Dilbert creator says "Toastmasters makes you happy !"

Well, he didn't really say that... but if you read between the lines (and, maybe if you are already a Toastmaster) you might get that message from his recent blog article about "Engineering Happiness".

Check out his article if you don't believe me !

Click here !

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!

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 !

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

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!

What are you doing with your Cognitive Surplus?

The video below introduced me to the concept of "Cognitive Surplus" and got me thinking... What am I doing (or going to do) with my own "Cognitive Surplus"?

In short, the gist of Clay Shirky's speech is this...

In the industrial revolution, people were drawn into cities; productivity created a boom in free time (vs. the old agrarian lifestyle) and the "opiate of the people" (to steal a concept from another historical figure)  was GIN (or at least it was for London, which Clay talks about).  The boom in free time (and time to think about things) is what Clay calls a "Cognitive Surplus" and in the industrial revolution it was eventually deployed by society in the form of libraries, schools and other institutions which helped society.

He goes on to point out that, [in the post world-war growth of mass media and business growth], productivity of our business systems has continued to grow and the replacement for GIN is television.  (specificically, according to Clay, TV sitcoms).

His question is ... how are we, as a society, going to use our growing "Cognitive Surplus" (instead of just watching more sitcoms on TV)?

Clearly, Toastmasters is a great choice and the good news is that you don't have to give up sitcoms "cold turkey".  There are now DVR's which will tape your shows and play them back (without commercials) so you can attend your evening Toastmasters meetings !

What are you going to do with your Cognitive Surplus ?

 

Toastmasters at Bridgeport (CT) Business Expo

A number of Toastmasters, led by Peggy Jean, President of Greater Bridgeport Toastmasters, worked at a Toastmasters booth at the Bridgeport Business Expo today (Feb.27th, 2009).

The event was well attended and plenty of potential Toastmasters stopped by the booth to learn more about what we do.

What really surprised me was the GREAT response we got at the Bridgeport Business Expo. It is hard to tell how many of the people we spoke with will become members, but it was definitely worth the time and effort.

The Toastmasters who worked at the booth got a chance to stretch their communication skills in many new ways since working a tradeshow booth requires many different types of communication.

You have to 1) be able to "break the ice" with someone walking by ("Have you heard of Toastmasters?" worked pretty well for me), 2) be able to explain Toastmasters quickly to someone who may not be interested (yet) and finally, 3) find out how Toastmasters can help them (through questions and your own knowledge of & experience with TM).

This type of interaction is not something that happens every day and certainly not in the volume that we saw in Bridgeport. Overall, it was an excellent experience and I would encourage other Toastmasters to try it themselves... just be sure to wear good shoes (the concrete floors are tough on the feet).

Some booths offered prizes to entice visitors to stop at their booths but we really did not have anything to offer in Bridgeport (not even candy) but we did pretty well even so. I've done many tradeshows and I think it does not hurt to have a prize.

On the other hand, you have to be careful not to rely on the prize to get people's contact information... it is better to actually talk to them and generate real interest. If you rely on the prize to get names, you end up with leads that are less likely to turn into guests and could end up wasting someone's time following up.

Pictures:

Top:
Peggy Jean (behind the Bridgeport Mayor's Lecturn)

2nd from Top:
Mayor Bill Finch drew a good crowd for his brief (encouraging) comments.

3rd from Top:
District 53 Governor, Karin von Kaenel along with Peggy Jean at the Toastmasters booth. (This was before the expo got started since the crowds made it difficult to move after a while.)

4th from top:
Dave Wheeler, D53 Lt.Gov.-Marketing, at the Mayor's Lectern... which just only goes to prove that if you set up a microphone and a lecturn... a Toastmaster will find it !

Below:
The representative of CT's Governor reads the announcement from the governor. D53's former PRO, De Boone, also was helping out the organizers of the event and is seen in the white shirt to the right side of the lecturn !

D53 Toastmasters are EVERYWHERE !

What is your THEME?

Have you ever wondered how strong the theme was in your speech?

Well, here is a tool that might be able to help...

At Wordle.net you can copy/paste the text of your speech and the site will create a "Word Cloud" (also sometimes called a "Tag Cloud") based on the the frequency of each word.

Here is a cloud for the speech given by Dave Wheeler, D53 LGM, at the District 53 Kickoff event last Saturday (also known as the "Jan Jam").

Can you guess what his speech was about?

How can we encourage more CCs?

On a recent conference call the question was asked,
"How do we encourage members to complete their CC's (Competent Communicator award)?".

Karin von Kaenel, our District Governor, responded with a reference to an article one of our past International Presidents, Dilip A., wrote entitled "Twelve Ways To Encourage Members To Present Manual Speeches".

Please visit his website at http://www.drdilip.com/toastmaster_tips.html and you will see the article there.

Of course, the other option is to run a speech-a-thon which I'm suggesting all AGs try now in January, again in April and in June.

Please let me know if you have any questions, suggestions and, of course, great results!!

Thank you for your help in making sure members are experiencing growth opportunities.

Marsha Kiley

D53 LGET, 2008-9

How can we also boost membership with Speech-a-thons?

• Promote them as special events (which they are) and invite the general public.
• Invite a local politician or celebrity as the keynote speaker (and publicize the event).
• If you can't get someone famous, you could invite one of the senior team to speak. (We are all working on CC's too!)
• Use it as a "Toastmasters rally" for multiple clubs in an area. (The added enthusiasm will pump up all club meetings that follow.)
• Include a manual speech about membership building, mentoring or some other Toastmasters topic so attendees take home some club building information.
• Think of 3 more ways to boost membership through a Speech-a-thon. (I know you can do it!)

Any upcoming special scheduling opportunities?
There are a bunch of clubs that meet on Wednesday nights (either the 1st & 3rd or 2nd & 4th Wed.) and there are months that have FIVE Wednesdays (e.g. April). This means there is an extra meeting opportunity ... or the perfect time for a Speech-a-thon !

How many speechathons can we have on April 29th? It will be the week after the Spring conference and it could be a great time maintain the momentum and excitement from the conference!

Happy Toastmastering in 2009 !

Dave Wheeler
D53 LGM, 2008-9

Be The Change You Want To See!
http://www.district53toastmasters.org/

Interview with Jana Barnhill by HR Mgmt. Assoc.

When Toastmasters International President, Jana Barnhill, visited District 53 in October 2008, she was interviewed by Michael Stone, Board member of the HR Management Association of Western New England.

That interview is now available on the web:

(click here)

Happy Holidays!

(Special thanks to our District Governor, Karin von Kaenel, who sent out a notice to tell us that the audio file was available.)

Want to challenge and improve your communication skills? ... even more than TableTopics?

Have you ever thought how sales skills could expand your career options? Have you ever wondered what it is like to Sell?

Well, you have your chance to find out ... in a supportive Toastmasters environment.

On Tuesday, Nov. 4th, there will be a workshop called...

"Sales Communication Skills for Toastmasters" !

It will be held from 9am-12noon at Marist College, in the Lowell Thomas Communications Center, rm.125
3399 North Road, Poughkeepsie, NY 12601.

Anyone who is interested should send me an email to sign up.

What is the workshop going to cover? Click here to find out.

What is the agenda? click here.

If you would like to move beyond TableTopics, perhaps it is time that you stepped up to Sales Communication Skills !

If you want to be more persuasive in business ... or in your personal life... this is for you!

There are less than 20 spaces and they will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Send me an email now. If you are on the Yahoo Group... do not "reply all". Send the email directly to me at the address below.

See you there !

Dave Wheeler

D53 LGM, 2008-9

Be The Change You Want To See !

email: theshot92@gmail.com

P.S. Please pass this along to anyone with our district who might like to attend.

Happy 84th Birthday Toastmasters International

From: Cavanaugh, Brian
Date: Oct 22, 2008 9:22 AM
Subject: Happy 84th Birthday Toastmasters International

Greetings District 53,

Happy 84^th Birthday Toastmasters International!

On Wed. Oct. 22, 1924, Dr. Ralph C. Smedley founded Toastmasters
at the YMCA in Santa Ana, CA.

Quick Quote

"If I went back to college again, I'd concentrate on two areas: learning to write and to speak before an audience. Nothing in life is more important than the ability to communicate effectively." - Gerald R. Ford

Source: http://www.famousquotes.com/

Media Mixer Meeting concept

I was reading an interesting book called "Can We Do That?! Outrageous PR Stunts That Work--And Why Your Company Needs Them" by Peter Shankman and it gave me an idea to help promote Toastmasters ...

In the book, Peter talks about "adding value" and "being a resource" for a reporter before you ask them to write an article about you or your client.

One of the ways that he suggests to do that is to offer your expertise.

He has a great letter in the book where he states all the different things that he or his clients have done to show the scope of connections that he has and how it might be of value to a reporter.

Here is the idea for Toastmasters.... What if the VP-PR for a Toastmasters club invited a specific reporter (or other media contacts) to a "Media Mixer" event (i.e. a Toastmasters meeting) where the theme of the meeting is designed to showcase the experience and interests of all the Toastmasters members?

Obviously the reporter would see a Toastmasters meeting in action but they would also be introduced to a wide range of very interesting people who could give them material for many, many articles in the future.


The side benefit... Toastmasters would likely be mentioned in any of the stories that were printed or aired.

It probably would not hurt to have some good food and other incentives (like a REAL nice invitation with a personal follow up telephone call) to get the reporter(s) to the meeting, but it could plant some good publicity seeds... plus it would create personal connections between the Toastmasters club and someone in the media.

What do you think?

Leave a comment below !

Indexed ... for Toastmasters!

I have been reading Jessica Hagy's blog (or series of drawings) called "Indexed" for quite a while but today is the first time that she had something related to speaking that I could share with my fellow Toastmasters.

If you go to her blog site, I think you will get a kick out of her unique way of looking at things (and delivering them through charts).

Fwd: Tax Filing Reminder for All US Clubs

From: Toastmasters International
Date: Apr 15, 2008 8:26 AM
Subject: Tax Filing Reminder for All US Clubs
The May 15th deadline for filing the 990-N Electronic Postcard is fast approaching!

To help with the filing process, we have put together a set of detailed instructions to help you. Before beginning the filing, please print the instructions and read them carefully.

Note that some clubs will not be able to complete the process of filing the 990-N until after June 30th because the club's year end is not December 31st.
Step 2 of the detailed instructions explains what to do if this occurs.
Email any questions to IRSquestions@toastmasters.org
Toastmasters International 23182 Arroyo Vista Rancho Santa Margarita CA 92688

Happy "HR Day" on April 9th !

From: Marsha Kiley
Date: Tuesday, April 08, 2008
To: District 53 Toastmasters
Subject:
Happy "HR Day" on April 9th !

Greetings !

District 53 Toastmasters has declared Wednesday, April 9th, as "Human Resource Professionals Day" and we have created a special page on our District website specifically for HR Professionals. It has links to several web-based resources as well as articles and case studies showing how Toastmasters can help them develop communication and leadership skills within their company.

The web page, http://www.district53toastmasters.org/HR-web-resource.html, has more information about HR Day.

Please pass along this message in an email to any HR Professionals you know. It will renew your connections within your business network and is an easy way to introduce them to Toastmasters !

Happy HR Day !

Marsha Kiley
District 53 Lt.Gov.Marketing, 2007-8

Cartoon above is © 2008 by Randy Glasbergen, displayed with special permission from http://www.glasbergen.com/

Toastmasters & Evaluations ....

One of the great parts of Toastmasters is the feedback you get on your speeches. Another is the encouraging atmosphere that makes it easy to try out and develop new skills.

As A.L.Williams once said, "Before you can be great, you have to be good. Before you can be good, you have to be bad. Before you can be bad, you have to try." It all begins with getting up there and trying and not being perfect and learning from the experience.

The cartoon to the right is an excerpt from the full Dilbert cartoon (click here)... and I thought it captured the spirit of helpful evaluations & suggestions that you get at Toastmasters. (The only part that is missing are the "motion marks" around Dogbert's tail to show that he is happy to give advice!)

On a more serious note... there have been some great posts at a blog called "Six Minutes"...

Speech Analysis Series: Modified Sandwich Technique for Evaluations

• The Basic Sandwich Technique for Evaluations
• Weaknesses of the Basic Sandwich Technique
• A Modified Sandwich Technique
• The Whitewash Evaluation
• The False Praise Evaluation
• The All-Criticism Evaluation
• The Narrow Evaluation
• The Layered Evaluation

Speech Analysis Series: Evaluation Forms, Tools, and Resources

• Speech Evaluation Form
• Why this speech evaluation tool may work for you…
• An alternate speech evaluation template…
• Critiquing a Speech: Advice from the Blogosphere and Beyond

Speech Analysis Series: Toastmasters Evaluation Contests

• How a Toastmasters Evaluation Contest Works
• Why You Should Attend a Toastmasters Evaluation Contest
• Why You Should be a Toastmasters Evaluation Contest Test Speaker
• Why You Should Compete in a Toastmasters Evaluation Contest
• How to Win a Toastmasters Evaluation Contest

Evaluations are an important part of the "Toastmasters experience" and the better each of us is at giving evaluation, the better evaluations we can give and more everyone will learn about public speaking !

Note: The Fall 2008 Contests in District 53 are Evaluations and Humorous ... so it is not too early to start developing your evaluation skills!

Steve Jobs... Toastmaster demonstrator!

Steve Jobs is famous for his incredible presentations at the MacWorld tradeshows. In past years he has used the stage to introduce such legendary products as the iPod and the iPhone and this year he introduced the "macbook air" notebook computer.

That is all very nice to know... but from a Toastmasters perspective, what can we learn from his recent presentation?


First off...
He was very well organized. He even numbered the key points he was going to make and told everyone up front that there were only four of them. (I know... 3 is the magic number for speeches, but we will try to cut Steve some slack.)




Next, he had good gestures. On a big stage it is important that your gestures are big enough for the audience to see. Steve did OK here... not exactly a Tall Tales contest speech, but, again, we will cut him some slack.





How about Props? This is where Steve really shined! What could be better than a standard inter-office mailing envelope to give everyone an idea of the size of the new macbook air? Everyone, even people in the back row could recognize this type of envelope... and I'm sure they were all hoping that there would be such an envelope (with a macbook air notebook enclosed) with their name on it!

Area of Improvement?
Every speech has something that can be improved and I'm sure many of you noticed that Steve Jobs thanked the audience in one of the pictures (shown in the following post).

The general Toastmasters wisdom is that you do not end your speech with a Thank You since your speech should have value to the audience and, in essence, they should be thankful that you gave it. On the other hand, Steve Jobs used the Thanks. section to build rapport with the audience... which means that maybe it was OK. We can cut him some slack.

Media Reaction....
Of course there were others who did NOT cut Steve any slack. Here is a excerpt from Presentation Zen blog....

Macobserver reported that Jobs's keynote Tuesday in San Francisco was not one of his "expectation-shattering presentations." They quoted Your Mac Life host Shawn King saying that "Jobs's performance seemed a little off." But as a commenter on the website said "...if Jobs had announced contact with an alien civilization, it wouldn't have 'shattered expectations.'"

In conclusion, it is clear that Steve Jobs intended to demonstrate his Toastmasters skills through his presentation... and, by the way, he introduced a couple new Apple products.

I'm sure we all look forward to his next speech in the Toastmasters manual!

EXTRA BONUS:
If you would like to see his 90 minute keynote speech condensed into 60 seconds... check it out below.