The benefits of taking on roles at Parker Toastmasters are to help you grow your skills of planning, leading, and conveying results. In addition, you are also completing leadership track manuals, which puts you closer to more advanced manuals and closer to becoming a Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM).
Ah-Counter / Grammarian
This roles works on your listening skills. Your assistance is greatly appreciated because as a grammarian, you notice habits, nervous ticks, and incorrect phrasing that the speaker is unconsciously unaware of. Your duty is to observe and make members more aware of these unconsious habits.
In a Nutshell:
Timer
This role keeps the time of speeches, evaluations, and table topics. Using the lightbulbs, you’ll give an indication to the speaker of when their time is up. This role is appreciated by speakers because while speaking, many speakers lose track of time in their minds and lack control of it. By you being the timer, you are essentially teaching them the skill of recognizing when their time is coming to an end.
Start the timer when the speaker gives the cue of talking, or begins to talk or interact with the audience.
For (typical) speeches
- 5:00 minute mark – Turn on the Green Color
- 6:00 minute mark – Turn on the Yellow Color
- 7:00 minute mark – Turn on the Red Color
For Evaluations
- 2:00 minute mark – Turn on the Green Color
- 2:30 minute mark – Turn on the Yellow Color
- 3:00 minute mark – Turn on the Red Color
For Table Topics
- 1:00 minute mark – Turn on the Green Color
- 1:30 minute mark – Turn on the Yellow Color
- 2:00 minute mark – Turn on the Red Color
Keep track of the time for all the speeches. Report each of the times to the speakers at the end during the Timer’s Report.
Note that you’ll only have one light bulb on at a time during the speech. For example, if you have the green light on, and it is time to turn on the yellow one, turn off the green, and turn on the yellow.
Some advanced manual speeches have different time requirements than listed above, please confirm with the speaker on how long their speech will be.
General Evaluator
As the title implies, you are responsible for everything that went on in the meeting, and especially the speech evaluators themselves.
In a Nutshell
Downloads
This is a good checklist to help with preparing your evaluation.
Toastmaster
This is a powerful role because you are responsible for how everything throughout the night goes. Your job is to make sure that the meeting goes well, all the role parts are carried out, and to properly close the meeting and hand it off to the president. This role will cause you to stretch your comfort zone by putting you in charge. It is very well worth taking on the role of a Toastmaster for your leadership experience.
In a Nutshell
How to Print the Google Docs Agenda
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- File -> Download as -> PDF Document
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- Select: no gridlines, fit to width, and portrait. Export.
Table Topics Master
Your role is important because it provides an opportunity for anyone in the club to make an impromptu speech. Learning how to speak without being prepared beforehand is a necessary skill in business and life. The other advantage is that new members or guest can come up and also speak during this time.
In a Nutshell
Evaluator
Your role is important because it provides valuable feedback to the speaker on what they did well, and how they can improve for their next speech. Being an evaluator is a challenge because it takes a critical eye, good listening skills, good speaking skills, and the ability to not be afraid of providing constructive criticism. It is often the criticism that helps the speaker develop.
In a Nutshell
Speaker
This is perhaps why you came to Parker Toastmasters. This role allows you to develop your public speaking skills, which will allow you to further hone your leadership skills among people. Most of the speeches are 5-7 minutes, but some advanced manuals have different criteria. Your manuals will provide instructions on how to prepare, and the delivery guidelines.
In a Nutshell
Vote Counter
Your objective is to count the votes given to the speakers, evaluators, and table topics. This role is important because it allows the club to recognize outstanding participants in their roles during the meeting.
In a Nutshell
Videographer
This role is not part of the basic Toastmasters International organization, but it is a unique part of Parker Toastmasters. It is one thing for evaluators to provide their evaluations to speakers, but it is another thing for speakers to see themselves in action. By voluntarily recording speeches and providing them as feedback to the speakers, the speakers are able to see where mistakes were made and decide on how to improve these mistakes.