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SPEAKER
A major portion of each meeting is centered around two or more
speakers. Their speeches are prepared based on manual project objectives
and should last from five to seven minutes for projects in the basic Communication
and Leadership Program manual and eight or more minutes, depending on the
assignment, for projects in the Advanced Communication and Leadership Program
manuals.
Preparation is essential to success when you are the
speaker.
EVALUATOR
After every prepared speech, the speaker receives an evaluation.
After you have presented a few speeches, you will be asked to serve as an
evaluator and will evaluate one of the prepared speakers for the meeting.
In addition to your oral evaluation, you will also give the speaker a written
evaluation using the guide in the manual. The evaluation you present can
make the difference between a worthwhile or a wasted speech for your
speaker. The purpose of the evaluation is to help the speaker become less
self-conscious and a better speaker. This requires that you be fully aware
of the speaker's skill level, habits, and mannerisms, as well as his or her
progress to date. If the speaker uses a technique or some gesture that
receives a good response from the audience, tell the speaker so he or she will
be encouraged to use it again.
TIMER / VOTE COUNTER
The Toastmaster of the meeting will call on you to explain the timing
rules. One of the lessons to be practiced in speech training is that of
expressing a thought within a specific time. The timer is the member
responsible for keeping track of time. Each segment of the meeting is
timed. You should explain your duties and report to the Club clearly and
precisely. This exercise is an excellent opportunity in practicing
communication instructions - something that we do every day.
The vote counter will tally the votes cast for the meetings best
speaker, best evaluator and best table topics. This is a friendly competition
that rewards the individuals that have the their best.
TABLE TOPICS MASTER
The Toastmasters program has a tradition - every member speaks at a
meeting. The Table Topics session is that portion of the meeting which
insures this tradition. The purpose of this period is to have members
"think on their feet" and speak for a minute or so. The table
topics master prepares and issues the topics; originality is desirable as much
as possible. Each speaker may be given and individual subject or a choice
of subjects may be presented from which the members can draw at random.
GENERAL OR MASTER
EVALUATOR
The general evaluator is just what the name implies - an evaluator of
anything and everything that takes place throughout the meeting. The
responsibilities are large, but so are the rewards. The general evaluator
is responsible to the Toastmaster who will introduce you; at the conclusion of
the evaluation segment of the meeting, you will return control to him or
her. You are responsible for the evaluation team, which consists of the
timer, grammarian, ah counter, and Table Topics evaluator if the club has
one. The usual procedure is to have one evaluator for each major speaker,
but this is not necessary. You are free to set up any procedure you wish,
but each evaluation should be brief, yet complete. Methods for conduction
the evaluation sessions are limitless. Review the Effective Speech
Evaluation manual for ideas.
TOASTMASTER
The main duty of the Toastmaster is to act as a genial host and conduct
the entire program, including introducing participants. If the Toastmaster
does not perform the duties well, an entire meeting can end in failure.
For obvious reasons this task is not usually assigned to a member until he ore
she is quite familiar with the Club and its procedures. Program
participants should be introduced in a way that excites the audience and
motivates them to listen. The Toastmaster creates an atmosphere of
interest, expectation and receptivity
GRAMMARIAN
/ WORD OF THE DAY / AH COUNTER
Being grammarian and word of the day is truly an exercise in expanding your
listening skills. You have two basic responsibilities: First, to introduce
new words to members, and second, to comment on the use of English during the
course of the meeting.
The purpose of the ah counter is to note words and
sounds used as a "crutch" or "pause filler" by
anyone who speaks during the meeting. Words may be inappropriate
interjections such as "and, well, but, so, you know."
Sounds may be "ah, um, er." You should also note when
a speaker repeats a word or phrase such as "I, I" or
"This means, this means."
QUIZ MASTER
It is the job of the quiz master to use excellent listening skills
during the meeting. The quiz master will then ask a series of
questions that tests the fellow Toastmasters ability to listen and
comprehend any portion of the meeting.
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