tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2161870764175544567.post6889599991630105587..comments2023-12-02T00:38:03.848-08:00Comments on Speak & Deliver - A Public Speaking Blog For the Speaking Public: Toastmasters Friday: Who Are You?Rich Hopkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08368395405978270849noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2161870764175544567.post-70272203478297259302011-11-27T13:57:43.538-08:002011-11-27T13:57:43.538-08:00I enjoyed this blog. It was very apt for what I...I enjoyed this blog. It was very apt for what I've been experiencing with my club. New member come and go; old members seem content with the stagnation.<br />Lately work has been very demanding, causing me to miss a meeting here and there, but I've been asking myself if fighting my boss for the time to attend meetings is worth the effort.<br />Indeed, know who I am and knowing my club is important. Thanks for pointing that out to me.Terencehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11971372271383509872noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2161870764175544567.post-10100096912252140162011-11-26T13:38:09.376-08:002011-11-26T13:38:09.376-08:00Thanks for mentioning my special "Western cit...Thanks for mentioning my special "Western city" Toastmasters club with adults topics. Have a club that is completely devoted to freedom of speech where any subject is welcomed has been an incredible experience. I am so proud of my fellow members for the incredible speeches they have delivered on topics you would not hear at other clubs. Religion, Politics, Sex, Suicide, Prison...anything is welcomed on our stage. We absolutely follow the Toastmasters format with manual speeches, evaluations (plus round robins) and a chance for impromptu speaking like you will hear at no other club. The members of this club know what they are signing up for and they love it. As an advanced club, we meet the needs of this membership to have fun together, push boundaries and open our minds just a wee bit more than we did before. I am a very proud member of Frankly Speaking in Seattle. Of course, I am also delighted by the special nature of my other three clubs -- Totem #41 focuses on leadership, Notable Northgaters is a 20+ year community club with a variety of backgrounds, and Weecan Speak is a newer club that is growing into its own. Each club offers me something different and wonderful, and I'm glad they all exist.Michelle Wilkinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10202377372804501560noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2161870764175544567.post-30135603686679437382011-11-26T13:17:52.636-08:002011-11-26T13:17:52.636-08:00Rich, as usual you make some excellent points. The...Rich, as usual you make some excellent points. There is no single formula for success as a club, but there are some repeatable processes that make a club more likely to succeed, and therefore make the members successful. <br /><br />TI does care about clubs with more than 20 members. That's why AG visits are to all clubs, not just struggling clubs. Also, many districts offer incentives that are not just about rebuilding clubs, but making and keeping all clubs strong. <br /><br />I know you'll find a club that will meet your needs, and that you can be a strong part of.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2161870764175544567.post-45207091066449340032011-11-26T02:49:07.217-08:002011-11-26T02:49:07.217-08:00Clubs are different, and yes, you have to find the...Clubs are different, and yes, you have to find the one right for you. I begun at Monument TM in Washington DC when it opened to women (slowly) in 1977. And after three years TM was in my "blood" but back in Paris I did not like their club, "for rich and with expensive dinner". Three years ago, come to London and joined two different clubs, to be able to speak more. Finally, one that was the newest, and needed me more, is not more "my" club. Later, I also joined London's Advanced club, who makes more "innovations" that I like very much, and very very slowly I try to introduce some in my "main" club. <br /><br />I think as far as we do "manual speeches" "educational speeches" etc with good evaluations, helping each other not only speak and listen better but get more confidence, the differences are not so important. But I do believe now, (I finish now my AC Gold) that ANY speech can be put in a "manual" speech, either from CC or from "speaking to inform, storytelling, entertaining, etc" manuals. And, you can give those again and again, as many time as you want.<br /><br />I would like to have a Storytelling or Stand Up TM club or join, but we do not have those. <br /><br />Most important is we loose some members, every fall (and spring) but we get new ones who really need us and grow and get more confident, that for me in itself is the reward. (Of course also for myself to have become a Storyteller outside TM and this year at age 77 a Stand Up comedian, and a coach too who needs it) but I will continue to be TM like you, and even be official member, at least of one club. <br /><br />We have the special chance in London, to have now more then 40 clubs, a lot from which to choose. Or to make a new one, for those with enough energy. Diversity is good. "Dogmatic" no, but Ralph Smedley was pushing Toastmasters to experiment.Julie Kertesz - me - moi - jkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09196066571782981915noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2161870764175544567.post-30053573812287789862011-11-25T16:46:16.412-08:002011-11-25T16:46:16.412-08:00Hey Rich, I feel your pain! I've been "au...Hey Rich, I feel your pain! I've been "auditioning" clubs since I arrived here in Houston about 2 months ago. I've been to 10 clubs, and you're right, no two clubs are alike. Heck, I even went to the Houston Singles TM club, which is HUGE here (45+ members, lots of guests)...I liked it, but it was "GU" (Geographically Undesirable...a rush hour commute of 1 hr plus). I too was looking to go in as a club coach but most of the struggling clubs I've seen really don't seem to care if they fold or not.Bob Jensenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14621163154136771593noreply@blogger.com