I left a Toastmaster’s club because I felt unfulfilled. However, I did not want to leave Toastmasters. I mentioned to some toasties who were friends that I was thinking of setting up a club in my own locality. All of them said they were in and would help. I sourced a location and found the people in charge would allow me free access until we could afford to pay.
Mary McHugh, Marie Grange (Now deceased, RIP), Gareth Coughlan, and I held a meeting and decided to go ahead. We Spoke (spoke) to the area director who helped, getting us access to Meetup and set up a Facebook page for us. This might seem very little, but social media was beyond me, and all the advice was, it was the way forward.
We advertised wherever we could, including a local open day, with thousands in attendance. Another friend put me in touch with a printer who supplied handouts at a reduced price.
We attended an open day, where we met many who said they would join including some who were already Toastmasters. Some of the toasties felt we were on a loser as the area where I live wasn’t suitable for a toastmaster’s group. This sowed doubts as there had been others who tried setting up a Toastmasters group and failed. We spoke about it and decided to continue. One common factor I identified when I spoke to those who failed was that they did not give it enough time and did not understand the area or its dynamics. It has a population of 100,000 people, and we only needed to recruit 20 to be charted.
Little by little, people came; some left, but others took their place.
We decided (in our approach) not to be as formal as the other clubs in our area. We did away with the top table and the president’s chain of office. We wanted to be welcoming, friendly and encouraging. After all, it is not easy for some to step in that door and attend, let alone give a speech.
It took us two years to charter, and we are now a successful club for seven years and growing. We listened to what people said, took advise from others, and used our own gut feelings to grow, and continue to grow.
John Conroy, VPM Tallaght Toastmasters