After a two year hiatus I joined a new Toastmasters club in Texas, learned that voting for the "best ____________ " in a meeting is a new very big thing. I figured it was new standard procedure or "SOP" for short. After going to the International convention and visiting my former clubs I found out voting is not the new normal. These images cover the gamut of a visitor winning a "best of" award to the international champ.
It could have something to do with geography. My old clubs are in Cincinnati. Mark Twain really did say that when the world comes to an end, he wanted to be in Cincinnati because they would not learn about it for another twenty years.
Personally, I do not participate in voting. Just my opinion, the practice is not consistent with Toastmaster's culture of encouragement. Awards imply competition. In one of my old clubs, nobody was motivated to participate in contests if the accomplished seasoned veteran entered.
Two other reasons:
1. not as productive use of valuable club meeting time as say, round robin evaluations or the old standby more talking points.
2. demoralizing, especially for rookie members who need encouragement most.
" Most Enthusiastic" only measures a flash in the pan. Many members devote a lot of time behind the scenes in between meetings. Only rewarding the person with the best stage presence does not acknowledge the people who spend a lot of time on their club behind the scenes. In our club, we now define the most enthusiastic as the person who participates most in our on line platforms.
In Today Toastmasters, one member has mastered Table Topics. She always wins.
What is your take on Toastmasters voting ?