6/13/20
Have you ever had a day where you felt like the alarm clock didn’t go off, the dog ate your homework and you missed the bus all rolled into one? A day where you were always feeling two steps behind? That’s how I felt going to this meeting. Lack of preparation was the first thought that popped into my head when Steve and I arrived on Zoom 15 minutes beforehand and no one was there. 10 minutes before the meeting started one person showed up but never spoke, turns out he was a visitor, Amin, from Canada.
Five minutes before the meeting was supposed to start, people started logging in and as it turns out the agenda was not sent out that week and they had not filled the Toastmaster of the Day role and many others. Amin asked to be a speaker which took me by surprise. Showing up at a club that you have never been to before and no one knows you and you ask to speak, but he was graciously accommodated by Brenda, nodding out of speaking and becoming Table Topics master. It took about 15 minutes for everyone to get roles and the meeting to actually start. The members definitely were not set up for success in this meeting.
Background research showed this club has 12 members and in one year have only accomplished 2 educational awards. For comparison, my club currently has 85 educational awards for this Toastmasters year, but then again my club is full of overachievers. However, if members are working the educational program and giving speeches it is reasonable that a club could get 8-10 awards each year. No members at this club had earned any Pathways awards (new educational program)which are probably the easier awards to get. I believe it is the Vice President Education's job to encourage members to do speeches and reach their goals. In our club, it’s also the Vice President of Education's job to make sure the agenda is filled beforehand so the meeting will flow smoothly. However, I am not sure whose responsibility it is in this club but whoever it is, if that person is not able to do the job, the other officers and members must take up the slack for the good of the club.
This was the club's second attempt at “blended meetings.” We call them hybrid, a combination of participants on zoom and in person. They are still working out the kinks so I won’t spend much time on that. However, one of the members in a room filled with three participants was out of eyesight. He mentioned later he didn’t want to be seen on camera. (witness protection?). But camera placement does need to be a consideration when clubs start deciding to turn their all in-person meetings to hybrid clubs.
One thing that left a very bad taste in my mouth, which has nothing to do with the club really, was the visitor. He showed up, gave a speech and then left right after. Not even staying for the evaluation of his speech. That made me feel he was just checking off a box, not even caring about the audience or how he did. Perhaps his goal is to speak in a certain number of clubs, however, he is losing the most valuable asset that the club has to offer and that is receiving evaluations. We can’t get better if we don’t have that. From the introduction, it seemed like this speaker wanted to give this speech in the international speech contest next year. If so, it really would have benefited him to hear the evaluation which I thought was pretty insightful.
Final thoughts:
The officers need to lead by example. They need to be the first to sign up for roles and at least 3 weeks in advance. They need to strive for excellence in the club. Teach members about using zoom. Log on to Zoom about 15 minutes before the meeting. PREPARATION IS KEY
The website could be vamped up to attract more members
Hold up the timing cards the whole time instead of just when the time reaches the minute mark would help the speaker follow the time better.
Brenda was the most enthusiastic member of the group and tried to lead a rousing table topic session to include the Word of the Day. However, it was very hard to see and hear her on the screen because she was so far back. She told us at the end of the meeting that she is an incoming Area Director. Sometimes we learn by doing. My hope is that as she visits others clubs she can take back tips to make her own club better. That is one thing Steve and I have done over the years. We have traveled to different clubs and “stolen” ideas to make our club better. That’s even what this whole visiting all 50 states is about too. So good luck in your tenure Brenda and much luck to your club. My advice is to all their club members, but especially officers, visit other clubs and “steal” ideas that you can use in your club. This kind of stealing isn’t against the law.
No comments:
Post a Comment