Chatswood Early Risers
Toastmasters Club

Great Meetings

Listener/Grammarian

The role combines the roles of Listener ("who said what"), Grammarian (reporting on good and bad uses of language) and the Ah Counter. Your goal is to educate us by highlighting was done well and what could be improved. In addition, you will test our listening skills.

You need to listen attentively throughout the meeting and note:

• Filler words like "uh", "um", "you know", "that sort of thing", etc.
• Mispronunciations or incorrect use of words
• Verbs and nouns whose tense don't agree
• Exceptionally good word usage and pronunciation.
• Factual items for the "Who said what" section of your report.

During the meeting take notes of who said what (particularly in Table Topics and Speeches) and quiz the audience in your report.

Resources:

The club has a large Macquarie dictionary which you should consult for meanings and pronunciations of particular words.

A document is available (Microsoft Word format) to help you understand grammatical forms with examples. Please print this document for your personal reference.

The University of Kentucky has an interesting glossary of rhetorical terms with examples. Read this and you will be able to recognise alliteration, litotes, assonance, metaphor, synecdoche, hyperbole, similes and many more!

Feel free to send your comments and suggestions on this page to Charles Cave. I want these pages to record the combined experience of members.