About the Author

Who is Robyn
Robyn Braley is committed to helping Rotarians grow their clubs to become better equipped to help people who need help. He has led two club teams that were awarded RI PR Awards and served as the District 5360 PR Chair. He has been a Rotarian since 1999.

Rotary Speaker
Robyn draws from his experience as a Rotarian and as a Communications Professional to share ways to more effectively tell the Rotary story to your community. He starts by asking the questions, "Is your club ready to grow, and why does it matter?" The ultimate focus is on attracting new members.

He is available to speak at District Conferences and Rotary leadership training institutes. Content also applies to other not-for-profit organizations.

Free Content for #Rotary and NFP Use
Please use any posts for Rotary District or club Newsletters. Include the profile at the bottom of each article, Robyn's headshot and a link to this blogsite. Let him know and he'll promote it to his social media followers.

Contact him at robyn@unimarkcreative.com

Wednesday 2 March 2016

8 Posts Packed Full of Tips for Growing Your Rotary Club Speakers Program

Robyn Braley speaking at a District 5360 event
Written by Robyn T. Braley

A strong speaker program is key to sustaining a healthy and vibrant Rotary club. Meetings are a time for coming together, being refreshed, renewed and re energized. 


Every time I tweet the following from our BTRB twitter account I receive retweets. 



“If you want to develop a positive outlook, hang out with positive people. Rotarians know that positivity is positively contagious. That's a positive!" 
-Robyn T. Braley 

It is safe to assume you have experienced more than one occasion when you were going through a rough patch in your career or personal life. As a Rotarian, going to your meeting or anywhere else was the last thing you wanted to do. 

But you went. Unexpectedly, the speaker that day said something that lifted you up and caused you so see things differently.  Their topic had no relevance whatsoever to what you were going through.

I've had troubled times when stimulating conversation with fellow Rotarians around our luncheon table raised my spirits. More than that, the discussion caused me to think differently about my problems. I found a solution when I thought one was impossible.


The Heart of Rotary

The heart of Rotary is service. Our club, the Calgary West Rotary Club, does amazing service projects locally in our city and around the world in developing nations. 

Strong meetings keep existing members engaged. They also provide a reason to invite potential new members.  

That energy and enthusiasm we experience in our meetings inspires us to do what Rotarians do; make a difference and change lives forever through our acts of service. 

Below are just a few of the projects my club does. I suspect the list is not unlike you clubs'. 
  • Volunteer at, and fund, the food bank
  • Help manage not-for-profit golf tournaments 
  • Build houses for the poor in Mexico
  • Raise funds for a therapeutic garden for people living with Alzheimer’s 
  • Volunteer in Africa for polio vaccination programs 
  • Build stoves and schools in Guatemala
  • Install innovative water filter systems in the Dominican Republic
  • Support and visit micro-credit programs in Ghana, Nepal, and other nations
  • Provide world-wide Rotary leadership for Micro-credit initiatives
  • Fund programs for recovering addicts
  • Fund and volunteer youth-at-risk programs 
  • Much more
A list like this reminds us of why it is important to maintain healthy, active clubs beginning with vibrant, engaging meetings.

Tips for Engaging Members Through Meetings

This post links to 8 posts that are part of a series on how to improve meetings. They are packed full of ideas and tips about how to raise your Rotary Club’s programs to a new level. 

Do you have more ideas? Please comment at the bottom.


Part 1; Can Your Club’s Speaker’s Program be Improved?

A strong Speaker’s Program plays an important role in keeping Rotary clubs healthy and vibrant. Strong programs help keep members engaged. But, exceptional programs don’t just happen. They require careful thought and planning. More...


Part 2; Building a Winning Rotary Club Speakers Program

Quality programs play a key role in sustaining Rotarian's interest while motivating, inspiring, challenging and sometimes entertaining them. Great programs go a long way to keeping club members engaged.

Meetings play a key role in marketing the club at different levels. The first impressions made on visitors, potential members and others impacts … well … a lot of things. 
More...


Part 3 Insider Tips for Building a Strong Rotary Club Speaker Program; The Mechanics

Quality meetings add value to the Rotary experience by keeping existing members engaged. The provide a reason to invite prospective members and other guests.

A strong program will also provide opportunities to create public relations events that attract mainstream media and can be promoted on social media. 
More...

Part 4: Field Trips Play an Important Role in Rotary Programs

Field trips provide an opportunity to “experience it firsthand” rather than just hearing about it from a representative speaker in a meeting. Field trips to manufacturing plants, public infrastructural facilities, agricultural facilities, human service organizations, a research center or other destination can provide background and understanding about important things could not be gained through a talk or video alone. More...

Part 5; Tips for Packaging Promotable Speakers into a Signature Series

Bundle select programs and promote them to your community. Great programs can also play a significant role in attracting new members and raising the club profile in the community.

You might choose one outstanding speaker to build a promotion campaign around. Another approach is to bundle 3-4 programs that represent the variety of topics offered during a typical Rotary year. 
More...


11 Tips for Producing Rotary Meetings that Attract Younger Members!

How can you add pizzazz to your meetings? What has your Rotary Club changed within the past 10 years to make your meetings better? 

Buckle up and get ready for significant change. Marketing to millennials, aged 25-40, requires a shift in thinking about how we communicate the power of Rotary. In this post I provide 11 production tips. More...

Are Your Rotary Meetings Visitor Friendly?

Rotary clubs put great effort into PR initiatives to attract members through raising awareness in the community. But, what is the visitor’s impression the first time they visit your club? Are your meetings visitor friendly? Do they feel welcomed directly and indirectly? Are they embraced or do they feel like an outsider? More...

Are You Scared Silly About Speaking Before an Audience of Two or More?

At some point, every leader must speak to more than one person at a time otherwise known as a group. This post is for you. If you...
  • Chair meetings
  • Must occasionally move people to action through an uplifting speech
  • Share good or bad news to employees, shareholders, congregants or club members
  • Publicly read reports
  • Describe compelling personal or group experiences to an audience
More...

Robyn Braley is a marketing specialist, keynote speaker and writer. He is also a Rotarian who is passionate about Building the Rotary Brand. Robyn has led two teams that received the Rotary International PR Award. He has also served as the PR Chair for District 5360. 

Contact Robyn

Email: robyn@robyntbraley.com   Connect on LinkedIn Follow on Twitter: @rtbraley_rotary 

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