Duties of the Ballot Counter/Listener

Ah Counter | Ballot Counter/Listener | Evaluator | General Evaluator | Jester | PLG
President | Sergeant at Arms | Speaker | Timer | Toastmaster | Topics Master

Before the Meeting

• Practice your "Explanation of Duty" speech if you need to.

Upon Arrival at the Meeting

• Look at the agenda to see what parts of the meeting will have elections. The possibilities are prepared speeches, table topics, and speech evaluations. An election will be held only if there are two or more participants in the event.
• Secure the ballot bag, a supply of ballots, and the required award ribbons from the table or supply box.
• Adapt your "Explanation of Duty" to fit the agenda; do not explain elections that will not occur in the meeting.
• Distribute enough ballots around the room to handle the number of people expected and the number of elections.

During the Meeting

Ballot Counter

• Pass the ballot bag around the room when the Toastmaster, Topics Master, or General Evaluator calls for an election.
• Count the ballots, casting your own vote only to break a tie [in your report, do not announce that you broke a tie or everyone will know how you voted].
• Write the name and date on the back of the ribbon, and give the ribbons to the Toastmaster when asked near the end of the meeting.

Listener

• Listen for interesting tidbits of information from all of the speakers.
• Formulate questions and ask them during the "Listener's Report" when called upon by the General Evaluator. Be sure to adapt the number of questions to the time available; if we are running late, just ask one or two quick questions.

Sample "Explanation of Duty"

Mr. Toastmaster, fellow Toastmasters, and guests:

In order to encourage excellence in speaking at the meeting today, we will select the best [adapt the following list to match the agenda] prepared-speech speaker, the best Table Topics respondent, and the best speech evaluator. As the Ballot Counter, it is my duty to collect and tally the votes for each election and report the findings to the Toastmaster at the end of the meeting, by noting on the back of the ribbon the speaker's name, award, and date. Normally, I will not vote except when we have a tie vote. In the event that there is only one speaker who qualifies for any ribbon, he or she will win by acclamation.

[add the following if guests are present] Guests are encouraged to vote in the elections. Just tear off a ballot [demonstrate] and write in the name of the person whom you think was the best speaker in the event.

Being a good listener is just as important as being a good speaker, so as as Listener I will note interesting tidbits of information from any of the speakers and ask questions near the end of the meeting to see if everyone was paying attention. Mr. Toastmaster.

Sample "Listener's Report"

I've prepared a few questions to see if everyone was listening. [Ask a question, let the group answer, give the "correct" answer if no one gets it, and repeat for several questions, paying attention to the time]

Mr. General Evaluator.