AIA Toastmasters Template Recruitment Programme

The following is the experience of AIA Toastmasters in running our recruitment programme.  When we started the term 2019/2020, the base membership was 32.  This was due to various challenges we faced, such as the pandemic lockdown.  To date, the membership is 48, and will continue to grow in the next few months, with another recruitment programme planned towards the latter half of the term.  That is a 50% increase on base.  That number will grow by the end of the term.  By the end of my term as president, we are targeting a membership that is close to 64, a 100% increase on base. 

The following are some of the steps we did to address the situation.  They are meant to be replicable by any other club that chooses to follow them. 

Objection Handling

We must understand why people leave, or choose not to renew.  There are a multitude of reasons, but in the last year, that reason is because of the transition to online meetings from physical meetings.  This is easily addressed. 

Toastmasters is an executive training programme, with an emphasis on self-pacing, professional growth, and effective communication.  This must be emphasised because it has direct relevance to the real world, and not just the bubble of Toastmasters.  There is no exercise of leadership, if there is no exercise of effective communication, not just words.  In a post-pandemic world, clients, colleagues, and internal and external customers and stakeholders, are used to the convenience of online meetings.  People are not going back to physical meetings unless there is a good reason for the commute.  Toastmasters, particularly hybrid clubs, are an excellent place to practise both physical and virtual speaking.  They are distinct proficiencies. 

At AIA Toastmasters, one of the regular training sessions we do is objection handling, and how to turn a “no” into a “yes”.  This includes roleplaying, this includes understanding the nature and reason for objections, and this includes discerning the primary motivation for people involved in the programme. 

Anatomy of a Recruitment Programme

Most clubs treat speechcraft as a recruitment workshop.  The problem here is that they assume people interested in the programme are invested in it.  That investment must be earned.  A recruitment programme is a recruitment programme.  A speechcraft may be part of it, but it cannot be the entire programme.  A holistic recruitment programme must have two objectives: they must pay the membership, and they must complete their ice breaker project.  People who have done both are likely to be committed. 

A recruitment seminar, not workshop, is a session with the sole intent of introducing Toastmasters, and ingraining, into the attendees, the relevance of the programme to their personal, professional, and career development.  For such a programme, it is important to get speakers who are entertaining and credible first.  There is no point in getting a Distinguished Toastmaster who will put the audience to sleep.  There must be some levity, a lot of eloquence, and an overload of charisma. 

During the session, teams must be assigned to follow-up on any interest generated.  The window of interest is short, and can be from a few days to two weeks, depending on the impression gained.  The purpose of the follow-up team is to ensure that they pay the membership, and that they commit to a speechcraft with their peers. 

Once the membership is paid, there must be someone in charge of assigning the mentor to the new member.  Mentorship assignment is crucial.  It is important to understand the motivation, the stature, and the life experience of the new member, and assign a relevant mentor.  If your new member is a director, it makes no sense to assign a fresh university graduate.  There must be some compatibility, and growth in personal development.  Clubs that lack mentors of calibre should ask the Area Councils for help, or go higher.  This should be done quickly.  Within three days of membership being confirmed, the mentor should have made contact with the protégé. 

The next step is for the member to be prepped and motivated to give their first speech.  This is where we have our speechcraft programme.  This is done two weeks from the recruitment session, to give the follow-up and mentorship team time to settle membership and administration work.  The purpose of the speechcraft workshop is to explain the importance of the first speech, and explain the elements of a good ice breaker speech.  The ice breaker speech is the speech that we will use throughout our lives, when we introduce ourselves to different people. 

The new members will then have a week to work on their ice breaker with their mentors, and present at the second half of the speechcraft, which is essentially a speech marathon.  Since every member is doing their very first project, this reduces the stress and fear factor.  This gives them the sense of graduating, and being part of something. 

The timeline, from execution to speech marathon, is around 6 weeks.  The planning beforehand takes around 4 weeks.  This includes time set aside for the dry run of the recruitment session, and all the workshops.  We need this to be done as professionally as possible. 

Successful execution of programmes like this require a dedicated team, and sound planning.  It is important that we plan as if we are going to war, because in a sense, we are.  Not all clubs may have the depth of membership, and the institutional values to carry this off at the first time.  It is important to look at club development as a gradual process and build capabilities, and bank institutional knowledge.  This can be hastened by combining with other clubs, or getting experienced external Toastmasters involved.