Posted by Chuck Foster
A Rotary Classification talk is designed to be very brief. In a nutshell, this is your chance to tell us the important parts of your personal and professional life - not all the story, but just enough that we can begin to ask questions.
Think "four minutes and four questions." In other words, you should plan to speak 3 - 5 minutes and tell us:
1. What are you passionate about?
2. Why do you do what you do professionally?
3. Who are your most important relationships?
4. How do we Rotarians fit into your life?
You can also use a different lens. Though it doesn't translate well into organizing a talk, it is useful in trimming the topics:
a. Where do you spend your money?
b. How do you spend your time?
c. What do you think about when you can think about anything at all?
Finally, you can organize around time:
i. History: how did you get here?
ii. Present: What's the focus of your personal and professional life?
iii. Future: What do you hope to become, through Rotary and your other relationships?
The classification talk was traditionally used to acquaint Rotarians with a member's profession. Most of us don't know what its like to be a dentist, or an airline pilot, or a midwife, or a pharmacist. But the talk also recognizes the personal aspects of life, which is why tying Rotary to both profession and personal is my advice.
Bottom Line: tell what we should know to begin an interesting conversation with you.
Be pithy, and don't try to answer all the questions. Instead, plan to stay after the meeting for social time.