WordPress for Toastmasters*
This is the new agenda editor, introduced summer of 2018, which takes advantage of the new “Gutenberg” editor for WordPress.
The new Gutenberg editor is active on all Toastmost.org club websites. It will become the default editor with WordPress 5.0 and meanwhile is available as a WordPress plugin. If you are running an independent website, outside of toastmost.org, you will need to install and activate that plugin to get access to the features shown here. Or wait for WordPress 5.0, which should be released soon.
If you previously created your agendas with the pre-Gutenberg editor (the “classic” editor), you should see a prompt to upgrade your meeting template on the WordPress dashboard. Click the Convert Now link for an automated conversion — then check whether you need to make any further adjustments before updating the specific meeting agendas based on your template.
The Gutenberg editor is organized around “blocks” of content. Paragraphs, headings, images, and embedded media such as YouTube videos are all blocks. For meeting agendas, we have our own blocks.
The Agenda Role Block
- Role: choose one of the roles from the list or “custom” for a role that is unique to your club
- Custom Role: Enter the label if this is a custom role. Otherwise, leave blank
- Count: If more than one should appear on the agenda, set the number here. Example: 3 speakers
- Time Allowed: The total time allowed for those who sign up for this role. For three speakers, you would set this to 21 at a minimum (3 7-minute speeches) but might want to go to 24 or 26 to allow for some longer speeches. If too many members sign up for long speeches that would exceed this limit, a warning will be shown.
- Padding Time: This was intended for use in combination with speech roles. In addition to the time allowed for speakers, you can build in another minute or two for introductions and set up between speeches.
- Agenda Note: You can enter an additional explanatory note that will be displayed on your agenda, beneath the role.
Agenda Note
An Agenda Note is a block of text that appears only on the agenda, not on your signup form. It includes basic formatting controls. Each of these “stage directions” notes can also have time associated with it.
A few other Toastmasters block types are available to you, including Signup Note (appears only on the signup form, not on the agenda), Editable Note (can be changed for each meeting to show content such as meeting theme or word of the day), and Toastmasters Absences (adds a button on the signup form people can click to record that they expect to miss a meeting).
