| Overview
The primary purpose of the
Listener is to sharpen the powers of observation. But, unlike the
other evaluative roles—which are intentionally narrow and
quantitative and aimed to benefit the
Speaker—the Listener role is
broad, qualitative, and focuses on the audience.
This is a somewhat experimental role and is not defined by
Toastmasters International. However, the Listener role is practiced
by many chartered Toastmaster clubs around the world and CATM has
added it for occasional use as time permits.
Prerequisites
Listeners should have served
as
Speaker Evaluator at least once and must have also observed the
Listener role at a CATM meeting at least once.
Before the Meeting
- Being Listener is a
reactive job. You will need to think quickly during the meeting
to come up with questions from what is said during formal
speeches and Table Topics.
During the Meeting
- Keep track of key
ideas, facts, or points during speeches, evaluations, Table
Topics, Skills Master presentations, and the Toastmaster's
comments.
- The Listener will
essentially be moderator of an interactive report that should be
done while roaming around the room to add drama to the segment.
- At the appropriate
time, the Listener will quiz participants to answer questions.
For example, the Listener might ask, "What did [the speaker]
like most about their mother-in-law?" if something was mentioned
by the speaker in that regard.
- Alternate between
asking the question before selecting someone to answer and
calling on someone and then giving them the question. You may
also ask anyone "from the floor" to reply to a question.
- Questions must be
phrased and stated clearly, with answers from participants
accepted graciously and harmoniously, even when the atmosphere
becomes lively, as often happens. Some may be reluctant to
answer; gently encourage as much participation as possible while
avoiding embarrassing anybody. You may also need to gently quiet
louder, more dominant types who want to answer every question.
Use "Let's see who else was listening" or something equally
polite but clear to give the less vocal a chance, and to involve
the overly shy. You may have to give people hints if you were
listening better than everybody else or if your questions are
very detailed.
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