Visiting Other Clubs
Personal growth is facilitated by stepping outside your comfort zone. With friendly faces we see on a regular basis, our home clubs may become a part of our comfort zone. To supercharge your personal growth, try stepping outside the walls of your home club to visit other clubs.
Other benefits of visiting other clubs include:
- See how other clubs run their meetings and take fresh ideas back to your home club
- Meet other inspiring people who are eager to help you improve
- Expand your network of influence and make new friends
- Learn more about other industries and cultures
- Develop a greater appreciation for your home club
- Challenge your communication and leadership skills further by participating in another club’s meeting
As you visit other clubs, keep the following in mind:
- Other clubs have their own cultures and their own unique ways of doing things. Just because something is done differently, doesn’t necessarily mean it is wrong.
- Refer to the meeting agenda to track the subtle differences in meeting programs.
- Refrain from correcting the host club members on things that are done differently, whilst you may offer areas for improvenment, traditoons are traditions
- Be respectful of the club meeting time. When you are asked to introduce yourself and/or provide comments on the meeting, do not monopolize the time by giving a speech of your own. Do not go into a long speech about the advantages of your home club or invite guests to visit yours or other clubs. Keep your comments brief and positive.
- If you see a need, feel free to offer to fill it, but ensure you understand how your host club treats that specific role before the meeting starts.
When you return to your home club, be sure to share with your fellow club members how your Toastmasters experience was enriched by visiting other clubs, what you appreciated even more about your home club, and what great ideas you were able to steal from other clubs. Have fun
In Southern Africa we have the Club Emissary program, which is beautiful – I love the changes that have been made to a couple of the questions and every day I review a couple of the Emissary Reports