How to: A Two- Year Path to DTM

How To: A Two-Year Path to DTM

Earning Toastmasters’ top award is easy – if you stick with a plan.

By Earl D. Kersting


In November 2008, I observed my first Toastmasters meeting as a guest. In October 2010, at the District 43 Conference, I received my DTM – the much-coveted Distinguished Toastmaster award. Total time from prospect to DTM? Twenty-three months.

Do I say this because I am bragging? I am very proud of my accomplishment, but no, I do not want to brag; I want to stress the importance of a basic tenet that many Toastmasters overlook. Earning your DTM comes down to three simple steps: Read the manuals. Make a plan. Work your plan. 1, 2 and 3 – it is as simple as that.

But why, you may ask yourself, would I want to become a DTM? It seems like a lot of work when you simply want to become more comfortable speaking in front of an audience..

Like anything worth doing, what you get out of Toastmasters is proportionate to what you put into it. In earning my DTM, I never imagined the many benefits awaiting me, the skills I’d hone and the friends I’d make along the journey. I learned to improve my communication and presentation skills, but I also gained so much more.

Read the Manuals

When you joined Toastmasters, you received, among other materials, two manuals: Competent Communication (CC) andCompetent Leadership (CL). I have noticed a pattern: My fellow Toastmasters tend to pick up and start using the CC manual, and lay the CL manual aside. It happens for several reasons. Some members think, “I really joined Toastmasters to improve my communication skills. I do not need to work on my leadership skills.” I have also met members who simply do not understand how the Competent Leadership manual works. They see the Project Completion Record on page 6 of the manual, see more than 40 tasks listed – 45 to be exact – and put the manual aside in favor of the CC manual, with its 10 projects. If you were to simply read theCL manual, you would discover several things. Of the 45 tasks listed, you need to complete only 21 or 22, depending on which combination you pursue. You would also discover that the tasks are, for the most part, roles you already perform during the course of a typical club meeting, such as speaker, speech evaluator, timer, grammarian and so forth. In fact, of the 10 projects, eight can be completed by serving in typical weekly club meeting roles.

To learn about the requirements for each available educational award, visit the Educational Program section on the Toastmasters Web site, at www.toastmasters.org/membereducation . The information will guide you on your path to Distinguished Toastmaster. This leads to the next step: Make a Plan.

Make a Plan

Every journey requires a plan. Whether it is a trip to the store or a journey to earn DTM, you cannot reach a destination unless you know where it is you wish to go and by what route. Map your route to the DTM award by using the Educational Program section on the Web site. It lists the requirements for earning all educational awards, including DTM. Here’s a helpful hint: The best 50 cents I have ever spent was to purchase the Toastmasters Member Achievement Record (Item 1328 on the online store). This booklet records your progress toward each award in the communication and leadership tracks, and it is the road map to your final destination.

Work Your Plan

No worthwhile achievement comes by accident. You must take initiative to bring your plan to fruition. That includes making and taking opportunities by looking at your overall plan and fitting in key requirements wherever and whenever you have the chance.

For example, one requirement to earn the Advanced Leader Silver (ALS) award – the highest leadership level before DTM – is to complete a High Performance Leadership (HPL) project. Does that mean you cannot begin an HPL project until you have earned the CL and Advanced Leader Bronze (ALB) awards? No. By looking at the entire road map to DTM, and realizing the HPL project was a destination through which I had to pass on my journey, I began my first HPL before I had ever earned my CL award. In fact, I began my first HPL within two months of becoming a Toastmaster.

Another requirement to earn ALS is to serve successfully as a club sponsor, mentor or coach. Again, this was a task I began within months of becoming a Toastmaster. Know what is required along every step of your journey to DTM so that when an opportunity arises, you can take advantage of the chance to complete another requirement of your plan.

Why Do It?

But why did I do it all? Was it just to wear the gold DTM name tag or the DTM medallion? Was it just so I could brag that I was a DTM? No, it was because the more I got involved, and the more I gave, the more I got in return. I’ve met new friends and I’ve developed deeper relationships with those friends I already had. As a club officer, my fellow club members showed me that I could provide the Toastmasters experience to others while improving my own leadership skills. As a mentor, I learned how rewarding it could be to guide a new member on their own Toastmasters journey. As a club sponsor, I discovered the immense fulfillment of bringing the Toastmasters experience to a group who otherwise would have no club. And as a division governor, I was able to help my area governors become better leaders.

With each new role I undertook, as I helped others grow and develop, I was growing and developing myself – in ways I had never imagined when I was deciding whether or not to become a Toastmaster. The path to DTM is a journey all Toastmasters should pursue, and it does not need to be daunting if you follow three basic steps: Read the manuals. Make a plan. Work your plan.

Earl D. Kersting, DTM, is a senior manager of division sales support for the Kroger Co. in Cincinnati, Ohio, and is a member of the company’s corporate club: Kroger Food For Thought Toastmasters. Reach him at Earl.Kersting@Kroger.com .