Chairperson

In the Week Before the Meeting:

• Contact the Toastmaster, Reflection and Toast, Humour, Tip of the Day, Word of the Day, Topics Master, CL, and Timer, to confirm their attendance, by Friday 9 p.m. prior to Tuesday's meeting.
• Create an agenda with speech information received from the Toastmaster using the template provided here: Agenda Template. Please print about 20 copies to bring to the meeting.
• When preparing the agenda, the speakers and evaluators should be listed based on their experience. For instance, a member working on their CC#5 should be scheduled to speak prior to a member who is working on CC#9 or an advance manual.
• Study the Chairperson's Checklist to identify and prepare yourself mentally for all the actions that you will need to undertake during the meeting.
  
• Prepare an appropriate introduction of the Toastmaster.
• Make sure that all roles are filled; in the event of cancellations, refer to the Replacement Policy on the website.

Before the Meeting:

• ARRIVE EARLY- at least 15 minutes before the start of meeting to set up the room.
  
• Club equipment and materials are stored in a locked drawer in the large boardroom at the Toronto Exchange Tower (130 King St. East, Suite 1800). Inside the drawer there is a gym bag that includes the club equipment and materials. Please ask the receptionist to give you the key to the drawer.
  
• Make sure the Club banner is hanging in a convenient location in the room.
• Distribute agenda around the room and the evaluation sheets.
• Distribute the best table topic and best evaluator ribbons to the the Table Topic Master and the General Evaluator, so that they can award them later in the meeting.
• Gather the names of any guests and ensure that they feel welcomed.

During the Meeting:

• Start the meeting promptly at 12:15 PM (using the gavel for effect). If you have to wait for members playing key roles, open the meeting and announce that you are taking a couple of more minutes.
• Lay out a copy of the Agenda and a copy of the Chairperson's Checklist side by side to have an easy flow of the meeting and identify what you have already done and what you need to do.
  
• Introduce yourself and briefly explain your role as the meeting chair: to call the meeting to order, announce the theme of the day, conduct the opening/closing portions of the meeting and introduce the Toastmaster who will ensure the main portion of the meeting runs smoothly.
• Note any changes to the agenda; if any roles are still vacant, call upon volunteers to fill the vacancies; if a speaker has canceled resulting in a speech opening, announce it at the start of the meeting to give members time to consider it.
• Welcome any guests to the meeting by providing their names and asking the other members to welcome them with a round of applause. 
• Do not ask the guests to introduce themselves as they will get a chance to offer their comments at the end of the meeting.  
• Remind guests that the cost to attend the meeting is $10.
• Explain that the meeting is structured to provide different speaking opportunities: 
• • Long Prepared Speeches with specific objectives;
  • Table Topics, one minute impromptu speeches in which everyone can participate if time permits;
  • Evaluations where club members provide feedback to the speakers; and 
  • The General Evaluation providing feedback on the meeting overall
  
  
• Mention what format the meeting will be following (boardroom or dinner) and explain the protocol for the format.  
• For a description of each format click here: Meeting Formats
• Call upon each of the members giving the Reflection and Toast, Humour, Word of the Day and Tip of the Day. 
• Remind the member who is assigned to the "Word of the Day" to keep track of the use of the new WORD, filler words such as um's, ah's, you know's, and to report at the end of the meeting.
• Introduce the Timer, indicate where the Timer is sitting and ask the Timer to report back at the end of the meeting on the timing of the speeches only.
• Announce the theme of the day but do NOT elaborate - allow the Toastmaster to elaborate.
• Provide a brief introduction of the Toastmaster - a few points - how long with the club, interests, interesting tidbits, etc.
• At the end of the meeting, the General Evaluator will turn the meeting back to you.
• Ask for the voting results for Table Topics,                                                                                and the use of the word of the day/number of um's, ah's.
• Ask the General Evaluator for the best evaluator voting results. 
• Ask for the Timer's report.
• Ask for feedback from any guests. 
• Ask for any new business.
• Remind guests to pay $10 to the Treasurer
• Adjourn the meeting
• With the Toastmaster, ensure that all meeting materials (e.g. banner, storage boxes, timer) have been returned to storage area.