About the club
A speaking club that
feels like a dinner table.
Rostrum Club 18, the Metro Evening club, is part of SA Rostrum, and we've been at it for more than 1,299 meetings. The formula hasn't changed much: good speeches, honest feedback, and a meal together after work. Learn, practise, enjoy.
What Rostrum is
Practice, not performance
Rostrum is Australia's home-grown public-speaking movement, and Club 18 is one of its Adelaide clubs. We exist for one simple reason: most people get better at speaking by doing it often, in front of people who want them to succeed.
There are no exams and no grades. You speak on a set topic for a set time, a warning bell tells you when to start wrapping up, and afterwards our club coach offers kind, practical feedback: what worked, and one or two things to try next time.
Members range from university students giving their first four-minute speech to veterans who've been speaking for decades. Everyone gets the same bell.
A path for new members
Your Rostrum journey
If you'd like a bit of structure, there's plenty. Rostrum's Frontiers program is a set of graded speaking activities you work through at your own pace, with a coach and a buddy alongside you and a milestone ticked off each time. Most members start at the beginning and never quite stop.
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STAGE 01 Launchpad Find your feet
Thirteen short activities that take you from your very first three-minute talk to a full prepared speech, the foundation every member builds on.
About Me Topical questions Situation speech Chairing a meeting Prepared speech Persuasive presentation -
STAGE 02 Orbit Stretch further
Once Launchpad is behind you, Orbit challenges experienced speakers with tougher briefs: humour, storytelling, running the room.
Advanced About Me Humorous presentation Tell a story Run a workshop Facilitate a discussion -
STAGE 03 Galactic Master the craft
The advanced program: longer, higher-stakes presentations for speakers who want to keep growing well past the basics.
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STAGE 04 Coaching Give it back
Many members go on to Coaches Training and become accredited coaches, the ones giving the feedback that helped them in the first place.
Coaches Training Accredited Coach
From the Frontiers Compendium (© Rostrum Clubs of WA). Ask any committee member to get you started.
Everyone takes a turn
The roles that make a meeting
Chair
Runs the night: keeps things moving, keeps things kind. First-time chairs get a mentor sitting beside them.
Minutes
A light record of the evening: who spoke, what was decided, and the occasional good joke worth preserving.
Icebreaker
A short, low-stakes exercise to loosen the room before the speeches begin. Visitors may join in, but only if they'd like to.
Word of the day
One member brings a word, with its origin, meaning and use, and the whole club takes it home.
When & where
First and third Wednesdays
We meet on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of each month at 6:00pm, usually at the Metropolitan Hotel, Grote Street in the city, and occasionally at the Prince Albert Hotel. The program page always lists the venue for each meeting.
Meetings run for about two hours including dinner. One of our members joins by Zoom from Port Augusta, so if you're ever out of town, you needn't miss a night.
Beyond Club 18
Part of SA Rostrum
Club 18 is one of several Rostrum clubs across South Australia and the Northern Territory. Members can also enter state events, such as the Speaker of the Year competition, and visit other clubs.
Sound like your kind of evening?
Come and see for yourself. Visitors are always welcome, and the first visit costs nothing but your dinner order.