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Become A Member
The following are some general guidelines on
visiting our club meetings and on becoming a guest. You may also wish to review
the following links to learn more about our membership process.
Guest Policy
New Members
Transferring Membership
Dual Membership
Fee Chart
Explanation of Fees
Frequently Asked Questions
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Guests
Guests are always welcome to attend our
meetings so that they can learn more about our club and the way that our members
learn through participating in the meetings.
All Guests are reminded to arrive early,
as once the meeting has begun it will disturb speakers to open the door. Also,
please remember to mute your mobile phone.
Non-Toastmaster Guests are allowed to
attend Toastmasters at no charge, in order to see how the program works, and to
be given an opportunity to decide if they would like to join. Guests are invited
to take part in the Table Topics portion of the program, however, are restricted
from taking part in any of the other meeting roles. Guests may attend a maximum
of three times before they are required to apply to become a member.
Visitors from other clubs are always
welcome to our meetings and are welcome to participate in our Table Topics
portion of the program. If your stay in Beijing will allow you to participate in
more than three meetings, we would request that you have a club officer from
your home club send us a note (email or fax) stating that you are a paid member
in good standing, so that we can let you participate in roles reserved for
members of the club.
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Membership - New Members
You must complete either our on-line
Membership
Application process or complete a
paper
membership application and inform either the Vice
President of Membership, Vice President of Education, or, the President of your
desire to become a member in the club and take part in the Table Topics portion
of our meeting so our members have an opportunity to hear you speak.
At either that meeting or the next
meeting, you will be given one minute to speak to the club to inform the members
of your desire to join and the benefit you hope to achieve through your
membership. The club members will then vote on accepting your application for
membership and you will be informed by email before the next meeting of the
outcome of the vote.
Upon being voted into the club as a new member, you must pay a non-refundable
membership fee (see table of fees below). In addition, all new members must pay
a one time New Member Registration Fee of RMB250. Renewal of membership will be
RMB500 for every subsequent 6 month period.
NOTE - You must pay your New Member Fee and
Membership dues within 30 days of being voted in as a member or your membership
approval will be rescinded.
After being voted by existing members to be
accepted into Beijing #1 Toastmasters and paying your dues and, you will become
a member in the club. This will include gaining formal membership in
Toastmasters International as well as the local club. Members can participate in
all aspects of the program, including serving on the Executive Committee, and
voting on all club matter.
Membership Fee Chart
| Month Joined |
April
October |
May
November |
June
December |
July
January |
August
February |
September *
March * |
Membership
Dues (RMB) |
500 |
430 |
350 |
270 |
190 |
600 |
New Member
Registration (RMB) |
250 |
250 |
250 |
250 |
250 |
250 |
Total Fees for
New Members (RMB) |
750 |
680 |
600 |
520 |
440 |
850 |
* Membership Dues for September and March
include the dues for that month and the next semi-annual period renewal.
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New Members -
Transferring Members
If you member in good standing (currently paid in full membership) with another
Toastmasters club, and you wish to transfer into Beijing #1 Toastmasters, in
addition to completing a paper
membership application, you will need to ask for a
reference (an email by club officer of your previous club, preferably the VPE or VPM) to be sent to the VPE & VPM of the Beijing #1 Toastmasters Club.
If your membership has lapsed, you must
complete all of the steps toward new membership, however, you will not have to
pay the New Member Fees unless you need a new manual. If your membership has not
lapsed, you will only need to pay a prorated portion of the club dues as shown
below:
Prorated Club Dues Fee Chart
| Month Joined |
April
October |
May
November |
June
December |
July
January |
August
February |
September *
March * |
Membership
Dues (RMB) |
335 |
295 |
240 |
185 |
135 |
600 |
* Membership Dues for September and March
include the dues for that month and the next semi-annual period renewal.
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New Members - Dual Members
If you member in good standing
(currently paid in full membership) with another Toastmasters club, and you wish
to become a dual member in Beijing #1 Toastmasters, in addition to completing a
paper membership application, you will need to ask for a reference (an email by club
officer of your previous club, preferably the VPE or VPM) to be sent to the VPE
& VPM of the Beijing #1 Toastmasters Club. You will only have to pay the
membership dues portion of the fees.
Membership Fee Chart
| Month Joined |
April
October |
May
November |
June
December |
July
January |
August
February |
September *
March * |
Membership
Dues (RMB) |
500 |
430 |
350 |
270 |
190 |
600 |
* Membership Dues for September and March
include the dues for that month and the next semi-annual period renewal.
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Explanation of Fees
Members will pay a total of RMB750
(RMB250 for New Member Registration, and RMB500 upon gaining full membership).
Of these fees, approximately 48% go to Toastmasters International, and pay for
registering you as a member, as well as providing all of your materials, and a
monthly subscription to the Toastmasters magazine. The remaining 52% is used by
the club to pay for such things as buying materials/supplies for the club,
meeting venue, etc. No one in a Toastmasters Club is paid for their work, all
funds are used only for necessary materials, supplies and club operation.
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Frequently Asked Questions
I have
never attended a Toastmasters Club before. What should I expect?
I am just learning to speak
English. Will I be able to participate fully in the meetings?
What do I have to do to
become a member?
How often will I be able to
speak in a meeting?
When I
become a member will I be given the topics for my speeches?
Are there any
additional costs for materials or training in the club?
If
Toastmasters International is a non-profit organization, why are the
membership fees so expensive?
Do the Executive
Committee members get paid for their work in the club?
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Q
I have never attended a Toastmasters Club before.
What should I expect?
A
Welcome! As a guest in a meeting you will be able to see for yourself the
different ways that Toastmasters can help a person to improve their
communication and leadership skills. When you arrive, you will be met at the
door by our club Sergeant-at-Arms (the person responsible for making sure
that all of the meeting preparations are complete) and our Greeter. They
will give you a name tag and guest information sheet (which you should
complete and return to the Sergeant-at-Arms before you leave) and take you
into the meeting room. The meeting will start at 7:00 pm sharp when our Club
President calls the meeting to order. The President will then turn control
of the meeting over to the Toastmaster, who will act as the master of
ceremonies for the meeting that evening.
Our meetings typically have three sections.
The first section is either an Educational Session (where one of the members
will give a presentation on some aspect of communication, leadership or
developing the club) or a Table Topics session. Table Topics allows members
and guests to participate by giving short one-two minute speeches on a
subject that they will not be given until they get up to speak. These Table
Topics allow you to practice giving a response with very little time to
think -- just like in a job interview. Most of our members find this to be
one of the most enjoyable portions of our meetings.
After the initial portion of the meeting,
the Greeter will give a short presentation introducing all of the guest (or
at least those that are at the meeting for the first time) to all of the
members. This gives everyone a chance to know a little about you before we
take a break.
Following the break, the main portion of the meeting will begin. This
section includes prepared speeches by members in the club and the
evaluations of these speeches by other members. Speeches will be on the
subject chosen by the individual speaker and will be targeted to focus on
the specific skill they are trying to master. The evaluations will focus on
the tasks the member is trying to master - not on the content of the speech,
unless this is part of the objectives of the specific manual or project the
member is completing.
There will also be a number of other
reports on the meeting given by other members from the club. Included in
these reports are the Wordsmith's Report (on ways the speakers in the
meeting could improve their English grammar and on how often the
"Word-of-the-Day" was used by the various meeting participants), the "Ah"
Counter's Report (on the number of verbal pause fillers used by different
speakers and participants in the meeting), the Timer's Report (on the amount
of time used by the different speakers in the Table Topics, Prepared
Speeches and Evaluations), and a General Evaluator's Report (an all
encompassing report of the things that were done well in the meeting and
opportunities for improvements for the different participants in the meeting
that evening). If things have gone as they were planned, the meeting should
end at or near 9:00 pm.
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Q
I am just learning to speak English. Will I be able to participate fully in the
meetings?
A
The entire program in our club is in English. Our club is not an "English
Corner" where you can learn to speak English, but is a program designed to
give added skills in public speaking, communication and leadership to people
that already have a high level of English speaking ability. If you are just
learning to speak English, it is unlikely that the programs used in our club
may be of benefit to you. You are welcome to attend as a guest and decide if
the program is too advanced for you. In addition, if you are still not
certain, please speak to one of our club officers, who will be happy to help
you decide.
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Q
What do I have to do to become a member?
A
To become a member in the Beijing #1 Toastmasters club is very simple.
First, you should complete an application for membership (click here for a
link to our on-line application process or her to get a PDF version of the
application form that you will need to complete). After your
application is received by the Vice-President of Membership, they will talk
with you for a bit about the reasons you wish to join. If you have done this
before the end of the meeting, you will be given a minute to tell our
members why you would like to join the club. After all of the prospective
members have given their one minute speech, they will be asked to leave with
all other guests so our members can vote on whether they should be allowed
to become a member of the club. All prospective members are notified within
a few days of the outcome of this vote.
If the members of the club have voted to
let you join the club, you will next need to pay the Dues (amount will
depend upon the month you join, see the table for Fees) and New Member Fees
(unless you are a Dual, Transferring or renewing Member from another club)
to the Club Treasurer. Once these fees are paid (click here to review the
fees), you will be registered as a member with Toastmasters International
and can begin to participate fully in the different roles and functions
within the club.
Remember -- No meeting roles will be
assigned until all dues are paid in full. Dues must be paid in full within
30 days of being voted in as a member or your membership will be revoked and
you will need to apply again.
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Q
How often will I be able to speak in a meeting?
A
The roles (including speech slots) in our meetings are assigned on a
rotational basis by the Vice President of Education. We do this so that all
of our members have an equal opportunity to participate in the meetings. We
do, however, accept volunteers to serve as back-up speakers and back-ups for
the other roles in the meeting. If you are interested in being a back-up,
you should discuss this with the Vice President of Education either at a
meeting or by email.
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Q
When I become a member will I be given the topics for my speeches?
A
The only speech project that a member is given an assigned topic is in the
first project - The Ice Breaker Speech. All other speech projects will be on
subjects of your choosing. The only guidelines that our club will give is
that we would ask that you not speak on subjects or content that would
include politics, religion, sex, or race, as these are subjects that are not
appropriate for discussion in the club.
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Q
Are there any additional costs for materials or training in the club?
A
With your membership fees you will receive the initial training manuals
(Communication and Leadership) as well as some pamphlets to help you
understand some basic skills in public speaking and meeting roles. In
addition, you will begin to receive each month a copy of Toastmaster
magazine, which has articles aimed at helping you to improve your speaking
and leadership skills.
From time to time there will be additional
training given either in the normal meeting or outside of the meeting
(usually on Saturdays). There is never an additional charge for training
given inside the normal meeting and we try to avoid charging for outside
training unless we have to cover the costs of a meeting room.
There are additional training materials and
books that are available to you as a Toastmasters International member
through their online store located at their website. You can look at the
materials available there, and if interested in purchasing one or more of
the items, you may do so.
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Q
If
Toastmasters International is a non-profit organization, why are the membership
fees so expensive?
A
When compared to the cost of receiving training on either communication or
leadership at a one day seminar, the cost of membership in Toastmasters is
really very little. Many outside seminars and trainings on communication
skills will be at least 1000 RMB a day -- the same cost as a year's
membership in our club.
All of the fees collected by the club are
used only for the club or to pay fees assigned by Toastmasters
International. Approximately 1/2 of the membership dues goes directly to
Toastmasters International to cover the costs of registration and your
monthly subscription to Toastmasters magazine; the remainder remains with
the club to cover the costs of our meeting room and various supplies we need
to have on hand to provide a high level of educational material and meeting
supplies.
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Q
Do the Executive Committee members get paid for their work in the club?
A
None of the club officers are paid in any way for the work they do on behalf
of the club. All of our officers are volunteers that are taking on the
additional responsibilities of their roles so that they can grow and develop
as leaders.
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