When a club is focused on its product (ie, the meeting), it significantly increases the chance of members seeing value from their membership.

Table Topics is a powerful tool to use wisely within the meeting. They can raise the energy, momentum and participation of the meeting when done well. However, done poorly, they are a turn-off for guests and members and can make the meeting unpleasant.

If members don’t know, they won’t go. All meetings should be planned in advance to ensure all members are engaged and equitably given roles, and to plan progress for educational achievements and DCP Success.

Clubs are a safe place to be courageous. As such, we do not expect every member to perfect every role. What we should do though, is provide all members with expectations and a pathway to executing roles to the best of their ability.

Agendas should look professional and attractive. The design of a document is too often overlooked, but if the agenda looks professional, guests are more likely to visit, and if members are proud of their club’s agenda, they are much more likely to invite their friends.

Effective feedback is a big part of what makes Toastmasters great. And having a great evaluation culture includes more than just a few members who are good at it. We want to develop the ability of all members to give feedback effectively at every opportunity.

We hold contests for 1 or 2 meetings per year. Which means we’re never super practised and polished. However, like all meetings, contests are an opportunity to provide an empowering and inclusive event that builds enjoyment in the club and adds variety to the year.

Ask yourself the question “if I was not a member, would I want to come back to this club?”. This means that there is a true sense of warmth to the relationships in the room, that no strong personalities dominate the space ongoing, and all members are respected as individuals.

At times, a year of the VP Education role can move by slowly. But, ~24 meetings can pass by quickly if not prepared in advance. The block plan forecasts each meeting strategically for at least the current year.

The club has a system that can be applied by any reasonably experienced member to onboard a new member. It covers what to expect of the club, the responsibilities of each member, and the pathway through learning speaking and leadership skills. It does not offer all the information at once, but lasts around six months.