Meeting Roles   

Toastmasters International
District 26

A complete description of meeting roles is available for download.

A Toastmaster 
Wears Many Hats

Toastmaster of the Day..

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 or 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.

Table Topics Master Role..

The Toastmasters program has a tradition - every member speaks at a meeting. The table topics session is that portion of the meeting which ensures this tradition. The purpose of this period is to have members "think on their feet" and speak for a minute or so. The topics master prepares and issues the topics; originality is desirable as much as possible. Each speaker may be given an individual subject or a choice of subjects may be presented form which the members can draw at random.

Timer Role..

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 everyday.

Grammarian Role...

Being grammarian 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.

Ah Counter Role...

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."

Speaker Role..

A major portion of each meeting is centered around three 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.

Master Evaluator Role..

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 your 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 conducting the evaluation sessions are limitless. Review the Effective Speech Evaluation manual for ideas.

Evaluator Role..

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 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.