Role Descriptions Your First 10 Speeches The TMI Educational Program Table Topics Tips Advanced Members Speaking Contests Club Officer Roles Sign in to Members Only Area		When you are ...... "You get back what you put in" is the most apt way to describe Toastmasters. The more effort you put in, the more benefits you will receive. The following notes offer advice on how to perform the various roles that make up a TM meeting. Feel free to add your own personality and flair to any assignment you are asked to undertake. The Toastmaster A Speech Evaluator The Table Topics Master The Table Topics Evaluator Inspirational Speaker St Georges Knights The Grammarian The Timekeeper The Breakfast Steward The General Evaluator An Audience Member When You Are The Toastmaster This is the most important role of the meeting. Your enthusiasm and confidence will be infectious, ensuring the meeting is fast-paced and fun for everyone. Your job starts the week before the meeting. Phone the rostered speakers and ensure they are prepared. This prevents last-minute drop-outs and disorganisation. If any speaker says they can't speak, ask them to find a replacement or phone the VPE immediately to suggest a replacement. No later than the Monday before the meeting, phone all other rostered members to ensure they will be in attendance. Prepare a theme for the meeting (it can be hobbies, star signs, desires, accomplishments, holidays, times of the year - anything at all you can think of that will add a little bit of fun to the meeting). When speaking with rostered members, ask them for their response to your theme, and make a note of it. Prepare well in advance. Using the agenda and running sheet template, record the name of the person presenting, whether or not they require the lectern, their response to your theme, the timing, and any other relevant information. Arrive at the meeting early. Ensure that everyone who is assigned to a role is there, and arrange replacements if they are not. When you are introduced by the Sgt-at-arms, walk to the lectern with a big smile and open the meeting with a flourish! Explain your theme, and assure the audience by your actions and words that they in for a good time! Using the running sheet will keep you informed and the meeting running to time. Remember that you are in charge of the lectern/ stage area at all times. Shake hands with all presenters as they come to the lectern and as they leave. Never leave the lectern/ stage area unattended. When you are a Speech Evaluator You don't have to be a great speaker to be a good evaluator - but you will never be a great speaker until you learn to be a good evaluator! Speech evaluation is the art of dissecting a speech and discovering what worked and what didn't work. While there is always room for individuality, if you follow the standard formula for speech evaluations, you will present a well-constructed evaluation that is both helpful to the speaker and interesting for the audience. Your evaluation begins before the meeting. Phone the speaker and ensure you know which project speech is being presented. Read the project in full, even if you feel you are familiar with it. It will help you pick up the finer points and may give you a guide to some worthwhile recommendations. Also, ask the speaker if s/he has any specific points s/he wants you to watch for. During the speech, make notes on the evaluation form. Be sure they are big enough for you to read at the lectern. The steps for the evaluation are: Start with a warm and enthusiastic opening - the speaker should feel good about presenting the speech. Remind the audience of the objectives, in your own words. Commend the speaker on the objectives she or he achieved, and on other "good points" of the speech. This section should be addressed to the audience as a whole. Use phrases like, "Did you see the way (speaker's name) did (good points). We can all learn from this" and "I thought (speaker's name) used excellent (body language)." Make one or two specific recommendations on how the speech could have been improved. Where possible, demonstrate your recommendations. This section should be addressed directly to the speaker. Address the whole audience again with one or two more commendations, then conclude with a warm "thank you" to the speaker. Things to avoid: Don't be dogmatic. An evaluation is only your opinion. Don't say, "You should.", instead say "In my opinion, it would have been more effective if you had." Don't re-state the content of the speech, or comment on whether you agreed with it or not. You are evaluating the presentation, not the content. Restrict comments on content to ways the structure could have been changed to improve the flow of ideas. Don't whitewash. We come to Toastmasters to learn, so always endeavour to find some points for improvement. Above all, be enthusiastic about the speech and leave the speaker eager to come back and present again. When You Are the Table Topics Master Your role is very important. Table Topics should be fun and contribute to the overall enjoyment of the meeting, and therefore of belonging to TM & St Georges. Under no circumstances refer to Table Topics as "hard" or "the part we all hate". Impromptu speaking often daunts people, and it is therefore vital that we convince members that table topics are fun, and not to be feared. There are two schools of thought on whether the speaker or question should be announced first. When asking newer members or guests, call on them first and then ask the question, this gives them time to calm themselves before trying to answer the question. We put Table Topics near the end of the meeting so that we can make up time if we're running late. One of your most important jobs is to keep the meeting running to time. Check the roster to see when you're supposed to finish and keep an eye on the clock so that you can finish on time, even if this means that you can't ask as many people as you would like. Some suggested topics include: Read an interesting newspaper headline and ask the member to tell us what it's about. Ask members to talk about their favourite (or least favourite) anythings. Ask us to tell the meeting about the last time (or the first time) we did whatever. Role plays - create a situation and ask how we will react or what we will do. Using the meeting roster and the membership list, assign a person to answer each question in the following order: Members who have no rostered assignment. Guests who have agreed beforehand to take a topic. The grammarian, timekeeper and breakfast steward. The Speech evaluators. The General Evaluator The Table Topics Evaluator Try to choose more experienced speakers first, so that less experienced speakers have more time to consider the topic and prepare their answer. Don't ask a person giving a project speech, and it is best not to pick the Table Topics evaluator, the Toastmaster or the general evaluator. Present your topics by announcing the topic first, then name the speaker. (This ensures everyone is listening.) There is no need to comment on each speaker, that is the evaluator's job. When your time is up, thank the speakers and return control to the Toastmaster. Inspirational Speaker The Inspiration at the beginning of the meeting and is usually 2-3 minutes is intended to begin th emeeting on a high by inspiring the audience. Suggested Topics include; A brief story of something that happened to you. An interesting story you have read or heard about. People who inspire you. Inspirational film or play or piece of music or piece of art you have experienced. St Georges Knights In most clubs teh Seargeant at Arms is responsible for setting up and packing down the meeting room.  Due to St Georges whirlwind breakfast meeting schedule, we make it a team activity. Each member is assigned to a group of Knights; Black, Red, White & Green.  Those members should arrive at the meeting at 6:40am to help set up the room using the resources suitcase, including laying out the banner, namecards and timing equipment. When you are the Grammarian Pick a word-of-the-day that can be used in everyday speech, but which extends the vocabulary of the members. It should be a positive word. When asked by the toastmaster, announce the word-of-the-day, give its dictionary definition and use it in a sentence as an example. During the meeting, record the number of times it is used and who used it. Also look for examples of good phrases or word pictures, and for any poor grammar. When called upon by the general evaluator, read the list of members who used the word and commend any other good use of the English language. Mention any poor uses, but don't give the person's name. "We had one member who said `I done me best' when I think they probably meant they did their best." Keep an ear out for "ums" and "errs". While it is not necessary to count them, it is important to draw members attention if they use too many. When you are the Timekeeper Arrive early and ensure the lights and stopwatch have been set out for you. Following the toastmaster's instructions, show the appropriate lights at the appropriate times. Record the time taken for each table topic, speech and evaluation. When called upon by the general evaluator, read out the times. When you are the Breakfast Steward Arrive at least 20 minutes before the meeting. Get the red Breakfast Steward folder out of the wooden box. Sit at the entrance to the room and greet members and guests as they come in. Take the meeting fee from Silver Members and Guests and record monies taken on the Monies Record sheet. At the end of the meeting, follow the instructions in the folder regarding the Express Deposit Bag and give it to the Treasurer or another member of the committee. When you are the General Evaluator Your task is important, as it comes at the end of the meeting when people are getting ready to leave. Try to keep it short, sharp and entertaining. Remember always to apply the CRC - commend, recommend, commend. Give your overall impression of the meeting - did it start on time, was it organised, were guests made welcome? Ask for the grammarian's and timekeeper's reports. Evaluate each person who has not already been evaluated - the table topics master, table topics evaluator, speech evaluators and the toastmaster. Be sure to give them advice for future performance, as well as positive encouragement for the good things they did. Hand control back to the toastmaster. When you are an Audience Member Arrive on time Turn off your mobile phone Clap enthusiastically Respect the speakers Many thanks to Roger McMillan, formerly of St George's, for putting together these notes. We're grateful that Roger put so much work into producing these notes and has shared them with us. The only changes are due to minor editing and some procedural changes.
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