The information for this article
came from notes taken during club growth director training. The session was presented on August 10, 2015
by David McCallister, DTM, PID.
Demo meetings are the first glimpse that most people get of
Toastmasters in operation. It is critical that they be well planned and well
executed. That doesn’t happen by accident. You must prepare before you arrive
for that demo meeting. Work with the sponsors or the contacts at the company or
community to determine who needs to attend the meeting. This is especially
important when working in a corporate environment. You want to build a demo
team that matches the organization and their core values. If possible, you
would also like to have mentors already assigned and they should match up well
with the organization.
Choose an experienced speaker for this meeting. Your goal is
to showcase the skills that can be learned. You also want experienced people to
server as Toastmaster, General Evaluator, and Table Topics Master. Again, you
want to showcase the skills that can be learned in Toastmasters.
Once you have assembled your team, have a practice session.
Not only should each team member know how to perform their role, each member
should also know how to fill out charter paperwork, especially form 3, the
charter application form.
The recommended best practices for demo meetings are as
follow:
- 20 to 25 minute demo meeting. This will give time for 1 speech, two Table Topics speakers and 1 evaluation.
- Find out something about the guests. This can lead to interesting Table Topic questions. The Table Topics Master should talk to guests before the meeting and find out in advance who might be willing to answer questions. Explain the Table Topics process, and maybe even give them the question in advance. This will ease their concerns. Other guests don’t need to know you pre-selected the participants, and it does show that anyone can answer Table Topics.
- Don’t over-use the acronyms, CC, CL, DTM, etc. Always use the full terms. Remember, these guests are new to Toastmasters and haven’t learned the language yet.
During the closing portion of the meeting, make it valuable
to the guests to charter now. The
first 20, or more, members are charter members, a very special honor. Appeal to
that sense of accomplishment and of being in on the ground floor. This will
help those guests become members.
Emphasize the self-improvement and confidence building
aspects of Toastmasters. This is what the program actually does. The side
benefit of self-improvement and self-confidence is becoming a better speaker
and leader. Some guests are not there to be better speakers or leaders, but
everyone is interested in self-improvement and self-confidence.
Some other best practices and ideas include:
- Call it a Toastmasters program, not a Toastmaster demo meeting. This is an easier sell to HR staff at the corporate level.
- Hand out materials at the end of the meeting. Before the meeting, place the agenda and a charter application at each seat. Brochures can be picked up by guests on the way out if they are interested. This allows guests to fully experience the meeting rather than be distracted by the brochure. This practice will also give the demo team a better feeling for how many are truly interested, based on the number of brochures that are taken after the meeting. Make sure you are using the appropriate brochures; there are several and they are designed for different audiences.
- Ask if they are ready to make the commitment toward self-improvement. By answering “yes” to that question, guests are in a better frame of mind to join, right then. Again, emphasize self-improvement over public speaking and leadership.
For many, a demo
meeting is their first introduction to Toastmasters. Plan well, practice well,
and present well and success rate in chartering new clubs will reflect your
efforts.
