Toastmaster Time TV

Speaker Information and Guidelines

Revised 11/8/2010
www.toastmastertime.com

Contact:
George Marshall, george@marshalls.org,
510-490-2149 (home) or 510-557-3386 (cell)
or
Alan Zoraster, azoraster@yahoo.com, 925-518-3559 (cell)

Toastmaster Time is a television show by and about Toastmasters, produced in

District 57. Our primary mission is to provide the opportunity for members to
gain experience by speaking in a TV studio environment, a very different
experience than speaking at your club or at work, or being video-recorded in
your club.

In addition, the show also promotes Toastmaster International and District 57,
and provides an opportunity where members can learn about TV show
production.

Broadcast Release:
By appearing on the Toastmaster Time TV show, you are giving
permission for videos and still shots of yourself to be broadcast on public
access channels, displayed on the Toastmaster Time website, and other
Toastmasters-related websites, and to be used for promotion of the show.

No commercial use will be made of your video or likeness without your

express consent.

Broadcast channels and times:

The show is broadcast on Comcast cable in Fremont, Newark and Union
City every Tuesday at 7pm, Channel 29. It is broadcast in other cities on
Comcast systems, including San Leandro, Alameda and others, on either
channel 28 or 29, whichever is the public access in that city, plus some
other Comcast systems around the Bay Area. It is also broadcast on
public access channels from Vallejo Community Access Television, to a
number of North Bay cities, on both Comcast and AT&T U-verse television.
Typically, each show will be broadcast once or twice a week for a month.

The primary means of broadcasting the show to all District 57 members is

our website, www.toastmastertime.com, where we have an archive of
shows since 2004, plus some of the very first shows produced in the late
90’s

Toastmaster Time Speaker Guidelines Revised 11/8/2010 Page 1

Studio Schedule & Location:
Toastmaster Time is currently recorded at the Media Center in Palo Alto.
The address is:
900 San Antonio Rd.
Palo Alto, CA 94303-4917

Check the map closely before driving to the studio, as the Media center is
actually on what appears to be a frontage road off of the main San
Antonio Rd expressway. When proceeding north on San Antonio from the
intersection with Charleston, it is necessary to bear right shortly after the
intersection.

Show dates and times vary during the year. The producer will give you
the time and date for your show.

Speaker Guidelines

Speech Topic Guidelines

Pretty much any topic that is suitable for a manual speech is OK, with a few
exceptions:
• Please save your talks promoting your political candidate or religion for
some other venue, thanks. If you want to talk about a cause or nonprofit
organization that you think would be of general interest, please ask first.
• This is not a vehicle to promote your business or services; we air on a
non-commercial channel.
• You can talk about a topic where you have expertise, as long as you are
not directly promoting your business, but please, please, apply your
Toastmaster skills to make it a talk that is interesting in itself.

If you are looking for ideas to narrow your options from the many speeches
you could give, we have found that humor, storytelling, inspirational or
"Speech Contest" material works well on the show.
-> We are always open to an interesting and informative talk about some
aspect of the Toastmasters program.

You can give a new speech, or you can present a talk that you have given
before. If you want a manual evaluation, we recommend that you bring a
fellow Toastmaster with you, as the cast and crew are very busy during the
show and (ironically) don’t focus very much on the speech content during
the production.

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Timing for Television Talks

Unlike a club meeting, TV shows cannot run over! So, your talk should be
close to six minutes, with a maximum of about six and a half minutes, unless
you have a prior agreement with the show team for a different length. If your
talk goes too long, we may have to remove part of it in post-show editing /

We assume all speakers know their speech well, so we normally do not

provide timing lights or timing signals. If you need timing signals, please let
us know ahead of time or, better yet, bring a friend with a timing light.

Gestures and Movements

The main restriction on TV compared to a club or real-world speech is that

your movements are limitedt. You can pivot in place, but if you step, you will
walk right out of focus or even out of the camera shot ! If a certain motion is
important to your talk, let us know and we'll work out how to capture it.

Examples: most of the time, the director will have the camera operators take
close-up or medium shots of the speaker so that the audience can clearly
see the expression on your face. But if you need to move around or make a
big sweeping gesture, we will pull back for a “long” shot, as shown below.

Close-up Medium Long

(Thanks to Faz B of Division A for permission to use snaps for his speech here).
CLOTHING Guidelines for Speakers – IMPORTANT!

Because the camera and television don’t see things the way our eyes do, it is
necessary to wear clothing and accessories that are appropriate for the
studio. Here are the most important things to remember.

o Avoid White or Bright Red! The cameras do not

handle those colors well. Very light pastel colors are like
white. Black is not a great color for TV, but it is better
than white. Medium colors look best. Wear colors that
complement you, and clothing that is comfortable and
appropriate for the program

Toastmaster Time Speaker Guidelines Revised 11/8/2010 Page 3

 o Don’t wear clothing with small stripes or a very small pattern or print.
(i.e., Herring bone weave or small checks.) These patterns also play
havoc on the TV, and cause rainbows to appear across the screen,
distracting the audience from YOU.
See the demo videos on the show website for examples.
o No shiny jewelry. Please don’t wear anything that is highly reflective or
shiny. It looks bad on TV and it damages the cameras just like looking at
the sun damages our eyes. Large brooches, name badges, even some
earrings can be a problem if they are too shiny. The lights are extremely
bright, and the cameras are sensitive, resulting in a “flashbulb” effect from
reflections off your jewelry. That is very distracting for viewers and
detracts from your speech. If it does not reflect much light, it’s OK.
o Audio: We might ask you to remove a necklace or even jingly earrings if
they might interfere with the microphone that we clip to your shirt/top.
Bangles or any jewelry that makes noise will interfere with the audio and
you will be asked to remove that as well. Ladies, if you have long hair,
consider wearing it up or pulled back so that your hair does not touch the
microphone, as it makes a noise that sounds like static.

And please, don’t slap your chest in a dramatic gesture; it makes an

awful noise on the microphone!
o We recommend that speakers wear a jacket or other top with a seam so
we can easily hide the microphone wire.
Men,
o A suit jacket or blazer is ideal for this purpose, or even a shirt with
buttons.
Women,
o An outer jacket or top will make it easier to place the microphone.
An outfit with a belt (or a skirt or slacks) is ideal because we need
a belt or pocket to fasten the battery pack for the wireless
microphone, or the cord. If you wear a single piece dress, it will be
nearly impossible to hide the cables for the wired microphone, or
wireless battery pack.
o It can be very warm under all the studio lights. When the lights are off, the
studio can be a little cool. Be prepared for this change in temperature.
o If you need to have notes, we recommend you use BLUE 3x5 cards.
White paper (just like white clothing) disrupts the picture. However, you
will look much better on TV if you are not constantly looking down at your
notes, so use them sparingly or avoid them if you can.

Toastmaster Time Speaker Guidelines Revised 11/8/2010 Page 4

Bring a Friend!

You are welcome to bring fellow club members, friends or family members
to watch the show being recorded. They will be able to observe in the
studio, right behind the cameras, just a few feet away. Children are OK,
as long as they are old enough to stay quiet for a half hour.

Cancellations

We count on you to be at the studio to appear on the show if you said you
would. Unlike a club meeting, we can’t just substitute another speaker at
the last minute, or add a few Table Topics. We need you! About a dozen
people converge on the studio on show night to put you on TV. So please
arrange your schedule so that you can be there if you say you will.

But we also know that ”stuff happens” – maybe you have unexpected
travel, there’s an illness in the family, or just an unavoidable conflict
comes up. If it happens to you, please let us know as soon as possible
so that we can make arrangements for an alternate speaker. We will be
glad to reschedule your talk for a future show date.

What Happens on the Show?

Still wondering what being on a show is like? While we do vary the format
from time to time for different reasons, our usual format is one in which
each speaker will be interviewed for a minute or two by the host, as well
as presenting a talk. To see what past shows look like, go to our website
at www.toastmastertime.com, and watch a recent past episode.

Most shows have no audience, other than the crew, or any guests you
might bring. One of the challenges on speaking on television is to
communicate your message and your emotional content to the camera,
even though there is no audience you can use to gauge your effect. Plan
for this difference, and prepare well!

Toastmaster Time Speaker Guidelines Revised 11/8/2010 Page 5