51吃瓜 -Mix Up Your Club Meetings

Illustration of people dressed in superhero costumes sitting at tables listening to a speaker

Illustration by Jerry King

Let’s consider whether Toastmasters should mix up their club meetings and discuss some fun ways to do so. Some of you might be jumping up and down, shouting, “Yes, yes, yes. I love creative meetings.” Others may prefer a constant routine. Full disclosure, I am in the second camp.

Why should clubs mix up their club meeting format?

Before mixing up your club meeting, consider several factors.

First, think about your club’s personality. Are your members more of the happy-go-lucky type? Or are they primarily serious business professionals? If your members are all from one corporation or profession, an industry theme meeting could work.

Second, would your new meeting format build skills or is it for fun? And lastly, how often do you have guests? If one came in and saw your meeting, would that encourage them to come back or not?

There is no right or wrong answer to these questions. Each club must decide whether a new meeting format would be helpful or not.

Additionally, sometimes people need to experience something different. If your members are having to drag themselves to a meeting, a change could be beneficial. Other times there is a reason to have a special event, such as honoring a member.

What are some different ways to mix up club meetings?

Let’s look at what I call specialty meetings first. Two years ago, a longtime key member of our club moved out of town. We had a meeting to honor her. Each member who wanted to talk gave a brief thought.

A variation of that meeting type is a roast, a format where an individual is subjected to good-natured jokes. It’s a fun way to honor someone and add humor into the meeting.

Another type of specialty meeting is a holiday meeting. Every year my club has a white elephant gift exchange meeting, where everyone brings a wrapped Christmas ornament. Each member, when their number is called, must answer a Table Topics question and then select a gift.

One year we were inspired by a couple of our members who are on the board of our county museum, so we held our meeting there. The Table Topics questions centered around the various exhibits.

Finally, a few years ago I was in a club where you had to sign up in advance for your role. We got lazy and weren’t doing it, so the Vice President Education put a fishbowl at the door. As we walked in, we had to pull out a slip of paper and that was our role for that meeting. I pulled out “Speaker.” That speech is now a key part of my training sessions.

Another format is the novelty meeting.

One popular novelty style is a backward meeting, where you start at the end of the meeting and go backward (i.e., the evaluators give their reports before the speakers, and speakers must adjust their speech to the “evaluation.”). Some members enjoy this change, and it certainly develops creativity. Just make sure everyone understands, as some members prefer receiving relevant feedback about their speech.

You could also have a themed meeting, where members come in costume or adopt a certain persona. Or you could consider hosting a debate or a panel discussion about a topic of interest.

If you want to shake things up but not too much, here is an idea. My club has name tents for each member. We noticed everyone always sat in the same chairs, so when setting up the room, we put the tents in different places. It was fun to see the shock on the members’ faces as they came in.

I hope I have given you some ideas. Meetings can and should be fun, even if they follow the same agenda each time. Let your creativity flow.

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