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

TableTopics Strategies - using your head to speak on your feet

How can you be prepared to speak without preparation or warning?

Sounds like a classic "no win" situation doesn't it? Or at least an oxymoron.

But if you are a Toastmaster, then you know that there are a number of tactics that you can use as well as skills for impromptu speaking that can be developed.

The following material was presented to WestConn Toastmasters, Club 599, on Sept. 21, 2005 and is a "work-in-progress" (which means that you should not take my word for it, you should try it out and, of course, your comments and suggestions are highly encouraged).

As a Toastmaster district officer, I am not able to participate in the Fall Contests as a Contestant (I am participating as an organizer, contest master and in many other ways). The problem is that I REALLY enjoy the contest process. I find that I am able to stretch my speaking skills beyond their normal capabilities through competition and it is downright exhilarating to win ! (and a pretty exciting "learning experience" if you don't win).

So, instead of competing, I developed this workshop for TableTopic Strategies. The handout will be available on the web (click here for PDF version) and there are a number of references at the bottom of this page that are worth reading.

There are 4 things you need to be successful at TableTopics:
Strategy and Practice, Practice, Practice.

Regular Toastmasters meetings and contests take care of the practice, but there is very little training on the topic of strategy. If you have been with a Toastmaster club for any length of time you have probably learned the "basic" strategies ....
- The Freeze. Say next to nothing until the green light goes on and your time threshold is met.
- The Answer. Simply answer the question. (Usually this creates about two sentences and leaves about 45 seconds left to fill... see also "The Freeze")
- The Redirect. Simply answer another question more to your liking. (This makes it much easier, but for contests and in the true sense of TableTopics it is not usually very satisfying for the audience or the speaker.)

Sometimes you will see a speaker who has advanced beyond the basics. Usually these speakers are 1) well polished, upbeat and relaxed (good delivery on all their speeches - prepared or impromptu), 2) have a wide variety of experiences, knowledge or opinions at their fingertips (easily accessible for any question and 3) can weave a related story and/or make a relevant point based on the table topics question. These advanced speakers have 3 of the strongest tools in their "TableTopics Toolbox".

The key to impromptu speaking is preparation, not just practice. At this point, read through the handout and reference materials and focus on ideas that you want to add to your TableTopics Toolbox!

Handout:
Dave Wheeler's TableTopics Strategies

Reference Materials / Links:
http://www.indoindians.com/tips/survival.htm

Impromptu Strategies
courtesy of www.toastmastersbarrie.org (no longer on their site for some reason)

http://trl-toastmasters.org/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=267

Club level Contests progress ....

I've heard from a number of clubs in area A4 and it looks like the TableTopics contest will be well represented. A number of clubs are not submitting the full 2 contestants for the Humorous Speech Contest which means an easier road for those that do make it !

Also, Area A2 (who will be participating with us at the Area contest on Sept. 28th) sounds like they are sending a strong contingent to the contest!

It is shaping up to be a great Fall Contest season !

Speak UP!

Dave Wheeler
Area A4 Governor, 2005-6

It is official. Dues increase starting Oct.1

I was just informed that there is a dues increase starting Oct.1 for Toastmasters International. You can read more about the details at:
https://www.toastmasters.org/fupload/media/DuesIncreaseFAQ.pdf

or on the Toastmasters International Home page (scroll down for more info):
https://www.toastmasters.org/

I'm still getting more information, so as soon as I have all the details I will let you know.

(Please keep in mind the value that Toastmasters provides compared to any other alternative... and remind others in your clubs when the dues increase is announced.)

More info soon,

Dave Wheeler

Division A Officer Training Session - Fall 2005 !

Walter Beveridge displays club scheduler software after the Division A officer training session held August 24th in Carmel, NY.

Humorous Speech Contest - Rules & Judging

I've had some people ask about the rules for a Humorous Speech Contest, so I figured I would provide some links that I found useful. Let me know if there are any questions or if you see something that is incorrect.
Speak Up!
Dave Wheeler

Links for Humorous Speech Contest:

http://www.toastofchicago.org/hsrules.htm

http://www.d4tm.org/D4_Events/contest_forms/Humor_Contest_Rules.pdf

Sample Scoring Ballet for Humorous Speech (to give you some insight into how you will be judged):
http://www.district53toastmasters.org/ContestScoring.html#humorous


District 53 Overview of the Contest Schedules & other details:
http://www.district53toastmasters.org/contests.html

Checklists and other documents (useful for anyone running a contest):
http://www.toastmasters-d56.org/doccenter.asp?c=contests

LAST CHANCE Toastmasters Fall Officer Training (Area A4)

I spoke to Anne (President of Socially Speaking Toastmasters) and she has graciously agreed to host the "Last Chance" Fall Officers Training session tomorrow, Wed. August 31, at 8pm in the Brookfield Congregational Church*, Fellowship Hall. This is where Socially Speaking holds their regular meetings and they have agreed to a combined "officer training" / meeting format that should get everyone out by 9:30pm at the very latest.

This will also be an opportunity for some of us to visit another club and meet fellow toastmasters in the area while also picking up some ideas to make your club more fun and more interesting!

I'm looking forward to a great training session and I hope to see you there!

Best Regards,

Dave Wheeler

* Click HERE for a PDF document showing a MapQuest map of the meeting location. Free reader software can be downloaded at www.adobe.com if needed. Please let me know if there are any questions.

Division A Officer Training session successful !

Area A4 was well represented at the Division A Officer Training session by 4 officers from Barnum Square and 2 from WestConn. There were lots of great ideas thrown out at this meeting (and unfortunately I wrote them down on the flip chart and did not take them with me to post here).

We have until August 31st to train at least 4 officers from each club and I will make myself available to train clubs early next week if needed.
Speak UP!
Dave Wheeler
Toastmasters Area A4 Governor, 2005-6

Picture from TLI !

Bruce Cornwell with District 53 Governor Paul Young
at Toastmaster Leadership Institute
on Saturday, August 6, 2005

Successful TLI and another opportunity for Training

Toastmasters Leadership Institute was a success for those who attended Saturday August 6th.

I saw Cynthia Slater from Diversity USA and Bruce Cornwell of WestConn Toastmasters there and they both seemed to be enjoying the experience. In fact, Bruce met Paul Young, District 53 Governor 2005-6 and I will upload the picture to this blog soon.

If you missed this training opportunity, there is another one on Wed., August 24th at Guideposts. Hope to see you there!

Dave Wheeler

Free Web Site for Toastmaster clubs ....

If your club does not yet have a web site, you can get one for free through "FreeToastHost.com" (see link below):
http://www.freetoasthost.org/

WestConn Toastmaster has had a website for a number of years and have found that it provides a good impression of the club so that guests feel more comfortable about visiting.

I highly encourage clubs to think about a web site (especially since it is free) and I would be happy to work with you to make something you can be proud of !

Speak UP with Toastmasters!

Dave Wheeler
Toastmasters Area A4 Governor, 2005-6

Fall Contest Schedules - Table Topics & Humorous

Fall Toastmasters Speech Contests:
Contests: Table Topics & Humorous

Club Contests: (club deadline:Sept.20)

• WestConn, September 7
• Barnum Square, September 13
• Socially Speaking, TBD
• Diversity USA, TBD

Area A4 Contest: Wed. Sept. 28

• To be hosted by WestConn Toastmasters at the Wooster School in Danbury
• Schedule: President's Council Meeting 6pm, Contest Briefings 6:45pm, Contest7:30pm
• Combined with Area A2 since their clubs are in Danbury/Brewster area

Division A Contest: October 19

• To be hosted by WestConn Toastmasters at the Wooster School in Danbury
• Schedule: TBD (evening)

For planning purposes, here are some proposed dates for Spring contests as well as the deadlines for completion:
Spring Contests: Tall Tales & International
Club deadline: Mar.19
Area deadline: Apr. 8
Division deadline: Apr.29

This year is shaping up to be an exciting one for Toastmasters and I appreciate all the support I've been given !

Speak UP!

Dave Wheeler
Area A4 Governor

Comments Encouraged !!!

I'm not sure if anyone noticed that you can add comments to this blog ... by simply clicking on the comments link below each post.

Your comments can be read by other visitors and this way more ideas / suggestions can be explored among the group !

Dave Wheeler
Toastmasters Area A4 Governor, 2005-6

Re: Toastmasters Leadership Institute Tips

Arnie,

Thanks for the great ideas! I'm definitely looking forward to TLI on Saturday!

I've also posted your ideas on my Area A4 blog at www.areaA4.blogspot.com so that other Toastmasters can benefit from your suggestions.

See you on Saturday!

Dave Wheeler
Toastmasters District 53
Area A4 Governor, 2005-6

************************************************
In an email dated 4/8/2005, "Arnie Grot" writes:

Dave:
One of the things a club officer registering for Toastmasters Leadership Institute (TLI) said that would make her TLI experience a great one was "Leadership, Networking Examples and Opportunities."

Her request is one of the benefits of TLI on August 6 if you are open to it.

Toastmasters skills are built on practice. Training offers each member the opportunity to practice leading one very important person - yourself. I offer these two resources for your review to help you to build, practice and enhance your leadership and networking skills at TLI on Saturday.

Leadership -Prepare yourself to get the most from TLI by using this guide
Getting More Out of Toastmaster Conferences

Impromptu Networking (California Job Journal)
Tips on turning chance encounters into contacts.

It offers some networking tips that you can put to into practice networking at TLI.

A more in depth source on networking is "The Power of Meeting New People" by Debra Fine. I recommend reading it. There are many conversation leading questions that would make great Table Topics.

The best tip is to take the initiative and smile, say "Hi, my name is ___________" and extend your right hand in friendship and start conversations.

PLEASE WEAR YOUR TOASTMASTERS BADGE!

Minding the Gap to help train effective leaders in Toastmasters,

Arnie Grot, DTM
District 53 TLI Dean and Training Coordinator

Meeting Theme - PowerQuotes

Club 599's meeting theme on Wed., August 3rd, was "Power Quotes" and the following quotes were provided by the Toastmaster for the evening, Bala Krishnamurthy. They are also listed in the order of the meeting activities / roles so you can use the quotes as transitions for each part of the meeting.

Great work Bala !

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

Meeting Theme: The POWER QUOTE

Opening:
Dr. Joyce Brothers:
Listening, not imitation, may be the sincerest form of flattery.

'Flatter' guests

Role of the Timer:
Alan Lakein:
Time is equal to life; therefore, waste your time and waste of your life, or master your time and master your life.

Role of the Aah counter:
Oliver Wendell Holmes:
Speak clearly, if you speak at all; carve every word before you let it fall.

Role of the Grammarian:
Mark Twain:
The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and the lightening bug.

Role of the Table Topics Master:
Eden Phillpotts:
The universe is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper.

Role of the General Evaluator:
Martin Luther King, Jr.:
Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.

Introduce the Table topics Master:
William Blake:
In the universe, there are things that are known, and things that are unknown, and in between, there are doors.

TABLE TOPICS SECTION
Rabindranath Tagore:
You can't cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water.

Timer's report:
Josh Billings:
Time is like money, the less we have of it to spare the further we make it go.

Aah counter's report:
Dale Carnegie:
When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but creatures of emotion.

Grammarian's report:
Ray Bradbury:
We are cups, constantly and quietly being filled. The trick is, knowing how to tip ourselves over and let the beautiful stuff out.


----------------------------------------- break ------------------------------------------

Speaker 1:
Andrew Jackson:
Take time to deliberate; but when the time for action arrives, stop thinking and go in.

Speaker 2:
Lee Iacocca:
You can have brilliant ideas, but if you can't get them across, your ideas won't get you anywhere.

Speaker 3:
Stephen King:
The most important things are the hardest to say, because words diminish them.

Timer's report:
Michael Althsuler:
The bad news is time flies. The good news is you're the pilot.

Aah counter's report:
Larry King:
I remind myself every morning: Nothing I say this day will teach me anything. So if I'm going to learn, I must do it by listening.

Grammarian's report:
Jim Rohn:
Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishments.

Introduce the General Evaluator:
Winston Churchill:
Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.

EVALUATION SECTION
Oliver Wendell Holmes:
It is the province of knowledge to speak, and it is the privilege of wisdom to listen.

OTHER BUSINESS

Meeting Conclusion:
H. Jackson Brown:
Don't say you don't have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo Da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, Albert Einstein (and ToastMasters).

Toastmasters Smedley Award... PR opportunity

Area A4 Club Officers...

The email below from District 53 looks like something that might be of interest for your VP of public relations.

Let me know if there is anything that I can do to help (or if you would like to coordinate some PR between all the area clubs to get more publicity).

Best regards,
Dave Wheeler
Your Toastmasters Area A4 Governor 2005-6
blog: www.areaa4.blogspot.com

*******************************************************
Subj: Day One: Toastmaster's Smedley Award
Date: 1/8/2005 2:40:40 pm GMT Daylight time
From: Roger Brown rogerbrown@mac.com

Toastmasters Smedley Award.
The organization of the first Toastmasters club by Ralph C. Smedley in October 1924 did not make global – or even local – headlines. But your club can make Toastmasters’ anniversary a newsworthy event.

Commemorate the start of the first Toastmasters club by adding five new members to your club during the months of August and September, and your club will receive the commemorative Smedley Award banner ribbon to celebrate its success.

Then promote the occasion. Send a photo of your meeting (action shot, not staged) along with 250-500 words about your club and its upcoming events to local newspapers. Most community and business park newspapers welcome local news.

After the headlines, you’ll be surprised – guests will walk into your next meeting and apply for
membership.

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

Ideas for new Toastmasters Club(s) in Danbury Area

Below are a series of emails between Dave Wheeler and Edina Soboleski, former Area A4 Governor and member of Barnum Square Toastmasters, about some ideas for potential new Toastermasters clubs for Area A4 .

As with all "email strings", it is best if you start reading them from the bottom and work your way up, message by message.

***************************************************************************
From: Dave Wheeler Sent: Monday, July 25, 2005
To: "Edina Soboleski" Subject: Re: Toastmasters

Edina,
I'm not exactly sure how we would find a list of DTM, ATM-S & ATM-G, but I will see if I can get the information from the district and I will let you know what I find out!
Dave

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

In an email dated 7/25/2005, "Edina Soboleski" writes:

Dave, You can post it. I don't have a problem with ATM-S but I think that it has to be kept to a real tough standard because after you get your DTM there is not as much motivation but we still need to speak & be evaluated or we lose our skills.

Is there any way of determining how many DTM, ATM-G & ATM-S, we have in the area - not Toastmasters definition of area, a radius of x # of miles. It might be an opportunity to get old Toastmasters to return. I've been working on virtual Chapters in another association that I belong to for about 7 - 8 years. I think it's a great idea but I couldn't seem to get it off the ground. I couldn't find a large corp. who would support me with the technology.
Edina
Interim Service Executives
Source For Temporary Service Professionals

***************************************************************************
From: Dave Wheeler Sent: Monday, July 25, 2005
To: "Edina Soboleski" Subject: Re: Toastmasters

Edina,
Yes, I expect any new club would count toward the numbers (assuming it got over 20 members). Do you think there are enough ATM-G in the Danbury area to create a full-fledged club? Maybe if ATM-S were included ...as "probational members" perhaps... there could be a larger pool of potential members.

Another idea I've been kicking around (which may or may not be related) is to create a "virtual club" which would have [at least some of] their meetings via conference calls and web video hookups. This would help the members learn a new communication medium which is becoming more common in the corporate world.

I ran the virtual club idea past Toastmasters International (via Rich Couture, past District 53 governor) and they said that a club would still require [at least some form of] "in person" meetings. Our Division Governor this year (Karin) works for IBM so we might have some help with the technology.

I'm not sure if this idea overlaps with the ATM-G club idea, but it seems like both ideas could be most attractive to advanced toastmasters.

What do you think? Would you mind if I post your idea (via a transcript of this email) to my web log to see if we can get comments from others?
Best Regards,
Dave Wheeler

***************************************************************************
In an email dated 7/24/2005 "Edina Soboleski" writes:

Dave,
Does an advanced(name?) club count towards your numbers? There are a few of us who would like a club for ATM-G's, if we have enough in the Area. We talked about meeting monthly at the Holiday Inn in Danbury.
What do you think?
Edina
Interim Service Executives
Source For Temporary Service Professionals

The Leadership Vector (Toastmaster speech by DW)

I gave the speech on The Leadership Vector on July 6th and wrote about it on my other blog, Write On!, which is located here:
http://theshot92.blogspot.com/2005/07/leadership-vector.html

Hopefully this is of interest to my fellow Toastmasters !

Speak Up!

Dave Wheeler