Q&A: Speech Credits and Educational Awards

Mike Aron, Div. B Governor, provides the following insights...

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Michael Aron
Date: Feb 5, 2008 12:07 AM
Subject: Speech Credits and Educational Awards

Fellow Toastmasters,

I know this was discussed on the D53Toastmasters Yahoo group before, but I have some definitive answers from Toastmasters.

At the Division B Mid Winter Leadership exchange the following questions came up.

1. When you give a speech, can you have the same speech evaluated for one of the usual speech manuals AND for either projects 4 or 5 of the Competent Leader manual or must these be done separately?

Answer from Toastmasters: If a member is working out of the Competent Leadership manual and wants to fulfill the role of Speaker, he/she may get credit for giving a manual speech. Under this circumstance only can a member receive double creditfor one speech. Remember, the speech must still be evaluated both orally and in writing.

2. I understand that you can't get multiple credits for the same "performance" of a speech, but can you give a single speech multiple times and each time use it for different manual projects, each time emphasizing different aspects of the speech? For example, when using it for CC Manual project #4 (How to Say It) one could concentrate on the wording of the speech. Then, at a different meeting, when using it for project #5 (YourBody Speaks) one would concentrate on the gestures of the speech.

Answer from Toastmasters: Giving the same speech to meet several manual projects is the choice of the member. We do not have any rule against it, however, it is recommended a new speech be written for each manual project. It helps both the speaker and audience learn from each presentation.

Michael Aron
Division B Governor
__,_._,___

10 Tips for asking questions from the audience

There are good ways and bad ways to ask questions from the audience ...

There is a YouTube.com video making the rounds on the internet showing a guy who asked some questions at a John Kerry appearance and was dragged from the microphone by security. This video is usually referred to by the line the guy says..."Don't tazer me, bro!"

Clearly this is not the reaction you want when you ask a question as part of the audience.

On the other hand, there are also some GOOD things you can do to present yourself well when you ask a question as part of an audience.

Gretchen Rubin gives us "10 Tips for asking questions from the audience" from her blog, "The Happiness Project". ...

1. Wait for the microphone, if there is one.

2. Pause for silence – don’t talk over a chattering crowd.

3. Don’t make excuses for yourself. This is tiresome and unnecessary.

4. Don’t address speakers by their first names. Some people will disagree with me, I’m sure, but this always strikes me as affected and inappropriately familiar, unless the mood of the presentation is extremely casual.

5. Don’t be long-winded.

6. Plan it out. This will help you avoid being long-winded.

7. Don’t ask double question. Give other people a chance.

8. If appropriate, say a little about yourself. Just a little.

9. Speak up. Nothing’s more frustrating to the audience than not being able to hear a question.

10. Remember: you’ll be happy that you asked a question. I’m one of those people who rarely asks a question at such an
occasion. I never spoke in class in law school. But whenever I do participate, I feel more engaged and enjoy myself more. I’m working on speaking up.

Gretchen gives us some good ideas that we can try the next time we have the opportunity to ask a question as part of the audience!

Let us know in the comments if you have other ideas or suggestions !

From the d53toastmasters Yahoo group... Did you know?

From: karin vonkaenel,
D53 Lt.Gov. Education
Date: Sep 16, 2007 7:23 PM
Subject: [d53toastmasters] Did you know?
To: d53toastmasters@yahoogroups

Greetings Fellow Toastmasters!
Recently, somebody asked the following question:

An old-time member already has her old-CL. Can she:
(1) Qualify for another CL by going through the new CL manual
(2) Achieve the ALB, which is the same as the old-CL
(3) can any of these count for DCP points for the club? The answer I got from TI was:

Members only have to earn the CC/CTM award once during their Toastmasters career. We do not require a new CC/CTM award earned for each ACB or old CL award.

The new-CL award does not have a requirement that a member must first earn the CC/CTM award
ie: Members may have 20 old-CL awards and only 1 CC/CTM
ie: Members may have earned the new CL and not have earned any CC/CTM.Any CL (old or new), ALB, ALS does count towards the DCP.

This is very good news for all clubs as this makes it easier to achieve those Educational goals in the DCP.

Have a great week!

Best regards,
Karin

Q&A ...Humorous contest question

Q: We only have 2 speakers who want to participate in humorous contest. Do you think we should hold a contest for just 2 people since they both will move on to the area contest ?

A: Since both contestants will advance (based on this year's rules), the results of a contest don't matter as much as the experience that the speakers gain by participating in the club contest.

I would suggest that you either run a contest or at least adapt the introductions to closely match a contest. You may want to have multiple evaluators instead of multiple judges so that each speaker can get more feedback.

I would also suggest at least a few evaluators to use the judging forms as the basis for their evaluation so that the changes / improvements to the contestants speech will (hopefully) be reflected in their scores at the area contest.

What would you suggest? Leave a comment for other readers to see !

Club Contestant Criteria... who goes to Area Contest?

Steve Rock writes...

Hi Dave,
It is my understanding that a club can send any two of its club members to compete in either or both of the contests, regardless of how that club determines which two people it will be. Is that true?

One club in A4 wants to send someone to compete, despite the fact that they did not have a contest. A club in A2 had a contest with only two contestants, one of which cannot attend the Area contest, so they would like to send someone else.

Is there anything other than a person not being a member (of TM and the source club) in good standing that would prevent a person from competing in an Area contest? If so, could you please clarify the pre-requisites?

Thanks, Dave!

Steve

Steve Rock
BI Toastmasters
"Editor-elect", Yankee Activator

RESPONSE.....

Steve,

The club "decides" who will represent them at the area contest.

If they have more than two contestants for a particular contest, they should have a contest to determine which two will go to the next level. A club does not have to run a contest if they have less than the number of contestants they can send to the area contest... although a club contest is a good idea since it gives the contestant a chance to practice their speech and get feedback that will help them at the next level.

Please keep in mind that at the Area level, two contestants from each club are permitted for each contest. That means they can send as many as 4 contestants to the area contests (2 Humorous, 2 TableTopics).

I hope this helps clear things up!

Let me know if there is anything else I can do to help.

Dave Wheeler
Div.A Governor, 2006-8

P.S. We welcome suggestions or clarifications via the comments section of this blog... so if you have a similar problem or something else, please let us know!

Speech Contest Logistics

Steve Rock brought up some good questions about Speech Contests and the answers to his questions regarding Area & Div. contests (in Div.A) have been added to the text of his email below.

On 8/21/07, Steve wrote:

Hi,

Being new to Toastmasters service at the Area level I have a few questions for you regarding our fall contests:

Who orders, pays for and brings to the contests the:

1. 
   
   • Trophies for each contest in each Area? Out of which budget do the funds for them come? Is there a need for those ordering the trophies to coordinate their styles and sizes, as well as content engraved on the plates (for the sake of consistency)? Trophies for the Area and Div. Contests are provided by the District and paid for by the District's budget which comes from International based on a percentage of the dues paid to TI. (I think the District gets 25% of the dues, but I could be wrong.) The trophies are handed out at the monthly District meeting and since this month we are doing an online meeting, I would expect that the trophies would be handed out to the Area & Div. Governors at the meeting Sept. 15th (location TBD).
     
   • Certificates of Participation for each contest in each Area? Out of which budget do the funds for them come? Same as the trophies (see above).
     
   • Refreshments? Out of which budget do the funds for them come? Can we verify that refreshments are allowed at the contest venue? And, if so, to what degree? For the most recent Area A2 / A4 contests, the refreshments have been provided (free of charge) by the host club, WestConn Toastmasters. Since they will not be hosting, we may want to see who would like to bring refreshments (once we nail down the venue and date).


2. Is there a lectern and/or dais at the venue? Depends on which venue is chosen. I know that Socially Speaking, if chosen for the venue, has a lecturn (no stage or dais).
   
3. Is there a microphone and speaker system at the venue? TBD. Most Area or Division venues do not use microphones (which is why we set up the "Battle of the Border" last year to give our contestants an opportunity to practice with one.
   
• If so, do we require permission to use it? TBD.
  If not, do we need to secure one? TBD.

i. If so, who coordinates and pays for this? "Paying" is probably the reason why there aren't microphones at Area & Div. Contests. The microphone came with the room at the Battle of the Border and Anne Swartout paid for the room out of her own pocket (and the Advanced Club should pay her back as the host club). At some venues, like the Ridgefield Library, you are not allowed to charge for refreshments or sell anything which is why it could be problematic (but not impossible) to host the Division Contest there.

4. Is there a precedent for the person who I should ask about serving as the Chief Judge for the contests? Do I need two of them, or even four, because we're running four different contests, or can one Chief Judge serve all four contests? The Area Governor(s) decide who will be ContestMaster and Chief Judge for the Area Contest and I decide for the Div. Contest. Typically with a combined contest they split the roles, but there is no rule that says they can't ask someone else to do it. I would follow up with Dan and Pat if you are interested in being the Chief Judge. Re: other judges... in the past, we have had one chief judge for all four contests and used the same judges for all four contests. Since the judges are spread across different areas this arrangement helps to limit any possible bias.
   
5. Should the Chief Judge line up the judges, tie-breaking judge, timers and counters ahead of time, or must they wait until the night of the contest and select them from volunteers in the audience? Or something else? If you can get commitments from judges from all the different clubs prior to the contest meeting it would save alot of time running around that evening, but I have never seen anyone do it successfully. Although with ease of communication through email it might be possible (so I do not want to discourage you from trying).
   
6. Who provides the contest paperwork (contest rules, judging and counting sheets, etc.)? In past years, Area Governors have received a copy of the official contest rules from TI either directly through the mail or as part of their training package. I don't know what the plan is this year but I know that the rules can be downloaded in PDF format from TI's site by clicking here. I also have found that if you search the internet, you can find most of the paperwork that you would need. You can also order hard copies of the forms for each contest from Toastmasters International if you want.
   
7. What should I have asked but haven't? Excellent question. You probably were wondering if Dave Wheeler ever gave a workshop on how to run a contest and if you can get the handout / workbook in PDF format. ;) The answer is... Yes, he did and, Yes, you can by clicking here.) Other questions... Is it hard to run a contest... No, not really. You have to be organized and pull together a number of elements but if you can serve effectively as in the Toastmaster role at your club, you should be able to run a contest.

Thank you all very much!

Steve