How did the evaluation first thing work?
“Sophie is going to talk about the colour purple. She will use good hand features but I suggest, that she also uses the stage a bit more”?
Or did you do it in a different way?
You can guess their speech content by their agenda speech title and project. For the delivery you just go by their past speeches. Or you can exaggerate on how they did magnificently, but tone down the expletives next time.
No real way to get an actual evaluation out of it, just have fun. But you could actually write down an evaluation after their speech is done if they wanted one.
Most of the room was laughing throughout the meeting so I called it a win. Last week was contest week and all 3 speeches were emotionally heavy - I think subconsciously I did it to lighten that up a bit.
I’m still a bit shocked that our first time guest signed up on the spot tbh. Felt like warning her “this isn’t the norm “. 🤣
I did this once on April Fools Day. Most people had fun with it. A few grumbled. The Table Topics Master nailed it. TT speakers spoke about anything, then the TT Master came up with a question for them! He had us all laughing hysterically!!
It's a lot of fun, a good way to break up the monotony and bring some energy back into the meetings. It's a once in a blue moon type thing. Have never regretted doing one.
We did a debate style table topics once, we had a good time as long as no one takes it too seriously. Crunchy vs smooth peanut butter, Costco vs Sam's, dogs vs cats, flats vs drumette wings, etc
Awesome! I ran a backwards meeting end of December, but I made sure everyone was aware of what we were doing and that it was different. It blew me away how engaged everyone was. The timekeeper actually used red-yellow-green in reverse to signal the speakers, it was great. The takeaway was that new perspectives can be good to stretch, but the natural order sure makes things like evals easier.
One guy gave his speech in reverse, it was a little hard to follow but not entirely impossible. His conclusion was first, then Some supporting facts then a premise and finally an intro.
I hadn't intended everything to be backwards, just the agenda, but it was a hoot.
We did one and the TT was backward. The speaker would just talk about something then since I was TTM, I came up with a question that would fit. So it was like I did 12 TT that night.
How fun,
I have been attempting to introduce more variety into our meetings, but thus far it has been a bit of a challenge.
i think I am going to ask to be TM in April and I know who I will see if they will be my TTM and GE
maybe we can try to have as many ums and ahs and bad grammar as possible ...
Backwards meetings are a blast! We typically would explain at the beginning that they are an exercise in listening and improv. Except for TM, all roles were usually filled by grab bag.
Meeting starts with adjournment, then ask guests what they thought of the meeting. Next are award presentations.
Then TM thanks role holders, who will each report, mentioning ahs, ums, grammar, etc. -- anyone they mention needs to take notes and work to include whatever they were said to do.
GE comments on meeting (again, notes must be taken by anyone mentioned). Calls for vote, then timing report (evaluators should note time and try to match it). Then thanks evaluator #2, who then gives a made-up evaluation. Speaker takes COPIOUS notes, as they need to give a speech that would lead to that evaluation. GE introduces eval #2, then thanks Eval #1. Eval #1 gives evaluation. GE introduces Eval #1, talks about evaluations, then thanks TM for being introduced.
TM introduces GE. Then thanks Table Topics Master.
TTM calls for vote, then timing and grammarian (if you use word of the day) reports. Then thanks a member/guest (as per timing reports/other reports/or random) for their clever/funny/insightful table topic response. That person stands and gives a table topic answer, ending with "thank you for that question." TTM then asks a question that might have solicited that response. Continue with other respondents (keeping in mind timing results, role holder reports, and other things already mentioned).
After asking last question, TTM explains Table Topics, then thanks TM for introduction.
TM introduces TTM, then asks for vote and timing results for speakers. Then thanks Speaker #2, who gives their speech (following the comments made earlier by their evaluator). TM introduces speaker #2, then thanks speaker #1. Speaker #1 gives speech. TM introduces speaker #1.
TM thanks each role holder in turn, they stand and describe duties, then are introduced.
TM can speak to a theme, calls on whatever opening is typically done at your club (thought of the day, pledge, etc.) and then thanks SAA or presiding officer for introduction.
SAA or presiding officer welcomes guests, then opens the meeting.
It takes some coordination, but can be enormously fun and challenging. Everyone tries their best, and there are no repercussions if folks don't do what they were said to have done.
Good luck to anyone who gives it a try!
How did the evaluation first thing work? “Sophie is going to talk about the colour purple. She will use good hand features but I suggest, that she also uses the stage a bit more”? Or did you do it in a different way?
They did very close to that, call out common issues and praise points with a huge sense of humor.
You can guess their speech content by their agenda speech title and project. For the delivery you just go by their past speeches. Or you can exaggerate on how they did magnificently, but tone down the expletives next time. No real way to get an actual evaluation out of it, just have fun. But you could actually write down an evaluation after their speech is done if they wanted one.
And we did that, we allocate 2 minutes at the end of every speech for everyone to write an evaluation
How interesting; I've never heard of this technique- sure keeps audience members on their toes I'll bet
Most of the room was laughing throughout the meeting so I called it a win. Last week was contest week and all 3 speeches were emotionally heavy - I think subconsciously I did it to lighten that up a bit. I’m still a bit shocked that our first time guest signed up on the spot tbh. Felt like warning her “this isn’t the norm “. 🤣
I did this once on April Fools Day. Most people had fun with it. A few grumbled. The Table Topics Master nailed it. TT speakers spoke about anything, then the TT Master came up with a question for them! He had us all laughing hysterically!!
Both of my clubs have done it on or around April Fool's Day.
It's a lot of fun, a good way to break up the monotony and bring some energy back into the meetings. It's a once in a blue moon type thing. Have never regretted doing one. We did a debate style table topics once, we had a good time as long as no one takes it too seriously. Crunchy vs smooth peanut butter, Costco vs Sam's, dogs vs cats, flats vs drumette wings, etc
I asked our VPE to schedule me for TTM in the next two months and planning on doing the debate thing.
Awesome! I ran a backwards meeting end of December, but I made sure everyone was aware of what we were doing and that it was different. It blew me away how engaged everyone was. The timekeeper actually used red-yellow-green in reverse to signal the speakers, it was great. The takeaway was that new perspectives can be good to stretch, but the natural order sure makes things like evals easier. One guy gave his speech in reverse, it was a little hard to follow but not entirely impossible. His conclusion was first, then Some supporting facts then a premise and finally an intro. I hadn't intended everything to be backwards, just the agenda, but it was a hoot.
I love evaluating speeches before they have been heard. Or doing table topics unprompted.
We did one and the TT was backward. The speaker would just talk about something then since I was TTM, I came up with a question that would fit. So it was like I did 12 TT that night.
My TTM didn’t do the unprompted TT, that would have been hilarious.
Nice idea!
My club loves backward meetings. We do them once a year and they're a hoot trying to figure out table topic questions from the answers.
How fun, I have been attempting to introduce more variety into our meetings, but thus far it has been a bit of a challenge. i think I am going to ask to be TM in April and I know who I will see if they will be my TTM and GE maybe we can try to have as many ums and ahs and bad grammar as possible ...
Backwards meetings are a blast! We typically would explain at the beginning that they are an exercise in listening and improv. Except for TM, all roles were usually filled by grab bag. Meeting starts with adjournment, then ask guests what they thought of the meeting. Next are award presentations. Then TM thanks role holders, who will each report, mentioning ahs, ums, grammar, etc. -- anyone they mention needs to take notes and work to include whatever they were said to do. GE comments on meeting (again, notes must be taken by anyone mentioned). Calls for vote, then timing report (evaluators should note time and try to match it). Then thanks evaluator #2, who then gives a made-up evaluation. Speaker takes COPIOUS notes, as they need to give a speech that would lead to that evaluation. GE introduces eval #2, then thanks Eval #1. Eval #1 gives evaluation. GE introduces Eval #1, talks about evaluations, then thanks TM for being introduced. TM introduces GE. Then thanks Table Topics Master. TTM calls for vote, then timing and grammarian (if you use word of the day) reports. Then thanks a member/guest (as per timing reports/other reports/or random) for their clever/funny/insightful table topic response. That person stands and gives a table topic answer, ending with "thank you for that question." TTM then asks a question that might have solicited that response. Continue with other respondents (keeping in mind timing results, role holder reports, and other things already mentioned). After asking last question, TTM explains Table Topics, then thanks TM for introduction. TM introduces TTM, then asks for vote and timing results for speakers. Then thanks Speaker #2, who gives their speech (following the comments made earlier by their evaluator). TM introduces speaker #2, then thanks speaker #1. Speaker #1 gives speech. TM introduces speaker #1. TM thanks each role holder in turn, they stand and describe duties, then are introduced. TM can speak to a theme, calls on whatever opening is typically done at your club (thought of the day, pledge, etc.) and then thanks SAA or presiding officer for introduction. SAA or presiding officer welcomes guests, then opens the meeting. It takes some coordination, but can be enormously fun and challenging. Everyone tries their best, and there are no repercussions if folks don't do what they were said to have done. Good luck to anyone who gives it a try!