Meeting dates
We meet on the 1st and 3rd Friday of every month at 7pm for regular meeting and Second Saturday of every month for Advanced Projects at 9am .
Click to see the Meeting Dates
To contact us for membership, speaking slots etc, please send us a mail at: marineparadetoastmasters@gmail.com
Roles Roster
In view of our aim to provide every member an opportunity to speak in every meeting and also to reduce dependence on external appointment holders, the club has a Meeting Role Roster. Please check your role for each meeting and come prepared.
If you need help, please talk to your Mentor or Vice President Education.
Overview of Meeting Roles
The following information is meant as a general overview of meeting roles. As a member of club you can take the below roles in our meeting. Please contact Vice President Education of the club for taking up the roles.
Chair
This role is the most important and time consuming position in the meeting. It requires a lot of preparation to see that a meeting meets Toastmaster standards.
The main duty of the Chair is to ensure that the meeting runs according to plan. The Chair introduces the various sections of the meeting, runs the business section, and introduces the Table Topics Master, Toastmaster and General Evaluator. At the end of the meeting, the Chair ensures that the meeting awards are handed out, as well as making sure that the roles for the next meeting are assigned and understood.
Toastmaster of the Evening (TME)
The Toastmaster controls the prepared speech section. The Toastmaster introduces this portion, explains the Toastmaster program (if there is time, usually in more detail if there are guests in attendance) and then introduces each speaker. After the last speaker, the Toastmaster returns control of the meeting back to the Chair.
Sergeant At Arms (SAA)
The duties of the SAA during the club meeting are:
1. To prepare the meeting room (arrange stationary, order food etc). Start the meeting on time, and to make sure that the meeting schedule is adhered to.
2. To introduce members & guests at the start of the meeting by providing an “icebreaking” question.
3. To assist the Toastmaster of the Evening (TME) by writing down the Table
Topics Speakers’ name, the Prepared Speech Speakers’ name and the Evaluators’
name on the white board after each segment respectively. This is to facilitate
members & guests to know who to vote for.
4. To count the votes for “Best Table Topic Speaker”, “Best Speaker” and “Best Evaluator”.
Table Topics Master
Table topics is the portion of the meeting where people who are not involved in other parts of the meeting get a chance to speak. They have to answer (within a 1-2 minute time frame) a question posed to them by the Table Topics Master. The purpose of this is to help members think on their feet.
The Table Topics Master prepares and issues the topics and also sets the theme for the meeting. Most Table Topics Masters try and choose questions that promote fun, are newsworthy, or are seasonal. An effective Table Topics Master will make sure that those members who do not have a major role in the meeting are first asked a question. The chair and speakers should be the last people asked to answer a question. The mark of an experienced Table Topics master is the ability to “connect” two speakers by commenting briefly on the previous answer and then smoothly linking (or bridging) that answer to the next question.
General Evaluator
The General Evaluator keeps track of every thing that happens during the meeting – from what time it starts, to how well each role is filled to whether the room is too hot or too cold. At the end of the meeting, the General Evaluator points out both what went well and what didn’t go as well.
When reporting on what you do at the beginning of the meeting, make sure that you mention the why, what and when. Why this duty is important. What you do. And when you will report on it. The report is most effective if it ties into the theme of the meeting.
Speech Evaluators
Each speaker has an evaluator. The speech evaluators acquaint themselves with the goals of the speech and then judge how well the speaker met those goals, making comments in the speaker’s manual. Encouragement and helpful feedback are given at the end of the meeting. You will use the appropriate evaluation form in the manual.
Ah Counter
The Ah Counter keeps track of all the words and sounds that are used as pause fillers by members during the meeting. These words may be actual “ahs” or they may be words such as: well, you know, and or so. At the end of the meeting the Ah Counter may either report on which members used the most filler words or which members used no filler words.
When reporting on what you do at the beginning of the meeting, make sure that you mention the why, what and when. Why this duty is important. What you do. And when you will report on it. The report is most effective if it ties into the theme of the meeting.
Grammarian
The Grammarian has two main duties: to introduce an new word to members and encourage them to use it during the meeting; and to record and comment on either inappropriate or exemplary uses of the English language. Similies, metaphors and alliteration should be noted as effective examples of English language usage. Unfortunately, sometimes inexperienced Grammarians wrongly pick as an example of good grammar a tired saying such as “it was raining cats and dogs.” This is an example of poor English usage, not good. Instead of recycling other people’s phrases, speakers should come up with their own sayings.
When reporting on what you do at the beginning of the meeting, make sure that you mention the why, what and when. Why this duty is important. What you do. And when you will report on it. The report is most effective if it ties into the theme of the meeting.
Timer
The timer keeps track of time. Different sections within the meeting have different time limits. Each speech has an acceptable time frame, as does each table topics answer. It is the timer’s responsibility to keep track of the time, correctly set the timing machine to signal the speakers regarding how much time they have left, and, if required, inform the Chair when time limits for a certain meeting segment have been met.
When reporting on what you do at the beginning of the meeting, make sure that you mention the why, what and when. Why this duty is important. What you do and how you do it. And when you will report on it. The report is most effective if it ties into the theme of the meeting.
The timer gives a report at the end of the meeting as to how well the time limits were met.
Joke Master
The role of the Joke Master is to find a suitable joke and then present it at the appropriate time – usually the end of the first half of the meeting, immediately prior to the break. Finding appropriate jokes, and then telling them well is a much harder task than it would appear at first glance. If possible, memorize your joke.
