Two opportunities for Officer Training... Jan.11 & 12.

There will be another (secondary?) opportunity for Officer Training,
in addition to the training session
hosted by Socially Speaking
onWednesday, January 11, 7:30pm-9pm, at their meeting place:
Socially Speaking Toastmasters Club
Congregational Church of Brookfield
160 Whisconier Road, Intersection of Routes 25 & 133
Brookfield, CT 06804


(see email below from Karin von Kanel, Div.A Governor)

Dear Club Presidents,
The second Division A officers training session will take place on
Thursday, January 12,
5:30pm-7:30pm,
in the classroom of theERSOB State Office Building,
4 Burnett Boulevard,Poughkeepsie, NY 12603

Attention: Everybody needs to be there by 5:30 or the guard is making rounds.

Also, Jean Shanahan needs a list ofattendees prior to the meeting for the guard.

Please forward this information to your club officer teams and let me know who will attend which training session.

Thanks to Jean Shanahan for organizing the room!

Happy New Year!
Best regards,
Karin von Känel

Now is the Time for PR !!!!!

I got the following email from Roger Brown with some good points for building membership in the new year !

In an email dated Tue, 27 12 2005, Roger Brown <rogerbrown@mac.com> writes:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE TO ALL TOASTMASTERS AND
TOASTMASTER CLUB LEADERS (VPM, VPPR)

January is an excellent time to launch a membership building program. Some people make New Year's Resolutions and others simply say - "After the hectic holidays - I'll get organized."

I'm betting that many curious potential members would be most willing to join Toastmasters in January. But we must ACT NOW!

If you or your Club is going to catch the wave of New Year's Resolutions, you need to get the posters placed before the public eye! You need to let people know that your Club is meeting in January and guests are welcomed!

Plan ahead - get the name of Toastmasters before the public eye and ear. Newspapers, radio, TV, etc. need a certain lead time. It is time for the VPM and VPPR and their standing committees to get the plans into action.

Be resolved! And if your Club has a public web site, make sure that it is up to date ... clearly indicating that your Club is alive, meeting in January, and welcoming guests.

Consider the definition of resolution...
\Res`o*lu"tion\ (-l?"sh?n), n.
1. The act, operation, or process of resolving. Specifically: (a) The act of separating a compound into its elements or component parts. (b) The act of analyzing a complex notion, or solving a vexed question>or difficult problem.
2. The state of being resolved, settled, or determined; firmness; steadiness; constancy; determination. Be it with resolution then to fight. --Shak.
3. That which is resolved or determined; a settled purpose; determination. Specifically: A formal expression of the opinion or will of an official body or a public assembly, adopted by vote; as, a legislative resolution; the resolutions of a public meeting.

Distinguished Club Program (DCP) Reports available

It is amazing (amazingly good) that all of the clubs in Area A4 have a shot at a Distinguished Club Award !

I have printed out the current standings for each club so they can see where they stand and I will be emailing the reports (in PDF format) to each club presidents in the next week or so.

Some quick observations .... all clubs could benefit from at least a couple CL awards! I'm working on mine and I am amazed at how easy it will be to attain. If you are a club officer participating in the DCP with your club, all you need to do is a couple of modules (i.e. speeches) from either the Successful Club or Leadership Excellence Series.

Send me an email or leave a comment if there are any questions !

Happy Holidays !

Dave Wheeler

Seth Godin Workshop ... January 26, 2006 !

Seth Godin, one of the world's greatest marketing minds and the author of The Idea Virus, Purple Cow, The Big Moo and a fabulous blog is offering a one day seminar / workshop where you can learn and interact both with him as well as fellow attendees!

(He is also offering a $100 referral fee, so if you sign up please tell him that you heard it from Dave Wheeler's blog, AreaA4 Toastmasters at www.areaA4.blogspot.com . Thanks.)

Click here to learn more !

Dave

Link: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2005/12/the_new_whitebo.html

High Performance Leadership (HPL) Project

One of the requirements for the Toastmasters Advanced Leader award is a "High Performance Leadership" project.

There is a Toastmaster manual for a HPL project and, briefly, it consists of the following 5 steps:
1) Learn about Leadership & choose your Guidance Committee*
2) Choose an objective, define your vision/mission/values and give a speech on them*
3) Recruit your team and make a plan for the project*
4) Work the plan and overcome obstacles*
5) Give a speech to present your results*
* You meet with your guidance committee at each stage to assess how the project is going and what you are learning.

My Area A4 HPL project has been taking shape over the past few months, I will use this blog to tell everyone about each of the components of the project as well as any ideas that might come up from the team. (Volunteers still needed!)

Speak UP!

Dave Wheeler
Area A4 Governor, 2005-6

Fast Start Package for post-CTM Toastmasters !

I found that it was not as easy as it could be to get started on the road to awards and achievements after the CTM, so I created the ATM Fast Start Package.

The link below will give you a PDF file that lays out all the requirements and resources that you need to start earning advanced Toastmaster awards!

Dave Wheeler's ATM / CL Fast Start Package !

Please let me know what you think of it and if you have any suggestions to improve it !

Speak UP !

Dave Wheeler
Area A4 Governor, 2005-6

Area A4 Speaking Opportunities !!!

There are a couple clubs in Area A4 that are low on members and I have set up a speaking schedule to bring experienced Toastmasters into these clubs. This will give other Toastmasters in the area an opportunity to "stretch their wings" beyond their own club while also giving the host club a boost from seeing advanced speakers "in action" !

The schedule will be posted here as soon as I get it finished, but for planning purposes the 4th Wed or Thursday nights are when I have openings. Socially Speaking will be running a SpeechCraft workshop series starting March 8th and we are looking for speakers to help us with that program as well.

I will also post suggested modules and topics that will be of interest to the clubs as well as giving guest speakers an opportunity to complete modules or speeches towards their ATM or CL designations.

Please let me know if you have any questions or suggestions !

Speak up!
Dave Wheeler
Area A4 Governor, 2005-6

Pictures from District 53 Fall Conference !!!

D53 Fall '05 Conference Candids Candid shots from the District 53 Fall Conference held in Stamford, Connecticut on November 5, 2005. Photos by Don Logie, DTM
http://homepage.mac.com/rogerbrown/toast/PhotoAlbum20.html

World Class Indifference Comedy Improv
"Using Improv Techniques to Help You Become A Better Speaker" presented by World Class Indifference Comedy Improv Group. Photos by Don Logie, DTM
http://homepage.mac.com/rogerbrown/toast/PhotoAlbum24.html

Humorous and TT Speech Contest photos taken by Don Logie, DTM at the Fall Conference in Stamford, CT on November 5, 2005
http://homepage.mac.com/rogerbrown/toast/PhotoAlbum23.html

D53 Fall Conference Educational Seminars Fall Conference held on November 5, 2005 at the Holiday Inn in Stamford, Connecticut. Photos taken by Don Logie, DTM
http://homepage.mac.com/rogerbrown/toast/PhotoAlbum21.html

D53 Hall of Fame Awards: Toastmaster Recognitions at the Fall Conference held in Stamford, CT on November 5, 2005. Photos taken by Don Logie, DTM
http://homepage.mac.com/rogerbrown/toast/PhotoAlbum22.html

Area A4 President's Council - meeting notes

I'm finally getting around to publishing the meeting notes for the Area A4 President's Council meeting that was held back in September when we had the Area A4 Fall Speech Contest at Wooster School.

The suggestions / discussion topics included:

• Things outside the clubs" to help socialize more
• A lack of protocol has been seen in some clubs, such as the Word of the Day or the transfer at the lectern. One suggestion was to have members visit other clubs to see protocols in action, e.g. WestConn or Barnum Square
• Need to get members to conferences. This can have a strong impact on a member's Toastmasters experience because they learn more about what Toastmasters has to offer. Another suggestion was to bring success stories [from the conferences] back to the clubs and share them with members.
• An Advanced Toastmasters Club was suggested. It could be set up for ATM-S or ATM-G or higher members. It would be expected that these members would stay in their original clubs as well. It could also be a "dinner club" like Henry Hudson club. Possible meeting places - Danbury Holiday Inn? Unclear how many potential members there would be for such a club. DW to follow up to gauge interest.
• Trade TableTopics masters between clubs. This would make the TableTopics more interesting while giving members a different challenge (and an improved Toastmasters Experience).

Please let me know what you think of the ideas or if you have any of your own. We look forward to working with you to improve the Toastmasters Experience for all members.

Best regards,

Dave Wheeler
Area A4 Governor, 2005-6

Spring Conference Date set... May 13, 2006

The District 53 Spring Conference will be held on Saturday, May 13th, 2006 in Wallingford, CT.

This is a fairly short drive from Area A4 and this conference will include the Tall Tales and International Speech Contests.

Hope to see you all there !

Dave Wheeler
Area A4 Governor, 2005-6

Bruce Cornwell of WestConn Club wins TableTopics at District !

Bruce Cornwell of WestConn Toastmasters, WON the TableTopics contest at the District 53 Fall Conference on Saturday, Nov.5, 2005.

I wish I could have seen it, but I spoke to alot of people at the Toastmasters dinner at the Fall Conference on Saturday night and they all said that he did a GREAT JOB in the TableTopics contest ! (Actually, the most common comment I heard was, "He nailed it!")

Congratulations to Bruce on winning ! We are all very proud of your accomplishment and we look forward to hearing more about the contest experience !

Way to Go !

Dave Wheeler
Area A4 Governor, 2005-6

Updated TableTopics Strategy Workshop Handout !

We ran the TableTopics Strategy Workshop this Wednesday evening at Socially Speaking Toastmasters in Brookfield, CT. If you know anyone in the Brookfield, CT area that is interested in Toastmasters, this is certainly a great club to join !

The evening was alot of fun and we went the the updated TableTopics Strategy Workshop Handout (click here to download a copy). We also used the handouts from the post on TableTopics Strategies back in September (see below).

Let us know what you think of the workshop by leaving us a comment !!!!

Speak UP !

Dave Wheeler
Area A4 Governor, 2005-6

"Official" Area Club Visits Soon !

Note to Area A4 Club Presidents,

How is this Toastmaster year (2005-6) shaping up for your club?

While I have been to a number of club meetings already and saw most of you at least once, I still need to, as Area A4 Governor, make "official" club visits and fill out the form for Toastmasters International. (I say "official" in parenthesis since I prefer to keep things less formal and more relaxed.) The deadline for submitting written forms to Toastmasters International is Oct.31st, but we have until the end of November if we submit the information online (which is what I'm going to do).

Just so that you have a preview of the form that we need to fill out, I've scanned it into PDF format (click here to download). If you take a look at it, you will see that it is a little different from past years in that it is organized along the lines of the Distinguished Club Program (DCP) guidelines. Since many of you are working toward making your clubs Distinguished, the form should be a simple review of your progress. The form will also help me make sure that I am providing you with the information and support that you need.

Please let me know if there are any questions or if there is a specific club meeting that you would like me to attend in the coming couple weeks.

See you soon !

Dave Wheeler
Toastmasters Area A4 Governor, 2005-6

WestConn Toastmasters win Smedley Award !!

Congratulations to Bruce Cornwell and all of the officers and members of WestConn Toastmasters for winning the Smedley Award !

The Smedley Award is named after the founder of Toastmasters and is given to any club who adds 5 or more new members from August 1 – September 30 ! (See copy of the email from District Governor Paul Young below)

We will have to see what we can do to spread the membership building to other clubs !

Speak UP!

Dave Wheeler
Toastmasters Area A4 Governor, 2005-6

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

District Officers,

It is my pleasure to announce the clubs in District 53 that have won the Smedley Award for adding 5 or more new members to their club from August 1 – September 30;

F1 542 Bethlehem Club - 6
A4 599 West-Conn Club - 5
D2 820 Yale Toastmasters Club - 7
D3 865 Greater Stamford Toastmasters - 9
D1 1628 Brass City Club - 7
B4 2908 Stag Club - 5
C1 3176 Energy Club - 7
A2 7386 BI Club - 7
C6 9213 Rose City Club - 7
F1 764383 NYISO Club – 6

Paul Young DTM
MIND THE GAP
District 53 Governor

Division A Contest Results !!!! (from an Area A4 perspective)

The general consensus was that it was definitely a FUN evening!

Bruce Cornwell did GREAT and was the first runner-up in the TableTopics contest. On top of that, the winner of the TableTopics contest won't be able to attend the District level contest, so Bruce gets to move on to the next level !!!!!!

The next level of the TableTopics contest is in the morning at the Fall Conference on Sat., Nov. 5th and unfortunately I have a previous commitment that morning and won't be able to get there until the afternoon. Hopefully we can get some other members there to support Bruce !

In addition, the Humorous speech contest was won by Belle Garafola from Barnum Square Toastmasters, so Area A4 will be well represented at the District contests! (The "home court advantage" from hosting the Area and the Division contests must have worked!)

See you at the Fall Conference !

Webinar ... of interest to Toastmasters????

I came across an online seminar (or "webinar") put on by WebEx.com that may be of interest to my fellow Toastmasters...

Event:
Speak and Get Results: Maximizing Your Impact During Webcasts

Date and Time:
Wednesday, October 19, 20051:00 pm, Eastern Daylight Time (GMT -04:00, New York)

Panelist(s) Info:
Danny Slomoff, PhD, Senior Coach and Consultant, Speakeasy

Duration: 1 hour

Description:

You may be an effective communicator, but let's face it, the playing field is changing. Talking -- and doing it well -- is tougher when you're not actually there to connect with your listeners. In this session, we'll cover concepts and tools to help you translate your presentations from a "live" situation to a "virtual" one. Attend if:

• Time and cost constraints are changing the way you have to communicate -- without changing the expectation for results.
• You're spending more and more time trying to drive those results through webcasts, online meetings, and telephone conferences.
• Making an impact when you speak is important!

The link below is kind of long ....
https://webexevents.webex.com/webexevents/mywebex/epmainframe.php?rlink=https%3A%2F%2Fwebexevents.webex.com%2Fwebexevents%2Fonstage%2Fmainframe.php%3Fmainurl%3D%2Fwebexevents%2Fonstage%2Ftool%2Fevent%2Fevent_detail.php%3FEventID%3D277395895%26FirstEnter%3D1%26GuestTimeZone%3D%26SourceId%3Dmp104&Rnd2929=0.5480342311637003

If this link does not work for you, try visiting www.webex.com.

Please feel free to forward this email to other Toastmasters who you feel might be interested in attending. I do not know if there is a limit on the number of people who can attend and, as far as I can tell from signing up myself, it is FREE.

I am also investigating whether or not we might be able to incorporate this type of communication medium for a Toastmasters meeting. So if anyone is interested in learning more about this (or the establishment of an "Advanced Communications" Toastmasters club... preferrably in Greater Danbury area], please send me an email.

Best regards,

Dave Wheeler
Toastmasters Area A4 Governor, 2005-6

Division A Contest ----> Wed. Oct. 19 !!!

Just to make sure we are all "on the same page", the schedule for the Division A contest will be the same as the Area A2/A4 contest:

Division A Fall Contests:
Date: Wednesday, October 19th, 2005
Location: Wooster School Library, Danbury CT
Hosted by WestConn Toastmasters, club 599

Schedule:
Contestant Briefings: starting at 6:45pm
Contest Meeting: starts at 7:30pm

We look forward to a GREAT EVENING of exciting TableTopics and a slew of funny Humorous speeches !

Speak UP !

Dave Wheeler
Area A4 Governor, 2005-6

Great Source (catalog) for Ideas ...

I just got a catalog in the mail and I am like most of you .... I rarely get excited about a new catalog... but yesterday I got one that was different !

It is from Trainers Warehouse and their web site it www.trainerswarehouse.com .

In particular, they have a neat set of timing lights (click here to see them) that might be of use to a Toastmasters club ! They also have lots of books with group activities / games which look like they could be both educational and FUN ! (always a good combination!)

If you have any experience with this company, please let me know how they are. I am putting a number of the items on my Christmas List !

Speak Up !

Dave Wheeler

Area A4 & A2 Fall Contest Meeting !

Area A4 (and Area A2) Fall Contest was held Wed. Sept.28, 2005. The UPDATED* winners were ....

Area A2
TableTopics
1st place: David Alexander
1st runner-up: Ann Germinaro

Humorous Speech
1st place: David Alexander, Putnam Speaks, club 4839, Speech title: MRI: Magnetic Resonance or Medieval Torture"
1st runner-up: Siva Kuchibhotla, BI Toastmasters, club 7386, Speech title: "My Daydream"

Area A4
TableTopics
1st place: Bruce Cornwell
1st runner-up: Kevin Wortman

Humorous Speech
1st place: Belle Garafola, Barnum Square Toastmasters, club 1701, Speech title: "My Seventh Road Test"
1st runner-up: Tom Shaw, Barnum Square Toastmasters, club 1701, Speech title: "I would die for you, but..."

* UPDATED Friday, Sept.30 - There was a mixup when I typed in this post. I had swapped Area A2 and A4 Humorous winners. The results posted here now match the results announced at the contest meeting.

Special Thanks to all the participants, role players, judges and other contestants.
Other contestants included:
Area A2: Daisy Rodriguez (TT), Ed Rinde (TT & Humorous), David Holschlag (Humorous)
Area A4: Eva Agolli (TT), Karin Benedict (TT)

Looking ahead to the Spring Contests:
WestConn Club Contest, tentative date: March 15 (club deadline:Mar.19)
Area A4 Contest: possible dates: March 22 or 29 (Area deadline:Apr. 8)
Division A Contest: possible dates include April 12, 19 or 26 (Div. deadline:Apr.29)

Presentation Ideas ....

I came across the following ideas that you can use for presentations ....

The Takahashi Method:
http://presentationzen.blogs.com/presentationzen/2005/09/living_large_ta.html

The [Guy] Kawasaki Method:
http://presentationzen.blogs.com/presentationzen/2005/09/the_kawasaki_me.html
http://presentationzen.blogs.com/presentationzen/2005/09/guy_kawasaki_pr.html

General Ideas on Powerpoint slides:
http://presentationzen.blogs.com/presentationzen/2005/09/whats_good_powe.html

You may notice that they all come from the blog "Presentation Zen" (good catch... you get one brownie point) but I should also tell you where I found out about this blog... on the blog of the marketing master, Seth Godin (see here).

Speak UP!
Dave Wheeler