Last year, we had to find a new venue for the first two months in 2017 since our regular place is being renovated. At first, everything went incredibly smoothly: a venue was rapidly found, and our stuff deposited. Relieved, our committee could join the Christmas-Holiday-Crowd.
When all seems too easy to be true, be aware! On our first meeting in 2017, things started to go in an unexpected direction… the room was way too small, and with the 8 guests checking out our club we felt like chicken in a battery farm.
Then the real improvisation started. No, I am not talking about Table Topics. We were short on tables, didn’t have a flipchart for the grammarian and no projector for one of the speakers. This was a true Toastmasters leadership-challenge: Keep up the spirit and don’t start to nag.
Did we manage to do so? Yes, we did. With a helping hand from members and guests, we brought in more tables and chairs and succeeded in setting set up the room in a way that vaguely resembled a meeting room.
Finally, we had a great evening with 4 speeches, many evaluations and of course Table Topics. Some of the guests even came back. This shows: A positive attitude, collaboration and adaptation are the qualities of a winning team – qualities that we cultivate at our club.
