This guide is meant only as a suggestion to what a given role may involve. When you have the floor, you may do whatever you like. This document is meant only to give new members some idea of what each role involves. Be creative!
As toastmaster, you actually run the meeting. That means some preparation is in order. In the week before the meeting, contact all of the role players for the meeting and confirm that they will attend the meeting. Make sure each role is filled, and get substitutes if the person listed can't make it.
You may want to inject a theme into the meeting. If so, try to get your role players to go along, especially the Topic Master. In any case, be sure to have an outline of the meeting before it starts. There is a "standard" outline available for the structure of a meeting; you can follow that verbatim if you like. The point is to remember to hit every part of the meeting. A printed outline handed out at the start of the meeting is a nice touch. If there are guests, be sure they are introduced and that the roles are explained clearly.
During the meeting you will be introducing lots of people. Make sure you know how to do that properly - there is a page in the CTM manual on proper introductions. After a speaker is finished, thank him for the speech, but don't comment on the speech itself - that's the job of the evaluator. It is fine to have a neutral comment about the speech - perhaps relating the topic to your personal experience, but don't evaluate.
Relax and be flexible. There will likely be last-minute changes to the meeting, and things will go much more smoothly if you're relaxed. Have fun with it, and the meeting will be fun for everyone.
The Topic Master runs the Table Topics portion of the meeting. This is similar to being Toastmaster of the day, as you will run a large portion of the meeting and will be introducing people - read the above section. Again, be careful to not evaluate speeches, though a comment about the subject matter is fine.
Typically table topics take place after the prepared speeches and run until about 8:00. Check with the toastmaster of the day before the meeting to see how long you should go. Be sure to have plenty of topics prepared, as table topics can run longer than planned depending on the other contents of the meeting (which can change at the last minute). If you have trouble thinking up topics, ask a more experienced member for ideas.
You can pick on anyone to give a table topic speech. Be sure any guests have agreed to participate before calling on them. Also, evaluators need the time during table topics to prepare their speech, and so won't be likely to participate. Normally, table topics should be assigned only to members that don't have a role in the meeting, but if attendance is light, some (or all) role-players may participate.
At the end of table topics summarize the speakers and topics, and ask everyone to vote for best impromptu speaker
The Sergeant at Arms sets up the room for the meeting. The tables should be arranged for the meeting, the COL club signs should be displayed outside the room, and voting slips should be placed at every seat. The timer unit should be set up and plugged in.
The Jester provides some comic relief to the meeting, and also fills small spaces if necessary, such as during voting. Be sure to bring at least 8 humorous items.
The Timer's job is to time every speech, and report on the timeliness of speakers at the end of the meeting. You should be supplied with a timer's worksheet, which has spaces for you to write speakers' names and times. Have someone show you how to use the timer box before the meeting. The main challenges people have with the timer's role are:
The vote counter counts the votes. You should sit at the end of the table opposite the empty ballot buckets, so that they can travel around the table and end at your seat. You should be supplied a worksheet to help with counting the votes. At the end of the meeting, you will announce the winners, usually in this order:
The Grammarian monitors the use of vocabulary and space-fillers (umms and ahhs) during the meeting, and gives a report at the end of the meeting. Remember that the report should contain as much positive feedback as possible, for the purpose of helping members improve.
The Grammarian also provides a word of the day, ideally printed on a strip of paper for each member. During the introductions portion of the meeting the grammarian should introduce the word, its definition, and anything else interesting about the word. People should try to work this word into their speaking during the meeting. You should list in your report those who used the word during the meeting.