Help

1
Help!!

• We Only Have 8 Members Left!
• by Rick Sharon, ATM-S, CLrasharon_at_midpa.com

2
First Steps

• Step 1
• Step 2 Take a deep breathRelax, others have
  been there before.They dealt with it, so can
  you.
• Step 3 Plan and Do

3
Planning and DoingWhat will we talk about today?

• Decisions, Decisions
• Where can we get help?
• Short Term How Do We Survive?How can we run a
  meeting with so few people?
• Long Term How Do We Grow Our Club?How can we
  get enough members to run a meeting the way its
  supposed to be?
• QA with our panel of expertsLet their hindsight
  be your foresight

4
Decision Time

• Let it die?

Save Its Life?
Here Lies Our Toastmasters Club We Let It Die
Will your Phoenixrise from its ashes?
or
Wimp out? Quit? Walk away?
Hunker down make it happen?
5
Where Can We Get Help?The Toastmasters
Organization

• Toastmasters International
• www.toastmasters.org
• District 25 Toastmasters
• www.d25toastmasters.orgSee the My Club Needs
  Helpand Help A Club pages
• Find your Area Governorvia the Club/Area
  Alignment and Contacts pages
• District assigned Sponsors, Coaches, and Mentors
• Email the District 25 Lt. Governor of Marketing
  at LGMKT_at_d25toastmasters.org

6
Where Can We Get Help?Toastmasters Publications

• How To Rebuild A Toastmasters Club
• Membership Growth
• Membership 101
• Membership Building Kit
• Moments of Truth
• Various Promotional Brochures
• Order from Supply Catalog or download from
  www.toastmasters.org

7
Where Can We Get Help?Other Toastmasters Clubs

• Can nearby clubs provide helpers?
• Clubs in your area? In neighboring areas?
• More warm bodies to help run the meeting!
• Will they join your club?
• Joint meetings?
• Contact them and ask!Worst they can do is say no
  youre no worse off if they do.
• What will you do for them?How can you return the
  favor? How can you help them?Ill join yours if
  you join mine?Help other clubs in the same
  situation?

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Where Can We Get Help?Other Toastmasters Clubs

• Find them
• www.toastmasters.org Find A Club link
• www.d25toastmasters.org Club/Area Alignment
  Area Contact pages
• Network at TLIs District Conferences
• Ask your Area Governor
• Ask other Toastmasters
• Check your newspapers event club lists
• Search the internet e.g. www.google.com

9
Where Can We Get Help?You! Who do you know?

• Hunker down and figure it out
• Your club members
• Your friends and neighbors
• Your co-workers
• Your family
• Your company management

If its going to be, its up to me Own it, do
it, make it happen!
10
SurvivalDo the math, how do you assign roles?

• Presiding Officer
• Toastmaster
• Table Topics Master
• Vote Counter
• 2-3 Speakers
• 2-3 Evaluators
• General Evaluator
• Listener
• Grammarian
• AH Counter
• Timer

• 3-4 People?

Not every member will make it to every meeting
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SurvivalHow do you assign roles? Double Up

• Presiding Officer anything else
• Toastmaster Topics Master
• Vote Counter Timer
• General Evaluator Listener
• Grammarian AH Counter
• Everyone evaluates round robin around the
  tableinstead of Individual Evaluators
• Speakers any other duties? Generally no. Just
  speaking is enough!!Experienced members can
  speak do other roles(somebody else covers for
  them while theyre speaking)

12
SurvivalHow do you assign roles? Eliminate

• Keep what you can
• Presiding Officer Toastmaster Topics
  Master(one person can do all three)
• Speakers
• Timer
• Everyone evaluates round robinor each member
  speaks AND evaluates another member
• Drop the rest
• General Evaluator, Listener, Vote Counter,
  Grammarian, AH Counter
• Temporarily! Resume doing when club growth
  permits!

13
SurvivalWhat if only 1-2 people show up?

• Speech writing clinicbrainstorm and outline next
  3-4 speeches
• One on one mentoring and orientation
• Moments of Truth module (soul searching)
• How do we get more members to the meeting?
• How do we operate the club more effectively?
• Listen to an audio program
• From supply catalog or World Champions

14
SurvivalWhat if only 1-2 people show up?

• Watch a Toastmasters video
• Educational programs from supply catalog
• Educational programs from past world champions
• Magic Moments by David Brooks
  www.davidbrookstexas.com/products.htm
• How I Went From Chump to Champ by Darren
  Lacrioxwww.humor411.com/books/
• Often available at district conferences
• From Bill Stephens Productions www.billspro.com
• International convention sessions
• Internal speech contest finals going back several
  years
• You may need to bring a TV and DVD or VCR Player

15
Growing Your ClubWhy did members leave? Ask them!

• Some things you probably cant fix
• Layoffs decimating a company club?
• Moving away? Job relocation? Retirement?
• Some things you can fix
• Inconvenient day, time or location?
• Club wasnt helping them attain goals? What are
  their goals? Ask!
• Disruptive member chasing people away?Council or
  get rid of the disruptive member?
• What does the club need to do differently?

16
Growing Your ClubYour Meeting Is Your Best Sales
Tool

• Keep it well structured and organized
• Roles assigned and published in advance
• Every meeting needs
• Printed agendas and a theme
• Room set-up before guests arrivelectern, banner,
  flag, ballots and agendas circulated
• Name tents or name tags for everyone
• Display club materials
• Member progress charts, brochures, guest book,
  Toastmaster magazines, Club and District
  newsletters

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Growing Your ClubYour Meeting Is Your Best Sales
Tool

• Members need to be learning growing
• Every speech a manual speech
• Include assignment goals in introductions
• Mention experimenting, trying new things
• Evaluate every speech, the meeting, evaluators
• Provide non-threatening constructive feedback
• Reinforce what members did well
• Suggest how they could have done better
  specifics

18
Growing Your ClubYour Meeting Is Your Best Sales
Tool

• Have participants at various levels of talent and
  experience
• Be energetic, excited, and exciting
• Be passionate about what youre doing
• Be playful, tease, laugh, enjoy, celebrate
• But not disruptively
• If it aint fun, youre not doing it right
• Acknowledge and welcome mistakes
• Theyre part of the process
• Study and learn from them, try not to repeat them

19
Growing Your ClubGuests Are Future Members

• Find Them, Help Them Find You
• Some techniques work well for any club
• Some techniques work best for
• Closed / company clubs
• Open / community clubs

20
Growing Your ClubAttracting Guests
Any Club

• Word of mouth
• Invite your friends, co-workers, neighbors,
  family
• Conduct a Speechcraft
• An 8 week public speaking class
• Speechcraft kit sold through supply catalog
• Speechcrafters give speeches
• Club members do everything else
• Invite Speechcrafters to join your clubmost will
  join
• Coordinator gets credit towards ATM-G

21
Growing Your ClubAttracting Guests
Any Club

• Conduct a Speechcraft
• An 8 week public speaking class
• Speechcraft kit sold through supply catalog
• Coordinators guide
• Speechcrafter manuals patterned after Basic CL
  manual
• Promotional brochures
• Guidelines for assisting Speechcrafters
• Certificates for Coordinator and Participants
• Treat it like a professional training class
• Advertise
• Charge for it - If they pay, they have a vested
  interest!

22
Growing Your ClubAttracting Guests
Any Club

• Run Speechcraft like a regular meeting
• Speechcrafters present speeches every week
• Members provide all supporting roles
• Toastmaster, General Evaluator, Individual
  Evaluators, Grammarian, AH Counter,
• Members Present how to speeches
• Can use the Better Speaker series
• Or get manual credit if other members do written
  evaluations
• Members mentor the Speechcrafters

23
Growing Your ClubAttracting Guests
Any Club

• At the last Speechcraft class
• Invite Speechcrafters to join your club
• Great way to continue what they started in
  Speechcraft
• Credit some or all of their class fees towards
  Toastmasters club dues
• Credit 3 speeches towards their CTM
• Most will join your club
• Register class completion with International
• Coordinating Speechcraft counts towards ATM Gold

24
Growing Your ClubAttracting Guests
Any Club

• Toastmasters International Publicity Handbook
• Download from Internationals website
• Or order from the supply catalog
• DFW Media Guide
• How to get publicity in the DFW Metroplex
• Contacts at Newspapers, Radio and TV Stations
• Sample announcements
• Helpful Internet Sites
• Email rasharon_at_midpa.com and Ill send you a copy

25
Growing Your ClubAttracting Guests
Any Club

• Advertising Brochures and Posters
• From Internationals websiteor supply
  catalogsome are free!!
• Make your own
• Club newsletters
• Recycled Toastmaster magazines
• Brand everything with your club info. e.g.
  meeting day, time, location, contacts

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Growing Your ClubAttracting Guests
Any Club

• Have club contacts including alternates
• Telephone with voice mail
• Email
• Club website
• Postal mailing address aka Snail Mail
• Reply ASAP e.g. within 24-48 hours
• Brand everything with club contact infoe.g.
  via mailing labels on all handouts

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Growing Your ClubAttracting Guests
Any Club

• Prepare your 1-2 minute elevator speech
• How have you benefited from Toastmasters?
• What have you accomplished thanks to
  Toastmasters?
• Success stories of your fellow members
• Be prepared to give it any time opportunity
  knocks
• Great Conversation Starters
• Wear your Toastmasters pin or badge
• Wear other Toastmasters clothing
• Display ribbons and trophies youve won
• Display certificates youve received
• Display your Toastmaster magazine

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Growing Your ClubAttracting Guests
Any Club

• Free Food!
• Coffee, tea, soft drinks, water
• Cookies, junk food, vegetable tray, fruit
• Pot-Luck, order-in pizza or other takeout
• Birthday cake to celebrate club charter date?
• Might want to delay eating until after
  meetingmake them stay for entire meeting to get
  food
• Cheaper in bulk from warehouse or discount
  storese.g. Sams, Costco, Wal-Mart
• Clean up after yourselvesleave the meeting room
  nicer than you found it

29
Growing Your ClubAttracting Guests
Closed / Company Club

• Get company sponsorship(financial or just
  sanctioning)
• Know your companys ground rulesesp. for use
  of company facilities e.g. rooms, lecterns,
  projectors, copiers, bulletin boards
• Advertising posters in break rooms and on public
  bulletin boards
• Announcements on company Intranet site
• Toastmasters table at employee functions

30
Growing Your ClubAttracting Guests
Closed / Company Club

• Announcements in departmental newsletters
• Bulk E-mail announcementsesp. via company or
  departmental distribution lists
• Club Intranet site
• Invite others in your work group
• Invite others in surrounding offices
• Secret admirer invitations
• Referrals from HR and training departments
• Sales pitch at management training classes

31
Growing Your ClubAttracting Guests
Closed / Company Club

• Ask department heads and managers for referrals
  and donations
• Susi McDaniel, DynMasters Toastmasters, raised
  1500 to celebrate club achievements just by
  asking the HR department and a lot of managers
  for donations.
• If your CEO attends and endorses, attendance
  wont be a problem!

32
Growing Your ClubAttracting Guests
Open / Community Club

• Club Internet site with links from
• Community and neighborhood websites
• Toastmasters District 25 and International
  Websites
• All of your promotional material
• Advertising posters
• in libraries, businesses, community centers,
  waiting roomsAsk for permission before posting
  them
• Announcements, Articles and Advertising
• Local newspapers
• Neighborhood newsletters or websites
• Newsletters and websites from other organizations

33
Growing Your ClubAttracting Guests
Open / Community Club

• Ask local businesses for donations or sponsorship
• Use that to buy food, celebrate successes, award
  prizes, buy advertising, etc.
• Be a guest speaker at other groups
• Kiwanis, Lions, Rotary, Chamber of Commerce
• Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Schools, Athletic Teams
• City Government, Professional Organizations
• Other clubs you attend
• Bookings via Speakers Bureaus
• Include Toastmasters background in your
  Introduction

34
Growing Your ClubMembership Contests

• Involve your club members
• Gives focus to needing to grow the club
• Provides incentives for bringing guests, signing
  up members, and participating
• International has 3 Every Year
• Feb 1Mar 31 Talk Up Toastmasters
• May 1Jun 30 Beat The Clock
• Aug 1Sep 30 Smedley Award
• District 25 also has contests
• 2004 Dream Team phases 1, 2, 3
• Clubs can have contests any time they want
• Ours parallel the International and District
  contests

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Growing Your ClubMembership Contests

• What if they dont want to?
• I could not convince past VPs of Membership to
  conduct membership contests
• I ran for VP of Membership just to do
  contestsIf you wont listen to me, WATCH me
• This year we supplemented every International
  membership contest with our own contests prizes
• How did we do it?

36
Growing Your ClubMembership Contests

• How do you score it?
• Guidelines in various WHQ publications
• My scoring members earn
• 5 points for each guests first visit
• 1 point for each guests return visit as a guest
• 5 points if guest joins
• 2 points for every speech they present
• 1 point if member attends and does any role(s)
  other than presenting a speech(1 point for that
  meeting, not each role)
• Guest scores tracked but dont count unless they
  join

37
Growing Your ClubMembership Contests

• How do you make it exciting? Publicize it?
• I hyped it every meeting after via E-mail
• More members ? stronger club
• Same new members count towards Club,
  District,AND International Contests
• Free stuff club recognition from District and
  International
• Whos in first place, second, third plenty of
  time left!!
• I Published a contest web page
• Rules, prizes, member scores updated weekly
• Concurrent contests (International, District)
• Results
• 11 new members January-June 2004!
• Good guest/prospects are visiting almost every
  week

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Growing Your ClubMembership Contests
Note this is a company intranet site, you wont
be able to access it.
39
Growing Your ClubMembership Contests
Note this is a company intranet site, you wont
be able to access it.
40
Growing Your ClubMembership Contests
Note this is a company intranet site, you wont
be able to access it.
41
Growing Your ClubMembership Contests
Note this is a company intranet site, you wont
be able to access it.
42
Growing Your ClubMembership Contests
Note this is a company intranet site, you wont
be able to access it.
43
Growing Your ClubMembership Contests
Note this is a company intranet site, you wont
be able to access it.
44
Growing Your ClubGuest Followup

• Make guests feel special, welcome, wanted
• Welcome them as they arrive
• Introduce them to members
• Chat with them before after the meeting
• Address them, by name, during the meetingMary,
  during our Table Topics Session we
• Give them orientation and promotional materials
• Guest orientation booklet
• Toastmasters brochures
• Sample Toastmaster magazines
• Have them fill in the guest book esp. with ways
  to contact them
• Sit near guest during meeting to answer questions
• Ask guest for comments at end of meeting invite
  them back

45
Growing Your ClubGuest Followup

• Contact guests within 1-2 days after meeting
• By phone or email or hallwayconversation or
  invite them to lunchor meet over coffee
• What did they think of the meeting?
• Do they have any questions?
• Do they see how Toastmasters might benefit them?
• What are their goals?This is how Toastmasters
  could help!
• Refer them to club contacts

46
Growing Your ClubGuest Followup

• Invite them to return as a guest until they feel
  they want to join
• Invite them to join
• Discuss dues structure with them
• Have application forms ready
• Help them fill out the forms
• If theyre joining 1-2 months before a renewal,
  go ahead and collect their 6 month renewal up
  front. That guarantees they will renew and you
  wont nag them for more dues just a few weeks
  after they join.

47
Growing Your ClubWelcome That New Member

• If they do join
• Keep an inventory of Loaner Basic Manuals
• Give them one immediately
• They keep it, write in it, use it
• Ask them to give back to the club the manual
  Toastmasters eventually mails to them.
• Return their mailed manual to the Loaner Pool
• Have them fill out a new member survey ASAP
• What are their goals? Preferences? Interests?
• How often do they want to speak?
• Find ways to help them achieve those goals
• Assign them a mentor
• Who proactively coaches them answers questions

48
Growing Your ClubWelcome That New Member

• If they do join
• Announce and welcome them to the club
• During the Meeting
• In Newsletters
• Emails to the membership
• Club Website
• Conduct a Member Induction ceremonya sample
  script is in the VP of Membership Manual
• Give them a membership Pin
• Schedule them to speak ASAP within 2-3
  weeksThe longer they wait, the harder it gets

49
Growing Your ClubCelebrate Every Member

• Announce and celebrate their accomplishments
• Halfway to CTM, earning CTM
• ATM-B, ATM-S, ATM-G
• CL, AL, DTM
• Holding District Offices
• Winning Speech Contests
• Judging Speech Contests
• Outstanding anything
• Rookie of the Year, Most Improved
• Publish a Hall of Fame

50
Growing Your ClubCelebrate Member Achievements
Note this is a company intranet site, you wont
be able to access it.
51
Growing Your ClubHow do you save your club?

• Get Help from the District, other clubs, anyone
• Figure out why members leave
• Ask them
• Do something about it, tell them what youve done
• Plan how to cope with low attendance
• Make your meeting your best sales tool
• Get guests to the meeting to see it
• Follow-up with the guests, invite them to join
• Make everyone feel special, appreciated,
  supported, and wanted!
• Guests, New Members, ALL members

52
QAWhat are your unique challenges?

• Every club is different,
• every situation has some unique aspects,
• how can we help you?
• What did we forget to mention today?
• What do you want more detail about?

53
QAAsk Our Panel of Experts

• Our Phoenix Team
• Kim Robert Lee, Denton Toastmasters
• Once down to 4 members
• Presidents Distinguished each of the last 4 years
• Susi McDaniel, Dynmasters
• Last October down to 5-6 members
• Now at 30 members and growing
• Cheryl Mason, Early Birds Toastmasters
• Club almost died
• Has been Distinguished Club the last 3 years
• Added 19 new members since April!!
• Joe Nagy, North Arlington Toastmasters
• Club was down to just 5-6 members, only 3-4 were
  attending regularly
• Now they have 30 members and 18 members attended
  a recent meeting
• Rick Sharon, Solana Classic Toastmasters
• Club was down to about 6 members, some meetings
  had 1-3 attendees
• Added 11 new members year to date and still
  growing, 8-12 people attending each meeting
• Contact rasharon_at_midpa.com

54
Action Time What Will I Do?

• What specific actions will I try at my club?
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55
QAAsk Our Panel of Experts

• Our Phoenix Team
• Kim Robert Lee, Denton Toastmasters
• Once down to 4 members
• Presidents Distinguished each of the last 4 years
• Susi McDaniel, Dynmasters
• Last October down to 5-6 members
• Now at 30 members and growing
• Cheryl Mason, Early Birds Toastmasters
• Club almost died
• Has been Distinguished Club the last 3 years
• Added 19 new members since April!!
• Joe Nagy, North Arlington Toastmasters
• Club was down to just 5-6 members, only 3-4 were
  attending regularly
• Now they have 30 members and 18 members attended
  a recent meeting
• Rick Sharon, Solana Classic Toastmasters
• Club was down to about 6 members
• Added 11 new members January-June 2004 and still
  growing
• Contact rasharon_at_midpa.com