I am a believer that the mic should go dead at the end of the person’s time. Three minutes is *NOT* 181 seconds, never an excuse for going over, never.
Geek who wears an ‘atomic clock’ watch and has 20+ years in Toastmasters :-)
I'd have no problem with that, or even a loud buzzer. My problem with the way Lehrer "ran" the debate was that he did not enforce time limits; and he offered Obama more rebuttals than Romney.
It is funny to see the left eat its own in this manner. Despite more time afforded Obama and coaching from Lehrer, the left decides to blame Lehrer for O's shortcomings. Now he's just another old white guy who isn't PC anymore; so under the bus he goes.
“never an excuse for going over, never”
Geez, it’s not like having sec with your mom. Who cares? It’s a debate, not the Superbowl. Sometimes the only entertaining moments are when the rules are in danger.
By the way, I don’t know what Toastmasters is all about, really, but you should teach eachother that making a point or just being engaging often trumps decorum. Which is not to say you should shout all your lines or moon the audience, but never forget no one listens to a speech just because it’s a certain length.