I have decided to help plan the fall district conference this year. I think program planning is a great skill to have. I have a copy of the program planning book from Toastmasters International and a number of us had a conference call last night to see what remains to be done.
I have planned big meetings, conferences and parties in the past. This is a new experience for me, but not for the reasons you may assume. It's new because all the tasks I assumed I would have to do are already done. If fact, I am a bit unclear about what my co-planner and I are actually suppose to do to plan the conference. It leads me to wonder what other districts do for conference planning? I ask my readers to comment on the following questions:
What are the duties of conference planners in your district?
How do you decide educational sessions?
What do you do for first time participants?
How do you get volunteers to help out?
There are other concerns I have about the planning process, but I know who to go to for feedback and commentary on that. It has already proven to be a very insightful experience so far.
Friday, September 05, 2008
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4 comments:
Sara!
Here is a link on "How to run a successful Toastmasters Conference"
http://toastmasters.wikia.com/wiki/How_to_run_a_successful_Toastmasters_conference
I really appreciate your offering to help with planning the conference and especially on offering to keep a log on our duties - it will be very resourceful for future D31conference planners as well!
All the best
Sherri Raftery, D31 LGET
http://www.district31.org/LGET-Home.htm
http://sherriraftery.blogspot.com/
www.findyourplatform.com
Not having planned a Toastmasters district conference before, I can only address the last question, which works for recruiting for any task. Here's what I recommend:
1. Develop a list of volunteer positions needed, along with a brief description of each.
2. Network with others to identify prospects who have had successful experiences in these or related areas. You're looking for two criteria here. First, people with the ability to get the job done, and second, people who have the time available.
3.Prioritize your prospect list. If you have a close relationship with your prospect, ask her yourself, preferably in person. Telephone second choice, e-mail third. Ask as soon as possible before their calendars are booked.
If you don't know the person well, find out what their strengths are. If possible ask someone close to them to sign them up. If not, and you have to do it, Drop the name of the person close to them who recommended them. "John Smith told me you did a fantastic job of lining up the judges at last year's conference. Would you be willing to recruit them this year?" Or, "Jill Davis said that you are great at delegating tasks when working on a project. Would you be willing to chair the committee responsible for lining up the education sessions at this year's conference?"
Hi there, I didn't see any responses to your question, but I hope by now you are well under way with your planning. :)
You need a LARGE committee, individual chair heads that focus on seperate activities (PR, Decorations, Education, First Timer Event, Technical, Printing etc). It literally becomes 30 or more people.
Getting first timers should be a HUGE push, as that is what will carry future conferences.
Educational sessions will entice your attendtees to stay focussed and engaged.
Good luck!
There are several important criteria for a successful Toastmaster Conference. Getting a record number of delegates, excellent feedback of how events ran, high energy of delegates to meet District goals. As a past LGE, I focus on areas where there are gaps for the Clubs and the District to cover. So do sit down with the DG and LGE. There will be differeces along the way. You cannot make everyone happy.
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