“Don’t Panic.”

Coming into a Toastmasters club for the first time is hard. There are a lot of new people you have never met before and they want you to get in front of them and do what?

Jump ahead two weeks. You enjoyed yourself at the first meeting, you turned in your application and now what?

For many new members, you are at a loss for what to do. The person who gave you the application wants you to do an “Icebreaker” and some other person wants you to be the timer. Then there is this guy in the corner who keeps thinking you are a guest and wants you to sign the guest book. What are you supposed to do?

Deep breaths…that’s it…don’t panic. It will all be OK.

For new members, stick with me, because I have a little advice.

For experienced members, it is good to remember how much information we throw at new members so it is good to step back and learn what you can do to help.

Day 1 as a Member

As a new member, you are going to get a lot of information thrown at you rather quickly. It is good to take a look at the books and manuals that Toastmaster sends you. Don’t worry about knowing all of it now, but really start to look at Project 1, “The Icebreaker” in the Competent Communicator manual. This is the first prepared speaking project and it would be beneficial to ask when you can get signed up to give that speech.

Ok..ok..don’t panic. It is not as hard as it looks. Just take a few deep breaths, talk to some of the other members and find the person that is the Vice President of Education. We will talk more about officers later, so for now look for the person that is prematurely gray, has a ton of paperwork stacked in front of them, and keeps babbling incoherently about needing one more CC by the end of the year or something similar. Don’t worry, it is not a drug reference…but it should be.

Once you locate the Vice President of Education, he or she will help you get speeches and other roles scheduled, find a mentor, and learn more about the educational tracks in the program. I encourage you to talk to each officer in the club, ask them what they do and how they can help you figure out what this Toastmasters thing is all about.

Now that you have gotten you first speech scheduled, it is time to learn what Toastmasters is, how the club works, and then give that first speech…all topics to be continued in this series.

Till next time,

Happy Speaking!

Subscribe to the post comments feeds or Leave a trackback