Toastmaster
Directs and hosts the meeting, introduces participants, and keeps transitions clear.
The essential idea
Every role helps the meeting and trains the member
Responsibilities vary slightly by club, so confirm local practice with the Toastmaster or a club officer. Use the official role pages for current scripts, logs, and detailed guidance.
Start here
Prepare for a role
- 1
Confirm the assignment
Ask what the club expects, when you will speak, and which agenda or log you should use.
- 2
Prepare the essentials
Read the official role description, bring the needed notes or signals, and prepare a concise introduction.
- 3
Serve and report
Support the full meeting, stay within time, and give a clear report that helps members improve.
Responsibilities in practice
Roles at a typical meeting
Clubs may combine or add roles; these are the core responsibilities described by Toastmasters International.
Topicsmaster
Plans and facilitates the Table Topics® portion so members can practice impromptu speaking.
Table Topics speaker
Responds to an unseen prompt with a concise, organized impromptu speech.
Prepared speaker
Completes a project or delivers a prepared speech and supplies the evaluator with the correct resource.
Speech evaluator
Provides specific, constructive verbal and written feedback to an assigned speaker.
General Evaluator
Leads the evaluation team and evaluates how effectively the whole meeting operated.
Timer
Tracks each segment and speaker, displays timing signals, and reports actual times.
Grammarian
Listens for effective and improvable language and may introduce a Word of the Day.
Ah-Counter
Notes filler sounds, repeated words, and distracting pauses, then reports observations.
Use the source of truth
Official resources
The official role hub links to individual descriptions and current downloadable logs and scripts.
Toastmasters International
Club Meeting Roles
Official descriptions for the Toastmaster, Topicsmaster, speakers, evaluators, Timer, Grammarian, and Ah-Counter.
Open official pageToastmasters International
Role Resource Library
Official manuals, scripts, logs, and meeting-role resources.
Open official pagePage content reviewed against public official sources in August 2026. Rules and requirements are governed by the latest official version at each link.