Tutorial for Toastmaster of the Day

From Austin Toastmasters (Balcones, Club #3407)

Tutorial for Toastmaster of the Day doc

Your first assignment as Toastmaster is coming up. How exciting! I eagerly look forward to your performing this all-important role.

This email has information regarding how the role is done at our Balcones Club.

The role of Toastmaster of the Day is one of the more challenging roles, because there is lots to plan and then lots to do at the actual meeting. The main duty is to act as the Master of Ceremonies - to be a genial host and to conduct/orchestrate the meeting, primarily introducing participants. Program participants should be introduced in a way that excites the audience and motivates each person to listen. A successful Toastmaster creates an atmosphere of interest, expectation, and receptivity.

PLANNING

5-7 days prior to the meeting, the VP of Education will send you the latest list of participants. If you do not receive this, use the list of participants in the online Schedule.

Choose a theme for the meeting. Themes are not an absolute necessity, but are a long-standing tradition at Balcones Club. Answers to theme questions are used to introduce the meeting participants. This "theme" could simply be to give a personal or business introduction about the participants. Other ideas for themes are to reflect on current holidays, current news, or activities of interest. Be creative.

Contact the meeting participants, provide them with your theme, and have them confirm that they will be in attendance. Specifically, contact the Grammarian, Timer, One Minute Toastmaster, Table Topics Master, the (Prepared) Speakers, and the General Evaluator. It is Balcones tradition for the Toastmaster to also contact/confirm the Prayer and Pledge leader even though the Toastmaster of the Day does not introduce this person. If meeting participants are unable to attend, be sure to tell them to find their own replacements and to contact you with the names of their replacements.

Additionally, from the Speakers you need to obtain the Titles, Manual Names, Manual Project Names, and Project Numbers associated with their speeches. You will use this information when introducing them at the meeting.

It is STRONGLY RECOMMENDED that you make your contacts, confirmations, and get theme and speech information by the Saturday before the meeting. If you don't get it by then, in addition to another e-mail, call them on the phone. The point is this: avoid waiting until just before the meeting starts to confirm and get information. There is a lot of things going on then - room setup, meal ordering, meet and greet, getting name cards, etc. Use this time just for emergencies, for example finding a last minute replacement for someone who doesn't show up.

Refer to the General Meeting Agenda on the Balcones website. This document contains the Sequence in which the meeting flows as well as the start times for each event. You can use this as a reference document and also to keep the meeting on track from a time perspective.

Create a specific agenda for the meeting with people’s names and speech information. Here is a link to a Meeting Agenda Template. You can use this document to create a personalized program for this meeting by filling in the blanks/between the <> marks. You can use this document in one or all of several ways:

• Email/send it to the club membership before the meeting
• Print out copies to distribute at the meeting
• Use it as your program guide/notes

If you would like to to provide a printed program for the meeting, feel free to use this program template doc

DELIVERY

It's now meeting time. You have done all your preparation and taken care of any last minute substitutions and glitches. When the Presiding Officer beckons you to the speaking area, go forward, shake his/her hand, then it's your turn to act.

After thanking the Presiding Officer and addressing the audience members, offer a few brief comments, particularly regarding the theme for the day. If there are guests, give a brief explanation of what your role is - to introduce role players and speakers. The Toastmaster's main goal is to provide audience attention and focus on the people they introduce and not on themselves. Some Toastmasters like to begin the meeting with a mini-speech. This is not a mandatory part of the Toastmaster's job and can be a pitfall as it can cause the meeting to run behind right off the bat and draw too much attention to the Toastmaster.

When you introduce each person, follow the five steps below.

1. Lead the applause for the person just finishing, then come to the speaking area, shake his/her hand, and resume control of the speaking area

2. Make a brief comment about the previous person or his/her speech. This provides for a smooth transition to the next speaker. Examples of comments are

• "I really learned a lot from your speech"
• "Your point about _____ was really fascinating"
• "Thank you for entertaining us"
• "Thank you for giving us the Word for the Day (or Timing Rules)"

3. Introduce the next person using the information you gathered. For speakers, be sure to tell the audience the Speech Title, the Manual from which the speech is being given, the Manual Project Name, and the Project Number. Providing this information is very important to the speaker as it is the first step in focusing attention on the speaker.

4. Beckon the speaker forward so that it is clear to him/her and the audience it is his/her turn to speak. This provides a smooth transition from you the Toastmaster to the Speaker. Examples are

• "Please help me give a warm rousing Balcones welcome to __________!"
• "Get it up for _________!"
• "Let's now hear ________ deliver his speech <Speech Title>"

5. Lead the applause for the person you are introducing. Wait in the speaking area until s/he arrives. Shake his/her hand to yield control of the speaking area, then take a seat.

After the final prepared speaker is finished, ask the timer if there are any disqualifications and ask members to vote for the best speaker, reviewing the speakers' names and their titles.

Listen for comments about your work as the Toastmaster from the General Evaluator. Oftentimes, the GE will provide helpful kudos and constructive improvement areas for the Toastmaster.

After the General Evaluator has concluded his/her portion of the meeting, you can offer a few comments before yielding control to the Presiding Officer. Expressing your enjoyment and your thanks to the participants are common ways to do this.

Good luck to you as you plan the meeting. Feel free to contact your mentor if you need help. You can always contact the VP Education if you have any questions or comments.