What is your approach to Toastmasters? What message(s) is this approach conveying to your fellows toastmasters?

I am always in awe each time I visit the different clubs in our district to see that they are frighteningly passionate Toastmasters. Some who just want to be involved at club level, some at area level, some at division level and some at district/international levels but, for some reason others are not able to be involved  because they either don’t know how to signal their intention or they haven’t been invited.

There is a time in my Toastmasters journey when I used to attend every club meeting of all the clubs in my area including the remote demonstration meetings 400km away from home. It was a lot of Toastmasters so much that my Area Governor one year, Lloyd Mugabe, was worried about the amount of time I was putting into Toastmasters.

I still continued on this path for a couple more years but, something profound I learnt as I reflected on that conversation with Lloyd was what my approach to Toastmasters was conveying to my fellow members. I learnt that some were simply stressed by imagining my involvement in Toastmasters while some found it easier to approach me to get involved in whatever meeting role or project they were working on. I believe if not for the latter, I would not be in my current role – at least for a few years.

Today I am frighteningly inspired by the level of passion that I see you put into Toastmasters. I would like to invite you today, now, to reflect on your current approach/path in Toastmasters. What message(s) is this approach conveying to your fellows?

Are your actions frighteningly inspiring or are they inviting? If it comes out of this exercise that you’re not really involved as much as you would like to at the level you desire – I would like to invite you to reach out to your confidant in Toastmasters, Club President, Area/Division Director or myself and start enjoying the best that your Toastmasters membership has to offer.

Frank Tsuro DTM

District Director