Prerequisite: None.

Time: 3 to 5 minutes

Before the Meeting: The Poet Laureate position is not one that all clubs use. If the Toastmaster sees that the meeting is running late, s/he may inform you that you will not be speaking. Nevertheless, you should come to the meeting prepared. Reading written material to an audience is very different from just reading out loud.

• The Toastmaster will contact you several days prior to the meeting to confirm your attendance. At that time, give the Toastmaster some biographical information for your introduction.
• Choose anything written that you can read out loud. It can be poetry, prose, an excerpt from a novel or other book, even a newspaper.
• Practice reading out loud, and time yourself to ensure you don’t exceed 5 minutes.
• When you read to an audience, you must involve the audience. You do this by looking at them, not just staring down at the page. When you don’t look at them, you are telling them not to pay attention to you.
• Glance at the next sentence you will read, begin to read it, and glance up at the audience for the last part of the sentence. That gives the sentence more importance to the audience. If you look down and away from the audience as you finish a sentence, you are reducing that sentence’s importance. Don’t look up on every single sentence. The idea is not to pretend you’re not reading; the idea is simply to include the audience, since they can’t read along with you.
• When you look up at the audience, don’t look at the same person each time. Make eye contact with different people, and occasionally sweep your eyes from person to person.
• As you become more experienced at reading out loud, use gestures to emphasize and enhance what you read, and vocal variety to add interest.

1. When introduced by the Toastmaster, walk quickly to the lectern and shake the Toastmaster’s hand.
2. Give a brief introduction and/or reason for your reading selection.
3. Read your selection, staying aware of the Timekeeper.
4. Return control of the meeting to the Toastmaster by saying, "Mr./Madam Toastmaster." Remain at the lectern until s/he arrives to shake your hand.