Let’s start with the FOUR recommended steps for Preparing for an Online Club!
These steps are outlined briefly below. In further posts I will provide more detailed explorations of those that are more complex and time consuming.
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Step 1: Explore the following resources at Toastmasters International :
- How to Start a New Club
- Things to Consider Before Starting an Online Club
- Downloadable workbook How to Build a Toastmasters Club
- Downloadable manual How to Sponsor New Clubs
- Toastmasters Board of Director Meeting Minutes Feb 2016: scroll to find
Club Minimum Requirements: amendments
Regular meetings are conducted in-person, except when a club decides to allow a minority of its members to attend online, or when a club has chartered as an online club in which all members may attend online.
Step 2: Prepare your online spaces
- create your club management ‘home base’ eg: easy-Speak or Free Toast Host
- create your social media presence eg: Facebook Group or LinkedIn Group
- select your online meeting space eg: GoToMeeting; Click Meeting; or Zoom
- select a cloud storage system eg: One Drive; Dropbox or Google Drive
Step 3: Define your procedures
Place information and procedures in your website early; for example here is how the Firebirds Collective have displayed their visitor procedures for:
- how to join
- how to attend meetings
- how to participate effectively in meetings
Step 4: Master the meeting space
After you have evaluated the attributes of selected web conferencing software; and considered the functionality, ease of use, support structure and price etc., you should:
- setup and master the meeting tool for quality of experience for all
- determine the meeting dates and times (provide time zone conversions)
- embed the link to meetings within websites and social media spaces
- learn how to manage the meeting, recordings and follow ups required
