MORE Thoughts on Contests (9/14/09)
6 of the 28 Contest for this Fall Season completed!
Lessons being learned?
- Recruit, recruit, recruit: Recruit your Contest Team early. Work with the Club Presidents to do the recruiting – after all, it is their contest, which you are helping them put on. If it is seen as the Area Governor’s Contest, which is being put on for the clubs, there could a lot of work for a sole person. Not good.
- In the recruiting/communicating world, go beyond email. Email is a good start but eventually you need to connect personally and by phone. Too many folks seem to be either not reading TM email or saying to themselves, "If they really want me, they need to connect beyond email.” Extra work, but real enough.
- Work with the Club Presidents to get the functionaries to the Contest at least 30 minutes before the Pledge of Allegiance. Another way to look at it: once the briefings with the contestants and functionaries begin, it will be at least 30 minutes before the pledge. Seems like there are a reasonable number of people who have not caught on to the Toastmasters norm of being on time.
- Area Governors: Do not assign yourselves a specific task at the Contest. Almost every question there is will come to you. You need to be totally available to direct traffic to the Chief Judge or Toastmaster.
Have fun. Breathe.
Contact Lt. Gov. Education & Training
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