Is this Where Leaders are Made?

by

Toastmasters International: Where Leaders are Made 

When I tell people that I am a member of Toastmasters the first thought they have is ‘oh, are you one of the red-coated masters of ceremonies who proposes toasts and introduces speakers at formal events?’.  Sometimes I explain that I’m not that Toastmaster even before they’ve asked.  I then elaborate and say that it is an organisation that helps people develop their public speaking skills – and the tagline is ‘Where Leaders are Made.’  This usually gets their attention.  The next question is ‘oh, and how do you do that?’ which is a great opportunity for me to explain what we do at Toastmasters – and that it’s not just building our speaking and communication skills. It’s having the opportunity to develop skills in leadership through taking on club officer roles to start with and then taking on district leadership roles, such as Area and Division Directors.  When I pitch the Toastmasters Youth Leadership Programme to head teachers I emphasise the fact that the students will be organising and running the meetings themselves which helps them develop vital leadership skills, in addition to speaking skills and confidence. Just this term I received a lovely email from a Head of Year teacher at the school where I have delivered the Youth Leadership Programme several times: 

We are currently going through our ‘Senior 6’ process at school, which is an application and interview process for our Year 10 prefects. The process will decide our 6 student leaders and head boy/head girl, and is pretty gruelling! It includes a ‘fish-bowl’ activity, speeches, tasks and an interview with the Principal.  

So far we have cut applicants from 31 to 14 following the fish-bowl exercise. One thing almost all of the successful students so far have in common is that they participated in the 10-week [YLP] course you ran for us last year! This is amazing and really shows the impact this has had on our young people.  

Needless to say, they have booked us to run a YLP with the new Year 9 group in the Autumn term.  I’m really looking forward to that – it is so rewarding to watch a group of 20 15 year-olds grow in confidence and communication skills over that time.  And we have a lot of fun – after all, Ralph Smedley said “we learn best in moments of enjoyment”.   I never have a problem getting one of them to chair the meeting – as soon as I say they will have the gavel to call the meeting to order, they all want to volunteer – and enjoy the power it gives them!  As for managing the timing – what fun to take charge of the timing lights to warn their friends that they are running out of time.  As for the Topics Master – yes, sometimes the questions they ask can be a bit vindictive on their friends – but they know it will be played back to them when the roles are reversed.  All the while they are learning valuable leadership and speaking skills. Oh, and what do we do about the awkward gait and shuffle when approaching the front of the room – we practise good posture by pretending we are models on the catwalk – one of them plays some lively catwalk music on their phone and we all take it in turns to stand tall, sashay up to the front of the classroom – and turn gracefully to face the audience – just as if we were at Paris fashion week.  It works – as has been evidenced by the success of some of the students getting those leadership roles for the coming year.   

The Youth Leadership Programme is an excellent project to run in any school or youth community group to teach valuable public speaking, leadership and communication skills. Running such a programme can also count towards the requirements for gaining your DTM award.   

If you would like to know more, please don’t hesitate to contact me. alkema@janetalkema.com

Reflections on our First Corporate Summit

by

Years in the making, months ideating, and a few weeks of intense mobilisation…and just like that, it’s over! Or is it?

On Thursday 19th June, we held our inaugural corporate summit in District 91. What’s a summit? Our emcee for the morning explained this beautifully:

“Well, the difference between a summit and a meeting is that Summits are by invitation only and have a specific topic.  You gather the most influential people and the specialists on a particular topic you want to address and they share/collaborate on how to move forward. So, in essence, every summit is a meeting, but not every meeting is a summit!!”

The event was hosted at Dartmouth House in Mayfair, London – a half day event to include networking and some lunch. I was first introduced to this venue and the associated organisation by two Toastmasters some four years ago! That in itself shows the power of our network and that it takes time to build partnerships.

I have to say that I am overwhelmed at the support I got for this project when I announced that we had the greenlight – from the immediate summit squad to the general cheerleading from those who simply wanted to come along and support in anyway they could on the day. Let me start by thanking that squad – three wonderful ladies who said ‘I’m in’. They put up with me most Sunday mornings for 25 mins in the preceding weeks, and frankly, got the job done. They were Guler Cortis, Deborah Stevens, and Janet Alkema, DTM. Give a job to a genuinely busy person – they get to the point and it gets done!

We ran a taster meeting within the event – a bit like a traditional demonstration meeting or Open House format for those of you that are familiar. Careful attention was needed to make it relevant to the workplace and not get too distracted with regular jargon we may use in everyday club meetings.

We also ran a panel discussion called ‘Beyond the Boardroom: The transformative power of Corporate Toastmasters’ – all four members had differentFour person panel for the corporate summit event.

experiences of being involved with Toastmasters in a company setting and it was impossible not to learn something from this discussion!

The purpose of the event was to help us develop and maintain corporate partnerships. Most events that you’ll see advertised are internal facing or are likely to attract existing members and potential individual new members. The corporate summit is more a step towards us providing more relevant events for corporate clubs and those within the organisations that make the decision to have Toastmasters rolled out there.

The nature of the event meant that I needed to secure support and sponsorship from the District Trio to pull it off so thanks to Steve, Debbie and Seema for backing this.

A delightful day was had by all and in true Toastmasters style, I’m now in the lessons learned phase and capturing 360 evaluations. I do hope there will be another one next year and a blue print is being produced for what to do. The potential for corporate partnerships in our District is huge and that means there’s more work to do here that doesn’t happen with a one-off event.

I’m fortunate enough to have had the opportunity to bring together skills I’ve developed towards something I’m passionate about, where I recognise the gap and that I’ve no doubt Toastmasters as an organisation wants for us to do more of. With that I go back to our Founder Ralph Smedley’s vision – to ensure as many people as possible have the opportunity to improve themselves, we need to continue to look outside.

My final named thanks has to go to our District PR Manager, Allen Paul, DTM – between the postcards that were sent out as invitations to target companies and our crazy video making antics – it’s true, ‘we learn best in moments of enjoyment.’

Rupa Datta
Past District 91 Director
Corporate Summit Chair

 

From Growth to Gratitude: A Heartfelt Thank You

by

End-of-Year Reflections from Your Club Growth Director 

My dear Toastmasters,

As the Toastmasters year draws to a close, I find myself filled with deep gratitude for each one of you – our members, club officers, area and division directors, the club growth team, the district leadership team, my mentors, and the many Toastmaster well-wishers who had my back, especially in moments when I doubted myself.

This year has been a tremendous learning experience. While I began the year with ambitious goals, I quickly realised the value of going back to basics, understanding why our members are proud of their clubs and how we can truly support them to grow. Sometimes, that also meant having the courage to let go of clubs that no longer served their members. As they say, growth isn’t always linear, but it is always meaningful.

We tried many new campaigns and ideas:
📍 Job Fairs to raise awareness
🚇 The Ditch the Nerves Tube campaign
🎤 Ditch the Nerves Live interview skills workshops
🏢 Our first-ever Corporate Summit, setting the tone for years to come
🎁 Innovative incentives to reward and encourage

Some landed beautifully. Some taught us valuable lessons. But through it all, we moved forward anchored in the Toastmasters core values : Integrity, in our decision-making; Respect, for every member’s journey; Service, in supporting one another; and Excellence, in everything we aimed to deliver.

To all of you who contributed your time, energy, ideas and heart: thank you.

As I transition into the Program Quality Director role, I hope we’re leaving the district stronger, wiser, and more connected – ready for the next wave of growth under the incoming Club Growth Director.

Wishing you all the very best as you finish the year strong, take pride in the incredible clubs you’ve built and continue empowering more voices.

And if you haven’t yet filled in the feedback survey, please do so – your voice matters:
🔗 https://forms.gle/xCbPMhEQ29w5SgZp8

With heartfelt thanks and deep respect,

Seema Menon
Club Growth Director, District 91
2024–2025

 

Last Minute Achievements for 24-25 Program Year

by

Dear Toastmasters

Time truly flies when you’re having fun!

As we approach the end of the Toastmaster’s year, please take note of this important reminder from Toastmasters International:

“Last-Minute Club Achievements?

All achievements (which include new or reinstated members, and award submissions) for the program year must be received no later than 11:59:59 p.m. Mountain Daylight Time (MDT)/Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) -6 on June 30.

Submissions received on or after July 1, 12 a.m. Mountain Daylight Time (MDT)/Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) -6 will be applied to the 2025–2026 Program Year.

Additional details, including how to submit documents to World Headquarters, are outlined in the Distinguished Club Program Manual”.

This is also a perfect moment to say thank you. It has been a fantastic year, and I’m truly grateful for all that we’ve achieved together. Your dedication and teamwork have been invaluable.

Let’s keep the momentum going; let’s finish strong right through to 30th June, and I look forward to seeing you in the next program year.

With gratitude,

Debbie Williams
Program Quality Director 2024-2025
District 91

 

Lessons from a District Director

by

As the title of one of my favourite TV series, Star Trek: The Next Generation tells us, all goods things must come to an end, and as I write my final newsletter article as your District Director and as I reflected in the Council pack, I can look back on the program year with immense pride for what we have achieved within district leadership and across our wonderful clubs.

I won’t repeat the large number of thanks that are laid out in the council pack or what I said in my farewell speech, instead I wanted to leave you with some of my own lessons that I have picked up during my time in Toastmasters and latterly as a senior district leader.

  • To Club Members – always remember what you joined for in the first place, and before you agree to take on any extra responsibility make sure that you have a plan to achieve what you set out. However, if someone asks you to pick up a task or role within the club, before you say no or I don’t have the time – please don’t answer straight away, pause, do your research and make the right decision once you have all the information you need. If you do say yes, I doubt very much you will regret it.
  • To Club Leaders – I know that the amount of Toastmasters resources can seem vast and overwhelming. You should absolutely take advice from previous officers of your club and indeed from officers outside your own club, but there is no substitute for first-hand knowledge. Make sure you at least read the club leadership handbook, and the club constitution, this will give you an important platform for what is to come. Make sure you know who your area director is and use them, they are there for you! Remember, you and your team are enabling people to come through your club doors and for some it really will be a life changing experience. Oh, and – please see my advice above, this applies to you too.
  • To District Leaders – First hand knowledge is my advice for you too, but I am afraid you have a little more to gather than most. Have a read of the District Administrative bylaws (yes, all of them) and make sure you keep referring back to the District Leadership Handbook, the timeline in there will be your ultimate go-to. Make sure you are specifically clear about the rules regarding your role and the involvement with clubs. You will be challenged on this point for different reasons time and time again. And you especially need to read my comments about personal goals in my first point above. You didn’t join Toastmasters to be a district leader – make sure you are getting the value from your toastmaster membership too, balance is key.
  • To Madam District Director Elect – What we achieved this program year in creating Team 24/25, in creating an ethos that we have become famous for, will (I hope) give you the platform you need to go on and achieve the things that I have been unable to. I have done the repair work – and now you need to build that skyscraper! Carry on being you – and remember, as you have already discovered even when the sun is nearly rising and the milkman is out on his rounds, I am always there for you, and I look forward to serving you to the best of my ability. Above all else though – please enjoy it. And remember, it’s only Toastmasters 😉

And finally – for any leader current or future within our organisation and beyond, here are my top leadership lessons for you to reflect upon:

  1. Don’t try and boil the ocean – you can’t achieve everything even if you want to. Be focussed, be determined but don’t burn out!
  2. Be you and always you – leaders need to flex and change but you can do that without changing who you are and being sure never to leave your core values, or the core values of our organisation behind
  3. No leader is an island – ask for help. However, remember that at the end the day – you can skill make the decision. Advice, opinion and support does not remove your responsibility.
  4. If you are not enjoying what you doing , or it is effecting your wellbeing to the point where there is no longer a balance – you need to pause and decide whether you need to be brave and think of yourself first.

I hope to see as many of you as possible at the Hall of Fame in London on Saturday 5th July. Spaces ARE limited – please book now, it is free to attend!

Toastmasters International may not be a lifesaving organisation – but it is a life changing one.

Thank you for making me proud to be your District Director.

Yours in service

Steve Vear MBE DTM
District Director 2024-2025