Did your club pay your dues?

One of my favorite authors, Seth Godin, had a short but insightful blog post today titled, "If Craigslist cost $1" and since the deadline for submitting Toastmasters dues is Oct.1st, I thought it would be appropriate to share his key point ....

Money creates a sort of friction. In the digital economy, magical things can happen when there is no friction. You can scale to infinity. On the other hand, sometimes you want friction.

If you lead a group that allows anyone to join, for free, your group might be large, but it's not tight, it's not organized to make important change. Commitment slows things down in the short run, but ultimately aligns interests.

If your club still needs to submit dues, please do it today (or tomorrow). If you are using a credit or debit card, dues can be submitted by a club officer via www.Toastmasters.org. Just be sure to get them paid before the deadline of October 1st.

Toastmasters is about making "important change" and you can demonstrate your commitment to your personal development by paying your dues.

In other words, now is the time to "Put your money where your mouth is" !

A real spectacle... or Friday night at the Fall Conference?

A real spectacle.

via indexed by Jessica Hagy on 7/3/08

www.indexed.blogspot.com

"Give me speech... or give me death!"

We have all heard that people fear public speaking more than death... but a recent study reported at SixMinutes blog proves that the fear of public speaking is overrated !

The web comic xkcd has charted the number of deaths from numerous activities, but no public speaking deaths have been reported.

As I write this, Google searches demonstrate that public speaking is a non-life threatening activity. All of these return zero results:
“died in a public speaking accident”
“died in a speaking accident”
“died in a presentation accident”
“died in a PowerPoint accident”

Based on this "internet study" you can now breath easier at your next Toastmasters meeting !

Now, all you have to fear is fear itself !

Public Speaking techniques... in politics

Putting aside your political preferences, it is clear that the 2008 candidates for president are flexing their public speaking muscles....

Here Barack Obama uses repetition to inspire...




Here Hillary Clinton uses emotion to relate to her audience...



Any comments or other good public speaking examples of politicians that Toastmasters can learn from?

Click on the comments link below to tell us what you think or what you have learned from watching political speeches!

Career Advice & Speaking Skills ... Thoughts from a Cartoonist

Scott Adams, the cartoonist who makes the Dilbert Strip, had some Toastmaster-related career advice on his blog that I thought should be passed along ....

If you want an average successful life, it doesn’t take much planning. Just stay out of trouble, go to school, and apply for jobs you might like. But if you want something extraordinary, you have two paths:
1. Become the best at one specific thing.
2. Become very good (top 25%) at two or more things.

The first strategy is difficult to the point of near impossibility. Few people will ever play in the NBA or make a platinum album. I don’t recommend anyone even try.

The second strategy is fairly easy. Everyone has at least a few areas in which they could be in the top 25% with some effort.

Scott goes on to offer the following (Toastmaster-related) advice...

I always advise young people to become good public speakers (top 25%). Anyone can do it with practice. If you add that talent to any other, suddenly you’re the boss of the people who have only one skill.

Scott also adds...

At least one of the skills in your mixture should involve communication, either written or verbal. And it could be as simple as learning how to sell more effectively than 75% of the world. That’s one. Now add to that whatever your passion is, and you have two, because that’s the thing you’ll easily put enough energy into to reach the top 25%. If you have an aptitude for a third skill, perhaps business or public speaking, develop that too.

Sounds like great advice...

So Sign Up for Toastmasters IMMEDIATELY

(if you have not already done so) !

The "Battle of the Border" .... April 19th!

The Battle of the Border is ON !

The newly initiated Div.A Advanced Toastmasters club has reserved the (very large) "Dayton Room" at Ridgefield (CT) Library for a BIG EVENT on April 19th.

Click here for a copy of the event FLYER !

The Dayton Room at the Ridgefield Library has a raised platform and audio equipment that will be good practice for the winners of the Division A contests (prior to the District Contest in May). We expect to pull in the winners from Division D ( Southern CT) and even Division G of District 46 in WestChester County, NY and parts of NJ.

The agenda will be similar to a Toastmasters contest... with a few variations since it is NOT an official contest. It is simply a [tongue-in-cheek] grudge match between neighboring divisions in different districts!

In fact, it might end up being more like "American Idol" than a "normal" Toastmasters contest!!

Our "first pass" agenda looks like this....

Warm-up Section:
Toastmaster: Dave Wheeler, Division A Governor
Introduction of Timer, Ah Counter / Grammarian and Judges

Speakers:
Croix Sather, Tall Tales winner, Div.A (D53)
Tall Tales winner Div.D (D53)
Nana Danso, Intl. Winner, Div. A (D53)
Rob Ferrucci, Intl. 1st Runner-up, Div. A (D53)
Intl. Winner, Div.G (D46)
Intl. 1st Runner-up, Div. G (D46)
Intl. Winner, Div.D (D53)
Intl. 1st Runner-up, Div. D (D53)

alternate speakers (to fill any empty slots above if needed)
Jinghua Xu, Tall Tales 1st Runner-up, Div. A (D53)
[name?], Tall Tales club winner, BI Toastmasters (D53)
[send an email to Dave Wheeler at theshot92@gmail.com if you would like to be considered as an alternate speaker).

Panel of Judges:
Anne Swartout, Area A4 Governor (D53)
Mary Neff, Div.G Governor (D46)
Evaluation Contest Winner & Runner-up(D46)
Div.A Advanced Club members
Ah Counter/Grammarian
Timer

Voting for Best Overall Speech (and runner-up) will be made by audience choice and announced after the speakers have each had a brief evaluation / comments from the Judges.

TROPHIES will be awarded !!!!!!

Bring a guest and enjoy a great evening of entertainment !

Register now for 2007 Spring Summit

You are cordially invited to the District 53 Spring 2007
Leadership Summit: Leveraging Your Speaking Advantage
May 19, 2007
Sheraton Hartford Hotel
East Hartford, Connecticut

Join us for a jam-packed day of inspiration, networking, and knowledge infusion that will invigorate your passion, your direction and give you renewed vision you can begin using the following Monday morning.

We've designed the conference to provide real value in your personal lives by showing you how to leverage the advantage you have gained as a Toastmaster and applying it to your home, job and community.

Read the list of educational sessions to see what an uplifting and entertaining day it will be.
http://www.district53toastmasters.org/spr07EduSessions.pdf
http://www.district53toastmasters.org/spr07EduSpkrs.pdf

Then use the registration form to reserve your space in this limited event. Register before April 1st and get your 10% discount. Submit your registration today - this event is expected to sell out.

http://www.district53toastmasters.org/spr07registration.pdf

Due to the Sheraton's size, session rooms have limited seating and the hotel has a maximum attendance limit. Seating in each educational session is limited. Please rank your first and second choice. If we receive your registration after your first choice class is full, we will enroll you in your second choice.

Sincerely,

Rick Kominowski
Joyce Petteway Co Chairs - "District 53, Spring 2007, Leadership Summit"

March meeting of the Div.A Advanced TM Club

Here are all the details ... place, time and directions... for the upcoming meeting of the Div.A ADVANCED Toastmaster club ....

Place:
Ridgefield Public Library, in the "History Room"
472 Main Street, Ridgefield, CT 06877
click here for a map showing the location.
Directions are also available on the library's web site:
http://www.biblio.org/rdgfldpages/direct.htm+

Date/Time:
Thursday, March 22nd, 2007
7:15 to 8:45pm (please try to arrive at 7pm so we can start on time)

Please forward this email to any Advanced Toastmaster (ATM-B or AC-B or above) who might be interested ...

If you miss this meeting... Don't miss the BIG EVENT on April 19th! Local Division Contest winners (A&D) from District 53 will go "head to head" against the best of Div.G from District 46 (NY/NJ). We are calling it "The Battle of the Border" ! 7pm in the Dayton Room at the Ridgefield Library.

If you or anyone in the clubs in your area are not able to make this meeting, please send me an email expressing your interest. This information will also be posted on the Div.A blog, http://www.areaa4.blogspot.com/ so check there occasionally for updates.

Please pass this email along and let me know if there are any questions.

Thanks,

Dave Wheeler
Division A Governor, 2006-7
theshot92@gmail.com

Advanced Toastmasters club - Conference call "meeting"

Greetings Advanced Toastmasters !

We had a conference call meeting tonight at 8pm (if you missed it, send Dave Wheeler an email at theshot92@gmail.com and he can send you more info.)

Even though there was a potential "technical difficulty", it never materialized and the call went off without a hitch!

Here is the agenda for we used for the conference call ....

• Meeting time(s) / location(s)
• Eligibility (Advanced TM, others?)
• Charter membership fee ($75/yr)
• April 19th kickoff event ("Battle of the Border")
• Goals for the club - what do we want to get out of it?

If you missed the conference call, we will also be having a club meeting at the Ridgefield Library in the History Room next Thursday at 7:15pm. Unless we decide otherwise on the conference call, the next meeting will have at least one target speech that we can all view and then we will discuss "Advanced Evaluations".

Dave Wheeler

Division A Governor, 2006-7

Where is your mind(set)?

Is your mind set in concrete ... or is it a well oiled machine?
Are you as smart as you will ever get ... or do you get better every day?

These questions reveal more about your chances for success than you might imagine.

This article about psychology professor Carol Dweck explains the impact of mindset and, in particular, the "Fixed mindset" and the "Growth mindset".

In a nutshell, a person with a fixed mindset feels that talents are a given so you will either succeed or fail based on your inate abilities. If someone with a fixed mindset encounters an obstacle or a failure, they are most likely to give up since "it is obvious that they don't have the ability".

On the other hand, someone with a growth mindset sees everything as a learning experience. If they fail, it only means that they have not yet learned the skills required to succeed. It is not about inate ability... it is about where you are on the road to success.

The article about Dweck has a bunch of excellent examples and you will see that many of them related to child development (but aren't we all children on the inside?). For a graphical diagram that explains the difference between Fixed vs. Growth mindset, click here.

How does this apply to Toastmasters?
Did you join Toastmasters because you were already an excellent speaker (fixed mindset) or because you wanted to improve your speaking skills (growth mindset)?

Have you hit a plateau in your speaking... perhaps after achieving your CC or CTM? Are you starting to think you are as good as you are going to get (fixed mindset)? Or are you still finding ways to improve (growth mindset)?

What if you are really bad at something?
What if you are currently really bad at something?

See the difference in mindset between those two sentences?

How do you change your mindset?

First, read the article on Dweck. For "extra credit", check out Carol Dweck's new book, "Mindset, The New Psychology of Success". (see link in the right margin).

Second, tune into this blog for the next post which will help you develop your Mindset Muscle by making small changes you can leverage into larger changes.

2500+ ideas for Speeches ...

I came across this website, called "Speech Topics, Help and Ideas", when I was searching for other things ... and I just had to pass it along.

If you are looking for an idea for a speech or even some interesting TableTopics... this is the place ! Check it out... there are alot of great ideas !

Here are just the main sections of the Table of Contents ...

- Persuasive Speech Topics
- Informative Speech Topics
- 100 Process Speech Topics
- Good Speech Topics
- School Speech Topics
- Speech Class Topics
- Graduation Speech Topics
- 40 Narrative Speech Topics
- Interesting Speech Topics
- Special Occasion Topics
- Ceremonial Speech Topics
- Funny Speech Topics
- Entertaining Speech Topic Tutorial
- Commemorative Speech Topics
- 7 Guidelines for Funeral Speeches
- Wedding Speech Topics
- A Public Speaking Topic Fast
- Speech Writing Tip Top 10
- Speech Outline Examples - How To Outline Your Speech Topics
- Business Topics

The site is run by Jim A. Peterson, Staff Editor, and I would be very surprised if he has not been a Toastmaster at some point in his life !

Honor Roll for Div. A ....

Did you know that there is an "Honor Roll" that lists the member achievements for this Toastmaster year?

There is... and it is located on the Div. A section of the District 53 website (click here to see it).

How are they being recognized by their club? Their Area? Their Division?
Any ideas? Please leave a comment on this blog!

Dilbert cartoon humor ... that a Toastmaster would appreciate!

I saw this Dilbert cartoon and thought other Toastmasters would enjoy it ...

http://www.dilbert.com/comics/dilbert/archive/images/dilbert2007034072810.gif

I wonder if this is the first in a series of speaking-related Dilbert cartoons ???

Winners of Local Putnam speaks Contest

Susan Schefflein sends along the results for Putnam Speaks Toastmasters recent club contests...

Subject: Winners of local Putnam Speaks Contest
We had our local ontest last night.
The winner of the International Speech Contest was David Alexander ATMS. Runner up was Walter Beveridge DTM.

The winner of the Tall Tales was Nicholas Valhos, a new member to Toastmasters.

fyi: The area contest will be March 21: http://www.district53toastmasters.org/diva/calendarA.html

Conference Call for Advanced Club.... Thursday, 3/15 at 8pm

Since it may be difficult for some people to make the recent meetings of the Advanced Toastmaster Club we have organized (at the Ridgefield, CT Library), we are going to have an informational conference call for anyone who might be interested in becoming a CHARTER MEMBER of the Div. A Advanced Toastmasters Club.

The conference call service is free but the call-in number is long distance (South Dakota). I'm hoping that many people have either a cell phone or home phone that has free long distance so hopefully this won't be a big problem. We can cover the basics quickly right up front for those that don't want to run up their long distance bill.

If you would like to join in the conference call, please send us an email and we will send you the access code and telephone number !

Dave Wheeler, theshot92@gmail.com

NOTE: Our next meeting will be at the Ridgefield Library in the History Room on Thursday, March 22, 2007 at 7:15 - 8:45pm. We hope you can join us! The theme of this meeting will be "Developing Advanced Evaluation Techniques" and we may even have some target speeches on video.

BIG EVENT in Division A ... April 19th !

The Toastmasters "Battle of the Border !" has been scheduled !

Thursday, April 19th, 2007, 7:15-8:45pm
in the Dayton Room at the Ridgefield Library, 472 Main St., Ridgefield, CT,

Two divisions on the border between District 53 and District 46 will go "head to head" in an [unofficial] International Speech Contest for bragging rights on the CT/NY border.

This event will also kick off our Div. A Advanced Club by featuring contest winners from Div.A (D53) and Div.G (D46) as well as other award winning speakers. Div.D (D53) winners have also been invited to compete if they are interested since they also border District 46 (in Southern Fairfield County).

The Dayton room at the Ridgefield Libary holds 60 people, has audio/visual equipment and a raised stage so it will be excellent preparation for our Division contestants before they compete in the District contest in May.

If you will attend, please send us an email (it is a big room, but we hope fill it up !):
Div.A Governor, Dave Wheeler at theshot92@gmail.com or
Area A4 Governor, Anne Swartout at rebrokerct@aol.com.

Other Toastmaster blogs ...

It seems that other Toastmasters are blogging too ! Here are a few that you might find interesting:
www.ah-um-er.blogspot.com
Sara M, from Fitchburg, MA (USA). I especially love the name of the blog!

www.titusvilletoastmasters.org
This club uses a blog as their website and has a section for Podcasts or, as they call them, "Toastcasts". Cool!

www.atoastmastersjourney.blogspot.com
Bill Bishop, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
In his own words, Bill "is a former public speaking phobic who has recovered largely because of Toastmasters".

www.stevepavlina.com/blog/
Steve Pavlina is a professional blogger (and business owner) who lives in Las Vegas, Nevada USA. He blogs about all aspects of Personal Development and I often enjoy his posts. His wife, Erin Pavlina, is also a blogger (and psychic/medium) and both of them occasionally mention the impact that Toastmasters has on their lives.

www.buildingachampion.blogspot.com
Rich Hopkins, 3rd place last year at the World Championship of Public Speaking (in other words, he can still compete... watch out!)
Location: Spokane, Washington, US

Barnum Square Toastmasters - Speech Contest Results !

Speech Contest Season is underway ... and we have some results & pictures!

-----Original Message-----
From: Mark.Frohlinger
Subject: Barnum Square Toastmasters - Speech Contest Update

Our last meeting featured our local Speech Contest in preparation for the coming Spring 2007 Speech Contests for all Toastmaster Clubs and Areas in District 53.

All the contestants who participated performed exceptionally and their speeches were thoroughly enjoyable as well as motivating. Those who will present at the next level will proudly represent Barnum Square.

The following is a listing of who presented, the titles of their speech as well as in which realm they spoke. Also included, thanks to Gail and Phil Palermo are pictures taken during the meeting.

In the future, please consider participating in such a wonderful experience and enter a future contest. Thank you and enjoy your day and weekend to come.

Barnum Square Speech Contest Summary-

Tall Tales

Richard Smith KILLER - First Place

Pat Wilson-Perkins TRAUMA ROOM 2

Tom Shaw DAMNED NATION DAILY

International

Liz Smith FA BAFF - First Place

Gail Palermo ORDINARINESS

Dilbert on Toastmasters ....

Ever wonder how Dilbert, the famed comic hero (?) with the corporate lifestyle, would handle Toastmasters?

Well, check out how Scott Adams, the creator and writer of Dilbert, handles some of the unexpected events that occur during his appearances as a world-famous author !

click here to visit Scott's blog post

It looks like Scott would be a GREAT Tabletopics speaker !

Fwd: Talk up Toastmasters! with an Open House

From: Roger Brown, D53 Webmaster
Date: Feb 23, 2007 12:16 AM
Subject: Talk up Toastmasters! with an Open House

During the months of February and March we are asked to
Talk up Toastmasters!

"Talk Up Toastmasters!" is an annual membership contest and marketing event that encourages Toastmaster members to invite as many guests as possible to their club meetings. We want to help our guests discover the benefits of Toastmasters and at the same time, increase our club's membership.

As club leaders, we are asked to consider conducting an Open House (guest meeting) as a means to increase Club membership. Let's explore the concepts or activities that are part of successful Open House.

An Open House meeting is a regular Toastmaster meeting where:

• the meeting theme is the communication and leadership benefits of Toastmasters;
• the prepared speakers "Talk Up Toastmasters!" and demonstrate the objectives and benefits of manual speeches (from Ice Breaker to any Advanced speech project);
• the evaluators demonstrate the values of verbal evaluation and written feedback;
• the Toastmaster and Table Topic Master specifically discuss the benefits Toastmasters members receive as they participate in the prepared or impromptu program (as timer, grammarian, wordmaster, invocator, quizmaster, etc); and
• the General Evaluator (or the Club President) leads a brief Q&A session at the end of the meeting to handle any questions from the guests.

An Open House meeting doesn't "just happen." An Open House meeting requires planning and preparations before the doors are opened. Encourage every member to get involved in the Open House in some way, perhaps you can ask each member to join at least one committee (for this special Club event).

The Educational Program Committee , chaired by the VP Education, plans the Open House or "show case" meeting program. The committee focuses on the content of the meeting, what is going to happen from gavel to gavel. For example:

• select the speakers (balance your speaker selection from basic to advanced speakers);
• select experienced evaluators;
• select the Table Topic Master and select TT questions that fit the theme and lend to the demonstration or testimony of the value of the Toastmasters program;
• select Toastmaster and General Evaluator;
• set and print the "timed" agenda, promote the theme; and
• discuss the motivation and theme of the Open House meeting with all participants.

The Membership or Public Relations Committee , co-chaired by the VP Membership and VP Public Relations, fills the room with guests. The committee focuses on pre-event advertising or promotion of the Club's Open House event. Some possible tasks include:

• create bulletin board flyers or announcemnts;
• update club web page with event information;
• prepare and distribute press releases, public service or calendar event;
  Use the Sample Press Release for Club Open House [ word.doc acrobat.pdf ]
• encourage all to invite their colleagues, friends, and neighbors; and
• send a written invitation to guests who have visited in the past, yet have not joined.

The Social and Reception Committee , chaired by the Sgt. At Arms, assures that all guests feel welcomed and comfortable with the Toastmasters Club meeting environment. Tasks include:

• create guest information packets, something the guest can take home;
• provide name tags for guests (members should wear their CC, AC or DTM recognition badge or plain name tag);
• display guestbook and collect contact information from each attending guest;
• pair each guest with a Toastmaster member (Assist Sgt. At Arms);
• provide refreshments; and
• smile.

New members are the lifeblood of every club and without sufficient members your club has difficulty fulfilling its mission ... "to provide a mutually positive and supportive learning environment in which every member has the opportunity to pursue communication and leadership skills, which in turn foster self confidence and personal growth."

Membership building is a challenging yet rewarding task. By adding new members to your club you add new perspectives, personalities, and potential club officers/leaders. Can you use free resources for a membership building program? Check out the D53 On-line File Cabinet.

• TM Marketing Flyers (Club contributions)
• TM Marketing Kit Resources
• TM Public Relations Resources
• TI's Publicity and Promotion Handbook (Catalog No. 1140) Free Online

http://www.district53toastmasters.org/openhouse.html