How to Timer the RDG Way

3. Suggestions

• If you are using lights, avoid confusing the speaker. Turn off the previous light prior to turning on the next light. Try not to disturb the audience with the flags.
• If you have a meeting theme, you can pattern your meeting role explanation and timer reports after the theme. For example, if the meeting theme is "Science Fiction", a sample timer's report could be: "Captain, sensors show that our first speaker qualified, but we have a red alert with our second speaker, who went 33 seconds over their time limit."
• If you forget to start the timer when the speaker starts, start it and time as normal.
• If you forget to flag the speaker at the correct time, raise the correct flag, and ignore the extra time. For example, if you see the time is 5 minutes 30 seconds and you haven't raised the green flag, raise the green flag. Wait one minute before raising the yellow flag, and another before the red.
• If you have a timing error, mention it briefly during your timer's report.
• Speech timing chart: