8 Week Program

NAYLP offers an 8-week program (the original/traditional program) as per the Toastmaster YL manuals, which provides the participants enough time to comfortably fulfill the graduation criteria. The focus is on introducing the participants to Toastmasters skills, and developing some of those competencies in them.

Below are the descriptions of each week and Coordinator Binder tab suggestions. Below that are resources that help manage the overall program, and the session materials needed to run the weekly meetings.

At the end of your session, collect feedback from the participants and their parents and fill out the Coordinator Feedback Form.

Weekly Descriptions
Session 1
Day 1 includes the introductory activity, outline of the program, slate election, the Evaluating Speeches educational, and assignment of roles/speeches. The first session is almost always the same; the youth are new to the program, so they cannot yet self-direct. This means that the Toastmasters do a lot of the talking and facilitation.
Session 2
Day 2 includes introductory activities, speeches, evaluations, possibly tabletopics, the Chairmanship educational, and assignment of roles/speeches. The second session is still slow but less labour intensive; the self-direction starts to generate here, and since the youth have signed up for roles and speeches there is more participation. There should be a president reading off a script, so the Toastmasters will ideally spend a short amount of time at the front, mostly providing support and direction in case a sudden change or issue arises.
Session 3
Day 3 includes introductory activities, speeches, evaluations, possibly tabletopics, the Listening Educational, and assignment of roles/speeches. The third session is very much like the second; the self-direction builds up, and since the youth are generally more comfortable there is more participation. There should be a president reading off a script. The Toastmaster mostly provides support and direction in case a sudden change or issue arises.
Session 4
Day 4 includes introductory activities, a slate election, speeches, evaluations, possibly (but probably no) tabletopics, the Organization Educational, and assignment of roles/speeches. The fourth session should be considerably less laborious; the students should have a somewhat developed understanding of how the sessions run (with the exception perhaps of newcomers). This is the last week of icebreaker speeches, so the first ‘educational’ will be hosted today either by a session coordinator or guest Toastmaster. Again, Toastmasters mostly provide support and direction in case a sudden change or issue arises.
Session 5
Day 5 includes introductory activities, speeches, evaluations, possibly tabletopics, the Gestures educational, and assignment of roles/speeches. The fifth session should run smooth; the students have been directing the sessions and should know how to go through the motions. The specialized speeches are underway, and the third educational will be hosted today either by a session coordinator or guest Toastmaster. Toastmasters mostly provide support and direction in case a sudden change or issue arises.
Session 6
Day 6 includes introductory activities, speeches, evaluations, possibly tabletopics, the Vocal Variety educational, and assignment of roles/speeches. The sixth session should run smoothly; the students have been directing the sessions and should know how to go through the motions. The specialized speeches are underway, and the third educational will be hosted today either by a session coordinator or guest Toastmaster. Toastmasters mostly provide support and direction in case a sudden change or issue arises.
Session 7
Day 7 includes introductory activities, speeches, evaluations, the Parliamentary Procedure educational, possibly tabletopics, and assignment of roles/speeches for the Session 8 showcase. The seventh session should run smooth; the students have been directing the sessions and should know how to go through the motions. The specialized speeches are underway, and the third educational will be hosted today either by a session coordinator or guest Toastmaster. Toastmasters mostly provide support and direction in case a sudden change or issue arises.
Session 8
Day 8 includes introductory activities, speeches, evaluations, tabletopics, and the graduation ceremony. Congratulations! The eighth session is the day the parents are invited to witness the new skills of their children; the students have been directing the sessions and should know how to go through the motions – you may add some special activities, or speak to the audience more than usual to re-explain the program and occurrences of the last 7 weeks. The specialized speeches are finishing today, and there is no educational to be hosted. Toastmasters mostly provide support and direction in case a sudden change or issue arises.

At the end of your session, collect feedback from the participants and their parents and fill out the Coordinator Feedback Form.

Coordinator Binder
It may be helpful to organize your meeting resources (below) into a binder with the following tabs. (Many of the resources may be handed out to participants to put into a folder/duotang.)
1. Grad Criteria Tracking
  • Week Resume Sheets
  • Grad Criteria Master Tracker
  • Grad Criteria Individual Slips
2. Running Meetings
  • Agendas
  • Scripts
  • Introduction Activity Materials (if needed)
  • Educational Materials (if needed)
  • Backup Tabletopic Questions (just in case)
3. Speeches/Evaluations
  • Feedback Slips, AND
  • Speech Intro & Evaluation Forms
    OR
  • Speech Introduction Forms
  • Speech Evaluation Forms
4. Meeting Roles
  • Role Forms
    1. Quiz Master
    2. Ah Counter
    3. Grammarian
    4. Timer
    5. General Evaluator
5. Registration
  • Registration Forms
  • Graduation Certificates (switch page protectors when participants graduate.)
Tracking & Coordinator Materials

It is recommended to provide each participant with a report folder to store papers. Historically they’ve remembered to bring the folders more often than they’ve remembered to bring their manuals! Having a role sign-up sheet or poster is also recommended.

Weekly Meeting Materials to Print
Agenda
Themed agenda sets from sessions 1-8 are below in zip files.

Script
Themed script sets from sessions 2 – 8 are below in zip files.

Attendance Form