As I write this newsletter article, we have just celebrated Thanksgiving, and I will be getting very busy with the Christmas season as a part-time professional Santa Claus. I hope that you are able to spend time with friends and families during this holiday season and that you remain safe and warm during the Minnesota winter.

Soon, it will be January 1st, which marks the halfway point of Toastmasters year.  This is a good time to review your goals.  On July 1st, tracking for the Distinguished Club Program was reset, and club officers made goals on what DCP goals their clubs would achieve.  Individual members were asked for their goals.  Will you finish a Pathways level before July 1 ,2025?  Maybe you will finish a path or even get your DTM!

As you review your goals, you may find one of two situations:

1. You have made progress in completing your goals and are on track to complete them by the end of the Toastmasters year.  If this is the case, most likely, in addition to setting a goal, you created a plan for achieving that goal and have been following it.  Congratulations on your progress.
2. You are not on track to completing your goal; you have forgotten what your goal was, or maybe you did not make one in the first place. If this sounds like you, I ask that you not get discouraged and give up. You can still set or reset your goals for the next six months and make a plan for your success.

As you think about your goals and planning for your success, I encourage you to think about yourself first.  How will you benefit from the goals you set in Toastmasters?  What will I learn?  What skills will I develop, and how will that benefit me?  Perhaps you want to be able to speak without notes?  Be more impactful in your communication. Develop as a leader?  Of course, we can all probably benefit from using fewer ahs and ums!

Once you understand what you want to achieve, you can then look at how you can use the Toastmasters Pathways program to help you.  A possible goal might be “I will complete two Pathways levels, delivering five speeches for my club and completing a High Performance Leadership program.”

Your plan will include a timeline for your speeches and your HPL.  You will list actions that must be done, Pathways project pre-work, writing and rehearsing your speeches, giving each speech at your club meeting and reviewing your feedback.  For the HPL, you will need to select a project, recruit volunteers to help you with that project (and serve as your guidance committee for the HPL!)  The HPL will require you to create a plan as well.

I will not spend time in this newsletter reviewing SMART goals, but if you are not familiar with the concept, I highly encourage you to review it. Google SMART Goals, and you will find summary and detailed information.

I would like to hear from you about your goals.  How are they going?  What obstacles are you encountering?  What successes have you had?  Feel free to email me at DD@D6TM.org.