Main Screen Overview
The Timer tab shows the timer display along with the green, yellow, and red time markers. Above the numeric time display shows at what times the green, yellow, and red lights will turn on. Just below that display shows a progress bar which ranges from time zero up to after the time in which the red light turns on – at this time the lights will blink indicating that the speech have overtimed beyond the hard maximum speech time limit.
Speech Setup
Pressing the grey button displays speech setup screen. The speech type is used to determine at what times the appropriate colored lights will turn on. You can also enter the person who is making the speech (orator name). While you type, Speech Timer will provide suggestions based on the names available in your address book – just tap on the suggested name to choose it. When you have entered the orator name and choose a speech type, tap on Done.
Speech Types
Speech Timer comes with an initial set of speech types that may be modified and re-arranged, or even deleted. Changing a speech type’s timing will only change future time measurements based on that speech type – the currently running timer and timings recorded in the History tab does not change.
Running the Timer
While the timer is running, the iPhone will vibrate (or will sound a short beep for iPod touch) when the timing lights change. This is to alert you as time progresses. The Green button will also changes from Start to Pause which allows you to suspend timekeeping temporarily.
If you hold your iPhone (or iPod touch) straight up while the timer is running, the entire screen will turn to green/yellow/red as according to the timer lights. But when the time haven’t reached green, the screen will turn white instead. This is so that the iPhone may be used as both timer and color flag. The speech light changes and the corresponding flag modes are shown in the screenshots below.
When the timer light is green, lifting the iPhone/iPod touch will change the entire screen green and effectively makes the device a timer's flag.
Likewise when the timer light is Yellow, you can use the device as the Yellow flag.
And finally when the timer light is Red, the flag automatically becomes Red.
Both the sound and the timer flag features may be turned off in the Settings application.
The Speech Types tab displays the various speech types available for selection. Each speech type determines at what times does the various lights turn on. Tapping on the Edit button in the upper-right allows adding, removing or editing entries in this list as well as re-arranging it.
Configuring the Speech Types
There are five time marks that may be configured for each speech type. Each time mark represents increasing points in time in which a speech progresses:
- Green – This indicates that the speech has passed the minimum time required.
- Yellow – Indicates that the speaker should be completing his or her speech shortly.
- Red – Indicates that the speaker should stop immediately.
- Blink – Indicates that the speaker has seriously overtimed and should be pulled off the stage 😊
- Stop – The timer will automatically stop when time reaches this point.
Editing a Speech Type
You can set each time mark up to 23 hours long. You probably don't wan't to do this though, since your iPhone's battery would probably run out before it hits the mark. Note that Speech Timer will keep the iPhone's screen turned on while the timer is running.
Configuring a time mark
The Timer's Report
The History tab shows all speech timings grouped by day. The most recent day will be shown on top and within each group the speeches are ordered by starting time. This tab contains all the elements that you need for a Timer's Report. The Clear button at the upper-right corner is used to remove all history entries.
Timer's report
Each history entry contains:
- Starting time
- Speech type name
- Time elapsed
- Green/Yellow/Red timing that was effective when that speech type was used.
This History tab is most useful for the Timer’s report in a Toastmasters chapter meeting session. You can simply read off the speech history and say “The first speech took xx minutes and xx seconds, the second speech took xx minutes and xx seconds, etc.”
Furthermore you can send out this report via e-mail to all the meeting participants. Speech Timer will compose a pre-written Timer's Report e-mail for you in both a nicely-formatted HTML table and a CSV attachment for importing into a spreadsheet application.