President's Tip of the Week

Club Standards - Your Opportunity for Leadership
(5/12/08)

Toastmasters International (TI) has researched the ingredients that make the difference between a good club and a great club, and they have identified 10 key factors. I am going to share these with you in a series of Tips of the Week, with a particular focus on how every member contributes to Gilbert Toastmasters success.

Standard 8: Members are recognized for their accomplishments.

Swift recognition of achievement encourages members to set and achieve even higher goals. We recognize achievement of goals in two ways. Our longstanding tradition is to provide a standing ovation to anyone who completes an educational goal. This provides immediate recognition and encouragement from the entire club. To complement this, we have added a new tradition of immediately presenting the new name badge so that the recognition of the member's accomplishment is ongoing.

If you attended last week's meeting, you had the pleasure of hearing Katherine give the final speech in the Competent Communicator manual. When she finished, she received a standing ovation and was then presented with her new name Toastmasters badge. Was it just me, or did you notice a bright glow of satisfaction radiating from Katherine as she received her standing ovation and badge? As you enjoyed that glow, didn't it work inside you to increase your motivation to achieve your own award? That's what standard 8 is all about.

You can help us continue to help our club meet this standard in two ways. First, let Emi know when you are approaching a milestone achievement. The best time to do this is after you've given a speech or completed a project in the CL manual and are having her sign off your completion record. Just point out to her that you've got one more speech or one more project left to complete. The second way to help is to come to meetings and participate in the inspiring moments of recognition as our members achieve their goals.