Knowledge Portal for Toastmasters - Especially Area Directors

I have heard of Toastmasters a long time ago during a networking event. At that time, I was studying to get my bachelor's degree. My English was not perfect at all, but I could write, speak, and understand pretty well. I was looking for ways to improve my speaking skills. However, it took me another couple of years to finally become a Toastmaster.

My Toastmasters journey started in October 2011 when I joined Tally Ho Toastmasters club in Potomac, MD. I was hooked immediately! I really enjoyed coming to the club every other week. I prepared some speeches and always felt so energized after delivering them.

I was a Toastmaster on and off since 2011. I became the Vice President of Education which I really enjoyed. The VPE is a very important role, but I was really excited to help other Toastmasters to succeed and to help my club to become a distinguished club.

During the years, my schedule changed and I got a new job, so I was forced to change Toastmasters clubs as well. I was a member of other two very strong clubs - Vagabond Toastmasters and IFC Toastmasters.

Besides being the VPE for my club, I also presented at couple of TLIs and participated in competitions. I still cannot believe that I got to the District 36 finals for the humorous competition in 2014! That was a major win for me.

I work for the World Bank Group - International Finance Corporation - as Knowledge Management Consultant. When I was selected as the Area 56 Director, I immediately started taking action and preparing for my role. That's when I got an idea - I could use the knowledge from my job at Toastmasters and my new role! And that's why I decided to write this blog.

Here you will find my ideas on how to make the job of area director easier, how you can help your clubs, and how I manage the workload. I would love to collaborate with others and come up with ideas that will help not only Area Directors, but also other Toastmasters.

When I attended the first training for Area Directors, I found out that the knowledge that our previous Area Governors (that's what they have been called until this year) is nowhere to find. If you would like some advice, you would have to contact the previous Area Governor or search online. Of course, there are many manuals on the Toastmasters website, however, the secrets and methods are missing. Hopefully this blog will become one of the resources for Toastmasters.

Let's get started! Let me know if you have any lessons learned or advice for us - the new Area Directors - or other Toastmasters roles. I'm happy to share your post here or link to your blog or website. Let's collaborate, learn from each other, and have fun!