How to Have a Successful Toastmasters Open House

Tips for Planning a Demonstration Meeting for the Public

Oct 27, 2009
Angela Schnaubelt

Toastmasters Wear the Pin with Pride - Angela Schnaubelt

Guests are more likely to join if the Toastmasters Open House is a stellar demonstration of how a typical meeting is run. Careful planning contributes to overall success.

The decision to have an Open House is one supported by Toastmasters International, as it is an event that can help promote membership, foster goodwill in the community, and educate prospective members on what the Toastmaster program has to offer.

Planning the Open House for a Toastmasters club should be well-organized to maximize the potential benefits and ensure overall success of the event. This is an opportunity for the VP Public Relations Officer to publicize and promote the Toastmaster club.

Measuring the Success of a Toastmasters Open House

It is important to be clear on the goals and expectations for outcomes for the Open House. When planning begins with the end in mind, success is ensured, and easily measured.

There are several ways to measure the success of an Open House event. The most obvious, tangible evaluation of success is this: how many new members did the club get?

Other measures of success include the following:

Were members given the opportunity to develop and practice leadership skills?
Did any members use the planning stages as a project in the Competent Leader manual?
Was cohesiveness fostered among members of the club as they came together toward the achievement of a common goal (a successful Open House)?
Were newer and less experienced members of the club given important roles in helping with the Open House?
How many guests attended?
Was any lasting infrastructure established while planning the Open House?

Delegation and Lead-Time Critical to Successful Toastmasters Open House

Delegation is a key leadership skill taught in the Toastmasters educational program. While the Executive Board, which consists of the Club Officers, does most of the planning for Open House events, remember to include other members with delegation of logistics to spread out the manpower needed to put on a smooth meeting.

Delegation does not need to be a formal process of appointing committees or chairpersons for committees. This is often not practical in smaller clubs. But it can involve asking for volunteers, or approaching individual members to ask that they pitch in to contribute to the success of the Open House.

Lead-time for planning is also an important element for successful promotion of the Toastmasters Open House. If the lead-time is too short, there may be fewer guests who attend, depending on the VP Public Relations efforts.

Other Important Factors in the Planning Stages of a Toastmasters Open House

Here are some other suggestions for what to include and for what to consider in the planning of a Toastmasters Open House:

How many helpers does the VP Public Relations have? Are the tasks that are being delegated to the helpers concrete action items?
Is there a meeting theme for the Open House to help with marketing and PR promoting it?
Will there be refreshments, a potluck, or just bottled water to serve? If so, how is it being paid for, and is the workload of preparing or buying the snacks fairly distributed to more than one member?
Will the printed agenda have more information on it than usual so as to allow guests to better understand what is going on during the meeting? Will the agenda have nice graphics or additional contact information?
Are there enough guest packets prepared for the influx of multiple guests?
Are there enough nametags, enough pens, and a guest book to greet the guests?
Will most or all of the club officers be attending the Open House? Will there be a good turnout of regular members as a show of strength for the Open House meeting?
Is there a good mix of newer and more experienced speakers to showcase the diversity of a Toastmasters club?
Does the Table Topics Moderator understand that the questions should not be too difficult or controversial for the guests when invited to participate?

These are just some tips and suggestions to help make the planning and execution of a Toastmasters Open House a successful event, no matter how the club decides to measure that success.

The key is to allow for enough planning that every member has the opportunity to participate in the success, to exercise leadership and communication skills in the meeting, and feels part of a supportive and positive club atmosphere.