For Members

GRAMMARIAN - Presents the word of the day and reports its usage along with the proper use of the English language during the meeting.

Before the meeting select a Word of the Day. It can relate to the meeting's theme or be one of your own choosing. Try to pick a word, which is not common, yet easy to use.

Print the Word of the Day on a letter size page (ensure the font is large enough for members to read). Prepare a mini-speech that introduces the word, gives a brief definition of the word and how to use it in a sentence (approx. 1 minute long).

When called upon by the Chairperson, go up to the front, shake hands with the Chairperson. Then begin your remarks with Madam (or Mr) Chair, Fellow Toasmasters and most welcome guests, my role today is the Grammarian. My job is to supply you with the word of the day, to count all the ums and ahs and other assorted filler words that we use during the meeting and to give feedback on general use of grammer and language. The word I have chosen for today's meeting is……..)

After making your remarks tape the word of the day to the lectern (two pieces of tape will already be attached to the lectern for you to use) and ask members to use the word throughout the meeting. You may even say, I would like to hear it used a total of 5 times.

Return the lectern back to the Chair by shaking hands with them and returning to your seat.

HUMOURIST Before the meeting select a joke or humorous story (nothing offensive). Approx. time is one to two minutes.

You do not need to memorize it - referring to a piece of paper is just fine but practice it enough that you don't have to read it entirely from the sheet. Use vocal variety and gestures to enhance the story line and help build effectively to the punch line.

When called upon by the Chair, stand and begin your remarks with, Madam or Mr. Chairperson, my role today is provide a bit of humour to the meeting by telling a joke or humorous story.

Once you are done accept the applause and be seated. The Chairperson will thank you and continue with the meeting.

QUIZMASTER When called upon, the Chairperson will ask you to explain your role for the meeting. You will stand and begin by saying, Madam or Mr. Chair, my role today is Quizmaster.

The Quizmaster's role is to ensure we are also developing our listening skills. Based on information presented throughout the meeting (eg. member's speeches, table topics, guest introductions) I will prepare a quiz made up of several short-answer questions (three to six) and at the end of the meeting ask you these questions to see if you have been paying attention.

At the end of the meeting General Evaluator will ask for the Quizmaster report. Stand and again address the members as Madam or Mr. General Evaluator, fellow Toastmasters and welcome guests, as promised at the beginning of the meeting I will be testing your listening skills. Then present each question to the audience and listen for the correct answer. 

TOASTMASTER - The Toastmaster is responsible for introducing the prepared speeches, in a way that motivates the audience to listen to each speaker.

Before the meeting starts or during the break contact each speaker and obtain their speech title, the manual and project number they are working from, time requirements, and a couple of interesting facts about them to use in their introduction (Eg; Gail looks forward to completing her Competent Communicator level so she can move on to the Storytelling Speech Manual which is of great interest to her).

During the meeting when called upon by the Chairperson after the break, go to the lectern, shake hands and then say a few remarks about your role. Eg; Mr. Chairperson, Fellow Toastmasters and most welcome guests, it is my priviledge to be your Toastmaster for the second half of our meeting. As you know this is the portion of the meeting where we have the prepared speeches and we have three wonderful speakers to entertain you today. Our first speaker is……………………

Use the information you collected before the meeting from each speaker to make their introduction. Remember to include the speaker's manual objectives in each introduction, so that the audience knows what to expect from the presentation and can give appropriate feedback. Note: You may ask the person's speech evaluator to read the objectives for you. Once done, invite the speaker to the lectern by saying: Please help me welcome __________ to the lectern to do their speech titled __________________.

When the introduction is complete start applauding and keep doing so until the speaker reaches the lectern. Never leave the lectern unattended.

After each presentation, give the audience time (one minute) to complete the evaluation form.

Make a brief remark that will smoothly lead from one speaker to the next speaker's introduction.

Once all the speeches are complete make a few comments on how wonderful the presentations were and then Introduce the General Evaluator for the evening. Applaud until they reach the lectern, shake their hand and then return to your seat.

CHAIRPERSON - The main duty of the Chair is to run the meeting, business session, introduces people & keep events running on time.

Before the meeting select a theme (e.g., related to season, current events, uplifting idea, or personality trait). Notify the Vice-President of Education several days before meeting so the VP Ed can inform others.

At the meeting state the meeting's theme and make opening remarks.

Review the meeting agenda. Make sure all meetings roles are filled and assigned people are present. If someone is late and a role is given to another person, assign role to original person and announce this change.
Introduce the guests. Have a member introduce the guest (preferred) or ask the guest to say a few words about themselves.
Introduce the person giving the Toast.
Introduce the person presenting Word of the Day.
Acknowledge persons doing language feedback, quizmaster & timekeeper roles. Ask them to briefly describe their role.
Introduce the person presenting Humour.
Introduce the Table Topics Master and hand over the lectern. Receive the lectern from the Table Topics Master when the Table Topics session has ended.
Declare the Business session Open and rap the gavel.

• Call for the reading of the minutes from the previous meeting.
• Call for errors or omissions.
• Announce the minutes are adopted as read/amended.
• Call for matters arising from minutes.
• Call for officer reports in order of hierarchy: President, VP Education, VP Membership, VP Public Relations, Treasurer, Secretary, SAA and Past-President.
• Call for any old or unfinished business.
• Call for any new business.
• Declare the Business session Closed and rap the gavel.

Announce a 5-10 minute break, depending upon how close meeting is proceeding with the schedule as listed on the agenda.
Introduce the Toastmaster and hand over the lectern.
Receive the lectern from the General Evaluator.
Present the Best Table Topics award.
Ask guests for their comments on the meeting.
Review next week's agenda.
Introduce person who will give a thought for the day.
Adjourn the meeting and rap the gavel.
Extra: Never leave the lectern unattended. Wait until the next person arrives at the lectern, shake hands and then stand aside or sit down. Keep a close watch on the time to ensure the meeting is on running on time.

TABLE TOPICS MASTER - Before the meeting find out the theme from the meeting's Chair, and if possible incorporate the theme into your Table Topics or select one of your own choosing.

Prepare a series of creative questions or topics (at least six). When choosing your questions or topics, keep in mind the following:

Select a topic that is easily understood, and keep your questions short and simple.

Phrase your question or topic so that it is clearly understood and can perhaps be used in the opening remarks.

Select topics, which will inspire speakers to give their opinion, their experience or their imagination. Originality and creativity make for effective Table Topic Sessions for both the speakers and the listeners.

Questions can be of a serious nature or totally off the wall, as long as they do not stretch the boundaries of good taste and are not considered offensive, inappropriate or insensitive.

At the meeting obtain a copy of the agenda to determine which members do not have speaking roles and consider who among them might suit your questions.

When called upon by the Chair, go to the lectern and shake hands with the Chair.  Introduce the Table Topics session by giving a brief outline of the purpose of Table Topics (The Table Topics Master is responsible for providing an opportunity for members to practice their impromptu speaking skills, especially for those members who are not on the agenda). and then give a few brief comments to "set the stage" for your questions or your theme.

Encourage members to use the word of the day in their response and explain the timing (1 minute green, 1 and a half minutes yellow and 2 minutes red).

Provide short enthusiastic comments but keep in mind your role, as Table Topics Master is to give others an opportunity to speak and not to give a speech yourself.

Each randomly selected participant is given different question. You may invite a guest to participate but allow them to decline if they wish.

Be mindful of the clock to ensure your session does not go overtime. Once your time is up be sure to thank all of the speakers for participating and ask the audience to vote for the best Table Topics Speaker of the evening on the provided ballot.

Smile and return the control of the meeting back to the Chair.

 GENERAL EVALUATOR - The Toastmaster is responsible for introducing the prepared speeches, in a way that motivates the audience to listen to each speaker.

The main duty of the General Evaluator is introducing each Speech Evaluator, calling on reports from the Language Feedback Officer, Quizmaster, Timekeeper and deliver the General Evaluators report on the meeting overall.

Before the meeting check your email for the week's agenda, which will identify the Speakers and their assigned Evaluator. Call or email each Evaluator to confirm that they will be attending the meeting. Prepare brief opening remarks that illustrate and/or emphasize the positiveness, purpose, techniques, and benefits of the evaluation.

At the meeting take note of everything that either went very well or not so well.
Did the meeting and each segment of the meeting start on schedule?

How were guests introduced?

What was the overall atmosphere of the meeting?

Was there any unnecessary distractions that could have been        avoided?

Was Toastmaster etiquette followed at all times.

Also prepare comments on how well certain people performed their roles.

Did the Chairperson run the meeting smoothly?

Was the Toast done well?

Were the Table Topics well prepared by the Table Topics Master?

Did the members do a good job with them?

Was the Business Session efficient and effective?

Were parliamentary procedures followed during this time?

Did the Speakers meet their objectives?

Did they get constructive feedback from their evaluators? You may also add something to the Speaker's evaluation, which may have been missed in their evaluation.

When called upon to receive the lectern from the Toastmaster (remember to shake the Toastmasters hand), present the prepared opening remarks. Introduce each Evaluator.

Be sure to applaud after your introduction and continue until the Evaluator has reached the lectern. Sit near the lectern, so you may return quickly to the lectern when the evaluation is complete. Receive the lectern by shaking the Evaluator's hand and applauding. Continue clapping until the Evaluator has reached their seat.

Once all Evaluations have been provided, call for a report from the Grammarian, the Quizmaster and the Timekeeper. At the end of each report, thank the person for their report. Once all reports have been given, present your overall evaluation from the notes you prepared during the meeting. Be aware of the time, as you may need to shorten or lengthen your report based on how on track or off the track the meeting went. At the end of your report, hand back to the Chair.

Extra: As part of the General Evaluator's report, identify and emphasize any positive aspect of the meeting that contributed to the overall success of the meeting, and/or made the meeting exceptionally enjoyable for both guests and members.