AMC Public Speaking Club

Frequently Asked Questions

General Questions

I'm not a member, can i attend the next meeting?
Yes, you can join our next meeting as a guest, guests are welcome to attend our club meetings free of charge.

How will I benefit from joining AMC Public Speaking Club?
With us you will have a great opportunity to develop fundamentals to success, self-actualization and fulfilling life:

Build Better communication skills
Learn how to lead teams
Become a better speaker
Become the perfect listener
Learn to present yourself and your plans with confidence and skill
Give and receive productive evaluations
Earn people’s respect and favor with your ability to entertain
Establish relationships with people who have a lot in common with you

You will:

Lose your fear of speaking in front of groups
Lose your fear of leading others
Practice in a supportive environment instead of a threatening atmosphere
Lose your fear of talking in front of your colleagues and boss
Lose all the negative impacts of not having developed listening skills

How can I find out about next meeting’s schedule?
You can visit our website http://www.publicspeakingclub.ru/ and look at the calendar to find out when the next meeting is held.

Do I have to pay money to visit the club?
Our guests can visit our club for free, they can attend a meeting, listen to all performances and presentations, but they can’t perform or deliver any speeches or presentations, except some special activities; e.g. round tables.
Our members pay the membership fee of 2000 RUB for 12 months.

Does anybody make money from your public speaking club?
No, the club is run by volunteers who spend up to three hours a week to carry out their tasks. Volunteers play a very important role in maintaining the quality of the club -- the more volunteers the better. Thus you are welcome to become one! As a volunteer you will get a chance to develop your management and organizational skills. You will enjoy being a member of our enthusiastic team and finally, getting a position in the club will also help you to increase your career or promotion opportunities.

Membership

How can I become a club member?
To join, please follow these 3 steps:

1) Read the Club’s Rules and Frequently Asked Questions to learn more about the club and make sure it is right for you. Basically, if:

you speak English fluently or you are a native English speaker
your primary goal is to advance your public speaking and communication skills and not merely to improve your English or maintain it at a certain level
you are able to plan at least two weeks ahead and will visit the club regularly, performing no less than two presentations per month

you may pass to the second step.

2) Register at United Clubs and sign in with your username and password that you will receive via email. enter the club website and click on Request membership. Then Upload a black and white or color portrait photograph here (Must be larger than 200 x 200 pixel, maximum dimensions are 1600 x 1400 pixel and the maximum size is 1024 KB; it will be printed on your membership card) and optionally add information to your profile here. Then write down the username you have chosen on a paper and bring it to the club meeting (you will give it to your interviewer). Please inform the meeting registrar at registration desk at the entrance of the club's meeting hall about your intention of passing the interview and ask for a "guest badge". After the meeting (between 5:00pm and 5:30pm) you will be interviewed by our Membership Vice President. We do not interview applicants with no uploaded portrait photograph in their profile.

3) If you pass the interview successfully, it will be necessary to sign a contract and receive a receipt for making payment. After paying, please bring payment confirmation – the receipt or it’s copy – to our next meeting where you will be granted club membership for 12 months period.

What is the membership fee?
Our members pay the membership fee of 2000 RUB for 12 months.

I don’t speak English fluently, I only want to improve my language skills, can I become a member?
No. This club is meant to help its members improve their public speaking skills, we believe that without being fluent in English, people will not be able to become good public speakers in our club as it is an English public speaking club. The good news though is that you can improve your English and come back to us and become a member, otherwise, you will lose your time and energy.

I’m a fluent English speaker but I’m shy and afraid of practicing public speaking, can I join you?
Yes, you can. The club has a well thought-out system. You will work at self-improvement step by step. First, you will make small projects just to overcome your shyness, and then you will have an opportunity to make simple speeches after which you will be able to take on more advanced projects. Please address the Vice-President of Education to learn more.

Why do you interview people?
According to our club's rules, only fluent or native speakers and those who have a strong desire to improve their public speaking skills can join us; we want to be sure that people with inadequate knowledge of English do not join.

How can I lose the club membership?
You will lose your membership if:

you violate our club’s rules (for more information see clubs' rules)
you receive more than 10 red stars.

How does the red star system work?

If you sign up for a performance and do not show up without prior notice, you will receive 4 red stars. If you notify us a day before the meeting, you will receive 3 red stars. If you inform us at least 2 days in advance, you will receive 2 stars. If you inform us at least 7 days in advance, you will receive 1 star.
If you have the responsibility to be an anchorperson or a tea master and do not show up without prior notice, you will receive 5 red stars, if you inform us at least 2 days in advance, you will receive 3 stars. If you inform us 7 days in advance, you will receive 1 star.
You can not stay a member if the total of your red stars exceeds 10.

I want to help further develop the club; how can I join the club administrative teams?
Contact the founder of our club, Amir Godds. Currently, he is responsible for managing voluntary teams. He will first talk to you in order to find out where in the team you can fit and then will fix the time for you to be trained in regards your responsibilities. Please read our "Administarative Team Internal Culture" and "Administrative Team's Frequently Asked Questions" before contacting him. You can write him an email here.

Emergency

I have a performance, responsibility or role for next meeting but I can not attend the club, what shall I do?
You need to inform the club admin team as soon as possible. Under club's calendar, Open the meeting agenda you are going to miss and inform members by adding a comment to it; if there is less than 48 hours to the meeting, please try to inform an admin team member personally in adition to leaving comment on the agenda. According to club’s roles you may lose your club membership if you fail to take the mentioned steps.

Educational

I have a role next time, how can I learn more about my responsibility?
For every role we have, there is a guide line ready! If you are a hot topic master, a timer, an evaluator, etc. you can find the guidelines under "Handbooks" section of our website. our club's handbooks can be edited and improved by club members.

Other Questions

I have a question which I could not find in this FAQ, what do I do?
Please add your question as a new comment to this FAQ, and we will answer it as soon as possible.