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 !

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!

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" !

Slack Time... Toastmasters Time !

Seth Godin (one of my favorite bloggers) wrote an excellent post that finds a silver lining in the current economic situation...

A lot of corporations have seen dramatic decreases in revenue and have cut back projects as well. In many cases, this is accompanied by layoffs, and so everyone is working far harder.

But in other organizations, and for a lot of freelancers, there's more time than work. In other words, slack time.

Assume for a moment you don't have money to develop and launch something new. So, what are you going to do with the slack?

What can you build over the next year that will take time now and pay off later?

If you were laid off, you definitely will have some slack time. You can only look for work so many hours in a day... there will have to be some extra, if only in the time you would not have been commuting.

Seth suggestions two things...

1. Learn something. Become an expert.
2. Earn a following and reputation.

To these two things, I would add ... join Toastmasters !

Seth, as a speaker, you should know that 3 is the magic number ... and Toastmasters is where speakers practice their magic!

Sorry seems to be ....

Seth Godin, author of "Purple Cow" and "The Big Moo" (both of which were raffled off as prizes at the D53 Fall conference last weekend), has a good blog article with some tips for Toastmasters.

I was at a gala a few weeks ago (featuring no less than ten speakers). At least 80% of them began their talk by saying,
"I know you're hungry, but..."
or "I know it's late, but..."
or "I know you want to go home, but..." and then apologized for giving a speech.

If your speech needs to be prefaced by an apology...
don't give it.

That's why they call it giving a speech. It's a
gift. If you have to apologize, it's no longer a gift, is it?

The "vibe" for Fall '07 Leadership Summit....

I saw this blog post and I thought it applied to our upcoming Fall conference at the Fishkill Holiday Inn on Nov.3rd.
(from http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2007/06/the_vibe.html)

The vibe
Have you ever been at a banquet or in a boutique or at a concert or a meeting or a company where the vibe was incredibly positive?

I think you know what I mean. A time and place where there was an overflow of positive energy. You felt surrounded by possibility, or people who believed in you, or just felt like buying (or eating, or talking) a lot.

The vibe changes everything. It's a place you want to work, or a restaurant you want to come back to. .... If vibe is so important, why does it sound flaky to worry about it? Who's in charge of the vibe at your place? Could it be better? A lot better? Changing the vibe isn't always possible, but most of us rarely try. From physical layout to organization to what leaders say and do... it matters. Sometimes, it's all that matters.

We definitely want to "Set a New Standard" for the "vibe" of a Toastmasters conference !

I'm really looking forward to seeing what we can do to make the Fall '07 Leadership Summit the BEST ONE EVER !

GO [host division] A-Team !

Dave Wheeler
Div.A Governor, 2006-8

How to be a GREAT audience...!

Marketing Guru Seth Godin brings up an interesting idea in his recent post that can be applied directly to Toastmasters !

Seth points out (indirectly) that, as an audience member, you get out of an event exactly what you put into it ! How true is that !?!?

And it can apply to any other area of your life. In fact, Seth points out...

Great audiences not only get more energy and more insight and more focused answers to their questions, they also get better jobs and find better relationships. Because the skills and the attitude are exactly the same.

It is the same whether you are IN the audience or if you are GIVING the speech.... you get out of it exactly what you put into it !

Stretch your comfort zone... as a speaker, as a leader and even as an audience member !