I wrote to a club in London:
Greetings from sunny Singapore
(Actually - I use the over-used word actually correctly, to indicate modifying a platitude statement - it's no longer sunny, but after two hot, sweltering sunny days, cooling rain is welcome.)
UK CLUBS TO VISIT
Greetings from sunny Singapore
(Actually - I use the over-used word actually correctly, to indicate modifying a platitude statement - it's no longer sunny, but after two hot, sweltering sunny days, cooling rain is welcome.)
I am acquiring skills and experience to bring back to HOD and the UK. I am the sponsor of a forthcoming bilingual English-Chinese club. I just attended a Workshop on Club Growth.
I have been attending a Toastmasters meeting several times a month. I am mostly language evaluator when I aim to be both instructional and entertaining. At the last meeting when I was Language Evaluator, I encouraging everybody in the room in unison to say third, not missing out the H! I pointed out that a turd is what you see in a toilet. That raised a laugh.
PROBLEM
I already have my credentials from Toastmasters. I am away for many meetings of my UK club. Why should I pay to renew membership if I am missing half the meetings?
I get the Toastmasters magazine full of tips which Toastmasters are glad to share. That gives me my moneysworth from the proportion of my annual fee which goes to the USA. Being a member of two or three clubs means I am paying the USA twice or three times.
ANSWER
To make it worthwhile renewing my club membership, although I am absent, I would be glad to receive a club ‘newsletter’ or meeting summary. This can be part of the duties of: Vice President Public Relations, or Vice President Membership, or project 8 from Competent leader manual for a member, or a High Performance Project for somebody aiming to complete Advanced leader Silver, or Advanced Leader Gold or DTM, or Area Governor project for the Area, a sub-committee organising a rota.
It is merely irritating to hear praise devoid of facts, the news that you missed ‘a wonderful speech by so-and’.
However, I want one practical tip learned from my own club's meetings each month.
How? Who would do it?
'Nobody has time during their working day.’
(Phooey - the committee's WhatsApp messages go back and forth non-stop between the President, Membership secretary, Treasurer, secretary everybody!)
POSSIBLE TIME-SAVING SOLUTIONS:
1 The General Evaluator could send a one-liner or three sentence summary by WhatsApp
a) during the meeting or
b) during the break or
c) on the train home. (This is done by American Marshall Cooper in Singapore.)
COPYRIGHT ISSUES SOLVED
2 Maybe the chief guest speaker (If none the TME) would prefer to send a quotation:
eg "Speaker Bob Ferguson says, 'My top tip is …’ ”
(That way nobody else is revealing the speaker's top secrets; nor off-the cuff possibly inaccurate remarks, ‘Half the audience - don’t quote me on this,’ nor mis-quoting).
Secondly, the speaker could add their top tip from audience feedback.
THANK YOU QUOTATION
3 A proper thank you speech by the Toastmaster of the evening, (a thankyou speech is a project in one of the advanced manuals) should incorporate something useful that the speaker has said.
This sentence can be reused as the WhatsApp message. The magic quotation forms part of the thank you speech, the thank you letter, and the club newsletter or WhatsApp message, or PR on Facebook or the club website.
UK CLUBS TO VISIT
If you are in London, visit one of the clubs in London, available morning until night, all year. There are breakfast clubs, banking clubs, business networking clubs, English, French, or Polish clubs.
In the UK I am a member of
HOD Meeting at THE BRIDGE, HARROW, FIRST AND THIRD THURSDAY Evenings, PLUS An advanced club XL on another Thursday. Near Harrow and Wealdstone station.
HOD meeting in Harrow at the Bridge by the Leisure Centre near Harrow & Wealdstone station, London, England.
HARROVIANS meets near Canons Park Station, Edgware, in St Lawrence's Hall, behind St Lawrence's Church, first and third Monday evenings.
Harrovians in the large Hall near behind historic St Lawrence's Church by North London Collegiate School's park near Canons park station and buses from Harrow and Edgware, NW London, England.
In Singapore I am VPR for Braddell Heights Advanced toastmasters club, Singapore.
If you are passing through Singapore, we meet first Wednesday evening at 7 pm and Third Saturday afternoon at 3 pm. Do visit us! The Community Cub is beside Serangoon MRT railway station.
Braddell Heights Advanced Toastmasters International Speakers' club, Singapore, the committee: Angela, Rachel, Maria, Marcus, Kan Kin Fung.
USEFUL WEBSITE
To find a club in the country where you live or are visiting on holiday or business:
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