When you are the Toastmaster

Your primary duty is to act as genial host, introducing the speakers in such a way the audience will listen with attention and anticipation. An effective Toastmaster creates an atmosphere of interest, expectation, receptivity and keeps the meeting on schedule. This task is not usually assigned until you have completed your first 3 speeches.

Prior to the meeting:

· Remember, it’s your responsibility to make the meeting a success. Prepare as carefully as you would when making a speech.

· If no theme has been established by the Vice President of Education, you may decide to have a theme.

· Contact meeting participants: Invocation/Pledge, Jokemaster, Table Topic Master, Speakers and General Evaluator a week in advance of the meeting to: (1) remind them of their position (2) inform them of the theme, if there is one and (3) to obtain information needed to introduce them.

· Provide the Table Topic Master with a list of members not assigned any duties to insure these people will be called on for topic responses. Sometimes members assigned light roles (Invocation/Pledge, Ah Counter, Timer, Wordmaster) may be called on.

· Interview all Speakers to find out their speech title, manual project name and manual number, purpose to be achieved, time requested, and something interesting about themselves which you can use when introducing them (e.g. job, family, hobbies, education, why this topic is of interest to this audience, etc.)

· Ask the General Evaluator to contact the evaluation team (speech evaluators, wordmaster / grammarian, ah counter, timer) and remind them of their responsibilities. The general evaluator assigns the evaluators to individual speakers in advance. Toastmaster should note the assignment on the meeting agenda.

· Prepare the meeting agenda for distribution at the meeting (usually about 20-25 copies).

· Prepare a backup plan in the event someone is unable to attend at last minute or is very late. It is helpful to have the following info written out to hand another member at the last minute: (1) word for the day written out with definition and a sentence using the word; (2)1-2 minute joke; (3) 4-5 table topic questions.

· Prepare remarks to support your theme which can be used to bridge the gaps between program segments. You may never use them, but you should be prepared to avoid possibly awkward periods of silence.

· Prepare brief introductions for each speaker. A proper introduction is important to the success of the speaker’s presentation. Don’t include a lot of biographical details about the speaker and don’t make the speech for him or her. Don’t say anything that would embarrass the speaker. Be friendly and enthusiastic and help the speaker get off to a good start. Vary your format. “We have with us today…”; “I take pleasure in introducing”; don’t be “flowery” in your praise. Be brief.

At the meeting:

· Arrive 20-30 minutes early.

· Distribute agendas

· Make sure all assigned members are ready.

· Tell Topic Master how much time to allow.

· Sit at the head of the table next to the General Evaluator and Table Topic Master. This ensures easy access to the lectern and reduces distractions if you have to communicate last minute program changes.

· Remember to preside with sincerity, energy and decisiveness. Take your audience on a pleasant journey and make them feel that all is going well. Don’t steal the show. Facilitate it. You set the mood of the meeting. SMILE!!

· Always lead the applause before and after each participant is called on.

· WATCH THE TIME! See that everyone stays within the time limits. Have more material than you expect to use. If you see that the program is running long, cut your comments short.

During the meeting:

· The Sergeant at Arms will open the meeting and turn control of the lectern to the President.

· The President will call upon the Invocator, conduct business, call on guests and introduce the Toastmaster of the Meeting.

· Say a few words on the nature of the program to whet the appetites of the audience. NOTE: If guests arrive during the meeting, make sure to acknowledge them before continuing.

· Introduce the Wordmaster. Lead the applause. Always remain at the lectern until the assigned member reaches the lectern, then shake hands.

· Introduce the Jokemaster.

· Introduce the Speakers in the order you have selected. Clearly announce: subject, which assignment will be presented by the speaker and the objectives of that assignment; title, time and speaker’s name.

· When each speaker is finished, shake hands as you are returned control of the lectern, and say a brief word of appreciation. It is great to take one minute and ask the members to write some comments down for the speaker. Do NOT comment on the quality of the speech nor express your opinion of the content.

· After the final speech, call on the timer to announce which speakers qualified. If speakers give a range of time (i.e. 5-7 minutes; they would be disqualified if they spoke less than 4:30 and longer than 7:30). If a member gave a specific time (e.g. 8 minutes: 6 green light, 7 yellow, 8 red); they would be disqualified if they spoke less than 5:30 they would be disqualified if they spoke longer than 8:30). NOTE: The reason for time limitation is to increase speaker’s awareness of time and help our members prepare for speech competitions which use the same limitations.

· Vote for “best” speaker if 3 or more speakers. (Vote for “better” speaker if only 2 speakers)

· You may wish to have some material related to your theme, short jokes, or anecdotes prepared to fill the time while the members vote.

· Introduce the Table Topic Master. Use table topics to adjust the time of the meeting. (You may also determine whether to have Table Topics before or after the speakers.)

· Ask the timer to list all Table Topic speakers that qualified. Table topic participants must speak at least 1 minute and must not speak longer than 2:30 minutes to qualify.

· Ask the members to vote for the Best Table Topic Speaker. You may wish to have some theme material, short jokes or anecdotes prepared to fill the time while members vote.

· Introduce the General Evaluator. After the evaluation portion of the meeting is complete, the General Evaluator will return control of the meeting to you. Note that the General Evaluator remembered to call on the Evaluators, Grammarian, Ah Counter, Timer. If he or she forgot to call on any of these roles, you call on them.

· Ask the timer if all the speech evaluators qualified. Evaluators must speak at least 1:30 minutes and must not speak longer than 3:30 minutes to qualify. (NOTE: While Grammarian, Ah Counter, Timer and General Evaluator do not have specific time limitations, they are eligible for the “Best Evaluator” vote.)

· Have the members vote for Best Evaluator.

· Make sure you have enough filler information to allow for the votes to be collected, tallied and handed to you for announcement. This is a great time to call on any guests and ask for them to comment on the meeting briefly.

· Thank the participants and the audience. DO NOT reiterate comments made by the evaluation team.

· You announce winners of the ribbons and return control of the lectern to President for final comments.