We are not a "pass-fail" program

Cajetan Barretto posted a clarification he received from TI regarding the meeting roles and using credits from the projects. I found it so important, that today I post it here for all. It IS a Key Message from Toastmasters. Not only about Meeting roles, that are not tracked. Also that we are not a "pass-fail" program. 
" It is true that to get from Level 3 to Level 4 a member must perform service as one of the following:
- Toastmaster
- Table Topics Master
- Speech Evaluator 

Details of these roles can be found in both The Navigator and the handbook A Toastmaster Wears Many Hats. (Letter meant, "how to perform them")

While this is a requirement this is not something we actively track. We trust our members to perform these roles at some point in time during their Pathways journey, prior to level 3 completion. 

Keep in mind, members should indeed strive to meet all manual project requirements. If one of the objectives of a project speech is to use gestures effectively and the member focuses instead on vocal variety, the member has not met the project objective and this should be pointed out by the evaluator. However, the Toastmasters program is not a "pass-fail" one.

Toastmasters International is not a school; it is an organization devoted to helping people develop their speaking skills in a positive, helpful, non-threatening environment. Instead of "failing" a speaker whose speech does not meet project objectives, an evaluator should point out what the speaker did well and also point out the areas where the speaker could improve, as in a normal evaluation.

If you have the opportunity to perform as one of the above roles please do so, as this is a part of the Toastmaster learning experience. However, this is nothing to worry heavily about. While serving in one of the above roles during a project won't be able to count towards this requirement there are many opportunities as a Toastmaster to perform the club meeting roles. I wish you the best along your Toastmaster journey!"
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I did deliver this morning my Engage my Audience with Humor. While at times, I did get laughter, I may have left to many sad aftertaste, to long also before the humor arrived. No one asks me, but I will deliver it somewhere again, differently. Feedback is always useful! Of course, it also depends on the audience and... I convinced many to try humor! My key message worked for many of them. Would have worked better if I left out some sad parts? That is what I will have to try.