WordPress for Toastmasters*The personal touch is great, and to the extent that someone from your club can be calling people during the days leading up to a meeting, it’s likely to pay off in a better turnout. But I’ve found a little automation also can help.
At my home club, Club Awesome, we send out an automated reminder two days before our regularly scheduled meeting, and that seems to work well. Here, the reminder interval is customizable to 4 hours, 8 hours, 1 day, 2 days, or 3 days in advance of your scheduled meeting. The trick is to remind people far enough ahead that they see your note and not so far ahead that they forget what you reminded them about.
The Toastmaster of the Day gets a reminder that he or she is supposed to be in charge of organizing the meeting and filling any empty roles. The message includes the current signups list and a member listing with everyone’s contact information.
Each member who signed up for something also receives a notification like the one below, reminding them of their commitment, and providing the Toastmasters of the Day’s contact information.
This is not a cure-all for no-shows. Some people will be irresponsible, and others will have a legitimate last minute crisis that keeps them away. But it does help, and it’s one of the features that makes WordPress for Toastmasters valuable.
