How to revive a dying/dwindling speakers club

A man who has started fifteen clubs and revived a dying/dwindling club gave me the benefit of his experience which I am passing on to you.

Andy O'Sullivan is the man. He is a member of a London public speaking club. I had met him previously when I sat next to him at a workshop in central London. He visited HOD Toastmasters and gave me this advice:

1 Fit the room size and chair numbers.
He went to a club which had dwindling numbers. They met in a huge hall seating 1-200, but put out 30 chairs and had only 15 or fewer members who looked lost in the huge space. He moved them into a smaller room which they could fill.

2 Have a friendly welcome at the door.
Put one or two people on the door so the moment a visitor walks in somebody speaks to them.
(I was the meeter and greeter at HOD. I and the topics master sat at a small desk by the door.

I had copies of the Speakers' CC manual clipped to a clip board by the blank back cover with the club name on the cover, so the copy did not get lost or abandoned and could be seen easily when I wanted to retrieve it and replace it in the cupboard at the end of the evening. I attached a piece of A4 paper to a clip board. I wrote down the name of the person entering, or asked them to write their name in capital letters. I added the short form or nickname in quotation marks and underlined the name or nickname we should use.

I write M for member or G for guest. I ask whether they came through a friend or website.
We achieved getting the names of the guests so we could ensure a confident members of the club spoke first to demonstrate how to do a table topic, then guests to ensure those without a role (of speaker or evaluator etc) all got a turn.

However, one of our guests declined to stand. Another stood and could not understand the question or formulate an answer. Despite our reassurance that simply standing up on stag is the first step, it will probably take a phone call to enthusiastically invite him back to ensure he has the confidence and enthusiasm to return.

I should have asked guests if they were happy stand up and speak for a minute or two in a table topic, and any subjects they could talk about. (We had two guests with broken English who were nervous about standing up. If we had asked them about their job, or home or family or their native language or why they want to learn public speaking, we could probably have got them on stage.)

3 Make your club name clear and findable on the internet
We have discussed changing our club name at both clubs of which I am a member, Harrovians and HOD. Each time we had objections, about confusion, tradition, and especially about the cost of new banners and stationery, feedback forms and badges, changing certificates, the cost and time needed to inform HQ and change websites.

Andy said you don't have to change the club name. All you need to do is have a headline of the new 'name' which people might search for, such as French Public Speakers Club, New York Public Speakers Club, and direct readers to your website and venue.

Angela Lansbury, speaker and author.