Glossary of Toastmasters terms

New members hear a lot of unfamiliar words in their first few meetings. Here's a plain-language guide to the ones that come up most often.

Around the meeting

Agenda — the running order for a meeting: who's speaking, evaluating, and taking each role.
Icebreaker — your very first speech, a short introduction of yourself. Everyone starts here.
Table Topics — the impromptu-speaking segment, where you answer a surprise question in a minute or two.
Word of the Day — a word the Grammarian introduces for members to work into their speaking.
Business meeting — a short session for club decisions, sometimes held before or after the regular program.

Toastmaster of the Day — the meeting's host and MC.
General Evaluator — evaluates the meeting itself and leads the evaluation team.
Ah-Counter — notes filler words to help members speak more cleanly.
Grammarian — introduces the Word of the Day and notes memorable language.

Pathways — the modern Toastmasters learning experience, organized into paths, levels, and projects.
Base Camp — the online platform where members access their Pathways materials and track progress.
DTM — Distinguished Toastmaster, the program's highest education award.
District / Division / Area — the layers of Toastmasters organization above your club, largest to smallest.
TI — Toastmasters International, the worldwide nonprofit that supports all clubs.

Don't worry about memorizing these — you'll pick them up naturally, and any member will happily explain a term you don't recognize.