District Leadership 2022-23

Club Growth Newsletter – February 2023

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Renewals

The renewals window is open. As some clubs experienced delays in their renewals, I encourage you to submit them early. As further incentivisation, there will be an early payment award of £50 for the first 30 clubs that submit their renewals with a minimum of 20 members by the end of February.

If you have already submitted your membership renewals, thank you for investing in your personal growth. If you haven’t already done so, it isn’t too late!

Talk Up Toastmasters

February 1 – March 31 2023

The Talk Up Toastmasters membership programme gives members the chance to invite guests to a special meeting where prospective members can learn about Toastmasters’ many benefits. Add 5 new, dual or reinstated members with a join date between February 1 and March 31, and you’ll receive a special Talk Up Toastmasters ribbon to display on your club’s banner.

Special events might include members bringing a friend, inviting former members, hosting an ‘Open House’ meeting, or speechcraft workshop.

A guide to all incentives is here: https://d91toastmasters.org.uk/members/resources/incentives/

Open House Meetings

An Open House Meeting is a fun meeting to publicise Toastmasters to members of the public, friends, family or work colleagues. They are very similar to a normal club meeting, but feel more like a demonstration of the benefits of Toastmasters while providing a taste of what a regular meeting is like. Some roles will be carried out a little differently, and the agenda will be planned to give guests the opportunity to actively participate. Organising an open-house meeting can be done either by the club’s committee or an ad-hoc organising team – perhaps you have a member that would like to complete a Pathway Project, for example.

The key to a great Open House meeting is teamwork, and getting all club members on board to ensure it is a success. As a great example of an Open House recently, please see the write up of the City of London event on 17th January in the link below

Welcoming the World to Toastmasters

 

Debbie’s Top Tips

  • Do you remember your first Toastmasters meeting and why you joined? Share your testimony with your club members and guests. Do this at regular club meetings in addition to special events. You might inspire someone to achieve something that they never thought was possible, including potential future leaders!
  • Do you inform guests and new members about all the exciting training opportunities available to them? Did you know that new and existing members can attend club officer training and other District webinars? Please share, so everyone can benefit.
  • When was the last time that you invited an external Toastmaster to your club as a General Evaluator? Sometimes we can get too comfortable in our clubs, and it’s always helpful to see how we’re doing by bringing in fresh eyes. We grow from evaluations, and external evaluators provide an opportunity to learn about what your club is doing well and receive suggestions on how you might improve

Here’s a reminder of the Toastmasters’ Promises

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

And if you want a refresher on how to integrate the Promises into your Toastmasters life, then join us on Friday 17th February for a LinkedIn Live event all about the promises brought to you by D91 Toastmasters.

You can sign up here: https://www.linkedin.com/video/event/urn:li:ugcPost:7028417454993219584/

Debbie Williams
Club Growth Director, 2022-2023

Distinguished Clubs, Educational Awards, Contests

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Congratulations!

Congratulations to the 47 clubs who have already renewed 20 or more members until September and have 5 or more Distinguished Club Points (DCP points) already. These 47 clubs are the first of many to gain Distinguished Club status. Another 16 clubs are close already to achieved distinguished status, they need just one or two more members to renew or one additional educational award.

Educational Awards

Unfortunately, 53 clubs have yet to record a single education award, yet I know from having visited some of these clubs that members are doing speeches and completing Pathways Levels. Please ask your Club President, VPE or Club Secretary to record your level completion after you have completed it. If you are unsure on how to complete a project, we will be continuing to run the new member drop in over the next few weeks, which will give both new and longstanding members who are unsure about how Pathways works. The next session with experienced Toastmaster Craig Moss will be at 5:00 pm on Sunday 23rd April, you can register via the link here: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZItfuGsqzgiGd0GtYFZdes1czpHG3-q9KLQ

Contests – A quick reminder

A quick reminder that if you are competing in any of the contests that you need to ensure that your club has paid the membership fee to Toastmasters International, otherwise you may not be eligible to compete in the Contest as officially you are not a member of Toastmasters even if you have paid your club. Again, with the International Speech contest your level 1 & 2 Pathways certificates must be registered with Toastmasters international.

1-21-100 – Trifecta

You may have seen some of the PR around the 1-21-100 incentive. Trifecta is another name that we are giving to the aim of 100%, 21 and 1 since it is like a sporting event with three elements to it. Debbie Williams our Club Growth Director is explaining in this blog post what the 21 means, but it is worth explaining why we have 100% and 1 as our two award criteria.

Why 100%, Why 1?

The aim at Toastmasters is to offer a great experiential learning experience using Pathways. This is why aim for 100% Pathways enrolment as it will help you strengthen your communication and leadership skills as you grow toward personal and professional success—all while having fun with others in the process! I often find that working withing a loose set of boundaries helps me to be more creative when developing ideas or writing speeches, rather than having unlimited options. Which is why we want all members to enroll in pathways.

The easiest way to demonstrate to others that you “the member” is benefiting from membership of Toastmasters is for you to show your progress by showing your educational certificate award, especially in corporate clubs where it may be an individual’s KPI. One award per member also encourages members to take a full an active role in each meeting they attend, rather than be a passive spectator, as it helps create fun and energetic meetings and brings about a faster learning experience .

Diane Richardson,

Program Quality Director, 2022-2023

COTs, the May Conference, Contest Eligibility and Club Elections

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COTs are Back!

We are already had 25% of the second round of Club Officer Training period done! A few Division and Area Directors have already started to plan their events in December and into January next year. In the first round 126 clubs had four or more officers trained which means they are still eligible for a DCP point to count towards Distinguished status if four or more club officers are also trained in the second round of training. Once again, the district is offering incentives if all 7 officers attend training! If a club has already won a set of club officer pins, they will receive a £60 voucher from the district, if a club achieves this for the first time, then we will reward the club with a set of club officer pins. As with the first time to encourage as many members as possible to accept leadership positions the seven roles must be filled by at least six individuals. The second COT training round ends on 28th February. If you do attend training in another district, then you need to let the organiser know that they need to contact me and confirm that their training session last for three or more hours.

The Corporate lunch time COT sessions have already started. Each session is between 12 and 1 pm, every day this week the last session is a Q&A session this coming Monday 12th December. To gain a training credit a club officer needs to attend 3 or more sessions. We are also running a Corporate Club officer Training session on the 16th December starting at 7:00 am.

Conference Date 13th & 14 May 2023

Please note that due to the coronation of King Charles iii on Saturday 6th May we have had to change the date of the D91 conference to 13th & 14th May 2023. We also have had to change the venue, but we are in final discussions with three Central London locations and should announce the venue next week.

International Speech Contest – Eligibility Rules

A quick reminder for everyone that the eligibility rules to compete in the International Speech Contest have changed this year. To enter the contest a member must have either a DTM including a “legacy” DTM or have Level 1 and 2 Certificates in pathways. The old qualification of 6 or more speeches from the Competent Communicator manual has been removed for contestants in this year’s rule book. When the PQD team did a survey in July we estimated that about two members per club would be affected.

Club Elections

A quick reminder to the few clubs in D91 who elect officers every 6 months that you must submit your new officer list by 31st December. Great to see that two have already done so but there are five clubs still to submit their list to Toastmasters International.

Area Director Visits – Thank You

A huge thank you to all Club Officers who helped their Area Director’s complete their visit reports. The trio reads each report, and it is encouraging to read that so many clubs are holding great meetings. In the first round of visits 161 reports were submitted. Please do take note of what you do well and keep doing that. Thanks, should also go to the Area Directors who took the time and trouble to write the reports.

Seasons Greetings

Finally with Christmas just around the corner I would like to wish every member season’s greeting and a relaxing time off and a happy new year. I look forward to collaborating with you all again in 2023.

Diane Richardson,

Program Quality Director, 2022-2023

Club Growth Newsletter – January 2023

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Renewals

Happy New Year! The renewals window is now open. Some clubs experienced delays in their September renewals, so I encourage you to submit them early.  To further incentivize you, there will be an early payment award of £50 for the first 30 clubs that submit their renewals with a minimum of 20 members by the end of February 2023 at the latest.

Welcome to New Members – The Road to 5000

Did you know that since July 1st 2022 to date, District 91 has gained 936 new members?

A piece of additional news on our goal to achieve 5000 unique members by June 2023, we currently have 3468 unique members.  Well done to all clubs for achieving this. One of these new Clubs, PA Consulting is featured below:

PA Consulting

Rosie Wainwright the Club President wrote on LinkedIn commenting after their second meeting online:

“If you know me well enough, then you’ll know I’ve done quite a bit of public speaking in my lifetime. It’s taken years of practice to turn that sick feeling you get right before a speech into a feeling of excitement. It’s taken years to change my mindset from “what if I mess up and forget my words” to “what impact can I have on the audience with what I’m about to say”. The journey is still on-going, and you only get better through continuous learning, making mistakes and practice.

At PA Consulting we pride ourselves on developing our people and I’m so proud of the journey we’ve taken this past month. I knew I couldn’t be the only one that wanted to improve my skills when it came to public speaking, so when I presented the idea of setting up a public speaking club with Toastmasters International at PA, I couldn’t have imagined a better outcome.

I’m excited to announce that we have 100+ colleagues across the UK who are involved in PA’s Toastmasters, with the potential of opening more opportunities overseas. It’s been such a pleasure networking across the firm and meeting everyone that’s been involved as a member (I would tag you all but there’s a character limit!). It goes without saying there was no way I could have set this up alone. A fantastic group of leaders at PA stepped forward to support and I am ever so grateful.

I can’t thank you all enough for making this happen, I’m overwhelmed with gratitude. Who knew you could feel so energised from an after-work meeting ay? Until the next meeting!”

Laura Autumn Cox, a PA Consulting employee and new Member of the Club also commented:

“I’ve already met some incredible people not just in PA and they’re so encouraging and it’s really good to know that this is something that lots of people want to get better at and lots of people have good, tangible strategies for improvement”

Incentives

District 91 offers incentives for clubs to grow their memberships.  Winners of the Net 5 Incentive are listed below.  This is awarded to the first 20 clubs who, by the 31st December 2022, achieve net growth of five new members from their 1st July 2022 base number.  The great news is that 66 clubs managed to achieve this.  However, the first 20 clubs are listed below and have won £50.

Congratulations to the following clubs:

  • Bristol Central Speakers
  • Broadgate Speakers
  • Riverside Communicators
  • Worthing Speaker’s Club
  • Beckenham Communicators
  • TPR Speakers Club
  • Central London Toastmasters
  • London Public Speakers
  • Bank Street Toastmaster
  • Kings Cross Speakers
  • City Women Speakers
  • HOD Speakers Club
  • Farnham Speakers
  • Early Bird Speakers
  • Paddington Toastmasters
  • MLP London Bridge
  • Kings Cross Speakers
  • Bayes Speakers

For more details on incentives check out the incentives page here: https://d91toastmasters.org.uk/members/resources/incentives/

Debbie’s Top Tips for Club Growth

  • The best way to pick up tips and ideas for your club is to visit other Toastmasters’ clubs.Other clubs may spark ideas that you can bring back to your own club, give it a try!
  • Are your club details (address, contact name and telephone number) up to date on Toastmasters International, your clubs’ website and any other place where your clubs’ details are displayed e.g. google maps, meetup etc?This is the time of year when potential guests may contact you.  Now is a good time to ensure all details are displaying the correct information.
  • Recognition of your clubs’ successes will draw interest from others.If your club is celebrating an anniversary or is holding a special annual event, then celebrate this loudly.  Equally, don’t forget to celebrate individual member successes in your club as this will inspire guests and other members

This leaves me to wish you all Happy New Year and as you ponder the year ahead, here is a reminder of the Toastmasters Promises:

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

Debbie Williams
Club Growth Director, 2022-2023

News Round Up from Division B

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Division B – The Brilliant Division

What a couple of months here in Division B, or Division Brilliant Bounceback as I think we should call it!
 
Andy Hessey
Andy Hessey

For those whom I haven’t met; I’m Andy Hessey and I’m the Division Director of Division B which covers Central South West London from Kensington and Hammersmith, to Southwark and down to Clapham and Brixton.  I’ve been in Toastmasters over six years and maybe more familiar to people in D91 as #Zoomtroll at contests and conferences.  Yes .. I am THAT troll!

So why on earth is Division B called Division Brilliant Bounceback?  Well, to put it bluntly… Division B is back, baby! I was appointed in mid-October.  On my first day, I had just two out of my five Area Directors but wow, have we turned things around in the last few weeks!

Areas and Directors

Let’s start our whistlestop tour of the Division by paying tribute to my Area Director team.  The two old hands are Chris Jolly and Flora Ruffin.  Let me tell you, as a DTM this isn’t Chris’ first rodeo and his experience across West London’s Area B6 is vital and Flora is the steady hand across Area B9.  These two areas have some really strong established clubs such as London Athenians, London Corinthians and London Business School as well as one the District’s newest clubs FTI Consulting

Area B8 will be ruled by Aneeta Phillip who is also the VPE at London Victorians.  You’ll recognise Aneeta as she’s always got a smile on her face and is going to be a wonderful addition to the team.  As well as those Victorians, Aneeta’s patch takes her South of the river to Brixton and Clapham.  Area B52’s new Area Director is Luca Marengo and he will be bringing his enthusiasm and his Italian charm to his clubs including Polish Your Polish and Kings Speakers.

While my team are awesome we are still missing one arm – we are searching for someone to work with Area B18 in the heart of Victoria and Holborn.  I always say that my year as Area Director was so much fun, you get to really stretch your leadership skills.  If that sounds like something that would appeal to you, get in touch.  You don’t have to be based in that area to become their Area Director, so what’s holding back?

I cannot wait to see what happens in the International Speech Contest in the Spring.  We have a huge pool of talent in the Division and a great history of success… and for other Divisions; don’t be too upset when we sweep the board at the District contest in May!

Division B Contests

We now enter December having crowned two excellent Division speech champions with London Business School’s Aruna Shanmugarajha strictly Samba dancing his way in the Humorous Speech Contest.  In a really tight and genuinely funny contest, Aruna was joined by London Victorian’s Adam Paldyna who was laughing his way through heartbreak and Joel Morales bringing home the bronze medal for London Cardinals by making lemonade!

In the topics contest, all I can say is that the four bravest people in London were the ones on the topics stage.  Did we softball them with an airy-fairy question?  Did we give them something full of gravitas asking them how they would solve world peace?  Did we buffalo!

What we asked them was simple – “Please explain why you decided to run naked through the bear enclosure at London Zoo covered in honey” … Now, I don’t know about you, but I think this is a fundamental question that needs answers!

Former District Director, Florian Bay from London Victorians set the tone by stepping onto the stage and whipping off his belt like a Chippendale and gave us a full-blown defence of his actions and ended up taking the title.  Jakub Sokolowski from Polish Your Polish who has only been a Toastmaster for a couple of months put up a brave battle against the bears and escaped with 2nd place while Harvey Domingos came an impressive third.

I cannot wait to see what happens in the International Speech Contest in the Spring.  We have a huge pool of talent in the Division and a great history of success… and for other Divisions; don’t be too upset when we sweep the board at the District contest in May!

Watch Out!

Division B may have been in a bit of a hiatus at the start of the Toastmaster year, but we are roaring (a bit like those bears at London Zoo!).  With just under 500 unique members – a fifth of whom have joined since July, we are a Division on the up.

Expect many many things from Division Brilliant Bounceback in the second half of the programme year and if the thought of being in the slow lane is not something that you want, come and join a Division B club.  Don’t forget you can be a dual member so you don’t have to leave your friends behind to come and ride on the B Train.

Andy Hessey,

Division Director, Division B, 2022-2023