Are you a Toastmasters role model member? Complete this seriously humorous test to know yourself. Pure knowledge, know-how, attitude and values are at stake. Count the positive answers and you’ll get a grade at the end.
Knowledge and awareness (savoir, connaissance et conscience)
- You know the name of Toastmasters’ founder and the location of Toastmasters international
- You know the area, the division, the district and the region your club belongs to
- You can list by heart the 10 competent leader and the 10 competent communicator projects
- You know the names and roles of your club’s executive committee
- You can explain how a regular event is organized
- You no longer ask yourself what these acronyms mean: TM, CL, CC, DTM, ALB, ALS, COT, …
- You know what a DTM is and have made a choice for the leadership and communication tracks
- You can explain what Pathways is
- You read regularly the monthly TM magazines instead of piling them up in a corner of your house
- You can give on the spot examples of euphemisms, quotes of your favourite writer and have learnt by heart a speech from a famous speaker
Know-how (savoir-faire)
- You consciously apply the CL and CC principles at your workplace, at home , in any everyday activity
- You have won club awards and contests awards (and display them in your kitchen for your kids to imitate you)
- You know how to evaluate a speech … and don’t finish thinking: “ I could have said that instead”
- You make pauses and have banned from your vocabulary: “ah”, “mmh”, “you know”, “well”, “so” and so on.
- You pay attention to how to pronounce words and check your grammar before any prepared speech
- Your prepared speeches are methodically prepared (written speech, voice recording, delivery in front of a mirror or in front of a friend, study of gestures, voice , rhetorical devices and expressiveness)
- You ask others to be filmed and debrief watching the video and reading the evaluators feedback
Attitude (savoir-vivre)
- You volunteer any time as a participant or as an organizer whenever there is an event, a contest, any extra activity
- You have attended a toastmasters’ event outside your own club, your own city or your own country
- You greet and encourage new members at each event
- During an event you politely make the “toastmaster of the day” notice something has to be said or that something is missing
- If you are an English native speaker, you correct those damned Froggies because they do the same when you speak French.
- You have invited friends and colleagues that have become members
- You help the “meet and greet” and the fee collector
Values, mission and vision (valeurs, mission, vision)
- Each time you come to an event, you confirm what motivated you to join TM
- You remember the oath you made when joining Toastmasters
- You really want to make other members improve their skills and have started implementing coaching programs at your club level
- You are a confirmed leader in your sector (entrepreneur, high executive, director, facilitator, any job) and recognize that TM helped you
- You are a confirmed communicator (speaker, journalist, media representative, any job) and recognize that TM helped you
- You think it is worthwhile fulfilling a role at area, division, district and region levels and forgot the year you joined the toastmasters organization
Grades
1 to 7: you are a beginning member
9 to 15: you are a well-informed active member of your club. Leadership and communication skills are part of your guts
16 to 22: you’ve got ambitions beyond a regular active member. Ask yourself why?
23 to 30: you should consider joining the international Toastmasters organization or take a vacation
Bonus: If all French were luminaries and geniuses, explain why they could never reach 30 positive answers. There is a puzzle and a reason.