Toastmasters where leaders are made. Alex Macintosh is one of the best persons who can represent this slogan. As a club president both in Korea and Hungary, Alex shared his experience leading two clubs in two different cultures as well as the challenges he had to face and changes he has made in both clubs in order for it to grow. If you are a president or planning to be  Alex’s experience will show you what you can expect. 

Why did you decide to become a Toastmasters president in South Korea?

In Korea, our club was called Roastmasters. Basically, the leaders of the club told me that it was my turn. They told me ’you have been in the club for a year and part of the ExCo. We have all been president except for you. Now it’s your turn.’ I wasn’t ready but they said no one had ever been ready.  I said I would do my best.

I changed the club a little bit. We had to move our venue 3 times while I was president. It disrupted the club’s routine. Plus, we used to meet every two weeks. When I became president, I had to gain support to have it every week. To strengthen the club, I felt it was important to have weekly meetings. Meeting every two weeks was confusing for a lot of people.

Why did you decide to become a president in Budapest?

It was similar situation. We didn’t have a clear person who wanted to become the president. I had done it before. There were some fun things that I thought could be done to make the club grow, so I agreed to be president.

What was the most challenging part in Korean Roastmasters?

In Korea, it was getting people to the meetings. We even stopped using the word ‘meetings’ because it felt corporate and boring. We changed it to ‘meetup’. Even still, we struggled with our attendance and membership. I think the timing was important. It was on Thursday evening at 7pm when there was a lot of events at that time.

Compared with Budapest Toastmasters, almost the oppostite is true. The room we rent at Pannon Kincstár is for 50 people. We’ve broken through that number a few times. We have had several meetings where people were sitting on tables or standing up. I think there are a few reasons for this. First, our VPPR is on top of things and is doing an excellent job. But not just him, it’s our whole ExCo. We are creating meetings that are fun and educational and it seems to really resonate with people.

What is the challenge in Budapest TM?

Pathways has been a challenge for us. The CC and CL manual was clear, easy and simple. Pathways is more complicated. People who know both, they don’t seem to get behind Pathways nearly as much. Even I can’t explain how the dashboard works. I’m still learning as well. Thankfully, Toastmasters is aware of this and have improved the user experience recently.

It’s difficult to keep the existing members coming as well as bring new people in. These two things don’t seem to mix. When you have brand new people, they are learning by doing. Sometimes, the speeches aren’t amazing and it’s not as entertaining as a veteran speaker.  

Now we are attracting new people, which I think is great. If someone gets their first taste of Toastmasters at Budapest TM, I feel it’s the best taste they could get. They might join other club later, but the first impression means a lot. The guests who come to our club, get a great first impression – community, growth and enjoyment.

How do you make sure they get the best impression?

It’s very infrequent that we have a chance to stand in front of 50 people. It’s 100 eyeballs looking at you. It’s hard to replicate in the real world. I don’t think you can get that much attention anywhere – and you need it to grow as a speaker. You need people looking at you and reacting to what you are saying. Standing in front of people and speaking, that’s the best experience. The mood is different between speaking in front of 5 and 50 people. The pressure is higher and it’s a better training for the real world. BPTM is an excellent training for speaking in the real world.

For that reason I’m proud that the ExCo built the club as big as we did. Even if it’s not all members but returning guests and first-time guests.

What is the biggest difference between your Korean club and BPTM?

The drinking part. At Roastmasters, we had drinks throughout the meeting. Other Korean clubs don’t drink, just our club. They might go for a drink after. Usually they only have coffee or tea then they go home. Our club believed ’you need to have fun while you are learning new skill. Otherwise you are not going to stick with it. ’ If you need a beer to feel more confident or comfortable in a short term, then Roastmasters is a place to do that.

Does drinking really work?

It definitely works in short term. But it’s not a good strategy for the real world.

Another differences?

Most of the people who come as guest in Korea come to improve their English. That’s the number one motivation. They use the opportunity to listen more. Unfortunately, unless you use the language, you don’t really get better at the use of it. With just listening you can’t get better at speaking.

Comparing to here, the non-native English speakers are much more advanced than our guests  in Korea. It was difficult to find a high level English speakers there, even though there were tons of foreigners.

Most of the clubs in Korea take Toastmasters seriously. They practice very well before they give the speech. The contest season is tough. It’s serious business. Here in Hungary, I find it more to be a hobby.

Did you have any conflicts?

There were a lot. I also made a few critical errors. I didn’t have experience as a leader so I tended to do everything myself. The classic way how the leadership failed when they do everything by themselves. Instead of asking someone to do something, then following up, it seemed so much easier, at that time, to just do it. I knew it would be done to my satisfaction. But now I realized that it’s not about me, it’s not about what I want anymore. It’s about the club, the others, the new people. I put my ego aside.

What made you realize and what made you change?

 I got older. I have grown as much as I can from TM from the public speaking side. Now I want to grow from a leadership side. I focus hard on that. I stopped giving speeches except for the contest. I try to encourage people and mentor them to give speeches. I think it is more fulfilling than me doing it by myself. I still love competing in the contest. My big challenge now is to speak at a competitive level. That’s what interests me. I still love giving speeches in our club but I prefer doing leadership tasks now as I understand it better.

Did you have any conflict in BP TM?

We had some misunderstandings with the pub we go to after the meeting but nothing serious.

What change did you make in BPTM?

One change I made in BPTM was the reintroduction of chairman role. Most clubs don’t do it here in Hungary. If you go to UK or Romania, you often see the chairman role. The chairman opens the meeting, gets everyone’s attention and gets them under control. He or she introduces the TM. At the end, the chairman’s responsibility is to finish the meeting, do the announcement and the business session. That’s the key part.

What is the chairman’s responsibility?

The chairman takes pressure off the Toastmaster. The Toastmaster is supposed to be the MC of the evening, not the leader of the club. If the club is small, the Toastmaster can easily calm the people down or handle the announcement at the end.  Clubs like ours with 50 people is difficult if you are not used to it. The Toastmaster already has a lot of tasks. We wanted to make it easier for people to take the Toastmaster role.

I recommend all clubs try at least for one meeting a month the chairman role. The chairman opens the meeting, thanks the people for coming, talks to the guests, explains what TM is, introduces the Toastmaster. At the end, the Toastmaster hands back the control to the chairman who does important announcements and celebrates the achievements of the club. This is the responsibility of the ExCo, not the Toastmaster. That’s why chairman’s role is an important role.

How did leadership in TM influence your life?

I’m a freelancer, I do workshops and I have a charity project. All of them involve motivating people to do things. It’s difficult to get people to buy into your vision. It’s part of the training Toastmasters has helped me to do.  Motivating people takes practice.

What is your advice for someone who wants to be the president in the club?         

Be ready to learn. Be open-minded, patient and honest.