TIPS and Suggestions for Club Sponsors and Mentors

This can also apply to community clubs. 
 

Week 1 - Demonstration Meeting

According to the "How to Build a Toastmasters Club" manual, the demonstration meeting should be a sample of how a regular Toastmasters meeting would operate. The meeting consists of a Toastmaster, Timer, Table Topics Master, one speaker and one evaluator. During the meeting, the Toastmaster supplies additional details about the meeting function that had just been performed so the process does not seem hard or vague to the audience. This format has been a great success for all of the new clubs that had been chartered in District 51. 

This compact format also allows for a 10 - 15 minute question and answer session. This is the time to put the new members at ease and give them time to digest the information they have just been presented. 

The Toastmaster should also have the folks look at the Charter Member form and fill the form out. I know this may seem a bit pushy for the first meeting but many folks will procrastinate to avoid joining the club. By having them fill it out, it makes it easier for them to move forward and become a member. Some folks say that they have to think about it, and I have responded that they deserve the opportunity to overcome their fear of public speaking. I also remind them that they have spent too many years being scared of public speaking and that here is the opportunity for them to overcome their fear. I reassure them that they will not be alone and there will be help available for them. I then collect the forms so that I have their commitment to come to meeting #2. 

The other thing that the mentors and sponsors should know before they have the 1st meeting is to determine whether the company will pay for the charter and any of the new member fees. This can be an advantage for the sponsors and mentors to "convince" the folks to join. It is easier to ask a new member to pay $35 dollars then to pay $50 dollars. This also lets them know that their management sees this as a great opportunity for personal and professional growth. For community clubs, the sponsorship from local businesses might be a way for them to offset some of the initial fees. This requires a bit of legwork and the promotion for a new Toastmasters club. 

 Someone from management (particularly if they will be the ones paying of the fees for the new members) should be in attendance at the meeting so they know what the members will be doing in the club. They want to know how their money will be spend and for what purpose. 

Weeks 2 - 8

For the weeks that follow, it is important to run the meetings as though the club was a chartered club. It is important to assign the meeting roles to some new members along with some experienced Toastmasters. In week two, there should be an Ice Breaker speech and one educational speech. The first educational speech should be on what are the meeting roles and responsibilities that the members will be performing during the coming weeks. 

Begin the habit of having a business meeting to discuss club business. The business in the beginning should be a status on the filling out of the charter paperwork. As time goes on, the area governor will share information about District events to the club President. The voting of the clubs name should be done as soon as possible. 

Hold officer elections to find out who will be running the club. Unless the sponsor(s) and mentor(s) will be joining the club, they should not be officers. I believe that if a club is to succeed that success should be the responsibility of the new members. Build some excitement and give them the encouragement to try an office. As I said before, I outline the basic things they need to accomplish as officers. You don't want to overwhelm the new officers. This is a new experience for everyone. In the first club I sponsored, the club mentor did a great job on an officer training presentation he did for the club on week #3. He discussed the officer positions and what would be expected of them. 

During week 3 or 4, set a due date that the charter paperwork (member roster, club officer list, signatures for constitution and the check for all the fees) will be due. By doing this, you put responsibility in the hands of the club members. Too many times, new clubs linger on this and then 6 months later they still don't have 20 members or have the charter fee collected. This worked well for the two clubs that had been chartered in Division C. This also prevents the new members from using the sponsors and mentors as crutches. 

Another thing that can be done to the new members is to bring a club banner. The banners we have are so beautiful and they are great attention grabbers. I had at least 4 new clubs that could have been chartered by the end of December 2000. I offered each of these clubs a special incentive-- The Division would pay for their club banners IF they chartered by December 15 2000. I know this sounds odd but one club signed up 21 new members before the assigned due date. The club had all of the paperwork completed by their 4th meeting, which was on December 14th. The other three clubs did not make it by the due date. 
 

One pit that sponsors and mentors fall into is that they may want the club to be a certain "way". No club that we sponsor or mentor is ever ours to mold as we think they should be. We need to "let go" and let the club develop its own unique personality. This is what I had to do after the 10th meeting for one club I chartered. The club members told me that the timed agenda (although it was helpful) was a bit too detailed and that they wanted to do something a little easier. I said to the club members that it was okay and that I was so proud of them for taking the responsibility for their club meetings. They were more comfortable with how to run the meeting that they felt they were ready to incorporate new changes in the agenda. If anyone came by to see this club, they would of thought this club had been around for a long time. 

 The weeks following a demonstration meeting are full of excitement, work and plenty of training and education. A sponsor and mentor that helps a club to "Build on a Strong Foundation" will have put the club and its members on the road to success as a Toastmasters club.