The Toastmaster
The
Toastmaster is the emcee for the meeting. It is the Toastmaster's job to:
- Review the meeting’s agenda
- Introduce each speaker
- Form a bridge between the
various parts of the meeting.
The Table-Topics Master
Helps
members increase extemporaneous (i.e., “off the cuff”) speaking skills by
asking members to speak for one to two minutes about a surprise topic. The
intent is to have members think creatively and quickly on their feet.
- States various questions to
members that are requested to stand up and respond with an impromptu
answer. Answers to these questions do not necessarily need to be true.
- Guests can participate if they
are comfortable in doing so.
- Scheduled Speakers and
Evaluators should not participate in this portion of the meeting so that
members who don’t have an assigned task for the evening get an opportunity
to speak. Assigned members can be called if there is additional time, or if
attendance happens to be low.
The Speakers
Present
prepared speeches, based on projects in the Toastmaster’s Basic or Advanced Communications Manuals. The manuals provide structure and
guidance to improve skills such as organization, vocabulary, vocal variety, and
body language.
The Evaluators
Provide
constructive feedback in oral and written form. Evaluations are highly encouraging
and provide a positive learning experience for all.
The General Evaluator
- Introduces the evaluation team
members,
- Evaluates how well the evaluators
did their jobs
- Evaluates the overall meeting in order to provide positive feedback to improve future meetings.
The Timer
- Keeps time of each segment of
the meeting (time frames outlined below),
- Operates Green, Yellow, and
Red signal lights to quietly inform the speaker of the time.
- At the end of each segment, the
Timer gives a report on how long each person spoke for. This not only
affords members the opportunity to learn concise speaking, but it gets
them comfortable with speaking for set time periods, which can be very
difficult if you’re nervous or caught up in the moment of your speech.
|
Table-Topics
1:30 minutes
|
Regular Speech
5 – 7 minutes
|
Short Speech
3 – 5 minutes
|
Evaluations
3:00 minutes
|
|
Green :45 seconds
|
Green 5:00 minutes
|
Green 3:00 minutes
|
Green 2:00 minutes
|
|
Yellow 1:00 minute
|
Yellow 6:00 minutes
|
Yellow 4:00 minutes
|
Yellow 2:30 minutes
|
|
Red 1:30 minutes
|
Red 7:00 minutes
|
Red 5:00 minutes
|
Red 3:00 minutes
|
|
Grace :30 seconds
|
Grace 1:00 minute
|
Grace :30 seconds
|
Grace :15 seconds
|
The Grammarian
Comments on the use of English during the course of the meeting. Being grammarian is truly an
exercise in expanding your listening skills.
- Introduce “Word of the Day”
- Listen to everyone’s word
usage and write down any awkward use or misuse of language (incomplete
sentences, sentences that change direction midstream, incorrect grammar,
malapropism, etc.)
- Records the number of times
and those who have used (or incorrectly used) the “Word of the Day.”
- During the General Evaluator
segment of the meeting, you will be asked to give the results of your
data.
The Ah Counter
Counts the
number of times each person uses unnecessary filler such as “ah”, “uh”,
“well, “but”, “you know”, and “um” instead of a stately pause.
Listen and record
inappropriate interjections, double clutches (i.e. “I, I” or “ This means, this means”) and favorite or crutch words
used by speakers and participants.
When called on by the General
Evaluator during the evaluation segment, you will be asked to give the
results of your data.
The Vote Counter
Tallies
all the votes and announces winners at the end of the meeting. If there is a
tie, it is the Vote Counters privilege to make the tie breaking decision for
the winner.
The Joke Master
Tells a joke.
This lightens up the meeting and puts everybody in a good mood.
All participants (How to address
the group)
To get
comfortable with speaking even in the most formal of settings, members try to
address each other in a formal manner during the Toastmaster’s meetings. Here
are some common examples of how to respond when you’re called upon to
participate.
- Stand-up next to your chair
and thank whoever called on you or introduced you. For example, if you
were asked to answer a question during a Table-Topics exercise, you would
stand, and might start your response with:
Thank-you Madam (or Mister) Table-Topics
Master, Fellow Toastmasters, and most welcomed Guests…
In addition to sounding very polite, it buys you time to
think of a response.
- It is appropriate to address
everyone in this manner before you speak during a meeting. Some other
examples include:
“Thank-you, Madam Toastmaster”
“Thank-you, Mr. Table-Topics Master
”
“Fellow Toastmasters and most
welcomed guests…”
“Fellow Toastmasters and our most
honored guests…”