How to run a Speechcraft

Speechcraft is an abbreviated C&L programme that is run in-house at companies. The company pays the club.

Selling the Speechcraft Edit

Get the manuals from Toastmasters International. One per person and AT LEAST two extra (somebody ALWAYS loses theirs).
Set up a Yahoo! Groups address for YOUR CLUB. Your CLUB is running the speechcraft, not just the co-ordinators. Get into the habit of communicating with the club via the group. That way, you can sign up the speechcrafters to your club's Yahoo! Group and everybody benefits.
We implemented a mentors system among the speechcraft delegates. I'll keep you posted on how that went. (We're only in week one)
Set up a week-by-week schedule. Commit resources to that. In other words, you'll need timekeepers, toastmasters and table topics masters for every session. It's not a one-person job
Make sure you've got more Toastmasters there than you need. Because it's unpaid, people tend to put paying work first -- especially if they're self-employed. They WILL leave you in the lurch at the last minute. Plan for that!

Get part-payment up-front. Here in South Africa we've had deals go bad where the club isn't paid.
Don't make the mistake we made: we set up a yahoo group for the CLIENT. That means we have to set up a separate group for every Speechcraft we run. Silly waste of time. Set up a Yahoo group for the CLUB not the Speechcraft client.
Facilitators are NOT ALLOWED TO BE PAID AT ALL
Speechcraft costs money to run. I'm going to be out of pocket by around R1000 ($150) before the Speechcraft even begins. Have a club Speechcraft float.

Frances Boshoff (the LG-ET of District 74 Southern Africa 2005) has written an excellent manual that can be used in conjunction with the Speechcraft manual. It's in Word format. I'm awaiting her permission before I post it to this WikiCity. (I'm Erich Viedge, erichv@icon.co.za).

4th Dimension Toastmasters (3008-74) is running a Speechcraft in August 2005. I will try to update this section of the site as we go with our proposal, pricing etc.

Speechcraft manuals and facilitator guides are available from the Toastmasters web site.