GOTO Toastmasters club membership offering¶
The Legend¶
Over the last decade, many of us have honed our skills in corporate Toastmasters clubs. The best meetings were conducted over formal dinners and in person. Rob & Leslie were having a conversation and thought, wouldn't it be nice if we could continue this entertaining and educational experience beyond an individual organisation while opening it up to a broader audience? So they set themselves a target date of May 4th.
…On May the 4th 2024 Rob Kenefeck and Leslie Shroot achieved their goal to establish a new Toastmasters dinner club GOTO Toastmasters!
About Toastmasters in General¶
We are a toastmasters club, part of Toastmasters International, a nonprofit educational organisation that teaches public speaking and leadership skills. For more information go to https://www.toastmasters.org/about/all-about-toastmasters
Membership Criteria¶
One or more of the following to meet membership criteria for this Toastmasters club
- Completed Level 3 for a toastmasters path
- 8 year professional IT experience
- 4 years consulting experience
The Target Audience¶
- Do you enjoy hanging out with fellow IT and Consulting professionals?
- Do you want to work on your oral communication skills?
- Do you like networking? (Who doesn’t)
- Do you have existing seniority skills and Toastmasters experience?
- Do you want to practise running professional events?
The Offering¶
- We plan to hold monthly meetings held at dinner time. Food is included in the membership price as part of our Self Education Seminar.
- GOTO Toastmasters all inclusive membership is designed to be both a professional membership and an all inclusive education program
- 6 monthly membership commitment
- 5 Dinner Events, (monthly excluding December and January) and 2 special meetings every 6 months
- Formal Toastmasters qualifications
- Access to Toastmasters educational material
- Minimum 14 meetings a year (10 formal sit down dinners and 4 special events)
- Special events are things like end of year catchup, family day, contests, speechathon
- The meeting will be approximately monthly on Tuesday Evening in Melbourne CBD (which week of the month varies)
Meeting timing for formal dinner / info¶
- Always Tuesday in CBD location (currently we have been using the mail exchange hotel for the formal dinner meetings)
- Pre meeting social and getting ready from 5:30pm
- Seat taken by 6pm
- Formal close 9pm (we try very hard to hit this time - latest we have finished is 9:05pm)
- Post meeting social until late
- Ideally everyone attends the entire meeting but sometimes life gets in the way, if you are only able to attend a partial meeting just let the toastmaster know so you are only assigned appropriate roles
The Price¶
Initial¶
Initial membership starting in January, May, June, July,October,November,December for everyone even dual members (toastmasters members of more than 1 club)
Initial 6 months (5 formal meals + minimum 2 special events) : $385
Initial 12 months (10 formal meals + minimum 4 special events): $725 (If you would like to invoice your current employer, a yearly membership may be easier)
Your Toastmasters International membership will be paid until the next Toastmasters International renewal period (end of March or September) 6 or 12 months rounded down, remainder will be credited towards your first renewal
Initial starting in December,January, February (8 formal meals + minimum 2 special events): $580
Initial starting in March,August (7 formal meals + minimum 2 special events) : $515
Initial starting in April,September (6 formal meals + minimum 2 special events) : $450
Renewal¶
Renewal 6 months (5 formal meals + minimum 2 special event): $340
Renewal 12 months(10 formal meals + minimum 4 special event) : $680
*Renewals are due in March and September
*If your initial period did not align with a standard renewals period your first renewal will be worked out pro-rata - this will be displayed on your invoice
*Renewals will be sent out automatically in August and February
*If you join December-April or August-September pro-rata will be added on top of initial membership invoice hence the above options
What do I need to do to get involved¶
If you would like to commit or simply register your interest, please respond to our google form GOTO Toastmasters Signup Form
What if I want to come along as a guest and check it out¶
We do require guests to pre-book ideally at least a week in advance and there is a fee to cover your meal if you attend to come as a guest please email us goto.toastmasters.committee@gmail.com. We use easy-speak to manage attendance and agenda. Please also signup as a visitor on easy-speak creating an account (by clicking register) if you have never used the site https://easy-speak.org/view_meeting.php?c=13017\&show=next
How often do I get to speak and take on other roles¶
At formal dinner meetings we only guarantee 1 prepared speech a year, but you can deliver more speeches at a speechathon (once or twice a year depending on demand) and at our annual speech contest. We also encourage our members to deliver speeches as part of the education program outside of regular meetings such as conferences, meetups or work events (please reach out to understand how this can be achieved).
During the toastmasters contest season many clubs are looking for test speakers for evaluation contests. We can help facilitate our members being test speakers for other clubs. Being a test speaker for evaluation contests is a great way to practice speaking and get feedback from a group of experienced toastmasters.
We try to share the roles out as evenly as possible across the club which means you might only get to do a particular role once every 2 or so years (some roles we have twice in agenda to increase opportunities) , if there is a role you particularly want to do we can schedule you in. If you would like to speak more often there are many clubs in Melbourne that meet twice a month and some weekly find a club. We encourage prospective members to visit multiple clubs so everyone joins a club that best meets their needs.
How do I grow and improve if I only speak once a year?¶
While prepared speeches are limited, all attendees speak at every meeting, mostly through impromptu speeches (Table Topics) or when delivering auxiliary reports. These opportunities will form the bulk of your public speaking growth, delivering a micro speech every month will increase your confidence when speaking in other situations. Some of the major roles (e.g toastmaster, table topics masters) actually speak more than the prepared speakers. Evaluating and hearing other evaluations is where the bulk of your learning will come from. Identifying what other members do well and what they need to improve on allows you to grow your own techniques.
Can I be a member of more than one club¶
Yes, this club has its own membership structure which you pay separately but you can combine all the projects you complete across your clubs towards the toastmasters educational achievements, many of our members belong to more than one club.
Please feel free to invite others to join this venture!
GOTO Toastmasters Council
Rob Kenefeck - Supreme Chancellor
Stephen Ermann - Jedi Journey Guide
Subo Udagedara - Force Recruitment Officer
Wing Siu - Galactic Liaison Specialist
Vacant - Rebel Rhetorician
Saimohan Karanam - Guardian of Credit
Jordan Sands - Force Warden
Leslie Shroot, DTM - Immediate Past Supreme Chancellor
Linkedin:https://www.linkedin.com/company/goto-toastmasters/about/
Email: goto.toastmasters.committee@gmail.com