Timer
Your task
Staying in the given time frame matters for all speeches. As Timer you are watching over the time that speakers and moderators are spending. You are also keeping an eye on the meeting starting and ending on time, including the break.
- Explain your role when asked by the meeting facilitator.
- Measure and note the time of all prepared speeches, impromptu speeches and evaluation speeches.
- Show speakers their use of time using colored cards or a light signal.
How long is the speech time?
The time frame varies among speech projects. Prepared speeches frequently are 5-7 minutes long. Some projects are longer, look for the precise time on the agenda.
The according light signals are:
| Speech | green | yellow | red |
|---|---|---|---|
| prepared speech | 5:00 | 6:00 | 7:00 |
| ice breaker speech | 4:00 | 5:00 | 6:00 |
| impromptu speech | 1:00 | 1:30 | 2:00 |
| evaluation speech | 2:00 | 2:30 | 3:00 |
Hints
- Watch the time during the break and signal its end.
- Give a signal to meeting facilitators, when they are more than 5 minutes overtime.
Exemplary introduction of the role
*"As timer I am going to keep an eye on speech timing and punctuality in general.
I will show speakers how much time they have left. I will indicate the time to them with green, yellow and red colored signals. Green is the minimum speaking time, yellow means the speaker is close to the end and red is there are 30 seconds left.
The speeches have different time boxes. Most prepared speeches have a time slot of 5-7 minutes. Imprompt speeches and evaluation speeches are 1-2 and 2-3 minutes long, respectively.
I will measure these times with my stopwatch, write them down and give a report afterwards."*