Episode 14: Exploring the unique roles on the Toastmasters agenda

You'll hear from my fellow Toastmasters and I how this global organisation has impacted our lives for the better and how it could impact yours . Now let's get talkatives . Welcome , ladies and gentlemen , to Episode 14 . This week , I'd like to explore the Toastmasters meeting agenda in detail .

To give you an idea of the different speaking opportunities at each meeting , I'll touch on what each role is and what's required , how you may be able to apply this skill to other areas of your life , and I'll then summarise the 10 specific skills I believe these roles help to cultivate .

In Episode 4 , I gave a brief overview of what happens at a Toastmasters meeting , and even in previous episodes we've touched on some of the roles , but this week I wanted to dive into the detail , and please also note that each club does things slightly differently , but this will give you a pretty good idea of what you can expect .

At the heart of Toastmasters meetings are various roles , each contributing to the rich tapestry of learning and growth . In this episode , we'll dive into the distinctive responsibilities , of key roles within a Toastmasters meeting , including the Toastmaster , the Grammarian Table , topics , master Speakers , evaluators , timer and the General Evaluator .

So firstly , let's look at the Toastmaster , which is a role about mastering the art of orchestration . The Toastmaster , often considered the host of the meeting Think of it like an MC plays a pivotal role in orchestrating the event , the meeting . This is the person who sets the tone for the meeting and ensures a smooth flow from start to finish .

The Toastmaster introduces speakers , keeps the meeting on schedule and fosters an atmosphere of enthusiasm and encouragement . The specific responsibilities of the Toastmaster include introducing the meeting . So the Toastmaster will typically kick off the meeting by welcoming attendees , introducing the theme , providing an overview of the agenda and noting any changes to it .

As there are often last minute changes to the agenda , the Toastmaster will also do speaker introductions . So , before each speaker takes a stage , this person will deliver a brief introduction , perhaps highlighting the speaker's accomplishments and setting the context for the audience .

Transition management is another role for the Toastmaster , who is really there to ensure seamless transitions between different segments of the meeting to maintain a dynamic and engaging atmosphere .

You really are , as the Toastmaster , setting the tone for the meeting and filling in the gaps , adding your own personality and slant of how the meeting is going , into those transition times . And also timekeeping and I'll discuss the timekeeper role in a moment .

But the Toastmaster does keep an eye on the overall timing of the meeting just to ensure that it's running to the planned schedule . And finally , adaptability the Toastmaster must be adaptable and ready to handle unexpected situations or changes in the agenda with poise and confidence .

As I mentioned , there are very often last minute changes and even changes that happen within the meeting that need to be addressed , and this is what the Toastmaster looks after . Now .

You can liken this role to being an emcee at a work event or a wedding , and it's great training for that , because it really does encourage you to think on your toes and to be able to adapt and be that dynamic spaceholder for the meeting .

Then we have the grammarian or other clubs call it different things , but basically the role of the grammarian is about looking at language with precision and other words we might use within the meeting .

So in the realm of effective communication , the grammarian really does play a crucial role in trying to elevate the use of language within a Toastmasters meeting by making other speakers aware of what they are or are not saying .

Now , this role encourages members to pay attention to their words , which fosters an environment where language can become a powerful tool for communication .

Again , in various clubs , the responsibilities of the grammarian might involve presenting a word of the day , so they'll select a particular word , presenting it at the beginning of the meeting , and members are encouraged to use this word in their speeches , and this whole exercise is designed about promoting vocabulary expansion .

A word of the day , for example , might be spectacular or incredible or something other than great , if you think , for example , how many times in a day you might use the word great rather than other words which might be more specific . So the word of the day , just really , we try to make them words that help people to expand their vocabulary .

The grammarian also looks at a language evaluation and they will listen for notable uses of language , both positive and negative . This individual may also offer constructive feedback on grammar , pronunciation and word choice .

They will also likely count ums and rs , and they will also look at filler words such as , like you know so , and some of those elements of speech that we may or may not be conscious of actually saying when we're delivering speeches , and also feedback delivery .

So in their report at the end of the meeting , the grammarian aims to uplift and guide members towards , you know , more articulate and polished communication . After all , everyone is at Toastmasters to improve and this element of speaking is another way that Toastmasters can help to do this .

I have to say that when you've been in Toastmasters for a while and you become trained to look at things like ums and rs and filler words and just generally how people are speaking , you become aware of it in other areas of your life . So whether it's work or just in casual conversations .

But when you see other people doing that , I feel it makes me become more aware of how I might be doing that . So it becomes a bit of a mirror . It's an interesting habit that you get into after you've done it at Toastmasters for perhaps a few meetings .

Now we also have the Table Topics Master and this is about impromptu elegance , and I discussed in episode 10 one of the hallmarks of Toastmasters meetings being the Table Topic session , where members practice their impromptu speaking for one to two minutes .

The Table Topics Master is responsible for crafting engaging and thought provoking questions which challenge speakers to think on their feet . The responsibilities of the Table Topics Masters include question preparation . As I said , they devise a series of open-ended questions designed to elicit diverse and creative responses from participants .

This could be anything really around a theme . The theme might be what are your goals for this year , or favorite holidays , or tell us about a time when the question should be general enough in nature that everyone can reasonably answer them and not have to think too hard .

But then some clubs will really play around with this session and make the topics quite challenging , which is great because it throws you out of your comfort zone and really puts into practice that impromptu speaking muscle that Toastmasters helps to build . Now the Table Topics Master is also responsible for speaker selection .

They will call specific speakers and we try not to give someone who's doing a seven minute prepared speech a table topic if other people have smaller speaking roles . So it's really up to the Table Topics Master to make sure that everyone at the meeting is getting a speaking opportunity . Also , time management .

So , like other roles , the Table Topics Master is responsible for keeping that session within the allocated time , allowing multiple participants to participate , and encouragement . The Table Topics Master creates a supportive environment , encouraging speakers to share their thoughts without fear of judgment .

One of our long-standing members will always get up when he's the Table Topics Master and say and if you need to lie , lie , we're not going to know any difference . And it's become a bit of a running joke in our club that it's okay to lie in Table Topics because really the audience isn't going to know either way Now .

Then we have speakers , and I talked a lot in episodes six and eight about the role of speeches and prepared speeches in a Toastmasters meeting . But let's look at the responsibilities of the speaker here . So firstly is speech preparation . Normally at a meeting there'll be three or four speakers and they will have typically prepared their speech .

So they'll prepare and deliver that speech according to the project requirements outlined in the Pathways program . They're also really responsible for engaging with the audience . None of us want to sit there and listen to the world's most boring speech .

So we do , as speakers , have to be cognizant of choosing topics that will engage with the audience and using whatever tools and techniques we can to engage with that audience . Also , speakers are really meant to adhere to time limits , so everything on the agenda is timed and there are allocated time limits .

And again , speakers must be mindful of the time constraints outlined by the timer and the assignment they're working on and to deliver speeches in that time frame . And feedback and reception . So after the speech , the speaker will receive constructive feedback from the evaluator , enabling continuous improvement and ideally implement that feedback in the next speech .

Then we have the evaluator , and I looked at this role in detail in episode 12 , but just to recap the responsibilities of speech evaluators , they are really there to do an analysis of the speech .

So the evaluator is going to listen very attentively to their nominated speakers presentation , analyzing various aspects of that speech vocal variety , the content and the delivery . Their main role is to provide constructive feedback .

They really are there to emphasize the positive aspects of the speech while providing insights on areas that could be refined , and the more specific it is , the more actual value it provides to that speaker who is wanting to grow .

Evaluators are also there for encouragement and they really should be striving to encourage speakers while creating that balance between constructive feedback and providing positive reinforcement . At Toastmasters we ultimately want people to succeed while providing good , constructive feedback and encouragement , and also we want to provide objective evaluations .

An evaluation will always be someone's personal opinion and the opinions on anyone's speech may vary quite substantially . It's important to realise that any evaluation that's provided is just the opinion of that evaluator .

But what we also want to see in evaluations is actionable , specific suggestions for improvement , because that gives the speaker something to latch on to and to really action in their next step .

Then we have the timer , which is all about keeping time and keeping the pace of the meeting , and in a world where time is of the essence , the timer in a Toastmasters meeting is the guardian of punctuality and this role ensures that each segment of the meeting really sticks to the specified time limits , and this helps to foster a sense of discipline and

efficiency . So the responsibilities of the timekeeper include perhaps use of lights or , in some clubs , its coloured cards or signals to indicate the progression of time during speeches , evaluations and table topics . There's actually a visual representation that the speakers can see to let them know how they are tracking with time .

The timer will also present a report at the end of each segment , just really helping participants to become more mindful of their time management when speaking . And time awareness .

The timer's role really cultivates an awareness of time among all the members , emphasising the importance of delivering concise and impactful speeches , and if you think about any work environment or you might be having important business meetings or whatever .

We don't have all day to get our message across , and keeping this discipline of sticking to times to a set agenda in a Toastmasters meeting I think is quite a valuable discipline to have and to be aware of . Then we have the general evaluator , whose role is really looking after overarching excellence .

Think of the general evaluator as the evaluator of evaluators , and this role takes on a supervisory role , really ensuring the overall effectiveness and cohesiveness of the meeting . This role provides a holistic perspective , offering feedback not only on individual speeches but on the meeting as a whole .

The responsibilities of the general evaluator include a meeting overview and really highlighting opportunities for improvement as well as strengths and things that they enjoyed about the meeting . They provide feedback to the speech evaluators and the table topics evaluator , again ensuring that the evaluators are evaluated and allowing the evaluators to grow their feedback skills .

We also have encouragement and recognition as well . So , again acknowledging the efforts of all participants , the general evaluator's role is really to foster a positive atmosphere , recognising what people did well and the contributions throughout the meeting .

Again , in the workplace , you might think of the general evaluator role as wrapping up a business strategy session or a long work meeting or a team event . It just really helps to hone those summarisation skills and wrap things up in a way that leaves people feeling clear and motivated about what the next steps are .

There's also other roles in the Toastmasters agenda , again depending which club you visit . So I always recommend checking out a few clubs to see which format best suits you .

But you may also see roles like the Round Robin or the Warmup Master , and their role is to provide a theme which everyone can then speak for , say 20 to 30 seconds on , just at the beginning of the meeting , to get everyone thinking and speaking . Other clubs will have a guest greeter .

I know in our Mount Gravatt club we have a person assigned to welcome guests and then to introduce them in a segment of the meeting and encourage existing members and everyone to go and make that new guest feel welcome . What I love about Toastmasters is the fact that in each meeting the roles are rotated and you have different people in them .

This ensures the meetings stay varied and interesting and each member brings their own flair to each role . What I also love is the transferable skills that can be practised at every Toastmasters meeting and applied elsewhere . Let's recap on some of the skills I've sort of alluded to so far . Firstly , there's leadership skills .

So if we think about the Toastmaster and the General Evaluator , they're really holding space for the meeting in one way or another and setting the tone , managing transitions and then the evaluator backing that up , ensuring overall effectiveness of the meeting . There's , obviously , communication skills .

So every speaking project at Toastmasters involves either speaking , listening , watching for clever word usage , watching how you deliver speeches and then getting feedback on that . Also with the agenda . There's the element of time management .

Every speaker is really encouraged to speak to their allocated time slot and then the timer and Toastmaster help to package that meeting in a way that keeps to the allocated times . There's also adaptability .

So whether it's the Toastmaster having to handle unforeseen changes either just before the meeting starts or even through it , it's a great sort of skill to be able to foster and similarly with speakers , they have to adjust and be adaptable to the conditions . Sometimes there'll be a tech glitch or the power will go out or there'll be an audience disruption .

They need to be aware of their ability to adapt to the circumstances . There's also the skill of impromptu speaking and the segments like table topics or even speaking , or many of the roles are impromptu speaking opportunities that provide training for improving how you speak and respond off the cuff .

There's also analytical skills and whether it's the evaluator or the general evaluator really looking in detail at how a speaker is doing their speech , how they're delivering it , what they're saying , how they're saying it and then how the whole meeting has come together .

Analytical skills is something that definitely Toastmasters helps to develop Really the ability to provide constructive feedback , encouragement and recognition . These types of skills are borne out by the evaluator and the general evaluator and really looking for highlighting people's strengths and areas for improvement .

The application of that , as I discussed in a previous episode , is really profound . If you can deliver that kind of feedback to people in your workplace or in your own personal friendships or family situations , it just becomes a much nicer way of delivering feedback .

Obviously , as well public speaking skills , where pretty much all of the roles I've talked about are about improving public speaking skills and , whether it's prepared speeches or impromptu speeches , providing this environment that allows members to practice , fail if they have to fail , and improve . It's all there in a very supportive environment .

And the final skill is team collaboration . A Toastmasters meeting has a lot of moving parts . There's likely to be between 15 or 20 members or more or less , just depending on the club Really coming together to create an event , a meeting that they've prepared for . They'll deliver their speeches , they get the feedback and everyone goes on their merry way .

But that collaboration , everything we do is in collaboration . No one person is going to hold the meeting , no one person is going to break the meeting , so it's really a case of what you put into the meeting you get out of it . But in doing it in a collaborative way , it makes for some great meetings .

And so there you have a summary of the key roles at each Toastmasters meeting . As you can see , each role cultivates a rich set of transferable skills that extend beyond the realm of public speaking . Each role contributes to the collective learning experience , creating a supportive environment in which people can thrive .

Now , if you're still on the fence about checking out a Toastmasters club near you , all I would say is just go , do it . Stop procrastinating , stop putting it off , stop making excuses . It's all very easy to do that , but I am sure that if you set foot in a Toastmasters club , it's going to open up doors that really are waiting to be opened .

Thanks for listening to today's show . Head to talkativetoastmastercom , where you'll find the show notes for this and all other episodes , as well as links to some awesome Toastmasters resources . If you found value in today's content , I'd really appreciate if you could share it with friends and colleagues who may be interested , or leave a review on iTunes .

This helps more people to find us . Until next time , remember the words of Brian Tracy your ability to communicate with others will account for 85% of your success in your business and in your life . Have a great week .