Meeting Roles

Avoid the rush hour and have fun with us !

HITECH Toastmasters

This is the working draft of a description of the various meeting roles. Please send any suggestions or additions to the mailing list.

Chairman
Toast
JokeMaster
Grammarian
Table Topics Master
Speech Evaluator
General Evaluator
Quizmaster
Closing Thought
Timer
Secretary
As I See It

Chairman

The Chairman of the Meeting (sometimes called Toastmaster in other clubs) has a key role in the success of the meeting. The primary duty of the Chairman is to ensure a well-run, up-beat meeting and act as a genial host to smooth the transition between segments of the meeting. In this role, you will learn how to conduct a meeting, as well as the art of introductions and lectern etiquette.

Before the meeting:

Although a meeting agenda has been prepared in advance by the VP-Education, the chairman must review it just prior to the meeting, and make any last-minute changes, if necessary. Check the agenda with participants that arrive, and recruit substitutes to fill vacant roles.

Also, you should briefly talk to the speakers to make sure they are prepared, and to obtain necessary information so that you may properly introduce them (if this was not provided to you beforehand). Make sure you know the name of each speaker, speech title, speech number/manual, and speech length (5-7 min?). Prepare to make introductory remarks which may also include how long has the speaker been with the club, etc., or personal info relevant to the speech topic.

At the meeting:

Arrive early, and sit near the front for easy access to the lectern. Kick off the meeting with the strike of the gavel, right on time. Begin the meeting with a welcoming statement, opening remarks, introduction of the theme, and an explanation of the meeting format and agenda (table topics, prepared speeches, evaluations). You may take a moment to explain your chairman's role as well, especially if there are guests. Always be pleasant and positive!

You will then begin to progress through the agenda items, introducing each of the roles (Toastmaster, Jokemaster, Grammarian, etc.). Be sure to lead the applause after each person has explained their duty or completed their role. Try to think of short remarks that can be used to glue the meeting together between segments. Keep in mind the theme of the meeting. Your function is to bridge the gap between roles, and maintain the interest of the audience. Practice lectern etiquette, and thank everyone for their participation.

After the introduction of the Table Topics Master and General Evaluator, lead the applause and remain at the lectern to greet them with a handshake before sitting down, then lead the applause again after they have concluded. If the Table Topics Master forgets to call for votes, you may remind the audience to vote for their favorite table topic response.

For prepared speeches, first introduce the evaluator, who will explain the objectives of the speech. Then introduce the speaker, and lead the applause until the speaker reaches the lectern, shake the speaker's hand, then move off to the side opposite from which the speaker entered. At the end of the speech, return to the podium while leading the applause and offer a brief word of appreciation.� Remind the audience to complete evaluation sheets.

Remember that it is your meeting! A smooth, professional-looking meeting depends very much on the chairman. Keep the meeting on time. Be encouraging and supportive to those on the agenda. Get them enthusiastic about their roles, and it will make for an enthusiastic meeting for all.



Toast

This is a mini speech with an opening, a body and a close. (Maximum 2 minutes, less is ok) Traditionally a person is toasted "to the Bride" for example. However in Toastmasters we often toast to a thing, such as "spring" or an abstract such as "courage". When introduced, stand behind your chair, address the meeting, Mr/Madame President, Fellow Toastmasters and Honored Guests. Then proceed with your toast. Ask Everyone to stand while holding their imaginary glasses and toast to...



JokeMaster

The purpose of the JokeMaster is to enliven the audience, helping to establish a positive and enthusiastic tone for the meeting. Being able to comfortably deliver humor in front of a group is a valuable skill. The JokeMaster role allows you to practice delivering humor in front of a group, and also allows you to develop skills in establishing a positive tone for a meeting, which will be valuable when you are the Toastmaster. For this role, prepare a joke, humorous story, or series of one-liners that may be delivered in roughly a minute or so. Bonus points for humor tied to the theme of the meeting, although this is not mandatory. Remember club practice is to keep humor "clean" and inoffensive. If you need to use notes, that's acceptable, but it's better to rehearse and memorize the joke, so you can speak directly to the audience and establish eye contact. Practice the timing of your punch lines, and match your vocal variety to the humor. Don't forget to smile. At Toastmasters, you'll always find a friendly, receptive audience!



Grammarian

The objective of the grammarian�s role is to assist members use the power of good grammar and rich vocabulary in their speaking roles.� This is a brief role focusing on spoken English used during the meeting, and designed to be both educational and entertaining.

To prepare for the role, the grammarian should select a Word of the Day (WOTD), preferably (but not necessarily) one that fits into the theme of the meeting. The idea, if possible, is to pick an interesting word that may enrich the vocabulary of meeting participants. It is helpful to provide some sort of visual aid, either a handout or write the word on the board at the front of the room prior to the meeting, which will serve as a reminder to encourage usage of the WOTD during the meeting.

When called upon by the chairman early in the meeting, you should take about one minute to explain your role, what you are looking for, and introduce the WOTD. You should explain the word's meaning, derivation and pronunciation and maybe provide a couple of examples of correct usage of the word, and maybe even common misuses.

During the meeting, listen carefully and be prepared to report on:

Toward the end of the meeting, you will be called upon again to report on what you have observed and make any recommendations and commendations. This should take 1-2 minutes. There is no need to be exhaustive or highly detailed in your report. You may elect to focus on one particular type of challenge, such as vocalized pauses (umms & ahhs). Illustrative examples are all that is required.

Be sure to use tact, understanding and basic evaluation principles and preferably avoid evaluating any guests who may have spoken. Definitely use humour, if that is your style. This role needs to be concisely delivered, you don't have a lot of time, but it should be fun and informative. Use your originality to make the role memorable.



Table Topics Master

The purpose of table topics is to get you to "think on your feet", to be able to come up with a short 1-2 minute speech with no advance preparation. It also ensures everyone in the meeting has a chance to speak. This represents one of the most valuable, enjoyable parts of the meeting.

The Table Topics master should pick a topic of general interest, which will be the theme for the meeting. This can be almost anything that piques your interest. Related to this theme, the TT master should prepare a variety of questions or speech topics. Some examples of what might be asked: questions surrounding upcoming holiday activities, potential job interview questions, what you might take on a trip to the moon, explaining everyday idiosyncrasies (such as why manhole covers are round). Almost anything goes, except it is usually preferable to avoid controversial topics like religion or politics. Questions should be challenging and thought-provoking, but avoid long and detailed questions that will only confuse the speaker.

Once handed the meeting by the Chairman of the day, the table topics master should introduce and explain how the Table Topics part of the meeting works, especially for the benefit of any guests. Pass around the questions (usually in an envelope) asking each person to take one. (Do this right away so the first speaker has a minute to prepare while you talk, and it is preferable to start with the chairman so that he will not be last to speak before returning to the podium.) Explain the use of timing lights (or ask the timer to do so). Mention that guests are welcome to participate in Table Topics, but not obliged to do so. Also, explain the voting procedure for the Table Topics award. Provide any necessary introduction of the topic or special instructions related to how the session will be conducted. There is lots of room for creativity in how this part of the meeting is run.

Once explanations are complete, then you may begin calling on speakers around the room, usually starting with the chairman (so that he is not last to speak just before returning to the podium). After each person speaks, thank them and lead the applause. You may provide a short segway before moving on to the next speaker. (You may use your segway to remind speakers to use the word-of-the-day if you are not hearing it often.) Once everyone has had a chance to speak, you may give a final comment and hand the meeting back to the chairman. Try to conduct the session with enthusiasm, variety, and interest!

Attention Speakers: During the Table Topic session, just about anything can be asked, and just about anything can be answered. Part of the fun part about table topics is that the respondent is not limited to answering the question asked. If you are asked a question, and you have absolutely no idea what to say, you can just start talking about anything. You can build off of something that someone else has said earlier. You can even make things completely up. Or, you can answer the question as stated, as if in real life by a client or employer. It is completely up to you as to how you want to answer the question. Remember, there is no right or wrong answer - the keys are to have fun and participate.



Speech Evaluator

Providing an evaluation can be one of the more challenging assignments for a club member. Following the delivery of a speech, the evaluator delivers a verbal evaluation of the speech to the meeting, and gives the speaker an evaluation in writing in the allotted space in the speaker's manual.

The purpose of the evaluation is to provide an honest, objective reaction to the speaker's presentation, including constructive, helpful feedback and suggestions for improvement, which the speaker (and the audience) may learn from. Remember, it is very important to offer an evaluation that is upbeat and positive overall, in order to build self-confidence and encourage the speaker to develop their talents.

The evaluator must be aware of the speech objectives in order to provide an effective evaluation. Be sure to read the objectives beforehand, and also discuss with the speaker if there are specific areas he/she wants to focus on, or particular objectives the speaker hopes to achieve. Being familiar with the speaker's past performance, progress, goals and speaking style will also help to ensure a better evaluation.

During the speech you are to evaluate, always listen carefully to the speaker. You may take a few notes as needed, but be sure to keep your focus on the speech being delivered. There is normally a short break between speech and evaluation, which gives you a few additional minutes to prepare your evaluation. Once called upon by the chairman, advance to the podium, and open your presentation with the usual address to the Toastmaster and the meeting and specifically to the speaker.

While an evaluation is usually brief (~3 minutes), it should employ your best speaking skills, and be organized like any other speech with an introduction, body and conclusion. Try to capture the audience�s attention with a creative introduction. In the body of your evaluation, outline the basic objectives of the speech, and explain how you saw it. Emphasize the positive points in the speech. (Keep a ratio of at least 3 positives for each negative.) Always find ways to praise the speaker, while also offering one or two specific suggestions for improvement. Be clear, friendly, and supportive. Conclude with a statement that points out the value of the speech, and indicate your appreciation of the speech and a positive expectation for the future. Be sure to return the speaker�s manual with a completed written evaluation at the end of the meeting.

Evaluation in Detail:

There are a number of different ways to organize an evaluation, which I will not get into here. But, generally the main aspects you are going to review are the speech content, organization, and delivery. The content refers to the substance of the speech, e.g. topic, ideas, facts and examples etc. The organization is how the speech was arranged, e.g. opening, body, conclusion and whether it is logically set out, etc. Delivery is the speech mechanics such as hand gestures, eye contact, and voice modulation etc.

Here are some specific things to look for:

The evaluator should personalize the language used in the evaluation, remembering it is only one opinion you are offering. Therefore, you should use terms such as "I felt ...", "It seemed to me ...", or "My reaction was ...", while avoiding phrases such as "You should ...", "You must ...", and "Don't ...". Where appropriate, demonstrate what you mean with appropriate examples from the speech, and/or show how you might have done things differently.

You may very well find that as you learn to evaluate other speakers, you learn to apply the same objective evaluation skills to our own speeches!



General Evaluator

Almost everything in Toastmasters is evaluated, otherwise how would we know what to improve? The General Evaluator's role, usually given to an experienced Toastmaster, is to evaluate the evening's proceedings in general, that is, everything not covered by the individual speech evaluators. The GE should evaluate how members have carried out their assigned roles, as well as discuss aspects of the meeting such as timing, room layout, welcoming of guests, meeting organization, transitions, applause, and completeness. While the critique is not centered on the speeches, the GE may talk about the performance or style of the speech evaluators. This is a challenging role, in which it is important to be precise and concise, and stick to the allotted time. As with all evaluations, the general evaluation should always be positive, upbeat, instructive and basically congratulatory, thus encouraging everyone to further participate next meeting! Remember: Toastmasters provides a supportive and positive learning environment where every member can achieve self-confidence and personal growth, while developing their leadership and communication skills.



Quizmaster

One of the goals of Toastmasters is to provide practice in the area of listening. The Quizmaster's role is to listen during the meeting for interesting things that can be asked at the end of the meeting to see if other members were also listening. Be sure to bring a pen and some paper to the meeting to jot down notes and/or questions to ask. Write down interesting thoughts, or interesting facts and figures that emerge, concentrating on items you feel should be remembered. Prepare roughly a half dozen questions. When called upon by the chairman, you will stand up and test the room to see how well everyone was listening (or you could possibly select a specific person to answer each question). This is a relatively easy role, and a good way to get acclimatized to Toastmasters meetings.



Closing Thought

Select a thought which can be tied into the theme of the meeting if possible. The thought may come from a list of quotations, poems, etc., or any idea of your own. It should be brief (~1 minute), positive, inspirational, and/or thought provoking. When called upon by the chairman at the end of the meeting, stand and present your closing thought. Try to memorize if possible. State the source or author if using a quote.



Timer

The timer's role is to help keep the meeting running on time. He/she uses the timing lights to indicate how much time has passed in a specific role. The timing lights are used for indicating the elapsed time for each speaking role.

When a range of time is allotted for a role, the green light turns on at the low end of the range, the yellow light turns on halfway through the allotted time, and the red light turns on at the end of the allotted time.

The timer should ensure the TableTopicsMaster provides the time range before the first speaker begins.



Secretary

The secretary's role is to make notes during the meeting. He/she should use one of the copies of the agenda, and fill in the blanks on the agenda.

These items include:

At the end of the meeting, the secretary should make sure the secretary's copy of the agenda get put in the appropriate folder in the file cabinet.



As I See It

An "As I See It" is sometimes used as a substitute (filler activity) in the time slot normally allocated for a prepared speech.

An "As I See It" is a short, 2-3 minute opinionated speech, representing one side of a controversial or debatable issue. Afterwards, there will be time allocated for approximately 3 rebuttals from the audience. Each rebuttal should try to focus on one main point, and leave opportunities open for the other rebuttals to make a different point. The length of a rebuttal should be roughly 1-2 minutes, similar to Table Topics. Anyone may offer a rebuttal, but participation is especially encouraged from those who do not have another speaking role that evening. Remember, the idea here is for both the speaker and the rebuttals to practice making an effective argument on one side of the issue, somewhat like you see in political debates. It is not necessary to actually agree or disagree with what is said, and the views expressed do not necessarily have to be your own true opinion.

Even though this is not a prepared speech from the Communication and Leadership manual, it may be evaluated. The evaluator should consider the objectives of the "As I See It", whether the arguments were well organized and presented, etc. Plus look for all the usual things on the standard evaluation sheet (gestures, vocal variety, organization, intro & conclusion, etc.) and consider using examples (pulled from the speech, or how you would do it differently) to make your points. Remember to keep the evaluation positive overall, point out things done well, in addition to areas for improvement (3-to-1 ratio positive to negative). It should be mainly encouraging and congratulatory to the speaker, while also leaving a few ideas to work on for improvement next time. The evaluator may choose to very briefly evaluate the rebuttals, as well.