Moments of Truth

Tuesday night I presented a module from the Successful Club Series called "Moments of Truth". This is a one-hour module that I attempted to present in 10-15 minutes (truth be told, I was over 18 minutes, but I gave it a shot!).

A Moment of Truth is an episode when a prospective member comes in contact with any aspect of the Toastmaster experience & forms an impression of the club's quality and service. We must be mindful at all times of the impression our club makes on others, because we are only in existence to serve the needs of our members. Although some of them overlap in different areas, each is important in creating a positive Moment of Truth for our members.

Our Executive Committee is dedicated to creating the best experience possible for our members. I have emailed this to all our members for feedback, but if you are a guest reader of this blog, I hope you will take a few moments to consider how well your club meets the six criteria set forth in "Moments of Truth."

First Impressions

Member Orientation

Fellowship, variety and communication

Program planning and meeting organization

Membership strength

Achievement recognition

First Impressions:

Each guest is greeted at the door & introduced to other members

Each guest is given a name tag & asked to fill out an information card

Meeting room is set up in a professional manner

Location is easily accessible & user friendly

Guests are encouraged to participate in the meeting & comment on their experience

Guests are invited to join the day of their visit.

Member Orientation:

New members are formally inducted and receive a pin & basic manuals

Mentors are assigned

Discuss the educational program benefits with new members

Survey the new member's learning needs

Assign a speaking role as soon as possible

Continue to make new members feel welcome by encouraging them to participate on an ongoing basis

Fellowship, Variety & Communication:

Members greet guests & make them feel welcome

VP Education plans enjoyable, dynamic programs

Regularly scheduled social events

Members are encouraged to participate in Area, District & International events

Inter-Club events are encouraged

Club newsletter/blog is published regularly

Program Planning & Meeting Organization:

Program & Agenda are publicized in advance

All members know their responsibilities and prepare to carry them out to the best of their abilities

Speeches originate from the basic & advanced Communication & Leadership manuals

Meetings begin & end on time

Creative Table Topics & theme meetings are featured

Positive, helpful evaluations based on project objectives & speaker's learning needs

Membership Strength:

Maintain a minimum of 20 members

Members are retained

Actively promote our club in the community or within the sponsoring organization

Continually plan varied & exciting club programs

Recognize Toastmasters who sponsor new members

Regular participation in membership building program

Recognizing Accomplishments:

Member's completed educational requirements are promptly submitted to World Headquarters

Member progress chart maintained & displayed at each meeting

Formally recognize member achievements

Recognize Club, District & International leaders

Member and Club achievements are publicized

Distinguished Club Program (DCP) is used for planning & recognition

Calendar reminders

Don't miss it! Our December educational retreat is this Sunday, Dec 19, at Juan and Marla Tovar's home. Lots of good food and fun are a given at these special gatherings. Gary Chiu has more details if you need them.

We will get back in the swing at our first 2011 meeting on Jan 4; there will be no meetings on Dec 21 or 28. The executive committee will meet on Jan 11 and the club business meeting is on Jan 18.

The winter training season continues on Jan 14 & 15 with Toastmasters Leadership Institute (TLI) at Texas Wesleyan University. The officer training sessions are a must for current officeholders, and if you are considering being an officer, this is a great chance to find out what's involved. You do not have to be already elected to attend any session you would like.

Another great TLI opportunity is judges training. If you would like to be a better evaluator, speaker, or contestant, this is very useful. Judging is fun — you go to other clubs, meet new people, and you are in demand — they are thrilled to see you!

Remember that you can see all upcoming club events by checking the calendar on the Members home page on the website. Clicking on an event will open a small window where you can read more details about it.

Calendar reminders

Our monthly business meeting is next week, Nov 16, just before the regular meeting. On the 23rd, it's food time again at our annual Thanksgiving "eatin' meetin'." Gary has already sent out his sign-up email, so let him know what you're bringing.

The Fall District Conference is next weekend, Nov 19-20! Can't do it all? A one-day pass costs $35 and will get you into the educational sessions and the humorous speech contest on Saturday. Peruse the schedule, then register online. You can also add a meal or two for a few bucks more.

The winter training season starts on Dec 11 with Toastmasters Leadership Institute (what we call TLI in our mysterious alphabet shorthand). The officer training sessions are a must for current officeholders, and if you EVEN THINK you might want to be an officer, this is a great chance to find out what's involved. You do not have to be already elected to attend any session you would like.

Another great TLI opportunity is judges training. If you would like to be a better evaluator, speaker, or contestant, this is very useful. Judging is fun — you go to other clubs, meet new people, and you are in demand — they are thrilled to see you!

Remember that you can see all upcoming club events by checking the calendar on the Members home page on the website. Clicking on an event will open a small window where you can read more details about it.

Tarrant County alliance brings new opportunities

The day could not have been more exciting! On Tuesday morning, October 26th, the Tarrant County Commissioners Court approved our proposal. Brenda Daniels, Gary Chiu and Pat Quick were in attendance to witness the vote. After six months of negotiations, Afterburners has forged a deeper partnership with Tarrant County. Since March, we have been at risk of losing our meeting location at the Tarrant County Plaza building, but thanks to several key people at Tarrant County we are now secure in holding our weekly meetings, officer training, contests and Youth Leadership series in the building by offering Public Speaking and Leadership classes to the Tarrant County Employees.

This new alliance will give our more advanced speakers the opportunity to work on their training skills. Also, because conducting a Youth Leadership series is one of the prerequisites for achieving a DTM (Distinguished Toastmaster Award), the extra Youth Leadership classes will assist more of our members in achieving their DTMs. We are grateful to everyone who helped make this happen. A special thank you to David Phillips, Tina Glenn and Dean Lampman. We are looking forward to a mutually beneficial relationship with Tarrant County!

Pat Quick

Go to the Commissioners Court agenda page,  click on the Oct 26 agenda, and you can see pdfs of the actual documents and a video of the meeting. Fast forward to about 24:00 to see our little part.

Gary's morning at TLI!

TLI is a FANTASTIC opportunity which should not be overlooked. Not only is it completely FREE but the networking opportunities to mingle and share/swap stories with fellow Toastmasters are invaluable.

On June 26, SAA (Sergeant at Arms) training was conducted by Steve Lipsek, the SAA of the Keller Communicators. Not only does Steve have a sound understanding of the role of a Toastmaster SAA, but he himself served several years in the military as a test pilot. His helpful suggestions on how to get the meeting off to a great start and establish the tempo were outstanding.

If you need any further incentive, Toastmasters provides refreshments with plenty of caffeine to get your motor running on a Saturday morning. C'mon and get out of bed...that lawn can wait until the afternoon to be mowed!

Gary Chiu

Benson's TLI experiences

The Toastmasters Leadership Institute held at Texas Christian University on June 26, 2010 was my first District 25 Event. I learned that Afterburners Toastmasters truly lives up to its motto of "leading the way."  I was impressed that Afterburners has consistently set the bar in District 25, and realized the decisions we make at Afterburners not only affect our club, but also influence the other clubs in our District.

I also learned that Afterburners Toastmasters is one of the larger clubs in the District, and large clubs have unique challenges. For example, in a larger club, the role of a mentor becomes more important to support new members as they grow within the club. In a larger club, it is also essential for the VP Education to make sure each member has timely opportunities to speak.

I am truly impressed with the reputation of Afterburners Toastmasters, and I look forward to serving in my role as VPE to enable our members to maintain that reputation.

Benson

I'm a newly elected officer; now what?

It's not unusual for an incoming officer (especially a first-timer!) to be overwhelmed by the responsibilities of the position he or she is about to assume. Never fear! District 25 Toastmasters offers FREE training so you can be fully prepared to lead the club members who elected you.

Toastmasters Leadership Institutes (or TLI) occur often enough to fit anyone's hectic schedule, and Officer Training is offered at each. Here is the upcoming schedule:

June 26 Full TLI TCU's Tucker Technology Building, Fort Worth

July 16 Lite TLI Allstate Insurance, Irving

July 23 Lite TLI Texas Wesleyan University, Fort Worth

July 24 Full TLI Texas Wesleyan University, Fort Worth

July 31 Full TLI UNT, Denton

Free refreshments at both Full & Lite TLI sessions. Lite (evening) is officer training only. Full TLI (morning) includes additional educational sessions and judges training.

Afterburners leads the way in officer training, consistently having all seven of our officers trained for each half of the year. Let's kick off the 2010-2011 year the right way and learn how to lead our club to another year of excellence!

Tammy Bailey, DTM