Preparation and Hand-off

 This past week, I served as Toastmaster with a meeting theme of "National Bubble Wrap Day."  I did not pick this theme.  The individual who was originally going to be Toastmaster selected the theme, but when they had to miss the meeting last minute, I volunteered to step into the Toastmaster role.

As Toastmaster, I am responsible for running the meeting overall.  Specific responsibilities include introducing speakers and other meeting roles as well as filling gaps between meeting segments with interesting information that is related to the meeting theme.  A combination of my past experience and preparation done by the person who was originally slated to be Toastmaster helped me fill this role successfully even at the last minute.

When the individual who could no longer fill the role of Toastmaster informed me of their situation, I immediately felt confident that I could cover for them.  One big cause for this confidence was seeing that they had already prepared a list of interesting information about bubble wrap that I could use throughout the meeting to keep things interesting for attendees.  The preparation they had done helped prepare me to step into their role.

The other thing that made me confident in my ability to take over was the fact that I have filled the Toastmaster role many times before.  Over my 10 years in Toastmasters, I estimate I have been Toastmaster more than 100 times.  I am familiar with the role and what I need to do.  I only gained this familiarity through being willing to take on the role in less stressful situations - times when I had days or even weeks to prepare for the role.  My willingness to take on the role in those situations prepared me to take over the role for someone else.

Finally, my past experience also helps me know my limitations.  In this particular case, I had been signed up to take on two other smaller meeting roles.  I requested that another member take on one of those other smaller roles so that I could give the role of Toastmaster more attention.  The other member was willing to take on this smaller role and I was able to successfully cover as Toastmaster.

Ultimately, it was the preparedness and adaptability of multiple individuals in our club that helped make this meeting a success despite our original Toastmaster being unavailable.  We never know what challenges may come up in Toastmasters or in life, but by preparing for our responsibilities, practicing our skills in less stressful times, and being willing to ask for and give help to others, we can be prepared to address these challenges successfully.