Since the monthly speech marathon is a “work in progress,” here are a few notes on our first few meetings and how we might improve it in the future. (If you have any other ideas please pass them on to our club president.)
Toastmaster
The Toastmaster should keep his/her comments to a minimum to make sure we don’t go past our 9 pm closing time.
I would also suggest contacting each speaker and find out how long each speech will take.
Note from Bill C. – The Toastmaster is the Master of Ceremonies, making him or her the “traffic cop” and the “time cop.” In addition to being responsible for running an interesting and organized meeting, there is also the responsibility for getting everything done by 9 PM. Plans have been made prior to the meeting but this is a great leadership and time management learning opportunity for the Toastmaster. Far from being an innocent bystander, the TM should be ready, willing and able to spring into action and make mid-meeting adjustments. The TM should be ready to make “on the fly” decisions such as: Omit or shorten his/her own comments. Bottom line: The Toastmaster is in charge – not a casual observer. Come prepared to lead the meeting and learn from the experience.
There is a Speech Marathon Agenda in the Forms category.
southcountytoastmasters.org 