Before the meeting

When you are a timer it is important to arrive early for the meeting.  This gives you time to get a good seat where the speakers can see you.  It also gives you time to get the timing cards, timing sheet, practice with the stopwatch, and look at the agenda.  Make sure that each role that requires timing is clearly indicated on the agenda.  Quite often the timing for table topics or evaluations is missing.  If this is the case, ask the Toastmaster for clarification.

You've got a great seat, and you have checked the timing against the agenda.  If you can, check the timing with each of the prepared speakers.  Sometimes there is a miscommunication between the Toastmaster and the speaker and it is best to catch this early.

The Competent Leadership manual has a project for Timer.  Make sure to give this manual to someone so that they can let you know how you did as Timer.  Evaluation is critical to improvement.

Explaining your role

Now you are ready for action.  Your first task at Timber Talkers will be to describe your role.  Explain why timing is an important factor for a well run meeting and that keeping on time is a great skill to develop.  Then explain how the timing cards work.  Green for the minimum time, yellow for the middle time, and red for the maximum time.  If you haven't verified the timing for the prepared speeches, now would be a great time to state their timing.  You can also mention the timing for table topics, especially if it is not on the agenda.  You don't need to go into the intricate details.  Keep it simple.

During the meeting

Now your job is to keep the time and raise cards as needed.

For a speaker there will be a minimum time and a maximum time.  Most speeches in the Competent Communication manual are 5-7 minutes.  For these speeches, you raise the green at 5 minutes, yellow at 6 minutes, and red at 7 minutes.  You keep the red card up until the speech is complete.  No need to wave the cards if you are in a visible seat.

After a prepared speaker we take 1 minute to write up evaluations for the speaker.  The Toastmaster will prompt you to do this.

For table topics, a typical time range is 45-1:15.  Show the green card at 45 seconds, the yellow at 1 minute, and the red card at 1:15.  We award a best table topic speaker.  To be eligible the speakers need to be within time.  The speakers have 15 second either side of the time allowed.  In this case, eligible times would be from 30 seconds through 1:30.  Be ready with this information when asked.

Timing of the evaluators is important too, as is each of the roles in the evaluation portion of the meeting.  Continue timing these evaluation roles even after you have given your report.  This helps the speakers know how they are doing on time.

Conclusion

The timer is an important role.  It is what keeps our meetings running on time.  Being the timer gives you an appreciation for staying within time.  It can sometimes be a challenge, even for experienced Toastmasters, to focus on the timing when they get involved in a meeting.  As you progress in Toastmasters you get a sense of the timing without having to see the cards.  This skill can be carried over into speaking outside the club.

Arrive early

• Get a good seat
• Get the timing cards, timing sheet, and stopwatch
• Pass your CL manual to someone for a written evaluation
• Check the agenda for timing
• Verify timing with the prepared speakers 

Happy Timing!