How to present the Grammarian’s report

In an earlier blog, we discussed how to perform the role of a Grammarian. Find it here.

In this blog, we will dive deep into how a Grammarian’s report should be presented when called upon by the General Evaluator in the third session of the meeting.

Here are the key things to keep in mind when presenting the report.

1) There is no fixed order prescribed by Toastmasters International in which the report is to be presented. However, the general order followed is –

First – the good usage of language.

Next – the not so good usage of language.

Next – the incorrect pronunciation

Finally, the count of usage of the Word of the Day

2) It is an accepted practice to mention the names of people credited with the good usage of language but avoid the same when mentioning the not so good usage to save them embarrassment.

3) It is also an accepted practice to mention the names of Toastmasters who use the word of the day when mentioning the count.

4) An established club blessed with veteran speakers may witness an overflow of good usage of language with some fine vocabulary, figures of speech and idioms at display. As a Grammarian, you may have a page full of them. However, when presenting the report, don’t overwhelm club members with the full list. Instead, mention a small subset of the finest ones. You may share the full list over your WhatsApp group.

5) If you have a long list of incorrect usage of language, present them in a concise format by clubbing similar ones. For example – “There were multiple errors in usage of plurals. Hair, children and oxen are plural in themselves and we don’t need to add an extra s.”