When you first came to a Toastmaster club, you arrived with expectations. You also have expectations of your Area, Division and District. As a new year begins, this is the best time to renew those expectations, so that guests and members are aware of their responsibilities within the club and the wider Toastmaster community.
Have you ever had an enthusiastic guest come along and become a member only to be shocked that they are expected to serve as an officer in their club leadership team when called upon? Have you ever had a long standing club member who was taken aback when your VP Membership called them up to discuss their waning attendance? It all begins with what is expected of your fellow members and preparing them for their respective roles.
As the then new President of Early Bird Speakers, I introduced a questionnaire for prospective members. It included ‘What would you like to get out of Toastmasters and our club?’ and ‘How do you see yourself giving back to the club?’ A key question was ‘Which leadership role will you stand for in the next leadership team elections?’This keeps everyone mindful of leadership roles. Yes, we have the Toastmaster promise “To serve my club as an officer when called upon to do so”, but sometimes it takes a club to embed these points into their member induction for the message to be driven home.
One could argue that a new member comes just to learn public speaking and has no interest to serve as a leader. But as a leader, you must ask: in the short and long term environment of the club, how is the member serving and supporting your club and the Toastmasters community? By just embracing public speaking, are they really getting their money’s worth?
