by Gary Lee Webb, DTM

Heart of Texas BridgeGappers has enjoyed visits from six Nemileta guests. You’ve heard of the Nemileta Networking Nine incentive, haven’t you?

Guests always benefit a Toastmasters chapter, doubly true when they’re working toward the #Nemileta9. Visitors bring variety — thus enriching the meeting experience. Nemileta guests come from many different club cultures — thus extra enriching. Plus, if visitors leave enriched, they spread the word about the club, encouraging more first-timers and possibly new members.

Every visitor provides the chapter a chance to show off, to demonstrate their skills, to highlight how they operate — their club culture.  Ideally, the guest perceives ways to improve from the experience.  After all, isn’t that why most visitors attend? They’re curious to move past communication issues and improve their skills. Hearing a visitor’s feedback — their thoughts on the meeting — is key. A chapter should always ask the visitor to reflect on their experience and share what they liked or disliked. Hopefully, their evaluation is positive, and they’ll consider membership.

Nemileta visitors are members of other TM clubs, and their insights are very valuable because they’ve participated in meetings at multiple chapters. They possess the experience to fill open roles, relieving stress on the current membership. They can identify what was done well, where improvement is needed, and perhaps how to do so.  Plus, they have seen what worked elsewhere and what did not, thus steering the club towards success.

Nemileta guests enrich meetings by helping nonmember visitors see how Toastmasters can help them grow and even conquer the hurdles barring the first timer from becoming a great communicator. In short, Nemileta guests demonstrate that Toastmasters works and why the traditional visitor should join, making Toastmasters part of their future.

Nemileta visitors, please come to Heart of Texas BridgeGappers on Saturday mornings.