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| Dean Lampman |
Now
is the time for all good Toastmasters to come to the aid of their
club. With this Toastmasters year two thirds completed, nearly two
thirds of District 25’s clubs are not yet at charter strength.
Those clubs should be working diligently to ensure they end the year
with 20 or more members—or a net gain of five—for Distinguished
Club Program (DCP) award eligibility.
Membership
building
is no mystery. Clubs that commit to even a few of these five proven
membership building activities can
achieve their goals:
- Hold an open house in February, March or as soon as possible. Read useful tips on how to do this. One club’s recent open house had an audience of nearly 40!
- Conduct a Speechcraft. This program is among the most effective actions a club can take. Participants who become members enter with earned credit for their first three Competent Communicator assignments.
- Involve compelling guest speakers. Who could draw a crowd to a meeting? What topic(s) would attract guests? Find out and get the speaker(s) and subject(s) on agendas. Guest speakers need not always be Toastmasters, but should have good skills and address audience interests.
- Assign recruiting tasks broadly. Who could speak at a Chamber of Commerce or Lions club meeting, or at nearby businesses or neighborhood associations, and share information about your club? Who could distribute a flyer or the Toastmaster magazine with your club’s information at area businesses or libraries? Give these tasks to all members; it’s everyone’s job.
- Publicize your club. Invest sufficient effort in your Website and social media. Write strong meeting previews and recaps and distribute them to current, past and prospective members and newspapers. While the VP, PR, should lead this, it’s everyone’s job.
Clubs
that take most or all five of these steps will
grow
and be in position to
earn incentives such as those in D25’s 20/20
vision
promotion. Of course, the work only begins when new members join. As
part of your club’s member
retention plan,
you must determine the needs and interests of all members and conduct
surveys or a Moments
of Truth
module to ensure expectations are being met.
Keeping
your club healthy takes considerable effort. That’s why now is
always
the time for all good Toastmasters to come to the aid of their club.
It’s everyone’s job.
Dean Lampman
Lt. Gov. Marketing
