I seldom play the blame game because that is usually a waste of time, if not
counterproductive. But I am big on the responsibility game. For the past year,
I have been preaching that those of us responsible for education and training
are most responsible for members leaving or staying in Toastmasters.
Of course, there are reasons that some members leave Toastmasters that are
beyond our control. Death for example; although I am pretty sure there are
Toastmasters clubs in heaven. Without a doubt, in hell, there are no prepared
speeches, only Table Topics. But, I digress.
Time is the issue. The most common reason given for leaving Toastmasters is “I
just don’t have the time.” That means that former members value
their hour and a half doing something else more than they value their time
with you, at Toastmasters.
That makes the solution simple; all we have to do is make our meetings so enjoyable
and valuable, that they would be insane to want to spend their time anywhere
else. “If we build it, they will stay.” How to plan and build such
a meeting is beyond the scope of this piece; but simply recognizing a problem
is a giant step toward resolving it.
As chief educator for Founder’s District, I will take the bulk of responsibility for losing members, but there are many things that each of us as club members can do to ensure an enjoyable meeting.
We can show up, even if it is not our turn to give a prepared speech. If we are an evaluator, we can discuss the speaker’s project before the meeting so that we will be prepared to give a worthwhile, constructive evaluation.
We can be friendly and supportive, not only to guests and new members, but to long-time members, as well.
Finally, and almost as important as the first, when we notice a member missing meetings, we can call and encourage that member to stick with us and continue to grow. Retaining members is in everyone’s interest.
The next time a member leaves your club, take it personally.