The Chairman has a most challenging and important task. Frequently the tone of a meeting is a reflection of the performance of the Chairman in the initial phases of the meeting
The Chairman must be fully conversant with
* The constitution and by-laws of the club
* "Guide for Meetings and Organisations", Renton, NE,
Law Book Co
It is important that you possess these publications. No Toastmaster can fulfil the duties of Chairman without a thorough working knowledge of their content. You are to accept the responsibility of being well informed.
When you are the chairman you should organise your meeting so that you know what is going to happen and when. Think ahead. Remain calm and assured and make any ruling without haste.
Check the program with the Vice President - Education before the meeting, who will make any necessary changes, and keep the program moving according to the scheduled time allocations.
As Master of Ceremonies for the meeting you should introduce all assignments and afterwards acknowledge with a 'thank you'. On all occasions the Chairman should lead in the applause. Do not comment on the content (you should be impartial), or on the assignment (this is the General Evaluator's task).
In the Business Session, which should be conducted seated, the order of business should be:
* Apologies
* Advance apologies for future meetings
* Minutes of Previous Meeting
* Business Arising
* Correspondence and business arising
* Reports by officers on their committee activities as required (check with each officer before meeting)
- President
- Vice President - Education
- Vice President - Membership
- Vice President - Public Relations
- Secretary
- Treasurer
- Sergeant-at-Arms
The Current Comment is usually a 2 minute assignment. It should be a short, persuasive/emotional speech, presented without notes. It can be on a subject that concerns you or an up-to-date comment on current affairs. It should be very topical and of interest to the audience and may bring out your views on a subject.
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A Dizzy Motion is a humorous, exaggerated or peculiar motion designed to test the chairman. It should be a subject on which all members can speak, move amendments and procedural motions. It should not be recorded in the minutes. Take care that the Dizzy Motion is not confused by members as being serious. It must obviously be a 'fun' motion and it should be lost on the final vote.
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An Educational Happening is presented by an experienced Toastmaster as an educational speech (usually 5-7 minutes). It can be on any subject of Toastmastering such as speech preparation, evaluation, meeting procedure, officer duties, member obligations. The Better Speaker Series should be followed and where possible overheads used.
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The General Evaluator reviews and assesses the evening's meeting. Praise and commendations should be given where deserved and points for improvement where needed.
Brief comments for corrective measures should be given, where warranted (e.g. where an assignment is not performed to standard).
The General Evaluator should comment on the Table Topics Evaluators and Speech Evaluators, but not on the speakers.
The General Evaluator should be concise and precise and remain within the prescribed time limit.
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A Toastmaster is expected to devote time and effort to the preparation of a prepared speech therefore it is only reasonable for him to expect dilligence and effort from his evaluator.
The speaker is expected to prepare his speech according to the principles given in the manual and it should be evaluated in the light of its purpose, not according to the degree of agreement or disagreement with the evaluator's own ideas or convictions.
The evaluator should make precise and concise notes during the speech, preferably under headings assembled prior to the meeting. Transfer the most relevant and constructive comments to the speaker's manual in the space appropriate.
The evaluator should give their evaluation from separate notes (not from the manual) in 2-3 minutes. It should be a speech, not answers to the questions in the manual.
A good evaluation will be firm, fair and friendly. the main purpose should be to encourage improvement and whenever some weakness or deficiency in the delivery or structure of the speech has been exposed, the evaluator should offer constructive comments to rectify the weakness.
A good rule for a good evaluation is COMMEND - RECOMMEND - COMMEND.
Do not criticise. Only comment on a weakness, fault or error, if you can show how it could have been overcome or presented better.
It is not the evaluator's task to say what was good or bad, but WHY it was so.
The evaluator should not comment on the CONTENT, only the DELIVERY.
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The Table Topics Evaluator should evaluate the degree of effectiveness achieved in procuring audience reaction.
He should give one good point and one point for improvement about each speaker.
A good evaluation is firm, fair and friendly. Improvement should be encouraged and constructive comments offered. Again, the rule is COMMEND - RECOMMEND - COMMEND.
Points to watch for are - speaking pace, stance, voice modulation, nervous mannerisms, eye contact, enthusiasm, conviction, opening-body-conclusion, relevance, directness, clarity and organisation of material.
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The Factmaster's assignment is to explain an interesting fact or series of facts.
It should be a short story.
It must be TRUE.
It can be humorous, astounding, hard to believe, emotional, etc.
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The Grammarian should maintain a clear and accurate record of each member's slip up. He should listen for
* Incorrect pronunciations
* Poorly enunciated words
* Incorrect grammatical forms
* Use of cliches
* Bad selection of words or phrases.
If in doubt seek the opinion of members - it will help everyone.
The Grammarian should also listen for and comment on interesting turns of phrases, excellent use of words and picturesque or descriptive language.
The Grammarian should keep within the allowed time.
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The object of the Inspiration is to leave everyone with something inspiring to consider. It should be a 1-2 minute speech with an introduction to capture the interest, a body to establish and consolidate the message and a conclusion which will reaffirm the message.
Bring to your audience the realisation of a truth or create within each member a deep seated acceptance of your thoughts and the desire to live out the principles you place before them.
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The object is to make people laugh with a short, CLEAN joke.
It is better to try for three quick laughs than use one long story that may fall flat. Get your first laugh as quickly as possible.
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This assignment is to recount an interesting story about a strange happening for which there is no apparent logical explanation.
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To perform this responsibility demands a thorough working knowledge of Guide for Meetings and Organisations, Renton, NE: Law Book Co. The basic functions of Parliamentarian are:
To act as consultant to the Chairman when he requests advice on parliamentary procedures.
To evaluate and deliver a resume on the conduct of the business session (or dizzy motion).
Comment on chairman's manner and principles of meeting procedure.
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The object of the pet aversion is to speak about your favourite hate or dislike.
Outline what it is that you particularly don't like and explain why.
Again, use an introduction, body and conclusion....
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The Poetmaster may read or recite a poem.
Keep any introduction short and concentrate on your presentation.
Choose a dramatic piece to enable you to experiment with more vocal variety and body language than in normal assignments.
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When given a topic:
* Stand behind your chair - or walk to the lectern. This will give you a short time to think.
* Begin with a confident introduction such as Mr/Madam Table Topics Master, fellow Toastmasters" ...
* Never begin by apologising.
* Never admit you know nothing about the subject.
* Even if you disagree with the subject try to speak to the question if asked to do so.
* Look slowly around the audience while speaking.
* Show a smile and a pleasant disposition.
The following hints may be helpful:
* Compare past and present with a possible conjecture to the future.
* Contrast a before and after situation.
* You might approach the topic from an alternative view point of life stages, e.g. childhood, adolescence, adult, old age.
* State the problem and suggest a solution.
* Compare advantages and disadvantages.
* Consider political, economic or social aspects of the topic.
* Consider geographical influence - city, state, country, etc.
* Give a point, reason, an example, and point (PREP)
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When the evening has a theme, e.g. spring, a colour, Australia Day, etc, spend one to two minutes outlining the evening's theme considering:
* What it means both to you and the audience.
* How people are affected.
* Outline any relevant background information.
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The timer should check the operation of the stopwatch and timing unit.
* Table Topics speakers are given a buzzer at the end of their one minute time limit.
* For prepared 5-7 minute speeches operate the green light at 5 minutes, amber light at 6 minutes and the red light at 7 minutes, each light being on for one minute except the red light which remains on until the speaker has finished.
* Adjust the times of the lights if the Toastmaster nominates a different length for a speech.
* Maintain a record of the time for ALL assignments.
* In your report only announce the chief offenders as far as overtime and undertime is concerned.
* Prompt the Chairman re timing of all major assignments, e.g. Business Session, table topics, General Evaluator, etc.
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The toast should be on a topical and interesting subject, person or activity.
The person proposing the toast should say why the cause deserves to be toasted.
It is a mini speech with an introduction, a body and a conclusion.
Then use words such as "will you take your glasses and stand with me and toast ....."
Give a clear lead by concisely naming the object of the toast.
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The primary duty of the Toastmaster is to act as a genial host. Earnestness, good humour and enthusiasm is needed.
When introducing the speakers give a brief and prestigious introduction and include:
* Speaker's background
* Previous speeches
* Speech number and manual
* Nature, purpose and objectives
* Timing (check the timing lights)
* Name the evaluator
* Give the title of the speech.
(Complete the speaker biography sheets before the assignment and this will make the above easier.)
Don't comment on the speech afterwards. Merely thank the speaker.
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The Table Topics session's aim is to encourage the best of thinking, listening and speaking.
The session must be featured by enthusiasm, variety, interest and the presentation of an achievable challenge to each speaker.
Give harder topics to the experienced and easier topics to new members and guests.
Remember the following:
* Give copies of the topics to each evaluator before the session.
* Explain the procedure and objectives of the session.
* Name the Evaluators.
* Explain the timing system.
* Announce the topic first and then name the speaker.
The timer, topics Evaluators and general evaluator should always be warned before hand if they are to be given a topic.
Be concise and precise when announcing the theme of the topic and delivering the topic to each Toastmaster.
NOTE: Ensure any member without a programmed assignment receives a topic first, then those with less demanding tasks.
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Listen carefully for all "umms and errs" or any other repetitive sounds or words.
Record how many for each Toastmaster during the meeting and report on the worst offenders only.
Listen for words used repeatedly by a speaker which are inappropriate, e.g. 'you know', yeah, etc.
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Before the meeting starts introduce yourself to each visitor and find out their names and backgrounds.
Make each visitor welcome by introducing him to others.
When performing the welcome assignment use a form of introduction which is novel, interesting and provides a glimpse of some facet of the character, achievements, occupation, etc of the persons being introduced.
Introduce special guests first, then general visitors.
Conclude with a short but enthusiastic welcome.
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The Wordmaster should:
* Take a word and give its meaning.
* Spell it slowly at least twice.
* Give examples for its correct use.
* Encourage all members to use the word.
* Show word written in large letters on cardboard, and leave displayed for the rest of the meeting if possible.
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Please phone 02 4982 6822
for further information on Toastmasters
Training in Communication for
better Listening, Thinking and Speaking
