It has been a very busy start to the second half of the Toastmasters year.
The Trio, comprising myself, Florian and Arnaud, attended mid-year training for two days in Kuala Lumpur, with our peers from Region 10, which covers Europe, and Region 13, which includes India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia.
We reviewed progress on our District Success Plan and our District Budget, and shared experiences and best practice with 15 other District teams. We focussed on the importance of the Toastmasters branding, and had breakout sessions on our individual roles. I was also privileged on the Saturday evening to join a panel with Chief Executive Dan Rex and 1stVice President Richard Peck to answer questions from local Toastmasters at the Berjaya University College Toastmasters Club.
A key session in our training provided updates on changes affecting all Toastmasters members. Some of the main headlines include:
- For the coming year there will be an e-learning module for Club Officer training, to be completed ahead of the face to face training.
- Club Leadership Handbooks will only be provided in digital format in future years
- There is a revised online version of the Toastmasters Navigator (find it here.
- There will be a new Pathways “onboarding” resource to support new members with their Toastmasters journey.
- Evaluation resources will be easier to access (more details to follow).
- There are teams within Toastmasters working on regular incremental improvements to Basecamp.
- There is a longer-term project to replace Basecamp and to integrate with Club Central in response to feedback on problems raised by members.
In addition, your Club Officers should recently have received an email from International President, Lark Doley, with details of the Wow! Factor Project and changes to the Club Coach Program. Ask them for more details.
Following our own training, we delivered a two-day training event for Division and Area Directors at Gatwick. Topics included District 91 leadership culture, progress against District goals, updates to Division success plans, organising Open House meetings, digital marketing, and District 91 initiatives. Have a look at Florian’s article for more details. We also had plenty of fun along the way
“We learn best in moments of enjoyment.”
– Ralph C. Smedley, Founder of Toastmasters International.
In between I was able to attend an excellent Corporate Toastmasters Leadership Institute (TLI) event in Canary Wharf, superbly organised by Division K Director, Barry O’Connell.
Altogether an inspiring and enjoyable start to 2019!
Last Updated on 7th October 2020 by Susan Rayner