Toastmasters International -A Champion Comeback

Many Toastmasters can claim being the oldest person in their club, or the one with the longest membership history. But how many could claim to be the only member consistently attending meetings?

That’s the situation Keat Wei Yoong, a tech business owner and member of Bukit Gelugor Toastmasters Club, found himself facing in the 2018–2019 program year. He was President of the club, located in George Town, Penang, Malaysia.

In 2018, issues began to surface—a loss of meeting venue, member burnout, and low meeting attendance. By 2019, membership dropped from a base of 21 to nine, all of whom renewed their dues payments but stopped attending meetings.

Yoong, who has held club and District officer roles over the years, stepped forward to revive the club, although he admits that, until then, his natural inclination had always been to avoid big challenges.

“Honestly, I used to find excuses to give up [on projects.] But I gave myself 300 days to find solutions and not give up without trying. I reminded myself that every meeting was an opportunity,” he says.

“Why not take the chance to do everything to reach more people like me, who need this platform? I realized we didn’t need 100 solutions, just a few ways to inspire people to transition from guest, to member, to active member.”

He organized a year-long reboot campaign and had plenty of support when he needed it—including then-leaders Area Director Lye Yim Fong, DTM; Division Director KK Lim, DTM; and Program Quality Director Carmen Loo, DTM, as well as other District leaders, club coaches, and members from other clubs.

Yoong and his team identified young graduates and early-career professionals as their target audience, as they were the group most likely to be looking to boost English-language skills and leadership acumen.

Yoong made it his mission to talk with guests after meetings about what they wanted to learn, and why. Armed with those facts, he was sure the club could demonstrate how Toastmasters “could play a role in their lives and give them a platform to shine.” It was a lesson he took from his own experience.

In his younger years Yoong says he tried Toastmasters but didn’t join. Later, when he started his business, he quickly realized his communication skills were lacking.

“A business contact asked me questions and I went totally blank. I had the answers in my head, but didn’t know how to communicate them,” he notes. “I went back to Toastmasters to avoid ever having that blank again.”

“Why not take the chance to do everything to reach more people like me, who need this platform?”

—Keat Wei Yoong

As Yoong and his team began recruiting, they found social media platforms were the most successful in reaching their target audience. To demonstrate what young guests could expect, Yoong made sure energetic Toastmasters from nearby clubs were at meetings to welcome newcomers and fill meeting roles, showcasing the traditional meeting format.

However, since most people join Toastmasters to improve speaking skills, Yoong also made sure everyone had the opportunity to practice the many nuances of public speaking, from word choice, to voice, gestures, and presence. The core experience—practice—was the focus.

“When members grow, they stay and renew. And since their main purpose is to build communication skills, we focused on grooming them to be speakers,” Yoong says. He likes to wait until someone feels comfortable in the club before asking them to be an officer or take on a big task. He respects every member’s pace.

The revitalizing effort worked. “By October 2019, we’d managed to keep the club in good standing. Two previous members renewed but the others were all new and suddenly I was the oldest member in the club,” Yoong laughs.

Today, the refreshed Bukit Gelugor Toastmasters Club has been President’s Distinguished since the 2019–2020 program year. It has also turned more attention to leadership succession planning, having witnessed the impact of unwavering guidance during its own tough times.

“The club is still growing and hopefully, what we did, or challenges that we met in the past, can inspire more members to grow and become even better in this lifelong learning journey we’re all on,” Yoong says.