Toastmasters Meeting Roles

Club President - The Club President is responsible for opening the meeting by calling the meeting to order, welcoming guest and introducing the Toastmaster of the day. It is the President's responsibility to ensure that meetings start on-time and end on-time.

Toastmaster of the Day - The Toastmaster is the "master of ceremonies" and leader of the meeting. The Toastmaster is responsible for administrating the meeting and keeping it running on-time.

Joke or Thought for the Day - Some Toastmasters choose to present a joke to lighten up the meeting and put everyone in a good mood. The joke should be tasteful.  The thought provides inspiration or motivation to the group.  Ideally the joke or thought should follow the meetings theme.

Table Topics Master - The Table Topics Master presides over the Table Topics (impromptu) section of the meeting. The Table Topics Master prepares a set of unique questions and randomly calls on club members to respond.

General Evaluator - The General Evaluator presides over the evaluation section of the meeting. The General Evaluator calls for reports by meeting officials (e.g. the Grammarian) and provides feedback on the meeting in general.

Evaluator - Each prepared speaker has an evaluator assigned to provide the speaker with feedback. The evaluator provides both written and oral feedback.

Grammarian - The Grammarian monitors speakers and reports on both good and bad use of the English language. When speaking, people often use such 'crutch' words or fillers as ah, um, you know, well, and, or they just repeat a word or phrase. These words and sounds can be annoying to listeners. The Grammarian notes these words or sounds and helps the Speaker become aware of them.  The grammarian also provides the word of the day which is used to improve the vocabulary of the club.

Timer - One of the purposes of Toastmasters is to teach people to express thoughts within a specific time interval. The Timer is responsible for monitoring time and emphasizing the importance of time to everyone. Each segment of the meeting is timed. The Timer operates the timing device which indicates to the Speaker how long he or she has been talking.

Sergeant at Arms - The Sergeant at Arms is responsible for the set-up and tear-down of the room as well as greeting the club members and guests.

All club members are encouraged to help the Sergeant at Arms meet and greet guest and set-up and tear-down the room!