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Meeting and Duty Guide

Meetings are held every second Tuesday at 7.30 pm at the Jack Dickey Community

Centre, 176 Greenlane Road, Greenlane. For details of upcoming events, meeting

calendar, duty roster, meeting report and other Club information (including the

current version of this Guide), visit the Club website at

http://www.toastmasters.net.nz

Welcome to

Maungakiekie Toastmasters

Making Effective Communication

a Worldwide Reality

Maungakiekie Toastmasters Club – Meeting and Duty Guide




Table of Contents

Introduction........................................................................................................................................4 General...................................................................................................................................................... 4 You and Your Mentor ............................................................................................................................. 4 Meeting Tips............................................................................................................................................ 5 If you cannot perform your duty or are delayed............................................................................ 5 Further Resources ................................................................................................................................. 6

Overview of a Meeting.....................................................................................................................7 General...................................................................................................................................................... 7 Before we Start ..................................................................................................................................... 7 Competent Leadership Evaluations..................................................................................................... 7 Suggested Programme Timetable ....................................................................................................... 7

The Roles in Detail..........................................................................................................................10 Chairman ................................................................................................................................................. 10 Confirming Roles in Advance ...................................................................................................................................10 Preparing the Agenda................................................................................................................................................ 11 Invocations and Themes...........................................................................................................................................12

Sergeant at Arms................................................................................................................................. 12 Hospitality Officers ............................................................................................................................ 13 Table Topics Master............................................................................................................................ 14 Preparing your list of Table Topics ......................................................................................................................14 Table Topics for Guests...........................................................................................................................................15 Running the Session ...................................................................................................................................................15

Toastmaster .......................................................................................................................................... 16 Preparing for the Role ..............................................................................................................................................16 Performing the Role...................................................................................................................................................16

Speech Evaluators................................................................................................................................ 18 Evaluating an Icebreaker Speech..........................................................................................................................19

Table Topics Evaluators......................................................................................................................20 Timekeeper ............................................................................................................................................20 Grammarian ............................................................................................................................................ 21 Master Evaluator..................................................................................................................................22 Reporter .................................................................................................................................................23 Hot Seat Speakers ..............................................................................................................................25 Hot Seat Duty.......................................................................................................................................25 “Speeches in Preparation” and “Speeches Ready” ........................................................................25

Roles for Competent Leadership Evaluation ..........................................................................27 CL Project 6: Organising and Delegating ........................................................................................27 CL Project 7: Facilitation....................................................................................................................28 CL Project 9: Mentoring......................................................................................................................28 CL Project 10: Team Building .............................................................................................................28



Introduction

General

Each meeting night members are rostered to perform various assignments on the

club programme.

The roster is published at http://www.toastmasters.net.nz/Roster.htm

This meeting guide has been prepared to assist members with their assignments.

When your name appears on the roster for one of the meeting duties check this

guide right away to ensure that you know what is expected of you. If in doubt about

your responsibilities check with the Vice President Education or consult your

mentor. Please make sure you confirm your availability with the Toastmaster (if you

are speaking or evaluating) or the Chairman of the meeting.

For your own progress and enjoyment take the time and make the effort to ensure

that you know what you should be doing. You owe it to yourself and to your fellow

Toastmasters.

You and Your Mentor

Toastmasters International recommends a mentoring relationship for the first

three Prepared speeches. In practice, every member acts as a mentor for others

whenever asked; it is a part of creating the “mutually positive and supportive

learning environment” central to the mission of the Club.

When you joined Toastmasters, you will have been introduced to the Club at an

Induction ceremony, and should have received a copy of this Guide at that point.

The Club also has a duty to you to assign you a mentor to act as a first point of

contact. Alternatively, you can ask a member to act as a mentor for you; that

person should then advise the Club’s Vice President Membership that this has

happened.

In any case, a Club objective for new members is to assign and introduce you to

your mentor at the induction ceremony.

Your mentor will, by themselves or by calling on other members, be able to answer

any questions you may have. However, he or she cannot answer questions you

haven’t asked. This means that you, as the “mentee”, largely drive the mentoring



relationship. Your mentor will be asked to arrange a meeting with you to start

things off and determine how you want the relationship to work. For example, you

may decide to

• Ask your mentor to help you learn from your mistakes, perhaps providing

additional evaluation after each role

• Ask your mentor to “touch base” by phone or email before each role

• Have an outline of key points for a role provided, perhaps by email, before

performing it

You may even wish to run through the first couple of speeches with your mentor

before the meeting. The key point is that every relationship will be different; your

mentor’s essential role is to make himself or herself available when needed or as

agreed.

Meeting Tips

• Prepare your assignment thoroughly. This includes any Leadership aspect

that you wish to be evaluated as part of the Competent Leadership

programme. Most roles can be performed with one of several leadership

objectives in mind; evaluation itself, for example, can be inclined towards

listening, critical thinking, feedback or motivation. You should decide in

advance which point you wish to be evaluated on for which role.

• Prior to the actual commencement of your assignment, address the meeting,

“Mr. or Madam Chairman” and, at the completion, hand back with “that

completes my assignment”. Doing this ensures the Chairman or Toastmaster

knows you have finished speaking and prompts them to take back control of

the meeting.

• For queries regarding the club or special assignments contact your mentor,

the club President or Vice President Education.

• Remember that the club has experienced Toastmasters willing to assist any

member at any time with the preparation of any assignment. Do not hesitate

to contact any experienced Toastmaster. So if you’re not sure – ask.

If you cannot perform your duty or are delayed

If you know this in advance, the guiding rule here is that you are responsible for

finding a replacement. You could try:

• Asking the person performing the role the meeting before or after you if

they can swap duties

• Asking the Hot Seat speaker or duty holder to replace you

• For speeches, check the “Speeches in Preparation” and “Speeches Ready”

sections of the roster, and see if they are able to replace you



• Checking with the Vice President Education for alternatives

When you have found a replacement, or if you cannot do so, contact the

Toastmaster (for speakers and evaluators) or Chairman of the evening to confirm

the new arrangements. These guidelines are also posted on the Club website at

http://www.toastmasters.net.nz/find_a_replacement.htm

There may be times when you need to give apologies or signal lateness on the

evening of the meeting. On the Club’s membership list you will find two or more

“emergency” mobile numbers for this purpose. You may assume these phones will be

at the meeting and will be switched on, and answered, until the meeting is called to

order. Use them if you need to.

Further Resources

Plenty more information is available at:

• Maungakiekie club website http://www.toastmasters.net.nz/

• District 72 (New Zealand) website http://www.toastmasters.org.nz/

• Toastmasters International website http://www.toastmasters.org/



Overview of a Meeting

General

This section is intended as a guide only. The order of business, and other

meeting-related matters such as room layout, is the responsibility of the

Chairman. However, the Chairman should instruct the Sergeant At Arms for any

unusual requirements, such as changes to layout.

NOTE: Speeches are introduced and evaluated in two sessions, one for Prepared

projects and one for Table Topics, with a refreshment break between the two. The

timing of these sessions will depend on the mix of speeches presented; the

timetable here assumes there are four “Competent Communicator” speeches of 5 to

7 minutes each.

Before we Start

Members assemble in the meeting room, accompanied by their guest (s) and are met

by hospitality officers. The guests are asked to sign the Visitors’ Book and are

given a nametag and promotional pack. As a minimum, each guest should be invited to

supply a contact point (address, phone or email, or a combination of these).

All club members are asked to wear their nametag to every meeting. The room is

set up with the timetable for the meeting and voting slips for each member.

Competent Leadership Evaluations

Unlike Prepared Speeches, where you are assigned an evaluator as part of the

roster, you should arrange Competent Leadership evaluations yourself. This can be

done either before or at the meeting, but it should be done before the meeting

starts. Any member can evaluate any assignment; the easiest way is simply to ask

the person sitting next to your – and offer to evaluate their role if they have one.

Suggested Programme Timetable

7.30 pm Sergeant at Arms calls the meeting to order and introduces the President

who in turn introduces and hands control of the meeting to the Chairman. If he

President is chairing the meeting, the VP Education or VP Membership should act as

“stand-in President”.

The chairman opens the meeting with an invocation then:



• Calls for, notes and moves acceptance of any Apologies

• Announces programme changes, ensuring all duties are filled

• Introduces Hospitality B to welcome and introduce the guests

• Calls on the Grammarian to introduce the Word of the Night.

• If appropriate, asks Vice President Membership to perform an Introduction

and Induction of new members

• Calls for reports from the Club Officers. The Chairman should liase with

the Club Officers prior to the meeting to ask who has a report for the club.

• Introduces and manages the General Business session

The Chairman will ask for a seconder from the floor for, and ensure a vote is taken

on, each motion.

7.45 pm Chairman introduces the facilitator for the first speech session; this may

be the Toastmaster (recommended) or Table Topics Master.

8.15 pm Chairman introduces the Table Topics Evaluators; Prepared Speech

Evaluators are introduced by the Toastmaster.

8.25 pm Announce comfort break. Adjust the time if necessary. Introduce the

voting slips and ask members to complete the appropriate section for the first

session.

8.35 pm Sergeant at Arms calls meeting to order. Chairman introduces the second

session of the evening, recalling the Toastmaster to introduce Prepared Speech

Evaluators if appropriate. If the Prepared Speeches are in the second session, this

commencement time must be strictly met if four speeches are to be completed in

time.

The Toastmaster introduces speakers by full name, their speech number and title,

their times, the nominated project and also the name of their evaluator.

Usually the Toastmaster calls all of the speakers consecutively, then all of the

evaluators consecutively. Occasionally it may be appropriate to vary this convention,

but always try to allow to evaluators sufficient time to prepare their evaluations.

Toastmaster hands the meeting back to the Chairman.

9.10 pm Chairman calls the Grammarian (3 minutes, including the award of the Um-

boot), time-keeper (2 minutes) and Master Evaluator, explaining briefly the Master

Evaluator’s role (8 - 10 minutes). Complete voting slips for Best Toastmaster, Best

Table Topic, Best Evaluator and Best Speaker. Sergeant At Arms tallies votes

during the Master Evaluation.



9.30 pm The Master Evaluator awards the prizes. The Chairman then declares the

meeting closed.

Apart from the starting time, all times may be altered at the discretion of the

Chairman where circumstances allow. Adjustments may be made in the event of

contests, debates or extra long assignments. Avoid being behind schedule.



The Roles in Detail

Chairman

“The Chairman is the leader of the meeting – not the boss”

This position is one of the most demanding of the evening, because it involves

organising the session as well as leading it. By convention at this club you are Mr. or Madam Chairman – not Chair, nor Chairperson!

Confirming Roles in Advance

Contact those members assigned to the duties well in advance:

• Master Evaluator

• Table Topics Master

• Table Topics Evaluators

• Toastmaster

• Hospitality Officers

• Timekeeper

• Grammarian

• Reporter

Work with the Toastmaster of the evening (confirming that roles have been

assigned 48 hours prior, and speakers can change) and ensure you know:

• That all the assigned speakers and evaluators, or their replacements, are

prepared

• The speech and manual from which each speaker has prepared their

assignment

• The time requirements of each speech

If members rostered for these assignments are unable to attend and have not

arranged replacements contact the Vice President Education, although members are

to be encouraged to arrange their own replacements. If the roster includes a

“Speeches Ready” name or two, that may also be a good source of last-minute

replacements.

Contact in advance those members of the club executive and check whether they

have a report to give at the meeting. Reports are called for in this order: President,



Vice President Education, Vice President Membership, Secretary, Treasurer, and

Sergeant at Arms.

You may also wish to issue a call for general business items in advance of the

meeting.

If there are several reports requested, you may want to set a time limit for each

speaker and if so, it is part of your role to advise this to the Timekeeper of the

meeting.

Preparing the Agenda

As Chairman, you should prepare a detailed agenda for the night showing:

• Times for the main sections (Prepared speeches, table topics, business

session, refreshment break etc.)

• Names of all persons taking part as duty holders

• Manual, number, and title if available of each prepared speech

• Timing of each duty

Once you have prepared and printed the agenda, any changes to it should be

handled in the meeting itself. A day in advance is usually a good preparation

schedule.

A few tips on preparing the agenda:

• Allow 15 minutes for the introduction and business session, or 20 if the VP

Membership has a new member to induct.

• Alternatively you might prefer to move the business session later in the

evening, such as before break time. This gets the evening off to a faster

start. Try to keep the business session concise.

• During the prepared speech section, allow 5 minutes to give the

Toastmaster time to introduce speakers and evaluators.

• Schedule the Table Topics session after the prepared speeches; be

prepared to cut this short if necessary.

You will need about 25 copies of the agenda.

Arrive at the meeting before 7.15 pm to ensure that the Sergeant at Arms’ duties

are completed, i.e. check the room setting, availability of Visitors’ Book, etc.

Check with the club President and club Secretary if there are any special items for

general business. Ensure that any motions are debated in accordance with meeting



procedure. NB: Don’t forget that both the club President and Sergeant At Arms

are there to help; if in doubt at any stage, on any aspect of meeting procedure, ask

for guidance.

Control the meeting with firm directives, but be yourself. Part of your role is to

make decisions about how the meeting will be run; by all means ask the club for

opinions, but the final decision is yours. Therefore, it’s “We shall…” rather then

“Shall we…”

If we have guests, if time permits at the end of the meeting you may:

• Invite them to give us their impressions of the meeting

• Invite them to come again

• Invite them to consider joining the Club.

Some of these points may already have been covered by the Master Evaluator; if

not, try never to let a guest leave without giving them an opportunity to speak.

It is your responsibility to keep the meeting to time and to finish on time.

Invocations and Themes

The invocation can be the invoking of a blessing or words of inspiration. Well-

spoken, significant wisdom appropriate for the occasion is the ideal to strive for,

especially in furthering the aims of better listening, thinking and speaking. Be brief

and to the point.

Similarly, you are encouraged to develop a theme for the meeting, but not required

to. Running meetings to a theme is good practice for team-building as it encourages

others to think about how they may perform their duties. This may in turn affect

your decision as to which Competent Leadership project you wish to be evaluated on

for this role.

Sergeant at Arms

You have the responsibility of overseeing the preparation of the venue with all club

requisites and the storing of those at the conclusion. This includes:

• Checking with the Toastmaster of the meeting for any special requirements

for any duties, such as the Overhead Projector, whiteboard, props table,

etc. You may also need to check with individual speakers in some cases

• Checking for any special requirements from the Chairman regarding room

layout, timing, decoration, theme displays and so on. This is best done well in



advance as you may have to organise your own team to meet the

requirements

• Agree with the Chairman the length of the refreshment break and the time

at which members are to be recalled

Be on hand to welcome guests and members. Ensure all are seated in readiness for

the commencement of the meeting. It is every member’s duty to assist you as

required.

As Sergeant at Arms, you open each meeting by calling it to order; it is a good idea

to get members’ attention and accustom them to a one or two minute warning. They

will need to be allowed time to come to order. You also have a speaking opportunity

at the start of each meeting; this is a good chance to develop your own speaking

style – but keep it brief, preferably under the length of a Table Topic.

Finally, it is part of your role to collate the voting slips; if you are acting as

Chairman, arrange for a backup person to do this.

Hospitality Officers

Arrive early - no later than 7.15 pm. Before the meeting set out the name badges,

Visitors’ Book, issues of The Toastmaster magazine, and guides. Assist the Sergeant at Arms with setting up the room, the lectern for the speakers, the club

banner and general room layout.

Hospitality A – Bring a tea towel, a litre of milk and two packets of biscuits. Claim

for these either from the Sergeant at Arms (putting your receipt in the cash tin)

or the Treasurer. Set out cups, coffee, tea, sugar and milk on the kitchen counter,

biscuits and cold drinks on a table or trolley. Following supper, assist Hospitality B

with the dishes.

Hospitality B – Welcome the guests to the club in a warm friendly manner. You

should:

• Ensure the Visitors’ Book, a good pen, name tags and promotional packs are

available and complete. Should the Visitors’ Book not be at the meeting,

draw up these details on a piece of paper, and ensure it reaches the VP

Membership. If there are no promotional packs, ask the VP Membership or

Education for help. Each guest should have at least an application form and a

copy of The Toastmaster magazine to take away • Ask each guest to sign the Visitors’ Book and give some form of contact

details for the VP Membership to follow up

• Give them a promotional pack. This should contain at least:



o A (preferably recent) copy of The Toastmaster o An application for membership (Form 400)

o A promotional flier outlining the benefits of Toastmasters

membership

o A brief guide to the meeting

• Ask each guest how they found out about the club and what has brought

them to the meeting. Include this in your introduction of the guest to the

club.

• Sit each guest by, and introduce them to, an experienced club member who

is then responsible to guide the guest through the evening.

When called upon by the chairman give a brief welcome speech to guests and

introduce each one by name. Sincerity is essential, so be yourself. Your welcome is

your own, but could incorporate some of the following:

• Who we are

• Our aims and objectives (you may read the Mission of the Club if you wish)

• How we try to achieve those objectives

• Why we are pleased to have visitors

• What guests can expect to hear and learn

• How they contribute to the success of our meeting

Alternatively, you could personalise the speech with what you get from

Toastmasters. Either way, your role is to make the guests feel included in the

meeting; it is important and a good speaking opportunity, so deserves a little

thought on what you will say in addition to introducing the guests.

If there are no guests, there is still the speaking opportunity! Use it to read and

interpret the Mission of the Club and maybe encourage members to invite guests to

the next meeting.

Table Topics Master

Preparing your list of Table Topics

Prepare a selection of at least 12 Table Topics. Topics are likely to ask speakers to

either answer a question and back up their answer with opinions, or tell some form

of story. The format is at your own discretion but could be:

• A choice of truly impromptu speaking with no time to prepare

• Topics in line with a meeting theme

• For and against topics, (newspaper headlines etc)



• Simple, humorous or profound

• Round robin where members select topic for next speaker.

Members should never know what to expect. Choose topics you can talk to. Table

Topics should be designed to use topics that club members can speak to with

knowledge and ease. Topics should be succinct, identifiable, open ended and allow

opportunity for self-expression. Table Topics basically give opportunities to give an

opinion or tell a story. Keep the titles short and/or easily remembered. You can

use topics that ask members to play a role or react to a scenario, but beware – the

time needed to set this form of topic properly can be excessive.

One objective of Table Topics is to give everyone a chance to speak. Have a list of

attendees and give preference to those without any duty, then those with minor

roles. Prepare this during the meeting, so that you can allocate topics to speakers

without hesitation during your session.

Table Topics for Guests

The likely presence of guests is a good argument for placing the Table Topics

session after the break – it allows you to ask guests if they would like to speak.

Quite often, a speaking opportunity at the meeting will help convert a guest to a

member.

If there are guests, ask them if they would like to participate by giving a Table

Topic. Offer to let them choose a topic in advance if they are not sure. Do not call

guests first to speak – let them see how the session works first. Do not call guests

to deliver a Table Topic unless they have agreed to do so. You can always invite

them again towards the end of the session, but gently. For instance, you could try

“During the break, some of our guests indicated they’d like to see how things went

before they decided to speak – can I tempt anyone?”. Be sincere – and never insist.

Running the Session

Supply the Table Topics Evaluators with a numbered copy of the Table Topics prior

to the commencement of the meeting. This is particularly useful if topics are

complex or involve unusual words; your evaluators will thank you for doing this!

When called on by the Chairman

• Briefly explain your role and the purpose of Table Topics

• Timing, green light at 1 minute, amber at 1.15 and red at 1.30 unless

otherwise directed by the Chairman



• Interjections are permitted and encouraged by the floor to help the

speakers.

Conduct the session by calling the Table Topic first, pause then speaker’s name.

When they come up, repeat the title, and then lead the applause. Take care that

the topic is easily heard and understood. Do not comment on the topic except to

thank the person.

Table Topics are very much the participation part of the meeting. They are a vital

part in the making of a successful club meeting. They convert guests to members.

The standard you set will set the tone of the evening.

Toastmaster

Preparing for the Role

The manner in which this assignment is handled will reflect in the way members

present their speeches. Try through the warmth of your personality at the lectern

to put all speakers at ease. If in doubt on any aspect of this assignment, contact

your mentor or the Vice President Education.

Contact your speakers well in advance, also the evaluators and hot seat speakers.

Report the details of the available speakers, including the number of the speech

and the timing, to the chairman. That report should ideally be no less that two days

before the meeting, longer if you have any gaps in the speaking order that the

Chairman may need to try to fill.

Obtain from each speaker:

• The title of the speech,

• The manual the speaker is using; for educationals, which series the project

comes from

• The project within that manual and the project title

• The objectives of the speech. This is particularly important for advanced

speeches where audience members may not be familiar with the manual and

therefore may be unaware of the objectives

• Whether the speaker will require the lectern

• Any other requirements for materials, whiteboard, projector, prop table

and so on. Let the Sergeant at Arms know of any such requirements

Performing the Role



When introducing a speaker, you should aim to answer three questions for the

audience – without upstaging or overshadowing the speaker:

• Why this speaker – what qualifications does he or she have?

• Why this topic - what knowledge or authority does he or she have?

• Why this audience – why is this topic relevant to them?

Doing this warms the audience to the speaker and makes their opening easier for

them.

When called on by the Chairman:

• Outline, for the benefit of guests, the purpose of the Prepared speech

programme. In particular stress there are two sets of manuals; basic and

advanced

• State the name of the speaker, the manual from which he or she is working

from, and the number of the speech in that manual

• Give the objectives of the speech. This is particularly important for

Advanced speeches, where the audience does not have the manual to refer

to; knowing the objectives will help in giving brief evaluations.

• State the timing of the speech, again important for Advanced speeches

• The speaker may ask you to set the audience into some form of role-playing

to suit a particular speech type

• Give the title of the speech, then repeat the title, welcome the speaker by

name, and lead the applause.

When performing the role:

• Ideally, the introduction of the speaker should include some personal

information; enough to give answers to the three questions outlined above.

• You may need to assist the speaker in setting up or preparing the OHP or

other visual aid(s). Discuss this in advance with the speaker

• Remain standing until the speaker arrives, shake hands then take your seat

to the side of the hall. It is good practice to avoid crossing behind (or

worse, in front of) the speaker when leaving the stage; leave from the side

opposite to the one the speaker arrives from. This allows the speaker to

make their own (possibly planned) entrance

• At the conclusion of the speaker’s speech do not comment, except to thank

the speaker and to lead the applause

• Introduce evaluators and remind the audience who the evaluator is

evaluating

• Do not allow any session to run overtime – shorten your own remarks if

necessary



• At the conclusion of your assignment, thank the speakers and evaluators

again (possibly ask for a final round of appreciation for all) and hand the

meeting back to the chairman by “Mr. / Madam Chairman, this concludes my

assignment”.

Speech Evaluators

The evaluation has two parts:

• The oral evaluation given to the whole meeting that should be directed at

the speaker, but include points from which all members can learn.

• The written evaluation in the speaker’s manual.

The assignment is not complete until both parts are finished.

Contact the speaker in advance of the meeting for speech number, title, and

objectives. Ask if there is anything in particular for you to look for and comment

on, particularly those over the normal objectives for the speech project.

Before the meeting, you should study the requirements of the speech in the manual

assigned to you to evaluate, so as to be familiar with the objectives of the exercise.

Your evaluation should concentrate on the particular skills being tested in this

assignment more than the general merits of the speech.

Before the speech obtain the speaker’s manual and be ready to note the key points

to watch for. If the manual suggests the use of sub-evaluators to comment on

aspects of the presentation alert them to their role.

Have your copy of the Toastmasters’ “Effective Evaluations” guide – which you

received with your Membership pack – handy; it contains a lot of good ideas.

You may find it useful to prepare a simple framework for your evaluation, limiting

the amount of space available for comments deliberately. You only have three

minutes for the evaluation; focusing on points will help you keep to time. Typically,

you will have time for three commendations and two recommendations – plus

opening, summary and close. Practicing will help keep you to time.

Your oral evaluation is a speaking assignment. Use your speaking skills to make it

effective for the whole audience. When suggesting improvements, demonstrate the

point you would like the speaker to consider, and give an example of how your

recommendation might work.



Following this complete the written evaluation, answering questions set out in the

manual. If you need time to do this fully take it home and return to the speaker

later.

General principles of evaluation include:

• Honesty is essential. Platitudes and patronising are dishonest

• Be constructive, including recommendations for improvement. Your

recommendations should be specific; if you think a key phrase could

improve, quote the phrase

• Don’t be afraid to make recommendations (a “small” recommendation from

you may be the key for improvement the speaker needs), or nervous about

giving them. By the same token, if you have no recommendations to give, say

so loudly and clearly – but not too often

• Structure your evaluation, with an opening (objectives), body (using the

Commend-Recommend-Commend structure) and close (brief summary of the

main CRC points)

• Don’t evaluate the subject matter or give a précis of the speech, although

good key phrases can be repeated. Try to give the “feel” of the speech,

rather than repeating content

• Take account of the development of the speaker, looking at past evaluations.

Add to past strengths

• Always evaluate to the manual used, even if an Advanced speaker is

repeating the Basic manual. They may be going back to basics to practice

something new; having done it before is irrelevant, unless they ask for such

comments. Phrases such as “I expected a better Icebreaker from an

Advanced speaker” won’t win any friends

• Above all, be encouraging. Aim for the sort of evaluation you would like to

have received for that speech.

Evaluation is one of the key elements of Toastmasters, providing the feedback

from which we learn. Consult your manual, mentor and experienced members for

advice on evaluation skills. Consider entering the evaluation contests; they a “fast

track” to improvement.

Evaluating an Icebreaker Speech

Some speeches require slightly different approaches, especially a new member’s

first one before a Club. Concentrate on what was done well and be encouraging

without creating a “whitewash”. Your job is to find a starting point a new member

can concentrate on improving immediately, and get them thinking on how

improvements can get into future speeches.



With Icebreakers, one main recommendation is probably sufficient; bear in mind

the speaker is not yet used to absorbing too much information at once. For issues

such as nervous traits, stress they will pass as the member gains experience. Your

job is to make the new member feel they have done well.

Table Topics Evaluators

Before the meeting seek a list of topics from the topics master. Make sure that

you and the other topics evaluator have arranged to cover every speaker, usually

through one doing odd numbered and the other even numbered speeches. At some

point, you will evaluate with a “partner” who forgets which one they are doing (or

you may forget yourself); it’s no bad thing to practice doing a brief evaluation of all

the speakers if you wish.

For each speaker, you should look for two good points and one point for

improvement. Apply commend, recommend, commend formula.

Tip: For your first couple of evaluations, choose three specific areas from the list

below. If the speaker does it – commend; if not, recommend. Evaluate on these as a

base, and include any other points from individual topics that stand out for you.

This will give you consistency and variety - and let you focus on developing a good

“CRC” (Commend-Recommend-Commend) evaluation technique.

Areas to look for include: –

• Whether speech kept to the topic

• Structure (opening, body and close)

• Use of honorifics (“Table Topics Master, Ladies and Gentlemen”, etc) or

other devices to buy time to think

• Eye contact

• Stance

• Hints of nervousness (hand clasping, ums, “dancing”, etc)

• Use of gestures

• Vocal variety

• Use of humour

• Use of vocabulary, imagery.

Each evaluation should take no more than half a minute.

Look for a general theme to sum up evaluation session.

Timekeeper



Arrive early and confer with the Sergeant at Arms so that you are comfortable

about readiness and use of the timing device. It’s part of the President’s role to

help you with this duty as well.

At the meeting the timekeeper will be guided by the chairman as to his siting and

timing. For example, contests may require timekeepers to sit in a different place

from normal, so that contest judges cannot see the lights.

The Table Topic Master and toastmaster will request specific times for lights from

you. Ensure you have these details before you start. If in doubt – ask during the

meeting by raising a “Point of Information”.

Although not always done, it is desirable to outline your role and demonstrate the

use of the timing lights at the beginning of the meeting. This is a requirement in

the CL manual. Liaise with the Chairman for time to do this.

Your report is a speaking opportunity, so work in a structure and theme if you like.

How you give the timings is up to you – but the times for prepared speeches and

evaluations should always be given for normal meetings. For example, many

timekeepers just report the shortest and longest Table Topics, or those that were

well over or under time.

When called on for your report, show timeliness in terms of how speakers

performed in relation to their allocated times.

Special arrangement applies in speech contests – consult with the contest chairman

and ensure you attend the briefing given by the Chief Judge. For example, contest

speech times should never be given as part of a timekeeper’s report.

Grammarian

Select a Word of the Night for use in the meeting, and note and report on its use.

The word should be well-known but not often used in conversation; adjectives

(descriptive words) give much more scope for use than names. Ideally, bring along a

dictionary.

Make comments on well-chosen phrases / terms/ words. Listen throughout the

evening for glaring errors in speech grammar, with emphasis on errors that distract

the audience and reduce the impact of the presentation.



Maintain a running count of speakers’ “ums” and “ahs” if you consider this necessary.

When called by the chairman, name the speakers, comment as appropriate and

comment on errors in general terms only.

Present the “um boot” to the member with the most “ums” in the evening or to the

member using the most memorable phrase be it good, bad or humorous. The criteria

for presentation of the boot are entirely up to you.

Master Evaluator

This is the most important of all assignments. Effective evaluation is the

cornerstone of a strong club. Bear in mind that you may occasionally need to

comment further on areas highlighted by speech evaluators in order to clarify their

remarks.

If in doubt about any aspect, please check with your mentor or the Education Vice

President.

The time should be used in the best interests of the club. The main emphasis should

be on the effectiveness of speech and table topics evaluators in helping speakers.

In particular, you are not normally evaluating the prepared speeches or the table

topics – they have already been evaluated – but will be evaluating educational

presentations.

Use the standard “CRC” method but, if you have no clear recommendations to make,

say so.

Officers about whom you can make pertinent comments include:

The Reporter for the previous meeting - commenting on the “feel” of the meeting,

and the timeliness of the report.

Sergeant at Arms and Hospitality Officers – treatment of visitors, layout of

room and equipment, effectiveness in promoting a smooth running meeting with easy

access to all participants. Introduction of President.

Chairman - adherence to timetable and agenda, quality of control, style, relaxed

authoritarian, loose. Effectiveness of the role, and its effect on the meeting.

Officer Reports - information, clarity and use of time.

General Business - whether any motions were properly put discussed and resolved.



Table Topics Master – comment on organisation and degree of assistance given to

the Table Topics Evaluators by way of introduction. Touch briefly on the selection

of topics, how they helped speakers to develop skills and how the session was

handled and contributed to the tone of the whole meeting.

Table Topics Evaluators – comment on method and suitability of evaluation,

sharpness of “focus” on the points of the speech, and use of time.

Toastmaster - comment on the manner in which the speakers were introduced and

the how the Toastmaster summarised of the purposes of the speakers, their titles

and times. Did they answer the three questions effectively? Did they allow the

speaker to control their own entrance and begin their speech? Other areas could

include the degree to which the toastmaster offered encouragement, help and

reassurance to speakers.

Speech evaluators – evaluate on the help and guidance given and not on the content

of speeches. Discuss the style and relevance of the oral presentation. Evaluate on:

• Structure – opening, commendations, recommendations, commendations,

close

• Objectives – were they stated, and did the evaluator say the speaker met

them?

• Were the commendations related to the objectives?

• Specifics – did the evaluator show why the point added to or detracted

from the speech for them?

• Helpfulness – did the evaluator demonstrate an alternative and show why

that might have improved the speech?

• Summary – was one given and was it truly a summary?

Include any recommendations or commendations to speakers that may have been

left out of the oral evaluation, but be careful. Remember, an evaluation is only an

opinion, so make sure the audience realises this.

Grammarian – comment on relevancy of remarks. The grammarian should be looking

for both good phrases and areas where improvement is needed, where bad grammar

or ums distract the listeners.

Reporter

The meeting report is an important part of our programme. The report provides

another opportunity to practice different communication skills. The successful



reporter will illustrate that he or she has an ability to listen, summarize, analyse

and comment on a meeting and the club’s activities.

Bear in mind the report is for general publication on the Club’s website and may be

read by people other than Toastmasters. In fact, a good report may be a publicity

advantage. The report has two objectives:

• To provide a report of proceedings for those who were not there

• To encourage anyone thinking of joining that Maungakiekie would be a good

Club to join

To this end, the report should include one or more of the following:

• A report on the meeting, including comments on how well it functioned, both

as a source of entertainment and a source of education.

• Whenever possible, mention should be made of at least three table topics.

• Suggestions on improvement in club meetings in general or other club

functions.

• Comments on what the writer wants to put into and get out of toastmasters.

As with any organisation, Toastmasters has some jargon of its own. That’s not an

issue providing you define the term the first time you use it. However, avoid

shortening words (recommendations and evaluation may be long words, but

shortening to “recs” and “evals” not only confuses but provides the editor with work

he or she did not need). Remember that the editor may add annotated comments to

your report.

Readers of your report will be looking for more feedback on their contribution to a

meeting or reports on a meeting that they have missed.

Try to apply the skills you use in speech writing to your report (attention getting

opening etc) and be original not just a rehash of someone else’s speech evaluation or

master evaluation. You may have noticed a contribution from someone that everyone

else missed. Remember that the club executive needs feedback from people at all

levels of experience to find out how well the programme is working (this of course

includes verbal comments).

If there was a phrase you liked which was not picked up by the grammarian, include

it in your report or list it separately for the grammarian’s corner.

Speed is essential for the report. Please remember that the editor may need to

reserve as much as a full evening to transfer it to the website. Ideally, you should

start preparing it on the night of the meeting or the following day. The editor

needs it by the Sunday following the meeting so that the next issue can be posted



on to the website no late than five days before the next meeting. This gives duty

holders time to prepare for their assignments.

If you cannot meet this deadline, please let the editor know. Ideally, your report

should be in electronic form. MS Word is the preferred format but most formats

can be used (please check with the editor/webmaster if using an unusual format).

Alternatively, your report could be typed or written legibly; in this case, it should

be mailed by the Friday following the meeting, or hand delivered to the editor.

The editor/webmaster reserves the right to signify late reports on the website by

the phrase “This edition of the report will be published as soon as it becomes

available.”

Hot Seat Speakers

Prepare the next speech in your manual. If you are not called upon your preparation

will be the prelude to a masterly performance at a later meeting. If you are called

on because of some unforseen circumstances you will then be the stalwart to fill

the breach. The club is depending on you.

Hot Seat Duty

You should be prepared for any duty on the programme apart from prepared

speeches. This requires that you have a prepared list of suitable table topics in

case you are called and also are sufficiently prepared to take over the duties of

chairman, toastmaster or any other function on the night. This is in the event of a

member being unable to attend at short notice or ill health, business commitments

or the like. “Hot Seat” may include the day of the meeting; you should at least be

aware to who is assigned to the roles on the current roster as published on the

website.

“Speeches in Preparation” and “Speeches Ready”

These sections may be only two lines on the roster, but they are important.

Members listed under “Speeches in Preparation” should have a speech under way,

because they will have a speaking duty within the next few meetings. The “Speeches

in Preparation” list is a good source of alternative speakers when you know you

cannot give a speech at, say, the meeting after next.

“Speeches Ready” is your opportunity to give additional speeches if you wish. If you

have a speech ready to give at short (and it may be only a couple of days) notice, let



the Education Vice President or Editor know. Then, if a speaking slot becomes

vacant you can fill it, help the Club and advance your own objectives in one go. At

worst, you will be on the next roster!



Roles for Competent Leadership Evaluation

This section covers roles other than those normally found in Club meetings,

wherever they occur. In particular, it covers duties that form part of the

Competent Leadership manual requirements. The manual states these roles, but is

not specific about how they may be performed; this section is therefore by way of

suggestion of action sufficient to merit recognition that the role has been

performed.

These role descriptions are subject to ratification by the Club’s Executive team,

and are subject to change by ratification. Where a role has already been ratified,

this is indicated in the text.

CL Project 6: Organising and Delegating

Sub-roles in this project include:

• Help Organise a Contest; this is normally the sole responsibility of the VP Education. However, should that person be unable to do so, they may

delegate all or part of the function. Such a role is likely to include finding

judges, arranging gifts, preparing contest packs, and so on; the best

evaluation point is likely to be the success of the contest, which suggests

the Chief Judge may be the best evaluator. Simply acting as a Timekeeper

or Tally Counter is not sufficient to warrant this recognition

• Help Organise a Club Special Event; noting that coordinating a Speechcraft course carries its own recognition, there may be room for CL recognition for

those who assist the Coordinator. This is best evaluated at the discretion of

the Coordinator. Otherwise, special events may include the likes of a social

function outside the Club, working to bring in a guest (non-Toastmaster)

speaker, or similar

• Help organise a PR campaign; this could include designing and/or assisting in the printing of promotional material, or speaking at other functions to raise

the Club’s profile

• Help organise a membership building drive or contest; organising or working at events that specifically promote the Club would count for this recognition

• Help produce the Club newsletter: the Executive has confirmed that acting as Reporter fulfils this objective

• Assist the Webmaster: for this recognition, a specific task is required, such as the provision of significant content (e.g. a testimonial statement or some

form of story involving Toastmasters would be sufficient)



CL Project 7: Facilitation

• Befriending a guest at a meeting belongs in this section of the Guide, but

the requirements have not as yet been defined

CL Project 9: Mentoring

There are three roles in this project:

• Mentoring a new member is as defined by Toastmasters International,

covering the mentoring over the first three speeches and initial roles in the

Club. Evaluation should be by the mentee

• Mentoring an existing member can cover an ongoing relationship where the

mentee feels the mentor has earned the recognition

• Serving on an HPL Guidance Committee has its own objectives, which would

be the subject of such an evaluation

CL Project 10: Team Building

Sub-roles in this project include:

• Chair a Contest; this involves enlisting judges and volunteers from the Club as Contest officers, and recognition is for a well-organised and run contest.

This suggests the Chief Judge may be the best person to act as evaluator

• Chair a Club Special Event; this is likely to be an infrequent duty as it relates to formal events outside the Club meeting. The President or VP

Education is the likely evaluator for this category, and ideally the Club

Executive should decide which events can be recognised in this way

• Chair a PR campaign; this recognition is reserved for the campaign organiser, and is likely to be evaluated by the VP Public Relations

• Chair a membership building drive or contest; similar to the PR campaign, but under the office and evaluation of the VP Membership

• Club newsletter editor: currently, Maungakiekie has an editor/webmaster; should this change by ratification of the Executive, the editor may be

recognised in the same way as the Webmaster

• Club Webmaster: this recognition involves running and maintaining the Club website, along with hosting and domain services, for a defined period (one

year is suggested). The Webmaster may define a team to assist in the

running of the site and/or the newsletter. Guidelines for website format

(note these were published after the Club website had been established in

its current format) are available at

http://www.toastmasters.org.nz/index.cfm/Clubs/Club_Websites.html

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