Subbi P. Mathur, DTM, PDG Region 8 Advisor Caring for Your Clubs Subbi P. Mathur, DTM, PDG Region 8 Advisor

You have chartered a Club. What then? Lay foundations for the Club to stay successful for a long time Club Growth Directors or District Directors, appoint at least two mentors and charge them to take care of the club for at least 6 months, preferably 12 months CGD, Train your mentors well so that they know how to nurture the new club Visit the club often

Area Club Visits Make more than one Area Club visit Get to know the Club Officers Ask them how you can help Attend their meetings Conduct a Moments of Truth Workshop

For Established Clubs in trouble Encourage the Club Presidents to request a Club Coach For an existing troubled club (12 members or less) Mentor clubs with membership of 14 or less

Who Appoints Club Coaches and Mentors? Club Growth Director or District Director

Unofficial Mentors for a Club Volunteer Mentors for helping clubs with 14 or less members Area Directors Division Directors Club Growth Director

Club Mentoring is Your opportunity to: Develop team-building skills Expand leadership experience Increase proficiency as a facilitator and negotiator Share expertise Invest in future of Toastmasters

Why does a club need a club coach or a Mentor? Bell shaped Curve in 2 to 5 years The members are quite content with their ways Guests are never incorporated into the club because the earlier members have formed their own cliques The older members are autocratic Newly chartered club is lost Club coach or mentor to the rescue

Know the foundation Club Mission We provide a supportive and positive learning experience in which members are empowered to develop communication and leadership skills, resulting in greater self-confidence and personal growth. District Mission We build new clubs and support all clubs in achieving excellence. Toastmasters International Mission We empower individuals to become more effective communicators and leaders.

Club Quality Standards: First Impressions

Club Quality Standards First Impressions Guests warmly greeted and introduced to the club Guest book and name tags provided Membership packet with member application form, toastmaster fliers and old Toastmaster magazines Professionally conducted meetings Guests invited to participate and comment at the meeting Guests invited to join

Membership Orientation

Membership Orientation Formal Induction, including presentation of membership pin and manuals Assignment of a mentor by the V.P. Education Education programs and recognitions discussed Learning needs assessed Speaking roles assigned Member involved in all aspects of club activities No cliques!

Fellowship, Variety and Communication

Fellowship, Variety and Communication Guests warmly greeted and made welcome Enjoyable meetings are planned Regularly scheduled social events Interesting Meeting Themes and Table Topics Members participate in Area, Division, District and International events Inter-club events are encouraged Club newsletter/website/ facebook page published and regularly updated

Program Planning and Organization

Program Planning and Meeting Organization Agenda published in advance Members know program responsibilities and are prepared to carry out all assignments All projects are from the Manuals Meetings begin and end on time Creative Table topics and activities (Club anniversaries, Open house) Positive and helpful evaluations

Membership Strength

Membership Strength Club has 20 or more members Members are retained Active membership building programs Promotion of the club in the community or within its organization Club programs varied and exciting Toastmasters sponsoring new members recognized Regular membership-building programs

Member Achievement Recognition

Achievement Recognition Award applications immediately submitted to World Headquarters Progress charts displayed and maintained Member achievements formally recognized with ceremony Club, District and International leaders recognized Club and member achievements publicized DCP is used for Club Success planning and recognition

Club Coach/Mentor Qualifications The District Director or Club Growth Director may appoint up to 2 coaches for each club with 12 or fewer (recommend 14 or fewer) members at the time of appointment Mentors are appointed to newly chartered clubs, at least 2 per club, typically for 6 months Not members of the struggling club and who are not currently familiar with the club or its members They are members of successful clubs and have held club officer positions

As Area Director: Build rapport with club leaders and members Observe and analyze the club environment, then assist the club in generating solutions Help the club develop a plan with goals for improvement Make it possible for the club’s leaders and members to implement the plan Instill enthusiasm, fidelity and a sense of responsibility for the club’s future

Toastmasters International Values Integrity Respect Service Excellence

A Great Club Coach or Mentor is Committed Organized Attentive Consistent Hands-On

Difficult Question 1 Can an evaluator require a member to repeat a manual project if the member didn’t meet all of the project objectives?

Correct Response No. If a speech does not meet project objectives, an evaluator should point it out but focus on what the speaker did well and how to improve, as in a normal evaluation. The evaluator could then suggest, in private, that the speaker repeat the project. But ultimately, it is up to the member to decide if the evaluator’s opinion is valid and if a speech project should be repeated.

Difficult Question 2 If a speaker wants more time for a manual speech than the objectives provide, can he revise the time with the V.P. Education’s approval?

Correct Response No. One of the lessons to be practiced in speech training is expressing a thought within a specific time. Timing is treated the same as any other manual project objective. For example, if one of the objectives of a project speech is to use gestures effectively and the member focuses instead on vocal variety, the member has not met the project objective and this should be pointed out by the evaluator. The same is true if the time for a speech is 5 to 7 minutes and the member speaks for eight minutes. The evaluator should point out that the timing objective for the speech was not met.

Difficult question 3 Can the VP Education refuse to sign a member’s Project Completion Record if he/she believes the member could have performed better?

Correct Response No. The Toastmasters program is self- motivated and self-paced. If a member chooses not to do his best when completing projects, that is his choice Although the VPE certainly can encourage the member to do better, the VPE does not have the authority not to sign the Project Completion Record. The VPE should be sensitive to this.

Difficult Question 4 If a member’s manual speech went overtime, can she still be included when the club votes for Best Speaker of the Meeting?

Correct Response Each club is free to set its own requirements for the best speaker or most improved speaker award. Note: If you still present the best speaker award irrespective of time requirements, a note must be added that the speaker would have been disqualified under contest circumstances so that the member can work on keeping his speeches within the time period in future.

Response: The clubs can set the rule Difficult Question 5 Can guests to the club participate in voting for Best Meeting role player? Response: The clubs can set the rule

Some Pointers You’re probably not going to have the answer to every question the club asks You need to empower the new club and its members to find answers on their own Suggest resources for finding these answers By doing this, you’ve answered the current question but also have provided a resource to help the member answer future questions for themselves and others.

Status Check Have the club conduct The Successful Club Series Module “Moments of Truth” and help the club identify its strengths and weaknesses At the next club meeting, facilitate a discussion of the strengths and weaknesses they have identified

Build a Club Rescue Team Club Officers Club Members Mentors Club Coaches Area Directors Division Directors District Trio

Educate the Clubs about DCP Achieve five of 10 goals Distinguished Club Achieve seven of 10 goals Select Distinguished Club Achieve nine of 10 goals President’s Distinguished Club

Membership building culture Fostering a membership-building culture within the club will help it combat natural attrition Encourage the Vice President Public Relations to publicize the club and its events Encourage the Vice President Membership to develop and begin implementing a club-sponsored membership contest to run the duration of the term www.toastmasters.org/membershipcontests Hold Open houses with publicity given by the VPPR

Toastmasters Membership contests Annual Individual Member Program Talk Up Toastmasters Smedley Award Beat the Clock!

Keep the Members satisfied Keep the members satisfied = Retaining members Provides continuity in the club Assures a strong leadership base The entire club is responsible for keeping its members satisfied and involved in the program

Recognize Achievement Post member progress charts at every meeting Formally recognize members achieving educational awards Mention achievements in club newsletter and on the club website Brag!

Looking to the Future Create a vision – mental image of what the club members would like to happen in the future – what they want the club to become Help the members develop a customized vision for the club and get their agreement to fulfill the club mission Guide the club to specific goals to make their vision a reality

The Club’s new Climate Periodically, you should re-evaluate the club using the Club Coach Troubleshooting Guide Do this as objectively as possible. Compare these to your original evaluation, then note improvements and areas still requiring work. After four to six months, the club should be functioning normally. The scores will be much improved. Some of the club’s veteran members may not think the changes being made are to the club’s benefit. Change is difficult, especially when it is a required course of action. If drastic change wasn’t required, you wouldn’t have been needed in the first place.

It takes a Village to raise a Child It takes the club coach, Area Governor, Division Governor, District, Region and World leadership to raise a club!