Signs of Trouble

Any one or two of these things in a club does not necessarily mean that that club is going to die, but these are signs that maybe we should keep an eye on those clubs a bit more than others.

Toastmaster program

• Non-manual speeches or speeches to address a specific need (ex. practice a presentation for work)
• Lack of prepared Agenda
• One or more meeting role being filled "from the lectern"
• "Breaks" being called during meeting to organize it
• Whitewash evaluations, general evaluations, Ah Counter, Grammarian, etc. reports.
• Meetings start late
• Members seem unprepared for the roles they are filling

Attendence and guests

• Drop in attendance over time, not due to seasonal fluctuations
• No new members in a 6-month period
• A club and count fewer than 1/3 of membership roster in attendance
• Any meeting with single-digit attendance regardless of the membership size
• No non-Toastmaster guests in attendance
• Guests are not invited to either join, consider joining, or at least asked to return.
• Guests are given a cold shoulder, or otherwise not made to feel welcome
• No active membership building program
• Corporate downsizing (This applies to corporate clubs or community clubs with a large percentage of members for a single club; it suggests the membership number could take a serious hit.)
• The club doesn't have a fixed meeting room or building (tends to make the club harder to find, especially for unexpected guests)
• Senior executive, particularly the President, are routinely absent

Participation outside of the club

• Officers don't attend training
• One or more officer positions unfilled after annual elections, especially President or one of the VP's
• The Club is not represented in the form of a Contestant at every one of the Area Speech Contests
• One or more Members fill more than one Officer position (except Secratary/Treasurer which is often combined)
• The Club is not represented in the form of a Member attending every District Conference
• Other than Treasurer (when it could be sometimes advantageous to do so) an officer repeats an office more than 12 consecutive months

Administration

• Semi-annual dues report is late
• The club seems short of critical supplies like ballots
• Annual club officer list not submitted prior to June 30th (added by V.B.)
  

Source:

This list was based on an on line discussion between Eric Matto, DTM (LGM-elect, Chicagoland District 30 Toastmasters), Dan Durishan, AbleTM, CL (Area Governor, District 63) and John Fleming, ATM-B, CL (VP-Ed, Rooster Rousers Toastmasters). The list was edited and added to by Rick Clements, AbleTM-S (VP-Ed, Daylighters Toastmasters)

---

Rick's Toastmaster skills page http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/3558/Achiever.htm