Popping the Clubble

Valerie B., Sept. 30, 2022

When you've been in the club for a given amount of time — say, six months — you begin to get really comfortable with the people in the club, and they you. You've grown a lot, hopefully, and you've just begun to get comfortable. You've got the hang of this!

... Or do you? This is when a new issue begins to take hold. It's called, what a fellow Toastmaster has so helpfully termed, the "clubble." The Club Bubble.

When you begin to see the same members week in and week out, they become your little gang. The ones who would cheer you on, the one who would give you the same helpful feedback, the ones who know just what you'll speak about and how you'll deliver it.

As most members know, I grow plants. I know from experience that a houseplant will keep growing... until it stops. It can be healthy and happy, and one can continue to water it, fertilize it, give it plenty of sunshine... But it just won't grow anymore. It has now grown to fit its pot, and if you want it to show new leaves again, you'll need to repot it into a bigger one.

Likewise, there comes a point when all of us have grown to fit the club. We can continue to give speeches on a regular basis, fine-tuning as we go, but, by seeing the same audience and same evaluators... are we really challenging ourselves?

Have we outgrown Toastmasters?

Heck no, my friend! One of the wonderful things about Toastmasters is the endless opportunities it provides. You can always challenge yourself in front of many other Toastmasters audiences.

If you're really brave, you can visit other clubs, see how they do things. Another is to use the wonderful resource that is Speakers for Stagetime. This is provided by the District for clubs to post their open speaker slots. A member of another club can reply to these posts to visit these clubs as a guest speaker.

Likewise, Milpitas Toastmasters, too, can post speaker slots. I am thinking of doing that sometime, to bring in professional speakers from other clubs.

Another way to pop the "clubble" is to volunteer as a leader at the District level. At the beginning of each term, the District puts out a call for experienced Toastmasters to help with PR or other behind-the-scenes work, or as an Area Director. Over time, you can progress further, as a club coach, as a Division Director, or you can found your very own club (or two)! It is a fascinating way to see how Toastmasters operates at a higher level, as well as to fine-tune your management skills even further.

So, ask: where are you in your Toastmasters journey? Do you think that you have room to keep growing, or are you ready to expand beyond this? Part of Toastmasters is finding the opportunities presented and utilizing them to be the best you can be.