “Area Governor”

    1. Rick, thanks, I was very careful to include “APPOINTED” in that sentence, just as it is in the rulebook, and then to repeat it in my parenthetical response (which you quoted above).

      Only 1-2 districts out of nearly 100 elect AGs, despite advice from WHQ to appoint them.

  4. Two other myths that I persistently encounter –

    1. A contest judge must not raise his ballot to gain the attention of a counter. As a matter of fact the contest rules specify: “When voting judges have finished marking their ballots, they shall tear off the bottom portion of the ballot, place it in the provided envelope, and hold up the envelope for the ballot counters to collect.”

    2. The second item is that a lot of cloak and dagger has to be in place, including special phrases when a protest is to be handled. There is no specific provision in the rule book for this. The judging manual simply says that if a protest has to be handled, the Contest Master announces that judges are to gather together in some private area.

    1. Good ones, hadn’t heard those. I believe judges can hand off the completed ballot to the ballot counters in a discreet way. They don’t have to wave the envelope over their head for all to see — just holding it up chest-high and catching the eye of the ballot counter should be sufficient, while not tipping off the entire audience as to who is a judge. Yes, anyone sitting nearby will see it — but no one would be able to see ALL the judges. The ballot counters would also ideally have seen who the judges are at the judges’ briefing, and taken note of where they are sitting.

      I would go along with being as discreet as possible about a protest as well, but they are so rare, I would not go to the trouble of setting up code words for the judges to go somewhere. In fact, in 15 years of being involved in contests from the club up through the WCPS (I was a ballot counter in August once), I’ve never yet seen a protest!

      It’s fine for the contest master to ask the judges to go to the hallway and see the chief judge (or similar). There’s nothing in the rulebook requiring what you describe, but it doesn’t really hurt either, it’s in the contest chair’s discretion.

      1. I was chief judge a few years back and a contestant gave a speech that I had received from a humor website the day before. I asked each judge and each competing contestant if they wished to lodge a protest, none would. The very next day, I heard I had come in for criticism by a judge who had refused to lodge a protest. Oh well, that’s why I get the big bucks, eh?

        1. Had an Humorous speech contestant use a story from a magazine and place first at the Area contest. It was pointed out to me as Chief Judge after the winner had been announced. What to do? First, I confirmed the published story. Then I spoke to the speaker and asked him to withdraw from competition at the Division level which he did. We let him keep his trophy since nothing was officially done at the event.

  6. Hi Mike, Your point #2, D73 had a contestant who won the District International Speech Contest but some-one told District that he had already said that if he didn’t win he would volunteer to be an Area Governor. A phone call was made to WHQ asking for a ruling & the District was told the speaker had to be disqualified. He was. It was a excellent speech too.

    1. Judith, I suspect your experience was at least a couple years ago — this rule changed to allow announced candidates for appointed offices to compete just about 2013 or so (plus or minus a year). It seems much more fair this way, otherwise, some interpreted it as requiring AGs to miss TWO years of competing, if they had announced before the April/May district conference and contest.

    2. I disagree with TI’s answer. After winning he could not be appointed as AG so there was no conflict. This hinges on the agenda for that day. If the contest came before the announcement of officers, it was done properly. If he was appointed at the business meeting before the contest, then he should not have competed. That’s my opinion.

      1. There’s nothing wrong with appointing the speech contest winner as an AG. And there’s nothing wrong with delaying the appointment of an AG until another day; they can be approved by the District Council at the October/November meeting (and this is routinely done in many districts).

        But in any event, CANDIDATES for APPOINTED positions are fully eligible for speech contests until the day they actually take office, tha’s the rule today.

    1. Wikipedia is a good place to check citations, yes. The Washington Post article is interesting, but it’s very odd. Of the two bar charts, the first one, by party, doesn’t mention public speaking AT ALL, while the second one (not separated by party) lists public speaking at the top. It’s contradictory!

      Checking the 73-page actual study results, only 25% are afraid or very afraid of public speaking.

  8. Yesterday at our club contest where I was competing in the International Speeches, our VPE asked me who my evaluator was. And what manual I was using. As an Advanced Communicator, I told her I wasn’t using a manual, and at contests we don’t need evaluators. She thought that I should “get credit” for my speech, just use any manual. But as I understand, one does not need to be making a speech from a manual at a contest. Only that it is an original speech by the speaker and within the set time limit.

    1. I think it’s great for contestants to get evaluations, not a formal part of the contest program, but you’re right, it’s not required.

  9. Excellent, Mike. Thank you for compiling this list. Could you reference the paragraphs with numbers so we can refer to each? It’s a bit hard to point to them at the moment.

  10. Mike, in the Contest Myths #3 you state contestants have to have 6 speeches completed in order to compete. My understanding is this requirement is only valid for the International Speech Contest and not a requirement for the others.

  11. Excellent article. Many of these are applicable in our region. I have got another point. Toastmasters here believe that speeches given in an International Speech Contest must be ‘Inspirational’ in nature. A person who delivers any other kind of speech here is unlikely to win a prize no matter how well he presents it.

    1. That is indeed a common misperception as well, though I’ve never heard it described as a requirement. For better or worse, people look at recent winning World Champion speeches, and they do tend to be inspirational, so people try to do something similar so they can win too.

      Speakers are sometimes afraid to strike out on their own, away from a proven formula.

  12. Telling someone you are interested in becoming an Area Governor in the coming TM year disqualifies you from being a a Target Speaker ? True or False ?

    1. There are no explicit requirements for being a test speaker.

      The rulebook does “recommend” that the test speaker be a Toastmaster (“It is recommended that at all levels of the contest, the Toastmaster giving the test speech is not a member of the same club as any one of the contestants.”).

      And, depending on how you interpret the word “contest” and per some individual e-mail advice from WHQ, the test speaker cannot be a contestant in a different contest at the same event (e.g., be the evaluation contest test speaker, then a few minutes later be in the humorous or international contest as a contestant). The rulebook says “Contest chairs, chief judges, voting judges, timers, counters, sergeants at arms and test speakers may not compete in the contest at which they are serving.”

      It’s not incredibly unusual for an actual sitting Area Governor to be the test speaker, in a pinch, and there’s no rule against it, given the above, so sure, a candidate for AG can be a test speaker.

      Now that said … I prefer picking a new-ish member to be the test speaker, someone who’s working on the first half of the CC manual (the first time through), as it’s quite an honor to be the test speaker, and an opportunity like this is what can turn a “customer” into a solid lifelong “member”!

  13. I have been told that the change in timing contests still means two timers/timing devices are used. One actual timer and a set of electronic lights that time themselves and change color appropriately. If using a manual timing light then two timers/stopwatches are still used.

    1. What change in timing contests? It’s a rare club, or even area or division, that has automated timing lights available, they’re quite expensive, and TI doesn’t even sell them any more.

      The current rulebook is clear, one timer has the only stopwatch, and the other just displays the signals. (In my opinion then, the second person isn’t really a timer, just a signaler — and leaves no backup in the event of a problem with the timing device, even if there’s several stopwatches available.)

      While it doesn’t quite match the letter of the rules, I believe the better timing procedure is this: Both timers actively and independently time the contest. One of them also displays the color signals to the contestant. Each timer fills out a timing report sheet. To be disqualified on timing, BOTH timers must agree on the disqualification.

      1. There are plenty of free downloads of suitable electronic timing, colour change etc. Iphones, ipads, most of our members have access to automated electronic timing. Sorry, ask someone else for the ap names, or just google it!

  14. Mike, this is excellent and I have seen many of these myths during my over 30 years in toastmasters. It would be wonderful if everyone would read the Rule Book as over the years changes have been made.

    As to your not seeing any protests, I wish that I could say the same. Many of the protests that have been made were not upheld; however, there have been other instances, especially with tall tales, that protests should have been made, but were not.

  15. Getting away from the contest comments, a common misconception seems to be that you can’t renew any members’ dues until you have the minimum of 8. Although your club won’t be in good standing until you have 8 renewals, you can still renew fewer than 8 members.

    1. Haven’t heard that one! Though until a few years ago, you did have to have at least 6 members on the initial renewal using the TI web site — you couldn’t get in this “in between” state of 1-5 members renewed (this was before the increase from 6-8 in 2014).

      Yes, you can renew one member at a time now.

  16. Hi, I have a question regarding the timing of prepared speeches… It is customary in our club to ask members to repeat their speech if they were over or under their project time frame in order to be counted as done! But I remember reading it somewhere that the speech is counted no matter how long or short their speech is… Which one is the myth?

    1. Your club should stop doing that. Members get credit for trying, even if the objectives are missed, per TI.

      “If I don’t meet all of the objectives on my speech, can I still get credit for it?

      Yes. Toastmasters is not a pass/fail program. However, keep in mind that you get out of the program what you put into it. If you focus on meeting objectives, this will help ensure that you get the most from the program (this includes time objectives).”

      https://www.toastmasters.org/Footer/FAQ/Education%20Program

  17. Contestant taking much longer than the 1 minute between speeches to set up.

    What are the consequences of this? A humorous contestant wanted to use a data projector in the speech but took over 10 minutes to get the laptop to communicate with the projector.

    Should they be forced to proceed with the speech after 1 minute has elapsed, in most case it would mean abandoning the speech? I see no recourse for disqualification in the rules.

    1. The rulebook says “The speaker should begin speaking within a short time after arriving at the speaking area, and is not permitted to delay the contest unnecessarily.”

      That leaves it up to the contest master’s discretion — and leadership. I certainly would NOT allow someone 10 minutes to get set up and working, I would give them a 30-second warning (a full 50% over the 1 minute allowed), and tell them to proceed with their speech, or make way for the next contestant.

  18. I was recently assigned to evaluate a speaker who met NONE of the speech objectives, well he did stand in front of the group and say words within a period of time. I was floored. It was an advanced speech. I spoke to him at the break and before the evaluation and asked about the missing objectives to which he replied that he didn’t understand the manual and just did what he could figure out. The speaker also stated he had not wanted to use this manual, he wanted to redo his CC and was told he didn’t need to do that and was given the advanced manual. I felt super uncomfortable about all this and declined to fill in the project page although I did give a superficial evaluation. I’m really conflicted over feeling I was not supposed to have a choice in checking off something that was not completed at all. It seems like a super put down to the Toastmasters organization. If the objective is simply to stand in front of the group for a time period why even have types of speeches? I’ve heard that you get out of it what you put into it but it makes me feel like the whole organization is not anything special if someone can advance and become a DTM by giving this type of speech. What do you think?

    1. The objective is to enable members to improve themselves. Different people have different objectives in that respect. A suggestion to re-do the project is always in order — but never a requirement to re-do it.

      If a member consistently clouts the speech project standards and does not change with counseling, the club can and should vote him/her out of membership.

    2. In my opinion, the evaluator role is a supporter whose purpose should be to help the speaker learn how their presentation could improve, and how it was well done. If the Toastmaster gave a speech, I always fill in the evaluation form to be the best of my abilities. If the objectives were not met, I make suggestions as to how they could have been. If they were met, a comment there might be in order too, especially if improvement from previous presentations was noticed.

  19. As for #9 “You can be disqualified from a speech contest for stepping outside of the speaking area. (Again, not in the rulebook, but a common custom, and speakers who go outside the box might be marked down by some judges who believe in this myth.)”

    As per the judging criteria http://www.toastmasters.org/~/media/A26980987C5643BBAFB6F9FA367A6F65.ashx , it says under Delivery that “The speaker makes effective use of and stays within the designated speaking area.”

    So while I don’t think there’s a rule that says they’ll be disqualified, based on that statement, it sounds like the judge can legitimately take points off for not staying within the designated speaking area. Do you not agree?

  20. One misconception (and subject of a number of complaints that I’ve heard from ISC contestants), is that a story told in a speech must be true. For better or worse, that myth is FALSE. A story can be completely made up to wring the maximum emotional response from the audience.

    That doesn’t mean it’s a good idea, however. TM speech rules only state that a speech must be substantially original, and that any referenced content must be identified as such. (“As Mark Twain said…..”). A speaker who makes up emotional or inspiring stories out of whole cloth while holding them out as true (even by omission) can have a huge credibility issue with their audience.

    I’ve never been a judge, but for me, the best stories in speeches are authentic, not melodramatic. But then again, it’s not a TM ISC rule.

Comments are closed.