Welcome Back!

Welcome back to another year of Toastmasters! I hope you all had an opportunity to have a little adventure over the summer and create lasting memories.

Whether you are a seasoned Toastmaster or just starting out on your journey, your club, your division and District 42 are here to support you in reaching your goals.

Why Goals Matter

What are goals? The textbook definition is that a goal is something you set out to accomplish. For example, getting a promotion a work or travelling to a bucket list destination. In Toastmasters, goals usually look like taking on a new role at a meeting, writing and giving a speech, completing a Pathway level, or chairing a Club Speech Contest. Goals can be as little or a large as you can imagine.

Step One: Define Your Goals

Step One in goal accomplishing is to figure out what your goals are. Think of the reasons you joined Toastmasters. Knowing your why will help you determine your what and how. If you’re not sure of the direction to take, talk to your mentor, use the resources from your club and the district as well as those available on Toastmasters International and Pathways.

Step Two: Write Them Down

Step Two is to write your goals down. Having a goal in writing will make you more likely to remember it and be accountable to yourself and others for reaching it. Also, be specific-don’t just write, give more speeches; write something like-give a speech in October, December, February, April and June. Another example-take on a meeting role at least once a month.

Step Three: Make a Realistic Plan

Step Three is to come up with a plan to achieve your goals. The plan should be realistic but also require you to put in effort. If the plan is too easy, you may feel unchallenged and decide to quit. If the plan is too difficult, you may feel overwhelmed and decide to quit. Chunking is a good tool for coming up with a plan to reach your goal. Chunking can look like this

September-attend at least 3 out of the 4 Toastmasters meetings; write and rehearse the speech for October; meet with mentor for advice and feedback on speech writing

October- set a date for giving a speech; give a speech; participate in Table Topics at one meeting; meet with mentor to debrief after giving speech

November-take on a new to me meeting role at a meeting; work on the speech to give in December; meet with mentor

December-set a date to give a speech; give a speech; participate in Table Topics

By breaking your plan into manageable parts, you can better manage your time and your workload and not get overwhelmed.

Step Four: Review and Adjust

Step Four: Review your plan and update the plan as necessary depending on how you are achieving your goals. If the plan is not working, tweak it to make it fit for you. If the goals themselves seem unattainable or not worth it to you, start again at step one and figure out your “why”. Then continue with the steps. Repeat as often as necessary.

Step Five: Celebrate Your Success

Step Five: Celebrate reaching what you set out to accomplish.

My Goals for 2025–2026

To help get you started on goal-setting with a plan, here’s a look at what my goals are for this year.

2025-2026
Goal: To complete the Presentation Mastery pathway and help out at the Club Contests (roles taken will be determined by how many Contests there will be)

What I have left to do: Give one speech from each of Levels 3 and 4, and give two speeches from Level 5

Plan:

• September-attend at least 3 of the monthly meetings; work on my speech for Level 3; schedule my Level 3 speech for October
• October: give my level 3 speech; complete the project in Pathways and ensure that the VP Education gives credit for completion
• November: take on meeting roles and participate in Table Topics; work on speech for Level 4; schedule speech for Level 4 in December
• December: give Level 4 speech and then complete in Pathways and ensure VP Education gives credit for completion
• January: take on meeting roles; work on level 5 speeches
• February: Give one speech for Level 5
• March: Meeting roles and participating in Table Topics
• April: Give one speech for Level 5; this should conclude my pathway; ensure that VP Education gives credit for completion for both the Level and the Pathway
• May: Enjoy meetings
• June: Enjoy meetings

These are links to resources mentioned earlier in the article; many clubs have their own websites but I will highlight my club’s website as we have many resources available for Toastmasters

• www.toastmasters.org
• www.D42tm.org
• www.calgarypacesetters.com

Share Your Story

Happy September and happy goal-setting! District 42 is always looking for success stories. If you would like to share your story about achieving goals, please get in touch with us.

Submitted by,

Twila Tayfel,
Dispatch Editor and Calgary Pace Setters Toastmasters Club