As of the end of October 2022, District 91 had achieved a total of 628 new members. A huge welcome to all new members and a big congratulations to all clubs. As such I would like to remind everyone of the toastmasters’ promises:
The Toastmasters Promise
As a member of Toastmasters International and my club, I promise
- To attend club meetings regularly
- To prepare all of my projects to the best of my ability, basing them on the Toastmasters education program
- To prepare for and fulfil meeting assignments
- To provide fellow members with helpful, constructive evaluations
- To help the club maintain the positive, friendly environment necessary for all members to learn and grow
- To serve my club as an officer when called upon to do so
- To treat my fellow club members and our guests with respect and courtesy
- To bring guests to club meetings so they can see the benefits Toastmasters membership offers
- To adhere to the guidelines and rules for all Toastmasters education and recognition programs
- To act within Toastmasters’ core values of integrity, respect, service and excellence during the conduct of all Toastmasters’ activities
New Clubs
On behalf of District 91, I would like to give a warm welcome to the return of
KPMG Kommunicators. Congratulations on the charter of your club, and a big welcome to all members.
“Really delighted in KPMG’s club chartering again, supporting the learning and development of our teams. The club will focus on two specific KPMG values which are (1) Excellence: Never stop learning and improving and (2) Togetherness: Respecting each other and draw strength from each other’s differences. It’s an exciting time for our members to connect, grow and be part of the Toastmasters community”.
Ga Lok Chung, KPMG Kommunicators
Incentives
District 91 offers incentives for clubs to grow their memberships. The first was The Smedley Award awarded to any club that added five new, dual, or reinstated members from August 1 to September 30. Winners of the Smedley Award will receive a ribbon to be displayed on your club banner as a reward for your achievement. Congratulations to the following clubs:
- Bristol Central Speakers
- Connected Speakers London
- Bloomberg London Toastmasters
- City of London Toastmasters Club
- Central London Toastmasters
- London Public Speakers
Check out the incentives page here: https://d91toastmasters.org.uk/members/resources/incentives/
Debbie’s Top Tips
- Consider themed meetings, or do you have a club anniversary to celebrate? This is an opportunity to make your club meetings memorable.
- Consider hosting an Open House to promote your club.
- Host a club membership-building competition to see which members can bring the most guests. The prize could be a box of chocolates, for example
Special Feature: Club Growth Webinar – New Member Orientation
What does a new club member’s journey look like and how can we help to orientate them? Please attend the above webinar for some useful insights. This hour-long webinar will be hosted by Juli Chapman from Beckenham Communicators. This is suitable for all club officers and all new members. Please register here to attend: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81608535946
In the meantime, two brave members from The Speakers of Croydon have shared their journey from guest to member. The first is Oyinlola Idris:
- Why did you want to join / how did you find the club
- I joined Toastmasters as a member at the Speakers of Croydon in June 2022 after initially attending as a guest at different clubs in 2017 and 2019. At both of the clubs I attended in 2017 and 2019 I considered joining as a member but was too afraid to take the definitive step!
- I wanted to join to tackle the fear and anxiety I had whenever I needed to present a speech and speak publicly, whether that was at work, at a party, at a wedding etc and after having to deliver a presentation at work in May 2022 which bought all my fears back to the surface, I finally decided to join Toastmasters as a member once and for all in June 2022 to overcome my fear.
- From my first meeting, I found the Speakers of Croydon club to be incredibly organised, warm and friendly. I received a guest pack with plenty of information, observed some excellent speeches by very competent speakers and received follow up communication the next day after the meeting
- What was your experience as a first time guest
- My experience as a first time guest was very positive, during the networking break I was approached by various members who were very friendly, I was also given an opportunity to participate in my very first meeting during the table topics segment
- What was your inspiration to move from guest to member?
- Seeing how confident and competent the speech members was very inspiring, I knew if I was a member of this club that I could learn from the other members and go from strength to strength
- How easy was it to become a member?
- It was extremely straightforward, I completed the new member form and made payment all on the same day, soon after I was accepted as a member and joined the WhatsApp group and was assigned a mentor (this was all done in less than a week of me attending my first meeting) – the rest is history as they say!
- Were you assigned a mentor, what was that process like, how did it make you feel?
- The mentoring process was very smooth, my assigned mentor contacted me pretty much immediately and was proactive, helpful and friendly. I felt comfortable approaching my mentor with any queries I had as a new member and we had many rehearsals of my speeches together!
- What roles you have done?
- Nearly all the roles (evaluator, grammarian, timekeeper, table topics master). I have been assigned the Toastmaster role for a meeting in the next month and that leaves just the General Evaluator and Sergeant in Arms roles left to try!
- Have you done your ice-breaker or other speeches?
- Yes, I delivered my icebreaker speech in August and have gone on to complete two other speeches since, with one of these being a speech delivered in the humorous contest speech (I was asked to participate in the contest which I was surprised about as I was a relatively new member, however, Speakers of Croydon pushes all members to challenge themselves). Of the three speeches I’ve delivered, I’ve won the best speaker award twice and really have the momentum to keep going in order to complete my presentation mastery pathway.
And here is another Member Andre Thomas sharing on his experience at Croydon Speakers:
Debbie Williams
Club Growth Director