Meeting Roles
A Toastmasters meeting is comprised of many different speaking roles. No two roles are the same and each is designed to help
you improve in a specific area of communication. Below is brief summary of what is involved for these roles:
SERGEANT AT ARMS
This involves arriving early, setting up the room and welcoming any guests. This also involves opening the meeting, going through any emergency procedures and introducing the Toastmaster.
TIMER
This role involves operating the lights, recording the times and reporting back at the end. Keeping to time is something we should all strive towards, as there are often time-limits when speaking in real-world scenarios.
Pro Tip:
If you are doing this role for the first time, make sure you arrive early to practice using the lights! Also spend some time familiarising yourself with the agenda.
GRAMMARIAN
The Grammarian listens out for effective uses of language, counts the filler words and provides a word of the day. This involves speaking twice throughout the meeting – first at the beginning to introduce the Word of the Day and then at the end to summarize how everyone did.
Pro Tip:
For the Word of the Day, it is best to choose something relevant to the theme (which is usually sent out by the Toastmaster beforehand). Make sure you print two copies of the word in large font and stick a copy at both ends of the room.
Historian
This involves sharing a short 1- 2 minute speech about this day in history. This can be done by either listing events across different years, or by telling a story about one specific event.
Humourist
This is a short 1 – 2 minute Humorous Speech. There is no right or wrong way to approach this role. Some people tell a bunch of short jokes, while others try to tell more of a story. The only goal is to make people laugh!
TABLE TOPICS MASTER
The Table Topics Master facilitates the impromptu speaking part of the meeting. This person prepares the Table Topics Questions and determines the speaking order. We usually aim to have 4 – 6 table topics per meeting.
Pro Tip:
Start by choosing members that do not already have a speaking role and then move on to others if there is time.
TABLE TOPICS EVALUATOR
This involves evaluating the Table Topics Speakers using the CRC method (commendation, recommendation and another commendation).
Pro Tip:
Because of the number of Table Topic Speakers, it is important that you keep your evaluations as concise as possible. An appropriate target is 30 – 40 seconds per speaker.
SPEAKER
We try to have 2 – 3 prepared speeches at each meeting. Each speaker presents a speech based on a project assignment from their Pathway. The length and objectives vary depending on the project.
EVALUATOR
Each speaker has an assigned evaluator. This role involves introducing the speaker, observing their performance and then providing an evaluation using the CRC method (commend, recommend and commend).
For the introduction, you will need to contact the speaker beforehand to find out their Pathways project, speech title and whether they have any personal objectives. It is nice to also mention something personal about the speaker to help us get to know them. Each speaker will also have a written evaluation form that needs to be filled out. You will need to get this from them beforehand. It is best to fill this out during the meeting so that you do not forget any of the details.
Pro Tip:
The best way to welcome up a speaker is using this format: speech title, name, name, speech title. Make sure you lead the applause!
GENERAL EVALUATOR
The General Evaluator speaks at the end of the meeting and evaluates all the people that have not yet been evaluated. This is often a long list of people, so we assign this role to members who have been with the club for a while and are ready for the challenge!
Pro Tip:
The best way to approach this role is to keep the evaluations brief and only provide a quick commendation, a
recommendation and another commendation for each speaker. Although it is tempting to give lots of feedback,
doing so for each person will push you well over time.
TOASTMASTER
This is the most important role of them all! The Toastmaster is the person who plans the meeting and makes sure that it runs smoothly. This involves filling any empty meeting roles and managing last minute cancellations.
On the night, the Toastmaster acts as the MC and manages the transitions between speakers. It is always nice to
have a meeting theme to make the night more interesting.
Pro Tip:
Communicate your theme a few days beforehand so that others can use it for their roles.
Contact
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Visit
Every Tuesday at 7:30pm
Cashmere Club
88 Hunter Terrace
Cashmere Club
Arriving early? Take the opportunity to dine at The Cashmere Club. Please note that you must be a member with them to purchase alcohol.
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