Functionaries are important
In Toastmasters, we take turns taking different roles in our meetings. Some roles seem more important than others. For example, prepared speech speakers and speech evaluators seem more important because speakers provide contents and evaluators provide feedback on them. These are at the center of the meeting. Toastmaster of the Day and General Evaluators seem more important because they lead other members in the preparation toward the meeting and they preside over the Prepares Speech Session and the Evaluation Session, respectively.
Other role-takers, called "functionarries," on the other hand, seem less important. Those include the Timer, Ah-Counter, and Grammarian. The Timer is responsible for timing speeches and guide speakers and evaluators by showing them timing signals, telling them how much time they have left. The Ah-Counter is responsible for paying attention to verbal distractors like filler words and sounds, unintended lengthy pauses, and repeated and/or overly-used words or phrases. The Grammarian pays attention to the language use, both good and bad.
Although they seem less important, they are actually very important part of our meetings. What they are responsible for are sometimes difficult for the speakers to notice themselves. We need someone to pay special attention to those elements and remind us of how well, or poorly, we are doing.
Exemplary Grammarian report
Especially worthy of mention this time was Swan, who took the role of the Grammarian. He performed his duty in an exemplary manner. He paid close attention to details and put together a very nice report organizing what he found in categories of pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary. Those mistakes and errors occurred thoughout the course of the meeting and happened randomly. If he had pointed them out in the order they happened, it would have been really hard for the audinece to figure out what he was trying to say. Rather, he put them in categories so that the audience members can easily understand what points he was trying to make. His report was an exemplary one. Great job!
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