Toastmasters leads to ... Happiness !

Below is Gretchen Rubin's video blog post about "Friends" which includes her recommendation to "Join or Start a Group". (Of course she must mean Toastmasters!)



Gretchen is the author of a blog called "The Happiness Project" along with a best selling book by the same name. It appears that the book is being adapted into a TV series starring Kristin Davis of "Sex And The City" fame.

Happy Birthday Toastmasters !

From (guest "blogger"):
Brian Cavanaugh
Area D-5 Governor
District 53 Toastmasters

Happy 86th Anniversary Toastmasters International!

On this date, October 22, in 1924, Smedley Club Number 1 became the first Toastmasters club. What started as one club meeting at the YMCA in Santa Ana, CA, has grown to over 12,500 clubs in 113 countries with nearly 260,000 members in only 86 years!

Thank you all for your dedication and service to all the Toastmasters of District 53.

Have Fun…And Get It Done!

A World Record "Toastmaster"

If there was ever a World Record that a Toastmaster should hold... check this out !

... 27-year-old museum curator turned a photo of her mother-in-law,
Sandra Whitfield, into the world's largest toast mosaic - comprising 9,852
slices.

Mrs Hadland roped in 40 friends to help her make the tribute, which she describes as 'a treat made with love and a sense of randomness'. ... The portrait, measuring 32ft 8in by 42ft 3in, set a new world record as the largest toast mosaic.

They used a battery of nine toasters to brown the slices of bread to varying degrees before arranging it to make the 32ft 8in by 42ft 3in picture at an arts venue in Mrs Whitfield's home town of Warrington, Cheshire.

After spending six hours painstakingly perfecting the image, Laura surprised her husband Mike's mother with the unusual portrait to celebrate her 50th birthday.

The enormous picture was confirmed yesterday as having set a new Guinness World Record as the largest toast mosaic.

(click here for the full story)

Can you find the Toastmasters reference ....?

In Marketing Guru, Seth Godin's recent blog post (click here) he talks about learning and two different "paths" or types of teachers. Check out his short post and see if you can find where Toastmasters fits !

Today is the last day for Toastmasters clubs to file with the IRS...

Has your club filed with the IRS as a non-profit organization yet?

The deadline is TODAY... May 17th.

Be sure to have your club file the IRS form 990-N for this year... if your club has not filed, it could severely impact your status with Toastmasters International. As a district officer, we are just now hearing the exact repercussions but they could be substantial for your club ... ranging from a re-application fee of $850 to a loss of the club's charter.

I don't know the final word... but I highly recommend getting your club filed NOW !

It's a simple form. Here are the instructions:
http://www.toastmasters.org/NonNavigableDocs/IRS990NFilingInstructions.aspx

Please do let your area governor or Division Governor know when your club has filed it. Ideally, when you get your confirmation email from the IRS, just forward it to them (and feel free to copy me at theshot92 [at] gmail.com. (The email format was typed out to avoid spam.)

Thanks,

Dave Wheeler
D53 LGET, 2009-10

P.S. If you are reading this on, or after, May 18th, 2010 ... it may already be too late. In any case, here is a link which allows you to see which clubs have filed and which have not...
http://nccsdataweb.urban.org/PubApps/990search.php

At that site you can search for "Toastmasters" and then by state and/or county. District 53 looks to be in pretty good shape (percentage-wise) since a club must have filed in the past 3 years ... but there are still some clubs that may not have filed.

Are you "Linked In"?

The Spring Conference is now on Linked IN !

Date: 5/03/2010
Subject: LinkedIn Event: District 53 Toastmasters Spring 2010 Conference
Roger H Brown found District 53 Toastmasters Spring 2010 Conference on LinkedIn Events and thought you might be interested in going!

http://events.linkedin.com/District-53-Toastmasters-Spring-2010/pub/311315

District 53 Toastmasters Spring 2010 Conference
Sat, May 22
St. Thomas Seminary Conference Facility, Bloomfield, CT, US

Spring Conference 2010...

The Early Bird Deadline is May 1st... so get your registration sent in (or register online at http://www.district53toastmasters.org/).

Check out the video by the conference team...




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmc9tFp7Qi8

Just posted ... "Inspiration"

I just created an "Inspiration" post on my "Incredible Shrinking Millionaire" blog...

check it out !
http://shrinkingmillionaire.blogspot.com/2010/04/inspiration.html

Did you renew your membership in Toastmasters for 6 months? Or a year?

Membership dues were due to Toastmasters International by April 1st for at least the coming 6 months (April thru September).

Did you renew for 6 or 12 months?

During every dues cycle members evaluate what they want to accomplish in Toastmasters versus the cost of the dues. Some clubs have to pay to rent their meeting spaces which can increase the club dues but I have never heard of a Toastmasters club that cost even half of the expensive two or three day seminars that seem to be popping up everywhere.

Toastmasters continues to be an incredible value...
... for those that believe in developing their skills. The members that do not renew are often the ones that either used to being spoon-fed their education or just are not committed enough to their own progress.

Life is not easy.
And it won't get any easier if you don't try new things. It can become more boring by doing less, but that won't get you any more than what you have ... and it will probably end up costing you what you have since nothing is standing still. The competition is always getting better and either you are improving or you are getting (relatively) worse.

You NEED Toastmasters.
Not just for the social interaction with supportive members a few times a month but for a chance to push outside your comfort zone on a regular basis. Toastmasters is one of very few places where you are encouraged to try new things, learn by doing and where failure is only when you don't try.

Make the Most of Your Membership !
Make a plan for the coming 3 months. Take a role or give a speech at every meeting. Complete your CC and your CL. Don't worry about doing things perfect... do the best you can in the time that is available and LEARN from the experience. Next time will be better.

Don't be an April Fool...
If there is going to be a "next time"... I hope you paid your membership dues !

Do you know someone who needs a PUSH?

I saw this online movie titled "Even Eagles Need a Push" and thought of Toastmasters...
(see it at http://www.eaglesneedapush.com/)

Do you know of someone that needs a push... towards Toastmasters?

Do you need a push?

There are a nearly limitless number of challenges (or "growth opportunities") within Toastmasters and if you need a PUSH, just ask a club or district officer what might available.

Do you want to soar on the stage of the District Conference?
Now is the time to enter your club's speech contests which progress through the Area and Division contests and culminate on the District stage in front of hundreds of fellow Toastmasters ! (I can tell you ... it is an incredible experience.)

Do you want to find your wings in Toastmasters Leadership?
Visit the newly improved District 53 Website at http://www.district53toastmasters.org/ and check out the Leadership section (under the Main Menu on the left side of the page). All the current positions are listed there along with the people who are currently serving. Feel free to contact them and find out what they do in their role. Perhaps you will find something to PUSH you to new heights !

.... by Dave Wheeler, D53 LGET, 2009-10

Fitness Club or Successful Restaurant?

Is your Toastmasters club like a Fitness club or a Successful Restaurant?

Let me explain what I mean....
I was reading a recent blog article by Jonathon Fields where he talked about various business models and how they impacted the quality and the character of the business.

The business model for your average mainstream gym revolves around automated monthly billing. ... New members sign up, often pay an up front fee, then agree to have their credit cards hit every month in advance. Depending on the contract, they may also agree to a minimum commitment (classically, a year) or a simple monthly payment structure. To end the monthly billing, a member must (a) wait until their commitment, if any, has run, then (b) send notice of termination by the precise channels laid out in the contract.

The alleged beauty of this model is that it shifts the burden of reselling and re-earning the membership fee away from the club and, instead, places the burden of termination on the member. Put another way, instead of the club having to resell members every month, the billing only stops when the member proactively says, “no more.”

Sounds like a killer business model, right?

But, here’s where it gets a bit ugly.

This same model also fosters:
* Widespread lack of innovation,
* Declining emphasis on remarkability and delight
* Exceptionally poor differentiation that requires non-stop aggressive marketing
* Uninspired, disengaged staff working for unsatisfactory pay, and
* A 40% annual drop-out that keeps the sales burden exceptionally high

As Toastmasters approaches our next dues renewal period (in March), we should think about whether or not our club has become complacent and boring to our members.

Are the members getting what they want?

The "Moments of Truth" module from Toastmasters Intl. is available for free download (click here) and it addresses this important question. It is also part of the Successful Club Series which is one of the requirements for your Advanced Communicator - Silver (ALS)or Advanced Leader - Bronze (ALB) awards.

Jonathan Field's article goes on to part 2 and part 3 (not yet published) where I'm sure he will give his ideas for a better business model, but I think there is another alternative to the recurring payment / Fitness club analogy that could relate to Toastmasters... the Successful Restaurant.

What makes a Successful Restaurant?

There are a number of keys but, in my humble opinion, the top 3 are the "dining experience", the food and their visibility & reputation in the community. The dining experience includes the environment of the restaurant, the service by your waiter and many more things that either delight or annoy the patrons. What is the "Toastmasters Experience" in your club? Are guests greeted and introduced to Toastmasters? Are your meetings upbeat and enjoyable?

The other part of a successful restaurant is the food. For other businesses, this is their "product". What do you think is the product for Toastmasters? Many might guess the Speeches and manuals but Heath Suddleson, the TM Intl. Director who visited District 53 back in January, offered another answer ... Evaluations. Heath's thinking is that you could do a million speeches but without good evaluations, the odds are you would not get better... or certainly not as quickly as you would with good evaluations.

How good are the evaluations given in your club?

When was the last time that someone presented the TM Successful Club Series module, "Evaluate to Motivate", for the new people in your club? Do you hold your club's evaluators to a high standard so that they encourage speakers while still offering constructive ideas for improvement? (In many ways, I've found that "constructive criticism" is an oxymoron... at least the way I've seen it delivered by some people.)

What if there was a great restaurant that nobody knew existed?

Finally, restaurants that want to be successful must get the word out. They must market their product and help encourage "word of mouth" marketing. Toastmasters clubs are the same way. Who has not had the experience of mentioning Toastmasters in conversations at work or home and having someone say, "What's Toastmasters?". Unfortunately, Toastmasters is one of the best kept secrets in personal development ... and for your club to be successful, that needs to change !

Help is available...

District 53 has numerous resources available to aid in the marketing of your club. There are the membership building ideas from Heath Suddleson which can be requested from any Area Governor and will probably be posted on the district website in the near future.

Your club could have an open house and invite past winners of contests to speak or even a District officer (I know that I would love to speak at your club's open house if we can fit it on my schedule.)

In the end, it is up to you.

Do you want your club to be like a fitness club which loses members at renewal time or a successful restaurant where more and more people come to enjoy themselves in a great environment?

The choice is yours !

Heath Suddleson's Presentation

Heath Suddleson, Toastmasters International Director, visited District 53 in January 2010 and gave a well received presentation at a number of the Toastmasters Leadership Exchange (TLE) events around the District. The video below was recorded by Andre White, Div.A Governor, at the Div.A TLE event on January 15th, 2010 so that it could be shared with others within our district.

Part 1 of 3



Part 2 of 3



Part 3 of 3

The CC season is here !

It is January and you know what that means....

Time to set goals for the year and plan for all the great Toastmasters events that are coming up in the next few months !

What types of goals?

How about finishing your CC? Now is the time to get signed up on your club's meeting schedule and let your VP-Education know that you want to finish your CC by the end of April (which could help your club win TM materials if they are distinguished by April 30th) or perhaps by the Spring Conference on May 22nd where we are hoping to celebrate meeting our District goal. If you miss either of these targets, there is still the goal of the end of the Toastmasters year, June 30th, 2010. If you get your CC done by then it could help your club become distinguished and earn a ribbon for your club's banner.

What if I've already finished my CC?

How about doing a second CC? You will be amazed by how much a second (or third) CC helps you improve your basic speaking skills. When was the last time you really focused on Vocal Variety? Or speaking to Inspire? Skills get rusty if they are not used regularly. Polish up your speaking skills and you will be glad you did. Send an email to your VPE right now to get on the speaking schedule ! Don't wait !

Did you know...
... that you can order just the evaluation guides from the CC
manual for only $1.95 ! Click here to order them from TI !

What about Contest and Conference (the "other CCs")?

Your work on your CC (manual) will also help you in your club contest (cc) which could even lead you to the finals at the District 53 Spring Conference in Bloomfield, CT on May 22nd, 2010 !

• Club Contests should be held by March 19
• Area Contests by April 9th and,
• Division Contests by April 30th.

Did you know...
... that you can get credit towards a manual speech for any speech you do as part of the Tall Tales or International speech contests? It just needs to be evaluated in the manual by another Toastmaster !

Contests are a great way to "jumpstart" your progress toward your next award ... plus you get the added benefit of refining your speech as you progress to each level of the competiton.

Remember...

The competition is really with yourself. If you do the best that you can (and learn from the experience)... YOU ARE A WINNER !

Move forward and Enjoy the CC season !

Dave Wheeler

D53 LGET, 2009-10

Ode to our club officers...

We have approximately 3000 members in District 53 and over 140+ clubs.
With 7 officers per club, that is over 980 club officers!


These club officers are key to the success of our organization since clubs would not last very long without the people who step up to be officers.


We should not lose sight of why Toastmasters exists (in addition to having Fun)... to develop our members ... and enthusiastic, trained club officers are critical to this mission.



Ode to those who volunteer to be Toastmasters club officers ...
by Dave Wheeler


They arrange the meeting room ....
... so everything runs smoothly.



They greet us at the door with a smile ...
... and set the mood for the club.



They lead by example ...
... by focusing on their communication and leadership goals.



They find time to attend officer training ...
... so they can better support their club.



They serve their members ...
... and help each person grow and develop.



They communicate to their community ...
... so that the value of Toastmasters is not kept a secret.



They collect dues and handle the paperwork ...
... that keeps the club going.



They update the club website ...
... as a resource to existing and potential members.



They measure the progress of each member ...
... because they know that commitment + measurement = results.



They come up with new ideas for the club to try...
... and reach out to members for their ideas.



They are Toastmasters club officers and ...
... they make Toastmasters FUN !

*****************************************************

Have you thanked your club officers recently?

The Future of the Library .... is Toastmasters!

Seth Godin had a very short blog post (so short I pasted the whole thing below) about the future of Libraries....

The future of the library
What should libraries do to become relevant in the digital age?

They can't survive as community-funded repositories for books that individuals don't want to own (or for reference books we can't afford to own.) More librarians are telling me (unhappily) that the number one thing they deliver to their patrons is free DVD rentals. That's not a long-term strategy, nor is it particularly an uplifting use of our tax dollars.

Here's my proposal: train people to take intellectual
initiative.

Once again, the net turns things upside down. The information is free now. No need to pool tax money to buy reference books. What we need to spend the money on are leaders, sherpas and teachers who will push everyone from kids to seniors to get very aggressive in finding and using information and in
connecting with and leading others.

Sounds like "Toastmasters at Libraries" would be a great combination!

People who have better communication and leadership skills are better equiped to stretch their comfort zones in other ways... and "take intellectual initiative".

When you have the self-confidence to speak in public, you are able to try things in other areas of your life and your world expands.

What do you think?

Leave a comment below!

More "Why Toastmasters?" videos...

We had a great turnout at the Toastmasters Leadership Exchange last Saturday (12/12) in Manchester, CT and a number of people took advantage of our video setup and created videos for the D53 YouTube Challenge .

Check out the District 53 YouTube Channel and all the "Why TM?" videos (we are up to at least 20)...

http://www.youtube.com/user/D53Toastmasters#

Why Toastmasters? Sample Videos

Below are some sample YouTube videos provided by Sherri Rafftery, District 31 Governor 2009-10; Kristen Nicolson, Past Intl. Director for Toastmasters; and Heath Suddleson, Toastmasters Intl.Director from Region 7 2009-11.







If you want to add your own YouTube video for the "Why Toastmasters?" video challenge, be sure to tag the video with D53 (since District 53 is organizing this challenge) and "Why TM" so that your video can be found via a YouTube search.

If you would like your video listed as a favorite on the D53 YouTube Channel, send an email with a link to your video to Dave Wheeler. His email address is theshot92 [at] gmail.com. The email address is listed this way (without the @ symbol) to prevent automatic programs who capture addresses and send spam.

Of course, your video should be "Toastmasters-friendly". If you don't know what that means, ask another Toastmaster or a club officer.

Special Thanks to Sherri, Kristen and Heath for stepping forward and providing these excellent examples !

YTM YouTube Challenge... Why Toastmasters?

District 53's
"Why Toastmasters?" YouTube Challenge
Showcasing the Value of Toastmasters !

How to Enter:
Create a 1-2 minute YouTube.com video where you answer the question, "Why Toastmasters?". Your TableTopics-length speech should articulate what you feel is the value of Toastmasters to the viewer. Basically, it is your “elevator” speech for Toastmasters.

All entries will be in the form of videos loaded to YouTube.com. The videos must be tagged with “D53” and "Why TM" and include the contestant’s name, their club name & number. This information can also be added as text overlay or in the description of the video, but the "D53" and "Why TM" must be clear to judges and searchable in YouTube. (Otherwise, we won’t be able to find all the entries.)

Content of the video should be “Toastmasters-friendly” and in good taste such that it could be shown at a District 53 event. District Sr. Team will determine if a video is disqualified for content.

Speech Time:
1-2 minutes (2:30 maximum total video time)

Who can enter:
Any active Toastmasters member in good standing of a club in good standing within District 53 may submit a video for the D53 Challenge. Members of other districts are welcome to create videos... they just won't be part of the D53 Challenge. The member who enters the video must be in the video for at least 50% of the time. Non-members may assist and even appear in the video but there is not liability assumed by Toastmasters. Entrants assume all liability.

Current and immediate past district officers may enter except for the current District Governor, Lt.Gov.-Education & Training, Lt.Gov.- Marketing and the District 53 Chief Judge. Finalists may not be finalist judges.

Judging:
Public opinion will decide the 10 finalists via YouTube.com’s ability for viewers to rank the videos. An important part of this effort will be how entrants promote their videos (to get “votes”). Finalists will be announced 1 week before the District 53 final event where the finalists will be recognized. Current plans are for the challenge to culminate at the D53 Spring 2010 conference.

Judges will be chosen by the Chief Judge & Sr. Team from all District 53 Divisions. The judges will view the finalist videos online during the week prior to the final event and deliver their ballots to the District 53 Judging Team at least 2 days prior to the final event.

Prizes & Recognition:
Finalist Videos will be shown at the Spring Conference and awards presented for:
1st, 2nd and 3rd Place Overall
Most Humorous
Most Creative

What if I don’t own a video camera or computer?
A videographer will be made available on a first-come, first-served basis at Division contests within District 53. These sessions give an opportunity to members who are not able to enter themselves due to a lack of video equipment or computer access. The number of video slots at the Division contests will be limited so contact your Division Governor to sign up. Keep in mind that these videos may not have as long to accumulate votes online.
Questions?
Contact Dave Wheeler, D53 Lt.Gov.-Education & Training, via email address theshot92 [at] gmail.com. Be sure to include "Why TM?" in the Subject line.

Passing of a great speaker...Jim Rohn

On Dec.5th, 2009 personal development legend Jim Rohn passed away.

If you have not heard of him, check out the YouTube videos below...



Here are the links in case the embedded videos don't work on your computer...
Best Year Ever...Video 1 of 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfA-qNWLBHo

Best Year Ever...Video 2 of 3 (Measurable Progress in Reasonable Time)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2AyudSJl_s&NR=1

Best Year Ever...Video 3 of 3 (The Day that turns your life around)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWOJt1kCYP0&feature=related

D53 Sr. Team goes to training...

Last weekend (12/4-12/6), District 53's Sr. Team (Marsha, Richard and Dave) went to Regional Training where they learned lots and picked up a ton of ideas that will help our district over the coming months.

In addition, there is a tradition at the regional training that each district's Sr.Team will create and perform a skit after the evening dinner. This year, D53 did a parody on the Bravo TV network's show, "Inside the Actors Studio with James Lipton". We had Richard Peck playing the part of James Lipton and Marsha Kiley as the "star" being interviewed. (Dave Wheeler created the clips and ran the audio video.)

While we did not videotape the whole skit, we can pass along the video clips that were used within the skit. The embedded video below features our Intl. Directors, Heath & Annelie...

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Here are the links to all the "film clips" we used...

Holiday Greetings from the Region 7 Intl. Directors (in case the embedded video above did not work for you).

Christmas Story featuring Kristen & Dan

Halloween (we used this as a promo on YouTube.com for our Fall 2009 Conference). This link is to the YouTube video which includes text overlaid on the video with information about the conference. Be sure you have "annotations" turned on when you watch it (so you will get the "full effect").

Its a Wonderful Life (featuring our friends from D31)

The D53 Xmas Dancers featuring Marsha, Dave and Richard.

These were all made using JibJab.com if you want to play around with it yourself.

I am also working on a "YouTube Channel" for District 53 and that is where I will be loading up the "Why Toastmasters?" videos. (They should be there soon.)

Holiday Greetings !
Dave Wheeler
D53 LGET, 2009-10
Move Forward !