1.Who is Carol Fang CC CL?
JINAN XDF TMC VPM 2016.05-2016.12
**JINAN TMC VPE ** 2016.12- NOW
2.ALB Presentation-Every Toastmaster is VPM
December 31st is the last day of 2016. Also, it’s the last day of my term as Vice President of Membership(VPM in short) of XDF Toastmasters club. For me, the year of 2016 is a Toastmaster year. Almost half of my time was devoted to this place I love.
XDF Toastmasters is a newly-chartered club. As we all know a new club needs at least 20 members asits base. Five months ago, on August the fifth, we officially registered with 24 founding members. One months later in September, we had Sunny Ma and Elena Li with us. In October, we had an awesome engineer Ocean Chen joining us. In November, we had happy and fortunate Tracy with us. And in December, just thismonth, we had two new comers, Judy and Angelia baby!
You may have noticed that every month our base became larger with one to two members’ increase and now, 30 persons all together make up a big family named Jinan XDF Toastmasters Club.
Every one of us here present orabsent for some personal business deserves a round of big applauds. These goodresults are not mine or my VPM team. They belong to you!
New members are important to the success of every Toastmasters club. New members mean better meeting programs, new ideas, a larger pool of potential leaders,more fun, and more funds for the club. But a host of activities and responsibilities compete for people’s time and attention. Priorities and interests change oftenand members leave the club.
Did you know that…
Up to 40% of your current members will leave this year.
20 members is the minimum number of members a club should have to function effectively.
Research shows that Toastmasters members want more people in their clubs.
Without enough members, clubs can’t provide the positive, enjoyable, supportive environment that is the hallmark of the Toastmasters learning program.
As Dr. Smedley, the creator of Toastmasters International says,
**“Let us share the benefits we have gained for ourselves with others.” **
We love Toastmaster and we all gained a lot from this supportive and positive environment, so why not share our benefits we have gained with others?
Every Toastmaster member is VPM.
Here are some tips for you!
First of all, to help recruit new members.
Every member is responsible for contributing to the success of the club and to the success of fellow members. Ensuring the club has enough members to properly conduct club meetings is part of that responsibility. Some things members can do to help attract new members:
- Talk to friends, relatives, andco-workers
- Display the *Toastmaster *magazine
- Distribute promotionalbrochures and fliers
- Conduct a Speechcraft workshop
- Publicize our club on social network
Talking to friends, relativesand co-workers is effective to recruit more new members. It’s common for us toengage in some gatherings in daily life. We would talk with each other ourrecent experience, so why not take this opportunity to introduce Toastmastersto your fiends, tell them what you have gained and the immediate benefits they will gain by joining the club. One day, Ivy sent me a message asking “Carol,could you please explain what’s DTM?” She were talking with her friends at thattime during which she introduced Toastmaster and communication and leadership tracks. I was surprised by Ivy’s willingness to share Toastmasterswith people around. So I answered her question immediately and encouraged her to talk more with her friends.
Also, social network is a good tool. Once a girl named Amber came to visit our club and she asked the greeter “Where is my Sister Carol?” The greeter looked around and didn’t find me, “Carol is not here but she will come tonight.” When I walked into the meeting room,greeter stopped me and asked, “Do you have a younger sister?”“What? I am the only child in my family. How could I have a sister? ” Then I knew, this little girl knew Toastmaster and found her interest in our activities through my WeChat post in Moments. See? Posts you post to your WeChat Moments can truly attract comers. And guests are the only source of members.
Secondly, to treat guests properly.
When an individual does visit a club, the treatment they receive from current members during their visit is a strong factor in the decision whether to join the clubor not. Imagine that you are the host of a house, andevery Saturday night, a dozen of friends come to visit your house, what wouldyou do? During the week, you may sweep the house, prepare a big meal forcomers. And when they are arriving at your place, you will welcome them at yourdoor; during their stay, you will sit with them; and after the gathering, you will invite them to come to your house again. It’s the same in Toastmaster. At every meeting, you can
- Greet guests at the door as they arrive
- Sit with a guest during the meeting
- Speak with the guest after the meeting
- Invite the guest to join members for anyafter-meeting socializing
- Ask the guest to visit again
Every time we come to Toastmaster meeting, we will see greeter at the door with a smiling face; we will see memberssit with guests during the meeting to explain some terms and guide them how toinvolve in this meeting. After the two hours’ meeting, members would talk toguests, asking their impressions and feelings; when it’s time to say goodbye,members will invite guests to visit our club again. As a famous poet Homersays, “A guest never forgets the host who had treated him kindly.”If we treat treat ourguests properly, they will be one of us one day.
Every member is responsible for ensuring the club hasenough members to properly conduct club meetings is part of that responsibility. If Toastmaster is a big family, amini company and a fantastic play, each one of us is the host, owner and hero orheroine.
Remember it:
The club is yours.
The Toastmaster club belongs to you!
Let’s enjoy a thriving club with happy members.
Thanks for you attention and happy new year!
Carol Fang
Dec. 31, 2016
@XDF Toastmasters
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