TM Insider: Being An Organizing Chair

Every Toastmasters club is required to organize 2 speech contests per year.  This will give members a chance to take point in the organization process and sharpen various skills needed to make the event a a success such as interpersonal communication skills, leadership skills, organization skills and project management skills.

Regardless of what type of contest you are organizing, here is our foolproof plan to help keep you on point if you decide to take up the daunting role of Organizing Chair.

1) Have a Checklist

Go through the Speech Contest Rulebook and extract the important points pertaining to the logistics involved in organizing a contest.  This will include details like:

- By when your club needs to organize your contest in order to qualify for the next level
- How many role players are required
- Who to appoint as the Chief Judge who will then appoint the other judges
- The kind of help you may need from your club members
- Minimum requirements for contestants to qualify for the contest

* Take note that the Speech Contest Rulebook will be updated from time to time so always check the Toastmasters Resource Library to ensure you have the latest copy.

2) Build Relations

Building relations by visiting and helping at other clubs is the fastest way to do this.  It will be easier for you to ask for their assistance if you have prior relations with them rather than walking into a random club and asking if they can help.  That's why members are strongly encouraged to "Club Hop" if they have the time.  You will definitely need help from other clubs as role players cannot be members of your club in order to protect the integrity of the contest results.

3) Appoint Sub-Committee Heads

It will be very hard for you to oversee the entire organization of the contest by yourself.  As such appoint capable members from your club to help you oversee the details of the organizing process.  For example, you can have one person to communicate with the role players and keep them updated on any changes.  This person can also brief the role players in case any of them are not familiar with what they have to do.  You can also have someone one handle the public relations and another person to handle the logistics.

4) Have All Forms On Hand

You can download all forms pertaining to the contest from the Resource Library of the Toastmasters website.  It is a good idea to have a few copies of all forms with you in case someone requests for them.  Try to send the necessary forms to contestants and have them completed prior to the contest in order to save time.  However if contestants require them on contest day, at least you will be prepared.

5) Communicate Often

In order to keep people excited about your upcoming contest and maintain momentum, frequent communication is important.  Send out periodical updates on the contest to contestants, guests and role players.  It is important to send out a final reminder to everyone a few days prior to the contest to remind them of the details such as date, time, venue as well as any other useful information that can be useful to them.  Resend the necessary forms to contestants and encourage them to have them completed before arriving for the contest in order to save time.  Remind everyone on the time they should arrive so that your contest starts on time.

If you would like the opportunity to hone your public speaking skills as well as learn leadership skills, join us for our bi-monthly meetings on every 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of the month.  Our meetings start at 8pm.  For further information please contact us at gurneyhydrotoastmastersclub@gmail.com or refer to our Next Meeting page for information on our next meeting.