“And first place and the District 91 Humorous Speech Champion for 2015…Selina Jones”. I gasped and jumped out of my seat as the room applauded. I couldn’t believe I had won!
But actually, I hadn’t won at all. Or rather, I certainly hadn’t won on my own – this was a real team effort, as I think all Toastmaster’s contests are.
A little bit over one year ago, I arrived in the UK. After a life time of being conditioned what I should and should not be doing, I came to the UK to pursue a new job and to build a new life.
Moving from Vodafone Egypt to Vodafone Group in the UK I was appointed to be a service manager, a role where I will have a team to lead, presentations to make, and studies to prepare, I needed to take my personality and my confidence to a whole new level.
I joined Toastmasters back in March 2016, and I was hooked, I originally joined Newbury Speakers club, and soon after I decided to join Ascot Speakers as well.
Creating a new Toastmaster Club is not without its challenges, but executed correctly, can be an incredibly rewarding endeavour.
I would like to share with you my experience of starting a new Club, what I learnt and what I believe are the three key ingredients to success.
Wokingham Speakers chartered 3 years ago. It is now a thriving Club with 34 Members, having recently obtained 10 DCPs for the first time in its history. However, its ability to enjoy this kind of success is a tribute to its early days and the firm plan put in place by its founders, which leads me aptly onto my first piece of advice;
… reflections on my first three months
After taking on the role of Club Growth Director at the end of July, it was only two weeks
later that I found myself at the District Officer training in Washington D.C.
I know that sounds glamorous, but it was certainly no holiday. I arrived on the Saturday evening to be given the schedule of interviews on Sunday for the candidates for the International Board roles. With Vanessa and Pedro we completed 23 separate 15 minute interviews that day. A fascinating, if tiring, experience. That left us free to concentrate on the two training days, Monday and Tuesday, with each running from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. We kicked off in one large group of some 400 Toastmasters from all over the World. We then split into various groups over the two days, coming back together for the closing on Tuesday evening. It was awesome to be able to share ideas and experiences with enthusiastic colleagues from such varied backgrounds. I had to return home on Wednesday so missed the convention itself, but nonetheless it was a wonderful experience.
The meeting minutes from the DEC meeting held on 4 November at the Doubletree hotel in Woking are published via this link – DEC Meeting Minutes