A Faster Way to Fill a Toastmasters Meeting Agenda

The latest update to the RSVPMaker for Toastmasters component of the WordPress for Toastmasters solution makes it easier to fill a meeting agenda by allowing you to see at a glance who has NOT yet taken a role.

This is based on a technique I have been using at my home club, where I am Vice President of Education, to make it easier to ask specific people to volunteer to fill specific roles — which tends to work better than making an open-ended appeal for volunteers. Until now, I had been using the Agenda with Contacts view of the meeting agenda, which was introduced some time ago. In addition to showing you a listing of members who have taken a role, it lists those who have not with their contact information so you can call or email them.

When I’m getting ready to step up to the front of the room and call on people, I don’t need phone numbers, just an at-a-glance view of who has not yet committed to a role. The new version of the multi-week signup editor allows me to see that listing and update it in real time.

After passing around a paper signup sheet, I plug in the names of members who have signed up for roles at the next few meetings. The list of Members with No Role updates automatically, giving me a current view of who might be available. If those members are in the room, I will try to enlist them for at least the next week’s meeting before the current meeting wraps up.

Here’s a demo of how that works on the website: