What is a Gavel Club?
“The human brain starts working the moment you are born and never stops until you stand up to speak in public.” -- George Jessel (1898-1981)
Everyone can relate to that quote, can't they? You get up on the stage, butterflies in your stomach, and try to speak, but then...your mind draws a blank. Public speaking is one of the most dreaded and feared activities ever. It seems impossible to stand up in front of an audience's staring eyes to deliver a moving, inspiring, or just informative speech. Public speaking, however, is a vital leadership ability. Business meetings and presentations occur every day where the ability to speak in public is critical. Officials in local, state, and federal governments must constantly present their ideas and give speeches on proposed improvements. Confidence in front of a crowd is a trait consistently sought after on any resume or in a job interview. Those who learn to moderate their butterflies are the most sought-after employees at Fortune 500 companies like Bank Of America, Duke Energy, Apple, and all others.
Everyone can relate to that quote, can't they? You get up on the stage, butterflies in your stomach, and try to speak, but then...your mind draws a blank. Public speaking is one of the most dreaded and feared activities ever. It seems impossible to stand up in front of an audience's staring eyes to deliver a moving, inspiring, or just informative speech. Public speaking, however, is a vital leadership ability. Business meetings and presentations occur every day where the ability to speak in public is critical. Officials in local, state, and federal governments must constantly present their ideas and give speeches on proposed improvements. Confidence in front of a crowd is a trait consistently sought after on any resume or in a job interview. Those who learn to moderate their butterflies are the most sought-after employees at Fortune 500 companies like Bank Of America, Duke Energy, Apple, and all others.
Is there really any way to overcome this fear of public speaking? Yes, there is. In a club where the members are friends and the strangers are supportive, anyone can gain and learn confidence in front of a crowd of any size. This is Queen City Gavel Club! Gavel Clubs are affiliated with Toastmasters International, and dedicated to the same principles. Every year we help 6th-12th grade students to stride up to the lectern and take pride in their speaking abilities.
The way our Gavel Club works is simple. Once a week, regular meetings are held. In these meetings there are many unique roles: one member gets to run the meeting each week (Toastmaster), another member prepares a speaking tip (Speaking Tip Master), another keeps and gives time reports of other roles (Timer), one tallies votes and announces the results (Ballot Master), two tell a joke and a poem (Joke/Poetry Master), another gives a brief presentation on notable events in history that happened each day. This is only a fraction of the roles, which each plays an important part of the meeting, helping members learn speaking skills in a variety of positions. Each week there are also several speakers, usually three. A gavelier's first speech, called their icebreaker, is simply an introductory speech about him- or herself. From there, objectives for the five to seven minute speeches focus on different areas, such as perfecting body language, organizing information, and making an impressive impression on the audience. The following poem sums up the way Gavel Club works well:
The way our Gavel Club works is simple. Once a week, regular meetings are held. In these meetings there are many unique roles: one member gets to run the meeting each week (Toastmaster), another member prepares a speaking tip (Speaking Tip Master), another keeps and gives time reports of other roles (Timer), one tallies votes and announces the results (Ballot Master), two tell a joke and a poem (Joke/Poetry Master), another gives a brief presentation on notable events in history that happened each day. This is only a fraction of the roles, which each plays an important part of the meeting, helping members learn speaking skills in a variety of positions. Each week there are also several speakers, usually three. A gavelier's first speech, called their icebreaker, is simply an introductory speech about him- or herself. From there, objectives for the five to seven minute speeches focus on different areas, such as perfecting body language, organizing information, and making an impressive impression on the audience. The following poem sums up the way Gavel Club works well:
Joseph’s Poem
By Joseph Haden
Somewhere unknown on a Tuesday afternoon
A meeting of students commences very soon
And thus the President had indeed called it to order
Of which they then turned their attention toward her
Throughout this meeting we do many things
Some of us are debating the way the topic should swing
Some of us are keeping track of grammatical mistakes
Some of us are giving advice for the speeches we make
Some of us are deciding who did best by counting up votes
Some of us are called up to recite jokes and puns
Some of us are ranting about Flex Tape and Rogue One
Some of us are putting others on the clock and seeing who spoke faster
And then we come to one of us, of whom is the Poetry Master
He recites the poem he wrote for the audience
As they respond back in conversation with nothing but silence
He goes on and talks about the current state of time
He reads each sentence making them all end with rhyme
He reaches the part in his poem of which he talks about what he himself is currently doing
I change the perspective of which I’m currently viewing
And thus I have made this poem far too meta
So I shall end this and let the next gavelier head up
Thank you
By Joseph Haden
Somewhere unknown on a Tuesday afternoon
A meeting of students commences very soon
And thus the President had indeed called it to order
Of which they then turned their attention toward her
Throughout this meeting we do many things
Some of us are debating the way the topic should swing
Some of us are keeping track of grammatical mistakes
Some of us are giving advice for the speeches we make
Some of us are deciding who did best by counting up votes
Some of us are called up to recite jokes and puns
Some of us are ranting about Flex Tape and Rogue One
Some of us are putting others on the clock and seeing who spoke faster
And then we come to one of us, of whom is the Poetry Master
He recites the poem he wrote for the audience
As they respond back in conversation with nothing but silence
He goes on and talks about the current state of time
He reads each sentence making them all end with rhyme
He reaches the part in his poem of which he talks about what he himself is currently doing
I change the perspective of which I’m currently viewing
And thus I have made this poem far too meta
So I shall end this and let the next gavelier head up
Thank you
Queen City Gavel Club meetings are completely run by the member students! It's not a teaching time - it's a hands-on learning time, where everyone works together and learns from each other.
A gavelier's hard work pays off quickly. After giving their first ten speeches, they will receive the Competent Gavelier Communicator certificate from Toastmasters International. This certificate is nationally recognized, and shows a person has the necessary confident leadership abilities. Students can also have an award letter sent to their current employer or supervisor and get two Advanced Manuals free of charge. By completing these manuals (along with other projects) members can learn even more speaking skills and gain other awards such as Advanced Gavelier Bronze Communicator, Advanced Gavelier Silver Communicator, and so on. All of these will help your student gain recognition on their transcript and skills that will pave the way to a bright future.
When it's time for your student to gain vital leadership skills, please consider Queen City Gavel Club! Want to see our club in action at a meeting? We'd love to have you! Just ask at our Contact Us page with any questions you may have. Be sure to also visit our Where & When page for info on meeting times and directions.
A gavelier's hard work pays off quickly. After giving their first ten speeches, they will receive the Competent Gavelier Communicator certificate from Toastmasters International. This certificate is nationally recognized, and shows a person has the necessary confident leadership abilities. Students can also have an award letter sent to their current employer or supervisor and get two Advanced Manuals free of charge. By completing these manuals (along with other projects) members can learn even more speaking skills and gain other awards such as Advanced Gavelier Bronze Communicator, Advanced Gavelier Silver Communicator, and so on. All of these will help your student gain recognition on their transcript and skills that will pave the way to a bright future.
When it's time for your student to gain vital leadership skills, please consider Queen City Gavel Club! Want to see our club in action at a meeting? We'd love to have you! Just ask at our Contact Us page with any questions you may have. Be sure to also visit our Where & When page for info on meeting times and directions.