Club Growth Newsletter – April 2023

9th October 20234th April 2023 by Chris Arning

First things first: Thank You!

As your Club Growth Director, I wanted to take a moment to express my appreciation for your dedication and commitment to growing membership numbers so far this Toastmasters year. I trust that this has made a difference to your clubs. Your passion for learning, improving your communication skills, and supporting one another is truly inspiring, and it’s what makes District 91 such a special community.

I want to encourage you to continue spreading the word about Toastmasters and the benefits of membership. Your enthusiasm and willingness to invite guests to our meetings and events are crucial to our growth and success. Every person you bring to your club has the potential to become a valuable member of our community, and I thank you for your efforts in helping us grow. We are in the final quarter of the Toastmasters year, and I encourage you to keep growing.

Here are my top tips:

Host an Open House to showcase your club to potential members. Consider hosting an open house event that highlights the benefits of joining Toastmasters, offers guests the chance to observe a typical meeting, and includes opportunities for guests to ask questions and engage with current members. Be sure to promote your open house on social media and local community bulletin boards.

Social media can be a powerful tool for attracting new members to your club. Share information about your club’s meetings, events, and activities, as well as testimonials from current members about the benefits they have experienced through Toastmasters.

Consider introducing Toastmasters in your place of work. A corporate Toastmasters club can provide a range of benefits to both employees and the organisation including improved communication skills, increased employee engagement, professional development, networking opportunities, cost-effective training, and enhanced company culture.

I would encourage you all to review your current membership goals so that your club can finish the Toastmasters year as strong as possible.

Renewals are Open!

We’ve barely finished our April membership renewals and I ask you to start preparing for the October 2023 renewal period, Toastmasters International’s semi-annual membership dues will incur a small increase and will now be $60 USD. This still represents great value for money and Toastmasters continues to be the best and most cost-effective way to become a confident communicator and inspiring public speaker or leader.

The price increase takes effect from 1^st August 2023.

Incentives: Net Growth 10 Challenge

The Net Growth 10 challenge is an exciting opportunity for Toastmasters clubs to grow their membership and win a prize to support their club’s activities. By participating in this challenge, clubs can increase their membership and create a more dynamic and diverse club experience that benefits current and future members. So why not take up the challenge and see how much your club can grow?

The goal of Net Growth 10 is simple: to achieve a net growth of 10 new members from the club’s base number as of July 1, 2022, by June 15, 2023.

However, to meet the challenge criteria please note that. “Net growth” refers to the difference between the number of new members a club has gained and the number of members who have left the club during the specified period. So, for example, if a club had 20 members on July 1, 2022, and gained 15 new members by June 15, 2023, but lost 5 members during that period, their net growth would be 10, which would meet the challenge criteria. If a club successfully achieves this net growth target, it will win a prize of £100 to boost its club’s funds.

The Net Growth 10 challenge can help support the club’s activities and initiatives. By attracting new members, clubs can benefit from fresh perspectives, new ideas, and increased diversity, which can all contribute to a more vibrant and dynamic club experience.

However, you have every opportunity to plan for this and submit renewals before the increase date. Yes, the renewals window is open!

Talk Up Toastmasters

Talk Up Toastmasters is a membership-building program that takes place annually from February 1 to March 31 2023. The program is designed to encourage members to invite guests to their club meetings and promote Toastmasters to others. During the Talk Up Toastmasters program, members are challenged to add five new, dual, or reinstated members to their club.

They say it’s good to talk, and the following clubs have achieved this award:

104 London Debaters

1st London Toastmasters

Basingstoke Speakers

Beckenham Communicators

Bloomberg London Toastmasters

Brighton & Hove Speakers Club

Bristol Central Speakers

Central London Toastmasters

Chiltern Speakers Club

City of London Toastmasters Club

Data Science Speakers Club

Epsom Speakers Club

Farnham Speakers Club

Holborn Speakers

Kent Speakers Club

Lloyds Banking Group Toastmasters

London Communicators Club

London Public Speakers

London Victorians

Society Speakers

The Speakers of Croydon Club

Trojan Speakers Club

Winchmore Hill Speakers

Woking Speakers Toastmasters Club

All the above clubs also managed to introduce 5 or more unique members to their clubs. They will all receive an award of £30 and will be notified by email on how to claim their award. Congratulations.

Debbie Williams
Club Growth Director, 2022-2023

Club Growth Newsletter – March 2023

9th October 20237th March 2023 by Chris Arning

Renewals Renewals Renewals

Please encourage all members to renew asap. The deadline is 31^st March 2023.

Some clubs experienced delays in their September renewals, so I encourage you to not leave renewals close to the final deadline. Below are the winners of the early renewals incentive. These clubs renewed 20 or more members by 28^th February 2023. Well done!!

All clubs will be notified by email with details about how to claim their £50 award:

1st London Toastmasters

Beckenham Communicators

Berkeley Square Speakers Toastmasters Club

Bloomberg London Toastmasters

BMS Uxbridge Toastmasters Club

Bristol Central Speakers

Bromley Speakers

City of London Toastmasters Club

Early Bird Speakers

Excalibur Speakers

Infineum Milton Hill Speakers

Kent Speakers Club

Lloyds Banking Group Toastmasters

London Cardinals

Microsoft Speakers Club

Oxford Speakers Club

Paddington Toastmasters

Riverside Communicators

Shilling Speakers

Thame Speakers

Trojan Speakers Club

Worthing Speaker’s Club

Member Self Pay

All club officers were recently notified about member self-pay.

Here is a general walkthrough of how a club might manage self-pay. First, the club officers should discuss this option with the entire club and vote on whether or not to enable this feature. If agreed, any current club officer can enable this feature for the entire club through Club Central. Once enabled, all members will have the ability to self-pay their dues through their My Home Page. Additionally, any current officer can also disable this ability for a specific member or leave it on for the whole club. Once members have paid their dues using Self-Pay, they will show as paid on the club roster. Note that World Headquarters is only accepting international dues at this time, and all club dues will continue to be collected and managed at the club level. If your club collects club dues, it is recommended that you discuss the process, of how best to collect these dues prior to or at the same time as renewal dues, with your fellow club officers. Once a process has been agreed upon, it should be shared with your entire club membership and included in your club policy. Further details about self-pay are here: https://www.toastmasters.org/footer/faq/Self-Pay

New Members – the Road to 5000

Did you know that since July 1^st 2022, District 91 has gained 1,348 new members?

A piece of additional news on our goal to achieve 5000 unique members by June 2023, we currently have 3904 unique members. Well done to all clubs for achieving this.

Talk Up Toastmasters

Have you seen the latest Talk Up Toastmasters videos? Everyone’s talking up Toastmasters! Check out this link for more:

The Talk Up Toastmasters membership program is the chance to encourage your members to invite guests to a meeting where prospective members can learn about Toastmasters’ many benefits. Then add five 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.

In addition to the above, there is an additional incentive for the first 15 clubs that gains 5 new unique or reinstated members only. The award is £30.

Check out the incentives page here: https://d91toastmasters.org.uk/members/resources/incentives/

Debbie’s Top Tips!

Are all members making the most of their membership?In addition to club meetings, there are various training, webinars and leadership opportunities.
Are members not given the opportunity to participate as much as they’d like? Try a rotation method so that everyone gets a chance to fulfil all the roles at club meetings.
Does your club have a specific onboarding process for all new members? All new members should be enrolled in pathways asap after they join and are integrated into the club straight away.

And 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

Debbie Williams
Club Growth Director, 2022-2023

Club Growth Newsletter – February 2023

9th October 20237th February 2023 by Chris Arning

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

Club Growth Newsletter – January 2023

9th October 20237th December 2022 by Chris Arning

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 1^st 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 31^st December 2022, achieve net growth of five new members from their 1^st 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

Club Growth Newsletter November 2022

9th October 20238th November 2022 by Chris Arning

As of the end of October 2022, District 91 had achieved a total of 628 new members. A huge welcome to all new members and a big congratulations to all clubs. As such I would like to remind everyone of the toastmasters’ promises:

The Toastmasters Promise

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

New Clubs

On behalf of District 91, I would like to give a warm welcome to the return of

KPMG Kommunicators. Congratulations on the charter of your club, and a big welcome to all members.

“Really delighted in KPMG’s club chartering again, supporting the learning and development of our teams. The club will focus on two specific KPMG values which are (1) Excellence: Never stop learning and improving and (2) Togetherness: Respecting each other and draw strength from each other’s differences. It’s an exciting time for our members to connect, grow and be part of the Toastmasters community”.
Ga Lok Chung, KPMG Kommunicators

Incentives

District 91 offers incentives for clubs to grow their memberships. The first was The Smedley Award awarded to any club that added five new, dual, or reinstated members from August 1 to September 30. Winners of the Smedley Award will receive a ribbon to be displayed on your club banner as a reward for your achievement. Congratulations to the following clubs:

Bristol Central Speakers
Connected Speakers London
Bloomberg London Toastmasters
City of London Toastmasters Club
Central London Toastmasters
London Public Speakers

Check out the incentives page here: https://d91toastmasters.org.uk/members/resources/incentives/

Debbie’s Top Tips

Consider themed meetings, or do you have a club anniversary to celebrate? This is an opportunity to make your club meetings memorable.
Consider hosting an Open House to promote your club.
Host a club membership-building competition to see which members can bring the most guests. The prize could be a box of chocolates, for example

Special Feature: Club Growth Webinar – New Member Orientation

What does a new club member’s journey look like and how can we help to orientate them? Please attend the above webinar for some useful insights. This hour-long webinar will be hosted by Juli Chapman from Beckenham Communicators. This is suitable for all club officers and all new members. Please register here to attend: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81608535946

In the meantime, two brave members from The Speakers of Croydon have shared their journey from guest to member. The first is Oyinlola Idris:

Why did you want to join / how did you find the club

I joined Toastmasters as a member at the Speakers of Croydon in June 2022 after initially attending as a guest at different clubs in 2017 and 2019. At both of the clubs I attended in 2017 and 2019 I considered joining as a member but was too afraid to take the definitive step!
I wanted to join to tackle the fear and anxiety I had whenever I needed to present a speech and speak publicly, whether that was at work, at a party, at a wedding etc and after having to deliver a presentation at work in May 2022 which bought all my fears back to the surface, I finally decided to join Toastmasters as a member once and for all in June 2022 to overcome my fear.
From my first meeting, I found the Speakers of Croydon club to be incredibly organised, warm and friendly. I received a guest pack with plenty of information, observed some excellent speeches by very competent speakers and received follow up communication the next day after the meeting

What was your experience as a first time guest

My experience as a first time guest was very positive, during the networking break I was approached by various members who were very friendly, I was also given an opportunity to participate in my very first meeting during the table topics segment

What was your inspiration to move from guest to member?

Seeing how confident and competent the speech members was very inspiring, I knew if I was a member of this club that I could learn from the other members and go from strength to strength

How easy was it to become a member?

It was extremely straightforward, I completed the new member form and made payment all on the same day, soon after I was accepted as a member and joined the WhatsApp group and was assigned a mentor (this was all done in less than a week of me attending my first meeting) – the rest is history as they say!

Were you assigned a mentor, what was that process like, how did it make you feel?

The mentoring process was very smooth, my assigned mentor contacted me pretty much immediately and was proactive, helpful and friendly. I felt comfortable approaching my mentor with any queries I had as a new member and we had many rehearsals of my speeches together!

What roles you have done?

Nearly all the roles (evaluator, grammarian, timekeeper, table topics master). I have been assigned the Toastmaster role for a meeting in the next month and that leaves just the General Evaluator and Sergeant in Arms roles left to try!

Have you done your ice-breaker or other speeches?

Yes, I delivered my icebreaker speech in August and have gone on to complete two other speeches since, with one of these being a speech delivered in the humorous contest speech (I was asked to participate in the contest which I was surprised about as I was a relatively new member, however, Speakers of Croydon pushes all members to challenge themselves). Of the three speeches I’ve delivered, I’ve won the best speaker award twice and really have the momentum to keep going in order to complete my presentation mastery pathway.

And here is another Member Andre Thomas sharing on his experience at Croydon Speakers:

Debbie Williams
Club Growth Director