How To Run A Meeting, GREETING, And Announce Timing And Disqualification

GREETING

The formal greeting would be used in large clubs and any large meetings and any special occasion. (Used in most large clubs and international contests.)

 If you have a small group who all know each other you might wish to be less formal. To avoid constant repetition of the greeting, you can then shorten the greetings except for the first speaker or two at the start of the evening. 

FAREWELL

Many people say as a speaker you do not thank the audience because you in speaking have done them a favour and the Toastmaster of the evening should be thanking each speaker. 

To say Mr Toastmaster at the end tells everybody in the audience you have finished and warns the Toastmaster to jump to their feet.

Length of Greetings
If your meeting is short of time, abbreviate the greetings. Don't say, 'let's move on'. Just move on.

Humorous Contests
To improve the atmosphere at a contest where contestants may be nervous, you can use the warm up character. In addition, or instead, the contest chair, instead of merely reading the rules, should joke all the way through, or at least end with a joke.

 TIMING

The timer should take the opportunity to make his potentially dull introduction to timing both informative and fun. If he does not do so, the Toastmasters of the meeting can thank the timer for whatever he did (such as demonstrating traffic lights or coloured cards; then add an explanation as to why timing is necessary:

1 In real life outside meetings when people have to leave to catch trains, allow time for the next speaker before the venue is closed (especially if you are paying for the hire of the room by the hour!)

In one Toastmasters meeting, in Harrow, a London suburb, we were running over time, so a ballet class of excited, chatty little girls kept trying to come to change into their togs.

On another occasion a first time speaker ran over time. The other two speakers who had hoped to win ribbons with their debut speech found no ribbons were allotted. I was one of the other speakers, as well as the mentor of the speaker who ran over time. I'd spent ages helping him with his speech, but neglected to impress on him the importance of time.

At a club party the pre-dinner drinks and introductions were allowed to run over time. Therefore the toastmaster, being told to cut out a section, cut out my grammarian role, so my once a year chance to practise performing in front of an audience, shine in front of the Area, and my husband, was cut from the programme. I was not pleased.

CONTEST TIMING

In a contest the timing should not be announced to the judges before they have judged. Reasons: 

1 You may have a dispute about the timing so you don’t want judges influenced because the person they thought was over time might not be over time. The timing might be changed to allow for an interruption, a fully timing device, or many other reasons such as another speaker making a movement which counts as part of the speech time.

2 It’s a distraction. While they are worrying about the time, they don’t have time in their short judging time to decide the order of winners.

3 The timers’ job is to time; the judges’ job is to judge. The judge should not be asking the timers whether somebody was over time. This would cause embarrassment and disappointment to the speaker who went over time and could result in an argument in an important high level contest. You don’t want to have the judges later arguing with the timers. The timers’ and chief judges and contest chair and so on have the final say.

CLUB TIMING

4 However, at a club, usually the timing is given to warn the contestants that they have gone over time and are likely to be disqualified if they ever enter a contest. This is done before voting because if you have three contestants and one is over time there is not vote.

To be nice, the president may allow voting every if a speaker is over time, firstly to be kind to the speaker, second so that the other two speakers still have a chance of getting a ribbon. As a timer, I ask the president to decide.

The bell is rung after 30 seconds over time at a club contest, not at an area contest. (See rule book.)

I hope this helps.

Angela Lansbury, author and speaker.
Author of
Quick Quotations for speakers
See Amazon.com and Lulu.com
Please share links to your favourite posts.

What I learned from Buona Vista CC Toastmasters Club About Meeting Timing

Buona Vista club meets at Buona Vista Community Centre. I arrived early and the people in the office downstairs told me I was early. I asked if there was anywhere I would wait in air continuing. (I thought they might say, yes, you can sit in this room.) They said I could go up to the rooftop, but no air con. Most people follow instructions, simple instructions, unless and until things go badly wrong. So I went upstairs. The view from the roof is pleasant. The toilet gets less use than those downstairs which could be more crowded. I went downstairs to find the room and although I was half an hour early the group was already setting up. I had phoned and offered to do a role on the program. I was told the program was full. Never mind. I want anyway. I often get asked to speak, even though I have not given much notice, and the programme is already full. Sometimes somebody drops out. Other times one of the committee members magnanimously decides to give up their slot as evaluator so that everybody can benefit because he/she or the club would like the opportunity to hear from somebody new. I was amazed by the number of speakers. The meeting started at 7pm and went on until 10 pm. Regarding timing, the timer is sometimes given a chance to explain the timers role. Here, it was obvious. Signs in the lifts wanted that that lifts and staircase doors would close at 10 pm. If you are running over time, you risk getting locked in, not being able to use lifts for heavy equipment, and older people who have trouble walking. Clearing Up Time If you meet in premises where you have the key and can stand around chatting, networking, socialising, until you decide to go, you cannot envisage a situation where the caretaker is glowering at you still for being in the room at three minutes after ten, or even fifteen minutes after ten. It is a rush, when you have to dismantle a loudspeaker system, unplug computers, roll up screens, wipe information off whiteboards, stack chairs, clear up leftover food, give your business car or club card to newcomers, pick up dropped pens, lost and left bags and jackets, offer lifts to those miles from home, direct others back to the MRT station, or ask everybody to follow you to the nearby coffee shop or hawker centre, giving directions to those leaving earlier or later than you are. Disputes Entailing Chaining Venue I have also read about clubs which changed venue 'because we did not get on with the management' of the premises. It spoils the meeting if the building staff are looking sour, turning off the lights in rooms and toilets, locking doors to the car park, making announcements over loudspeakers that the building is closing, either on time, within five minutes, or ten minutes early. Other club presidents and sponsors go to great efforts to please or placate the staff, offering them leftover food, chatting to them and asking after their families, like a close friend.