District Status
Full District Status - Now What?
Coup de maître:- masterstroke! It is definitely great
news to finally achieve our goal of Full District Status! One of us will
be speaking at Toastmasters International Conference in August 2009.
Who will it be? As we look forward to our presence on the
international stage let us build ourselves, others and our clubs as we
continue to develop and build District 81 - Caribbean Toastmasters, in a
sustainable manner.
How can we achieve this? I share with us some areas on
which we may focus.
Completing a Manual – Next Designation
Achieving the next designation is great and we should
all strive to do so as it implies that we are growing. The promise to
ourselves and the Toastmasters Programme is to ensure that as speakers we
are growing. In the Advanced Manuals Toastmasters International
(TI) encourages us to ‘repeat projects as necessary to ensure your
mastery of a subject’. Through the eyes of our comrades we are made
aware of how well we perform. As a result we should listen to evaluations
with an open mind. For those of us intending to present ourselves to the
public as Public Speakers, let us not seek evaluators who make it easy for
us. Let us seek evaluators who make us better speakers.
Creating Opportunities for Others
As year end approaches we host speech-a-thons to ensure
that we earn the Distinguished Club Status. But do we routinely give our
new speakers opportunities to learn? Recently, I spoke with a new
Toastmaster (TM) who felt that her needs were not being met as she was
always being rescheduled and not allowed to speak when she was ready. Let
us encourage our members by scheduling them and helping them to be ready.
We may need to reschedule the programme or, if necessary, extend the
meeting time by fifteen (15) minutes to allow our TM to speak. We may even
host a speech-a-thon in the middle of the year.
Passing the Baton
There are some great trainers in Toastmasters and some
more great ones to be identified. Let us create a mentorship environment
where new presenters are being discovered and given training and time to
develop their skills. This is where the TM manuals are invaluable. In
order to get our Advanced Leader Bronze we need to present 2 projects from
the Better Speaker Series or the Leadership Excellence Series. Trainers in
the making can ‘cut their teeth’ on these manuals. I encourage the
club/area/territory to create a training mentorship programme to let those
of us who are great trainers, mentor those of us who are trainers in the
making thereby creating greater opportunities for our members.
Talent Pooling
As we develop the speakers and trainers in our clubs
let us continue to use our meetings to develop and enhance the skills of
our members. When we make our Advanced Presentations, we can address the
attributes of public speaking and the development of the individual. In
our club meetings we have an array of talent and skills, therefore let us
encourage TM to share with us their knowledge and expertise in a club
session. This can be a great learning experience for many Toastmasters
especially if we use this activity as an area/territory project. Imagine
learning from Toastmasters the tips they use so that they are never late
or how they accomplish many tasks in a timely manner.
Inter clubbing
Many of us have dual or triple membership and this
allows us more opportunity to complete our manuals in our scheduled time.
In us moving around, let us remember our home club and its new members.
They need to see what an Advanced presentation looks and sounds like as
well as benefit from an advanced evaluation.
World Champion Development Team
How may we get ready for the World Champion of Public
Speaking Competition? Together! Together we can mentor our speakers as one
of us will become THE Champion. The mentorship begins from the club
contest but as a territory we should commit to the mentorship of our
Caribbean winner. The home club may invest in the International Speech
Competition CD and evaluate why they won. This will provide Tomorrow’s
Champion with tips. Let us in learning from others never forget the
creativity or the unique style of our presenters.
General
One of the aims in building our District is Club
Building. That is, new club, membership retention and sustainability. Let
us commit ourselves to the mentioned tasks while at the same time,
build our home clubs. In addition we must conduct a needs assessment
survey and use the club/area/territory to meet the needs of our collective
membership. This approach will enrich our Toastmasters experience and by
extension the developmental goals of the club.
Many organizations conduct an ‘Exit Interview’ when a
member of staff chooses to resign. Where possible let us conduct an exit
interview to see if there is anything we can do to keep our current and
potential members.
In a few months, July 1, 2008, we shall have Full
District Status – then what? … Let's continue to grow -moving from
strength to strength!
Caribbean
Toastmasters: Excellence in Action
Lt. Governor Education & Training:
Donna
Knight, ACS/ALS
Track our progress to
becoming a Distinguished District:
New
Clubs
District Performance
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