Meeting Role Guide
Captain of the Watch
Toastmasters role: General Evaluator
Lead the evaluation team and provide a constructive evaluation of the meeting as a whole.
The Role
Toastmasters meetings are conducted using a set of standardized roles and procedures, ensuring that meetings held on one side of the country are similar to meetings held on the other. As head of the evaluation team – a team comprised of the Ah Counter, Grammarian, Timer, and any speech Evaluators – the General Evaluator oversees the use of these procedures, reporting upon those areas where participants may have fallen short at the possible expense of continuity.
In addition to leading the evaluation team, the General Evaluator relieves the Toastmaster of the Day of the responsibility of running the meeting at the conclusion of Table Topics. Because of this responsibility, many consider General Evaluator to be one of the more challenging roles.
Before the Meeting
Ensure that any scheduled, prepared speeches have an assigned evaluator. Some General Evaluators might wish to ask scheduled speakers if they have a preference of evaluators. Ensure that any scheduled evaluators are prepared to fulfill the role. For newer evaluators, it may be helpful to emphasize the importance of beginning one’s evaluation with one or more positive observations before delivering any points of possible improvement and ending the evaluation on a high note.
If meeting in person, consider reminding newer speakers to be sure to bring the correct evaluation form to the meeting.
If meeting online, consider downloading and emailing an electronic copy of the correct evaluation form to the scheduled evaluator (or remind the speaker to do so).
During the Meeting
Once Table Topics have concluded, you will accept control of leading the meeting from the Toastmaster of the Day, marking the beginning of the evaluation portion of the meeting. For the benefit of any guests present, you should briefly explain the importance of evaluation within Toastmasters before calling upon the assigned evaluator for each of the prepared speeches that were given (in the same order that speeches were given). In the event that an evaluator does not provide a constructive evaluation – either no positives were recognized or no points of improvement mentioned – the General Evaluator should be prepared to give a few comments of his or her own.
After all evaluations have been completed, the General Evaluator calls upon the remaining three members of the evaluation team – the Ah Counter, Grammarian, and Timer – to deliver their reports.
Finally, and taking note of the remaining time for the meeting, the General Evaluator should deliver an evaluation of the meeting as a whole, using notes taken throughout the meeting. This evaluation should help promote a high standard of excellence during each session. As with the more targeted prepared speech Evaluators, the General Evaluator should strive for a mix of positive recognition and opportunities for improvement. A sample page outlining some of the specific meeting aspects to be potentially observed and commented upon is enclosed.
After the Meeting
No tasks. Individual clubs may assign additional responsibilities, such as turning in the sheet used to formulate your general evaluation.
When You’re Called On
My role as the General Evaluator is to preside over the evaluation portion of our meeting. Evaluation is valuable as it fosters continuous improvement by assessing the things that worked well along with those that could be improved.
General Evaluator Notes
Use the following agenda-based table to take notes for your end-of-meeting evaluation. While aspects like starting and ending on time are important, there is greater value in providing a more in-depth evaluation.
General Evaluator Script
| Objective | Sample Script (optional) |
|---|---|
| Introduction: The Toastmaster will invite you to the floor to conduct the evaluation portion of the meeting. Explain the purpose of evaluation. | “Now we begin the evaluation portion of our meeting. Evaluation is valuable as it fosters continuous improvement by assessing the things that worked well along with those that could be improved.” |
| Evaluators: For each prepared speech, call upon the designated Evaluator to provide an evaluation. | “Our (first) evaluator is [Name of Evaluator 1], evaluating [Name of Speaker 1]’s speech, [Speech Title]. Please help me welcome [Name of Evaluator 1].” (repeat as necessary for each evaluator present) |
| Best Evaluator: If there were multiple evaluators, ask members to vote for who they thought was best. | “Thank you, [Names of Evaluators] for helping to foster the development of speaking skills. At this time, I invite you all to use your ballot forms to vote for ‘Best Evaluator’” (or online equivalent). |
| Timer Report: Ask the Timer to provide his or her report. | “Our Timer [Name of Timer] will now report on how well we have managed our time.” |
| Ah Counter Report: Ask the Ah Counter to provide his or her report. | “Our Ah Counter [Name of Ah Counter] will now provide his/her report on today’s use of filler words.” |
| Grammarian Report: Ask the Grammarian to provide his or her report. | “Our Grammarian [Name of Grammarian] will now provide his/her report on excellent uses of language, opportunities for improvement, and uses of the Word of the Day.” |
| Vote Counter Results: Turn control of the meeting over to the Vote Counter to allow for the distribution of any awards. | “Our Vote Counter [Name of Vote Counter] has carefully tallied your votes and will now present awards to the winners.” (If meeting online, the General Evaluator may instead wish to present the winners at the time of voting.) |
| General Comments: Using the information you have collected on the opposite side of the sheet, provide an evaluation of the meeting as a whole. | “Now I have a few comments on today’s meeting as a whole …” |
| Cede control to the Toastmaster. | “This concludes the evaluation section of our meeting. Please welcome back our Toastmaster of the Day [Name of Toastmaster].” |
Skills You’ll Practice
Familiarity with the structured format of a standard Toastmasters meeting, along with any specific modifications adopted by your individual club; a willingness to lead a meeting and call upon others to solicit their contributions
Why Take This Role?
The ability to provide constructive, non-critical feedback, balancing opportunities for improvement with positive observations