Page 35 - April 2021 Voices

Open House or Member Event?

Jennifer Schmidt, EH1

the foundational team and the
timeline. A new club value this
year is “Who are we inviting?

Who are we bringing along?”
This helped to set three ideas
in motion:
• Identifying members
who had not worked on
a big project this year

• Choosing a mix of
established and new
members
• Utilizing the leadership team as support Phase 2 – Preparation
Choose your core team early in the planning Practice Makes for a Perfect Meeting

process. The foundational team includes your Once roles are filled, plan on several team
Toastmaster, Table Topics Master, and Speakers meetings to ensure details and meeting format
because they cover the majority of content and are understood. Interweaving the theme into the
strategy for the meeting. People who are excited meeting and strategies to engage your audience
about the theme and ready to stretch their skills are good discussion topics to cover early. In our
in a higher profile meeting are good candidates. case, having two speakers instead of three in an

Establish any written material, video links, or hour and a half meeting tailored the time to our
images early to help your VPPR or member presentations involving question and answer,
supporting marketing. as well as, tricks. It provided more time for
Our team included Jordan Burnett-Rainey as Table Topics, an important piece for audience
Toastmaster, Marianne McIntosh as Table Topics inclusion.

Master, Ralph Galantine as first speaker, and As you refine the format by solidifying the
Ann Kroetch as second speaker who interviewed schedule and timing, your last meeting is a final
Magical Katrina. All the roles tied back to the run through and chance for any last minute
magic theme including the word of the day, questions. Above all address fears, express
illusion, introduced by our Grammarian Kamili confidence in your team, and highlight the value
Talley. you see in them!

VOICES! | APRIL 2021 35