My 1 Minute – A concept for an engaging Rotary club meeting.

I have started the concept of “ My 1 Minute “ at all our club regular meetings this Inspiring Rotary year
2018-19 , where every member present is given an opportunity to say something just before I adjoin the
meeting .

It can be any NON ROTARY subject like famous quotes and its relevance , health tips , comments on a
subjects , life or weeks , days experiences , criticism or unhappiness , opinions , news , advices , a joke , read
a paragraph from an interesting book , read or sing an poem they heard or read , current affaires or speak in
SILENCE ( say nothing for 1 minute), while the rest of the member have to just listen, not react and keep
quiet .

I do the same to:

a) Engage all the Members who had come to the meeting directly at least one times that event.

b) Everyone has something to say...... only if you give them a chance to speak unhindered.

c) It makes all present feel wanted, respected and heard for coming to the meeting.

d) Not only the clubs loud mouth's & leaders get to talk all the time, but everyone present is given a
chance to say something undisturbed from their seats , which makes them feel wanted .

e) Everyone who came to meeting feel they participated in same and not just sat their lost in thoughts ,
listened for a while , had fellowship , diner and left “ Connecting “ only with their few group members .

f) Members now plan to say something in the next meeting, knowing that they will get a chance to speak out
and others will listen to them at least for 1 minute.
g) Giving an opportunity to everyone to express their thoughts is promotion of democratic
values within the club, most essential for the clubs long term grown and leadership development …..

My 1 Minute. Recommended Guidelines.

This is a new concept for better engagement of members at club meeting to foster better understanding of
each other, remove inhibitions among them and encourage faster bonding for good friendship across the club
members.

Every club has to adapt and will evolve according same to the DNA of our own clubs and its dynamic members.

1. The purpose of the “My 1 Minute” is not to again discusses Rotary matters , since this happens at the
end of the meeting , just before the meeting is to adjoined and all Rotary club matters & dissuasion
have been complete as per club meeting protocol .

2. The President announces the start of My 1 Minute and request all members ( including visitors /
guests seated ) to respect the time of others and maintain pin drop silence, no reaction or clapping
or comments , until the last person has spoken . Normally the club President uses his “My 1 Minute”
as the last speaker and then adjoins the meeting.

3. The members are asked to start speaking from the back row or front row, one by one, seated (they can
stand if they wish) and deliver their 1 Minute speech while the club listens in silence.

4. It is assumed that the members have prepared in advance what they are going to say and deliver it
quickly, unhindered by others.

5. What we speak reflect our mind and thus the members will ensure they don’t speak in bad taste or
create any controversies which will reflect badly on them in the club.

6. If a member says , he has nothing to say , we hold his 1 Minute in silence ( for us to reflect on what
was said by the earlier speakers ) and then go the next person .This ensures that we respect the
members decision not to speak and he/ she will comes prepared next time to use it wisely .
 My 1 Minute. Q & A / FAQ

I have been receiving comments and clarification from few club presidents, who has tried this event (My 1
Minute) at their club meetings. So i prepare a Q&A, FAQ summery of same for everyone’s experience so far
and to make it a workable at your club meeting for everyone to participate and enjoy.

1. Q: to Dinesh.
Sometimes some people may not want to speak. Everyone is not good at public speaking. In such a
case you will be embarrassing such members which they may not feel comfortable with. How do
you handle such situation?

Answer: Yes Ji, Some members are shy to speak among club friends too (especially new members),
so I suggest to them. The President has gone gently encourage them to open up.
a) Readout an interesting paragraph from a book or Readout an interesting poem they read /
heard or Read out News / titbits / joke item from a magazine / newspaper which they found
interesting
b) Don’t say anything let your SILENCE speak for 1 minute.

2. Q: What are the matters generally said by members in there 1 minute

Answer : Members speak / Comment on an event ( local / national / international ) , religious

subject or short moral value stories , horoscope , jokes , observations & their feeling on some
current or past incidents , criticism of something , suggestions and advices , family matters ,
social issues , economics and company matters, product promotion , sports talk , current affairs ,
about their work, ambitions , fear , good news , bad news are some the favorite topics I have
heard so far

3.Q: What if someone has nothing to say?

A: No problems, we all freeze for 1 minute to reflect on what has said by other for a minute ,
before the next members uses his 1 minute .

4. Q: Do the members sit or stand when they use their 1 minute to talk.
A: I ask my members to sit as it is and say, some prefer to stand and say. No problem as they wish.

5. Q: What happens if any members say something very controversial or in anger or of bad taste or
very negative eta.

A:Do nothing at the time of his 1 minute ( don’t interrupt ) , after the meeting is adjoined , I tell him
/ her gently that the talk was not appropriate and should be avoided in future if he really wants to
make good friends.
 6. Q: What to do when members are chatting in the middle of this 1 minute talk by other members.

A: I announce the start of “My 1 Minute” and ask all to calm down and respect the 1 Minute of
their collages as you expect them to respect your 1 minute. I ask all members to freeze for this
short period ( no comments , chatter , sounds , claps, response to the talk ) and simply listen to
the voice of their colleague and enjoy it .

7. Q: What if somebody takes more than 1 minute?

A: I gently try to ask him to stop, since this is not a place for long speeches, perhaps they can
continue after the meeting if someone what to hear more of same.

8. Q: Do club secretary MINUTE the was said by members in My 1 Minute.

A: No this is not part of the official club meeting protocol, so what has been said cannot be minuted
or published. The MY1 minute is for your ears only .

8. Q: How many clubs meeting have your conducted with the My 1 Minute?

A: Totally 12 regular weekly meeting, I don’t run the My1Minute meetings at Speaker meeting or
where the time was already late

9. Q: How long does it take to run a My 1 Minute?

A: It takes me less than ½ hr. to complete the same for 30 member’s present meeting, but it was
time well spent.

My personal observations are:

1. After the meeting is adjoined, the members start to further talks on the subjects of their liking.

2. I see more mixing among the member due to the subjects they just heard.

3. New members don’t have to wait for years for old members to ENGAGE them.

4. One good and interesting 1 Minute can make you is a club hero or vice versa.

5. If i heard something i liked, then I will approach that person to talk more about it after the meeting.

6. My 1 Minute is like a self-introduction to others for the 2nd part of the club meeting/ happy
evening.
7. We are able to better understand the other person quickly, since their words are gateway to their
minds.

8. Barriers are broken and friendship is established among the members when they share similar
interest, the MY1Minute is the actual ice braking secession for a happy evening.

9. Member participation has improved as they are now open to say what they feels about thing dear
to them and hear what others too feel about it after the meeting .

10. Now, after the official serious club meeting, the discussions are NON ROTARY in nature , light
and friendly chatting on diverse topics and more mixing among the members due to same .

11. Reserved and shy members are slowly coming out of the shell and engaging with more people.
12. I have sacrificed some of my president time ( I will make it up with club What Sapp ) to
accommodate the new experiment and complete the club meeting as per schedule .

13. The idea really is to give every member their 1 Minute after them having sat though the club
meeting. Eventually all members will find the best way to use it and we can have an engaging/
enlightening end to our club meeting if we moderate it properly.

14. I have found the “My 1 Minute” as a good experiment to give some more space for members to
participate in club activates , hope you guys find it useful and carry it forward.

Share your experience with me; I like to hear it too. Cheers  PP GGR Rtn Dinesh Krishnan.
krish@go2uss.com .Mobile : 979090 3012 .