Ms. News Goat

The first Toastmasters meeting I went to wasn’t a real meeting at all. It was a demonstration meeting that various local clubs coordinated at a local library. I had no idea what to expect. I was nervous about going in the first place (I dragged my husband along to be my safety net)—but I was especially nervous that they’d call on me to say something.

Thankfully, they assured us right off the bat that visitors weren’t expected to say anything, so I was able to relax and watch what was going on. I remember being surprised at several things—the fact that it was mostly women, for starters. I’d expected a very testosterone-fueled atmosphere—more like the debate teams I’d watched in high school. I liked that the environment was supportive—lots of encouragement and clapping (though my husband thought the clapping was a tad excessive). I found the minute-by-minute agenda very impressive. And I liked the overall structure. Each meeting role had rules and objectives—all spelled out in a clear way. There were a few things I didn’t care for at that first meeting, mind you. For example, one of the evaluators praised a speaker for having natural gestures, when they seemed to me to be anything but natural. (Incidentally, that taught me a lesson I’d learn eventually anyway—that you shouldn’t take every evaluation as gospel.)

I decided that night that I wanted to join Toastmasters, so I started visiting local groups. I visited a couple of groups—both of which assured me early in the meeting that they didn’t call on guests for their extemporaneous speaking portion. But the third group did not assure me of that—and in fact, they DID call on me, on my very first visit! I was shaking as I answered the question. I was shaking after I finished. I was even shaking 30 minutes later, after I was safely back at my desk.

But ya know which group I ended up joining…? The group that involved me and challenged me immediately.

There were other factors, of course. The meeting time and place were very convenient for my schedule. They had an organized agenda with very few meeting-time reassignments. They started and finished on time—very important to me since I was doing this over my lunch hour. And they were the first group to follow up with me after the meeting—not only did they mail me a hand-written note, but they also sent me an email (this was the first group that had even asked for my email address!).

But I think asking me to get involved immediately also helped me make up my mind. Instead of just watching from the sidelines, I could really envision myself getting involved with this group. I could see my need for improvement (the shaking), and I could see that these folks were ready to challenge me to improve.

Of course, if this had been my first meeting, I might have felt overwhelmed. But at that point, I was ready to get my feet wet, and the group took advantage of it. As a result, I am now an enthusiastic member.

Have you had any similar situations? Does immediately involving visitors encourage them to get more involved, or does it chase off timid folks? Is there a good way to involve new members in an organization without overwhelming them?