My second time as timer

The second time I was timer it was a new club and the members were all busy giving speeches and evaluations. I had been invited along by the area director and club sponsor who was busy, fully occupied with others tasks as the Toastmaster of the evening and Language Evaluator and General Evaluator. She had invited me along as I wanted to visit clubs in Singapore (every night of my working holiday) and she needed extra people to help and experienced people to show all the novices at the new club how to do roles. Therefor this time I was the sole timer. I uttered a feeble protest but she briskly reassured me that I could do it. No point in adding to the general mood of 'Oh, gosh, this is my first time - not sure I can do it.' I was part of the old timers team and supposed to be bright and confident. My role was to do the job, look confident. Being sole timer at a club felt like more responsibility than being shared timer at a contest. Whether you are joint timer, or in my case one of three, somebody else can be sharing the responsibility, the credit and blame, and discuss any uncertainly. On the other hand, if you are acting alone, nobody knows what you are doing. So, in theory, you can announce glibly that the speaker was on time, and make up any number if questioned, and nobody is likely to query you. Often at club level in a new club, the actual number of seconds seems irrelevant. All that they really want is to know is, was I a) In time (don't worry - well done!) b) Disqualified by only a second or two (nearly there - just be careful) or e) Wildly out of time! (Must watch the time. However good your speech is, you won't win. Any other idiot with a short speech not half as good as yours will beat you. Don't let that happen! On the other hand, your 'I could have done better' speech can win - if the other better speaker gets carried away and goes wildly over time.) What usually happens? To any guests, and for me for several years, the timer's lists of numbers meant nothing. First of all I didn't know the names. The first speaker ..... (name I can't remember so I don't know who it was and don't care about the person nor can I recall whether they were over brief or longwinded. Then lists of numbers: 1 minute 31 seconds, 2 minutes and four seconds, three minutes and ten seconds. You just stop listening. Whilst you try to work out whether the first person was on time, you miss the next number. Another way of announcing at a blue meeting when you are short of time (or didn't keep accurate records) is to announce 'Everybody was on time'. To the newcomers, without a proper explanation, the disqualifications sound like an arbitrary way of penalising people you don't like on a technicality. You also want to make every explanation positive. In theory, if anybody has a video they can replay the speech and check the time. But in most contests a video is not allowed, except at the finals in the USA where an official video company makes a video which can be sold or distributed. The best, most amusing and most useful timer report I saw recently at a club turned the timing report into exhortations rather than lists of numbers. "All speakers except one were on time - please applaud those who were on time. Now, groans and sobs please for Michael, who was liquified. Sniff, Sob, wipe eyes. Now, cheer up. It's only a game. It's a learning experience. Next time he'll be on time." "Now the good news in detail. Speaker a - our wonderful Wendy with the blonde wig, spoke enthusiastically about the joys of motoring, and finished promptly at two minutes twenty five seconds. Well timed, but what a worry - two thirty is the limit, my hand was shaking , reaching for the buzzer - another five seconds and she would have been disqualified! "Jimmy, our horseback riding enthusiast, ran out of things to say but was encouraged to complete the mini topics speech with a summary, and reached one minute one second. The minimum length for a topic is one minute, so those last two vital seconds qualified him for your voting."

Angela Lansbury, CL, ACG.

Challenging The Contestants and Judges - who can challenge?

I have sat in a contest and listened to a so-called Prepared Speech given by a contestant which was based on a humorous story (in the humorous speech contest) which was basically an elaboration of a joke going around, but told as if it had happened to the speaker and a girl he met on the internet for a blind date.

In a contest organised by Toastmasters International clubs worldwide the Prepared Speech must be substantially original, although you can use up to 25% of quoted material provided you attribute it to the source and do not pass it off as your own. So, for example, you could not pretend that Martin Luther King's speech I Have A Dream or any speech by a well known speaker such as Anthony Robbins was your own material. However, you could give a speech quoting them and showing how they had influenced your life or were still as relevant today to todays audience as the time you had first heard them.

The only people allowed to challenge the originality are other (peeved!) contestants or the judges (supposed to be judging the content as well as the performance). However, you are mainly judging performance, not contest, even if you do not agree with what was said. Download the judging form or read it on line. You can see that marks are given for structure, gesture, use of stage and so on.  Right at the end is a mark for use of voice, correct pronunciation and grammar. So if two speakers give equally good speeches, but one is full of mispronunciations, oddly contracted sentences, and ambiguities, or jargon or local dialects, that speaker loses a vital point which could tip the balance.

As a judge I have often found it hard to distinguish and choose between a well written speech badly performed and a badly written speech well performed. But it is not a speech-writing contest, but a test of speaking, not writing.

Supposing I run a club and I'm looking for an after dinner speaker. Who would I choose? I'd probably choose the better speaker, and ask him to ensure that the content was original and relevant to my audience, rather than trying to persuade the speaker that the contest was lovely but please be more animated.

A recent contestant in the impromptu speech contest gave an amusing speech about how irrelevant performance was in every day life, because you would not use exaggerated gestures to somebody you met at the MRT (Singapore's mostly underground tube train).

Angela Lansbury, writer and speaker, member of HOD and Harrovians speakers clubs in London, England.

How do I persuade a bilingual club to enter contests?

How Do I Persuade a Bilingual or Foreign Language Club To Enter Contests?

The French speaking club in Singapore has never entered a contest because it's in English. Some of the members have never attended a contest or don't even know about contests. I've been to a Tamil bilingual club and a Chinese bilingual club, but unless I ask them for a summary of a speech there are not handouts and no way for me to understand a single word. I'm considering starting a Translators' Club in Singapore and another in London. Members and guests can speak in any language but must use Google translate to give us the title and a summary in English - and/or simultaneous translation and/or a handout with the translation in English. One speech each meeting should be a guide to beginning speaking another language, or a guide to speaking English given in another language.

Angela Lansbury, CL, ACG.

Harrovians Speeches on A Wake Up Call and a Boring Presentation

President Seema welcomed us with a motivational story about how Mr Honda suffered several setbacks to his business, from 1938 onwards, including a bombed production line during WWII, and an earthquake. The lack of gasoline (petrol) for cars led to his motorising a bicycle which he turned into a motorbike. He hired out bikes to others, changed the bikes from heavy, functional items for enthusiasts into lights bikes for the public, and went on to found a company which now employs 100,000 people in both Japan and the USA.

I understood: The moral is persist with your dream and concentrate on your goal, or choose another goal and persist with that one. Seema adds: "The moral of my story - make a decision and stick to the goal. The only thing that is dynamic is the process or means to achieve this goal."

TME's Theme
Jayanthiny was Toastmaster of the Evening, a role recently given the updated name of Event Organiser. She had devised a theme question for speakers on stage to answer: What have you learned from last year, especially in Toastmasters but also outside Toastmasters.

Timing with red, yellow and red scarves
 As timekeeper, getting ready to go to Toastmasters, I had thought of demonstrating the lights with three coloured cards, red, yellow and green.

Then I decided to wear a red scarf. I thought that although red is my colour, which suits me, and is stimulating, perhaps as timer I should wear an encouraging green scarf rather than red. I put on the green, leaving on the red, reluctant to remove it, then decided to add yellow or orange to demonstrate all the traffic light colours.

I demonstrated by waving the scarves in turn. (See the next post on scarves to demonstrate coloured lights for timing, on video.)

Timing Using Clocks
When I sat down my phone had been used to take a video which you can see on my next post. The Topics Master stood up and I started to time by using the clock, which might work if you have a clock with a second hand, or are timing a long speech over five minutes, but not sufficiently accurate when you have a clock without a second hand, the clock is the other side of the room and out of focus. However, with Ruth's help, we were soon back on track. That is why it is so useful to have two timekeepers, especially in competitions where one timer has the deciding vote on whether a speaker is within time.

Good Grammar
Grammarian, Indra, had prepared the word salubrious, meaning healthy, from the Latin. He had three copies of the word on different walls. As GE Sanjay remarked we often have two words, but three is unusual.

Topic - sports
Spellchecker or autocorrect on this website wanted to turn the next speaker's name to viper so I shall spell it out with gaps.

V i p u l ' s topics were on the theme of sports. I was talking to Martina a guest, and wrote down her name in case I needed to name her when describing the times of table topics speakers. I found out that she came from Prague and her hobbies were two kinds of sports, including yoga and running.

 Finding that she was willing to be a table topics speaker, I called over the topics master to ask her if she wanted to do a speech. She asked if she could know the topic in advance. The topic is usually a surprise. He said he could tell her the topic was sport.

We don't often tell guests, not even visitors, the topic, just find out about them and pick a topic we think they could answer. However, this seemed a good chance to encourage a wavering speaker.
She won the ribbon for best topic speaker. Seema is on the left of the picture, Martina on the right, the club banner in the middle.

Martina won table topics with a speech on running. V i p u l told us his passion was cricket. Indra was challenged to explain how we would act as referee and his answer was diplomatic. Sanjay was asked to speak about technology and enthused about how technology befitted everything including Toastmasters. Warren enthused about how Toastmasters was reinventing itself with new manuals every ten years.

How to Use the Timer
As timekeeper I had expected to be provided with a stopwatch. When none was placed on the table, I rushed back to find the overtime bells but did not find the timer.

Ruth showed me how to use the timer on my mobile phone. You select the clock (by looking for the clock icon or picture).  Assuming you have a touch screen, choose the 'lap' mode by tapping on the word lap. Then press 'start'' and the numbers at the top of the screen start increasing. You have three pairs of numbers, minutes and seconds. When the speaker finished you tap on stop. Write down the time in minutes and seconds before you tap the 'reset button or icon.

If you forget to press the stop button, you will have to deduct the previous speaker's time from the new time total.

Using my phone as a timer prevented me from using the phone as a camera.

The first prepared speech by Thulasi was entitled A Wake-up Call. She told us how hearing that only ten percent of Toastmasters members completed the first ten speeches of the manual was a reminder that she should do so by the end of the year and how she vowed to complete her manual. She had learned that the system is flexible. You do not have to do the ten speeches in order. She had jumped to number 9, the persuasive speech, as it suited her topic of motivating us, acting as a wake up call to encourage us to finish our manual by the end of the Toastmasters' International year in June 2016.

Succinct Speech by Alex
The second speech by Alex was succinct. He had enthusiastically started his speech without receiving the instruction manual in time to craft a longer speech. But he gave us all the essentials about his job and his family, leaving us wanting to hear more about his interesting work in osteopathy, helping keep people and their bones healthy.

Warren's Successful Evaluation of a Short Speech
Alex's evaluator Warren cleverly said that Alex's brevity was both the source of a commend and a recommend. Warren amusingly said that on a first date Alex would be a great success, not talking non-stop and interminably about himself, like most people do. In real life nobody lets you speak for more than four minutes (without interrupting). A good listener doesn't bore you by talking for more than four minutes. A good listener is always adding value in Toastmasters' meetings and in daily life.

Warren also give a fascinating analysis of a speech. A joke, he said, does not have a conclusion, but a speech has a conclusion. If you do not reach a conclusion, you have (a joke or story but) no speech.

Warren has improved his humour to stunning heights. Where once he would damn with faint praise and sarcasm, bringing people down, he now uses his humour to be insightful, original and encouraging.

I think it would be useful to have a policy that when a novice speaker does not reach the minimum time the TME/Topics Master or audience should help by turning the remaining time into a Q and A session. I have seen this done successful at table topics sessions when an experienced TME helps a tongue-tied speaker. It's also the technique used by the Chairman when a speaker invited to give a one hour talk finishes early. The paid members expect to be given a one hour talk and the hotel has not yet got the tea ready. So the chairman has a few prepared questions. This helps and encourages the speaker to expand and use the extra available time to gain greater goodwill by giving an increased amount of information or additional stories to entertain the audience.

Sushil's Entertaining Speech on How Not To Be Boring
Sushil's talk entitled 'The Boring Presentation' started with asking us all to be silent and then say what we felt about the silence. Bored? Tired? Distracted?

Sushil said when bored we relive our autobiographical memory. Seeking excitement has a role in evolution.

Some people are easily excited. But some need more stimulation than others. Stimulation provides motivation and inspiration.

The call to action was introducing elements into our lives and speeches to keep our own attention and that of the audience. Methods might include challenges and problems to solve, variety, change.

Sushil won the best speaker ribbon. Ruth won the evaluator ribbon. She praised Sushil for his sophistication in using Powerpoint in a speech and his daring in asking for a minute of silence.

Guests
Before the break guests were welcomed and asked to introduce themselves and say a few words about why they had come to a Toastmasters Meeting and what they thought about it so far. We were pleased to welcome back two members we had not seen for some time, Maxine Allison, a former member, and Lola, plus newcomer Martina, Zara, and Pradip.

At teatime break in addition to the usual selection of assorted plain and chocolate biscuits, and Seema had brought back from Dubai a box of dates to share with everybody. Everybody was having such a great time talking that ringing the bells, in my role as timer, succeeded in summoning only half of them. In order to get them all back into their seats to keep the meeting to time I was obliged to turn the lights on and off.

Ruth is presented with a ribbon for the best evaluator.

President Seema, CC, ALB, presented the ribbons.

General Evaluation from Sanjay

Sanjay was General Evaluator and praised all the evaluators as well as coming out with points of his own, such as suggesting that evaluators should suggest action which could be taken to solve problems. For example, using a spell check to check slides. (In this case, as Sushil ruefully admitted, spell checker would not have caught bor-e-ing which is a legitimate spelling of a different type of action to boring.) Sanjay commended me for my original use of props, scarves as timers. 

Meeting Manager's Actions - Phoning Before The Meeting! 

I wrote in Jayanthiny's Leadership manual evaluating her role as TME/ meeting manager. I was stunned to see how the new title reflect the new responsibility of the former TME, who no longer simply links one speaker to the next. The manual clearly states that the evaluator must mark the Meeting Manager on whether they have briefed the evaluators in how they should communicate with the speakers. 

Essentially it is a chain of command from the 'TME' through evaluators to speakers, before the meeting, ensuring that the speakers are prepared and will actually turn up to the meeting. This advance delegation of chasing saves the TME from the embarrassment of last minute changes to the programme when speakers arrive late, without manuals, or forget, don't rehearse the speech and fail to turn up at all! 

Jayanthiny was really pleased to have learned from my evaluation, and my going through the manual explaining why I could not give her top marks for one item.  She was delighted to get help in the role, even though I could not give her full marks for doing something neither of us had previously realised were in the manual as part of the role. 

Her enthusiasm rubbed off on me. I was also very happy to see a sharp reminder of how preparing in advance is part of the system set down by the time-conscious Americans. (It was done in the early days of the Harrovians club but over the years we had become more casual and forgotten.) 

Ruth gave a lift home to two members including Lola who hopes to pass a driving test next month which will enable her to attend more meetings.

Next Harrovians Speakers' meeting as usual is a Monday, Jan 18th 2016. VPE Sanjay filled some of the speaking slots and roles for the next meeting but you still have an opportunity to pick your favourite from the website.

Mentors

Seema is mentoring Jayanthiny. Angela is to mentor Alex.

Dates for your diary:

Meetings every month, first third and sometime fifth Monday of each month except when bank holidays fall on a Monday. In those months in see club calendar on the Easy Speak website. Alternatively check through Toastmasters International Find A Club. To be sure the website is up to date, double check by emailing a club committee member through the Easyspeak website.  Harrovians also has a Facebook page

International Speech Contest and Evaluation Contest is in February. 

 on Monday 15th 2016. The winners of both contests will be in the Area Contest in February or March. 

Newsletter report by Angela Lansbury CL, ACG.

Tall Tales Contest? Have you ever had one?

I just saw a fellow toastmaster Alan was running a workshop on humour. I wrote to him:


"Maybe you could help us organize a tall tales contest. Is it instead of Humorous or in addition? I just watched your sword speech on YouTube."


Later I had feedback from Steve, Area Director (used to be called Area Governor). He said he had been to Tall Tales contests where the speakers spoke after dinner, so that the Tall Tales were all an after dinner speech.

In addition, the contestants brought along their manuals for written feedback, (working towards awards) for a manual speech from the different manuals which the contestants had chosen. For example, one Tall Tale was for project from the humorous speech manual. Others were from the first Competent Communicator manual. Oner person used it as get to the point. The point was about the safety of running shoes. Another used the Tall Tale for the project on vocal variety. Another used it for the project on getting familiar with visual aids.

Because the Tall Tale was not going to qualify for the International contest, although it followed rules, it was less stressful for both the contestants and organisers. So it was more relaxing and fun - especially as nobody had to worry about being truthful.


Angela Lansbury, ACG, CL, Member of HOD and Harrovians.
Author of books including: Wedding Speeches & Toasts; Quick Quotations.
Speaker and Workshop leader and tutor.

Checklist for speakers, training, contests and other meetings

We just had a setback to a an area training meeting. Only three days before the training we discovered the person who normally books the venue where we meet had not booked it. He now said that the venue had been booked by another group. Other choices included a church hall which would be occupied with religious ceremonies on a Sunday. Other committee members said they had no time and it wasn't their problem.

The President was cross, conceded that the buck stopped with him, but he was out all next day (Friday) and had to find somebody else to fix the problem. You either delegate down or up. So he texted up to the Area Governor.

How can you prevent this sort of disaster happening?

I think the only way is to send around a checklist to every person involved station what you are expecting them to do and asking them to confirm by email that they have successfully decided, done or planned to do tasks including:

1 Book venue.
From time you need to set up until time you have packed up.

2 Arrange catering.
Inform attendees about catering lack or catering and restrictions. (Tea and biscuits provided. Free sandwiches / cake/ fruit provided before, at interval, at end. Please eat first. Please bring sandwiches (any kind - or any restrictions eg no meat in Hindu/vegetarian venue). Please bring drinks/ water. Or no drinks allowed.

3 Organise Props and stationery:
Flip charts, projection, extension leads, computers, thumb drives, banners, certificates, agendas, voting forms, badges. Lecterns.

4 Reminders and directions.
Send participants reminders of date, time place and directions. Google maps. Club website.

Organise key holder and those setting up room.

Contacts
1 List phone numbers of contacts of property owner (in case you reach venue and find it is locked);
2 Tell everybody the phone of the trouble shooting contact: club president, or SAA, or VPE, key holder, whoever is required to be first on the scene.
Tell everybody the contact before and during meeting who has a phone on silent vibrate to help anybody lost en route, near the building, outside, or inside looking for the room.

Angela Lansbury, speaker, photo journalist and author.