Joke Master Role

Purpose

• Humor is a critical part of communication skills. How effective is constructive criticism without humor? Can you laugh at yourself? Appropriate, well-timed humor adds greatly to the Toastmasters experience.
• The Toastmaster of the day will call on you as the Joke Master to give a joke. The joke can be a one-liner, a "groaner", or a pleasant short story that leaves the members feeling good. You do not need to find the funniest joke ever told, nor do you need to deliver a joke so perfectly that the members are literally rolling on the floor laughing.
• It's all about practice. Practice your delivery. Practice the timing. Smile. Plan a pause to accommodate for audience reaction or laughter. Most importantly, have fun with this meeting role!

Before the Meeting

• Prepare a brief explanation of the role for the benefit of new members and guests.
• Select suitable material for the joke master session and prepare a short speech. (Time slot: 3 minutes).
• Practice your joke so you can use your skills in vocal variety and body language to enhance the story and punch line.
• Ensures that any resources required will be available (eg a flip chart).
• Choosing the Best Joke
• Present clean, concise, appropriate jokes
• Can be joke, anecdote, or personal humorous story
• Be dramatic: act out the part enthusiastically
• Have fun!
• Tie the joke into the meeting's theme
• Avoid racial, sexist or otherwise offensive jokes. Jokes on religion and politics should also be avoided. As Toastmasters, we need to be aware of the feelings of our fellow members and be sensitive to them. If you are in doubt, get another joke.

During the Meeting

• Explains the role of the joke master when called upon.
• From your seat, delivers the prepared material in an amusing way.

After the Meeting

• Give your Joke (if written) to the Secretary to be placed with the meeting minutes.

Resources
AJokeADay.com
Yahoo!Jokes Directory (http://dir.yahoo.com/Entertainment/Humor/Jokes/)
Humormall.com

"Ah" Counter Meeting Role & Report Form

The Ah Counter is one of the functionaries at the meeting. The Ah Counter's responsibilities are to keep track of audible crutches, such as "ah," "um" or a "double clutch" (the repetition of a word while the speaker searches for his or her next thought.) Also, to note sentences strung together with “and,” “so” or "you know."

The purpose of “Ah Counting” is not to embarrass or criticize speakers – it is to give helpful feedback and thereby increase awareness of an area where improvement is possible.

The "Ah" Counter Report Form is available to be printed.