How to Build an Extraordinary Club, Part 2 of 3: Deets

Want to provide an unforgettable Club experience?

The answer lies in the Details.

So says Lee Goodwin, President of Speak Up Cambridge and a member of Advanced Access Toastmasters Club. He has discerned that members and guests alike find value in novel, effective methods that attract and hold their attention.

Seems obvious, right? But how many Clubs actually deliver a truly out-of-the-ordinary experience?

Here are Lee’s tips and observations …

re Members:

• If I’m a new member to your Club, what do I receive from you? Did I receive a Welcome Note, something that tells me clearly which roles you recommend for me, and how to sign up?
• Do you have role descriptions that tell me briefly and clearly how to carry out each of those roles? (If you’re relying on the standard Toastmasters descriptions, look at them through the eyes of someone who knows nothing about Toastmasters. You may choose to write your own, as we did.)
• Did you give me clear, step-by-step instructions on how to register for Pathways? We have an 8-page PDF with screenshots that we borrowed from a Club that posted it online. And yes, we credit them on the version that we rewrote for our members.
• Did you give me a sense of what I should expect from the Club and how to engage?
• Did you assign an experienced member to buddy with me; to make sure I sign up for roles and to check in with me?
• You have two crucial opportunities to connect with your new members: 1) 1-2 weeks before each meeting, reach out and suggest a role, and 2) after the meeting send an email offering your positive feedback, and maybe a suggestion. Hopefully you took notes so that you can be specific in your comments. Those personal messages take a little time. But those personal notes are gold.

re Potential Guests:

• Use Meetup as a recruitment tool. We all receive club leads from Toastmasters from time to time. But there are a lot of other people out there searching the web for public speaking resources. And from that viewpoint, most Club websites look pretty much alike. Which could be a big factor in why you’re receiving only single digit RSVPs from Meetup.
• You need to understand the person looking at your Meetup page, and what they need. For some, being in a Toastmasters Club is important. Even so, lose the Toastmasters jargon and speak in simple language.

The difference between something good and something great is attention to detail.       — Charles R Swindoll, pastor & author