Area 14 InfoSite

These are a few of the questions I received this year – some I had to research the answers, and I learnt a lot in the process!

Q. If a member gives a speech, but doesn’t meet the objectives, can we withhold the credit (i.e. fail them)?

A. I understand the frustration – I’ve met many DTMs who aren’t very good speakers, and I’ve wondered about this myself. The bottom line though, is that we provide an encouraging and supportive environment and “failing” someone isn’t very encouraging – in fact, it would probably have the opposite effect. Basically, if someone shows up and gives a speech, they get the credit. The evaluator should tactfully let them know they didn’t meet the objectives, and suggest they try the project again, but they can’t force them to.

Q. I’m getting upset because the evaluations seem to sugar coat things, and don’t really focus on improvements.

A. Some people are very hesitant about giving constructive evaluations. If this is a problem in your club, there’s a couple of things you can do to increase the confidence of the evaluator:

• Give the Evaluate to Motivate educational.
• Have an “Evaluation” meeting – with more experienced members evaluating the evaluators.
• Try a meeting where you evaluate Table Topic speakers.

Like everything else – we learn by doing. Present more opportunities for evaluations and see if that helps your members feel more comfortable with giving evaluations.

Q. A new member just joined our club, and he’s contacting other members to solicit business.

This situation is actually a violation of the Toastmasters agreement. Toastmasters contact information is only to be used to conduct Toastmasters business. To actually quote Toastmasters policy on this:

“Use of names, postal or electronic addresses or telephone numbers of clubs or their members is prohibited for any purpose other than official Toastmasters business.”

Your club should make sure that all new members are aware of this policy, and consider the following disclaimer whenever distributing membership lists, emails, etc.:

“The information in this _____ is for the sole use of Toastmasters members for Toastmasters business only. It is not to be used for solicitation and distribution of non-Toastmasters materials or information.”

If a member is contacting you without your permission for anything other than Toastmasters business, you should let your club President and/or VP Membership know, and they should have a tactful word with the offending member.

Q. The requirements for ACG say I have to mentor a member for 3 speeches. Do they have to be the first 3 speeches, or can they be any 3 speeches.

A. This requirement is specifically for the first 3 speeches. Tell your VP Education that you’d like to mentor the next new member.

Q. How come at contests and training, people from the district are treated as dignitaries? Isn’t that being a bit pretentious?

A. People serving at the district (District Governor, Lt. Gov. Education & Training, Lt. Gov. Marketing, Division Governors, etc.) give a lot of their time and efforts, in a volunteer capacity. They don’t need to do it – once you have your district service level, there are no further “district credits” you need to get your DTM. Yet, the clubs in the various areas, divisions and indeed throughout the district, cannot function without the efforts of these individuals. Recognizing them as dignitaries is just a way of showing respect and saying “Thank you”. It isn’t pretentious, it’s respectful.

Q. I want to do my High Performance Leadership program. What ideas do you have for programs and who pays for the materials?

A. Organizing an Area or Division contest, a workshop or a training program, Speechcraft or Youth Leadership programs are just a few ideas of what you can take on for your High Performance Leadership. Usually it’s something Toastmasters-related. Every club has their own policies on who pays for things like this, but my experience is that you purchase your own HPL manuals. They aren’t very expensive.

Q. What resources are available to me outside of my club?

A. Many resources are available. The Toastmasters website has tons of information (www.toastmasters.org), so if you don’t have a log on there yet, go get one. Also, on Linked In, there is a Toastmasters International group and a District 86 group you can join. They both have some very good conversations, and are a good place to get answers to your questions. These groups are also showing up on Facebook these days as well.

I hope sharing this information can help us all to become more familiar with the Toastmasters program and answer other members’ questions. If you have a question you’d like answered, please don’t hesitate to ask!