Have you seen the video?

Forward this link to others who have not yet seen the video....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5KMmQStQio

Division E Contest Pix !

Division E contestants from both the Evaluation Contest and the Humorous Speech Contest on Sept. 25th, 2008.


Front row (l-r):
Suzanna Opper
Allura Adelson


Back row (l-r):
Martha LaCroix
Tom Southard

Michelle DeDominicis
Robert Ribist
Mike Finn






ContestMaster Richard Peck, presents the first place trophy to Robert Ribist!

Division B Evaluation and Humorous Contest Results

The results of the 2008 Division B Evaluation and Humorous Speech Contest !

Congratulation to the participants:

Evaluation Contestants
B1 Bob Kirkendall
B2 Stacey Bridgewater
B3 Joe Soucie
B4 Wadia Cowell
B5 Arnold S. Grot

Humorous Contestants
B1 Bob Kirkendall
B2 Steve Barrett
B4 Matt Weston
B5 Michael Aron

Especially to our winners!!!!

Division B Evaluation Speech Contest:
Winner: Bob Kirkendall
1st runner-up: Stacey Bridgewater
2nd runner-up: Arnie Grot

Division B Humorous Speech Contest:
Winner: Mike Aron
1st runner-up: Steve Barrett

A special thanks to:
Aetna, Life & Casualty #3610 for hosting the Division B contest
To Lorie McGee SAA and Sharon Ofori President for all their hard work
To the best Contest Master- Norm Thibodeau!
An excellent target speech by Alyssa "Minervini" Brown
All the contestants for making this an exciting and fun contest!
All the volunteers who helped judge, time, and count; Peggy, Bonnie, Bette, Sid, Bonnie, Calvin, Yvonne, Kevin Finn, Michael O'Brien. And to and Bill Sweeney for your assistance
My fellow district officers - Karin, Marsha, Paul, Rich, Ray, Norm, Doug and Ute for your support and energy.
And to all the members and guests who support the event!

Hope to see everyone at the District 53 Humorous and Evaluation Contests on October 11th, 2008 @ the District 53 Conference in Trumbull, CT. For information on the district 53 conference, visit the District 53 Website.

Thank you so much for making this a successful event!

Judith M. Chambers
Division B Governor, 2008 - 09
District 53, Toastmasters International

Div.D Contest Pix !

Division D Evaluation contest ...
(l-r) RoZanne Ho, Geoff Thomas, David Moore, Caryn Vincent.



Division D Humorous Speech contest ...
(l-r) Marda Gutierrez, Ankit Thakkar, Bill Miranda, Ro-Zanne Ho, Brett Middleton

Brian Cavanaugh performs his "Fall Conference Sing-along" for the Division D contestants and audience.

Division A Contest winners !

Names for these pictures will be added soon... We just wanted to get them on the blog as soon as possible !

Introduce the Elephant !

At the beginning of his "Last Lecture", Randy Pausch said, "If there is an elephant in the room, introduce him!"

The "elephant" in Randy's case was that most of the audience knew that he was dying of pancreatic cancer and was given only 3-6 months to live by his doctors. (He went on to live 18 months.)

The "Elephant" in many Toastmasters clubs right now is the unsettling state of the economy and the potential impact it could have on the finances of members.

As the October 1st dues renewal deadline is fast approaching, many members are probably asking themselves...
"Should I renew my Toastmasters membership?"

Well, let's say HI ! to the elephant and see what he has to say ....

First, do you remember the last time there was a recession in the US economy? Did it last forever? No. It turned around. The economy goes in cycles and while there is plenty of "gloom & doom" in the news right now, things will improve.

[Elephants are renowned for having a very long memory.]

Given the current conditions, when is the best time to improve your skills and become more competitive in the job market? Does it make sense to wait until a layoff to improve your communication and leadership skills?

Now is the time to re-dedicate yourself to achieving your CC, AC, CL or AL. Set some goals for the coming year and you will be in a stronger position no matter what happens to the economy !

[Elephants are all about strength.]

Toastmasters is the perfect place to develop new abilities ... if you are not limited by your thinking. Henry Ford once said, "If you think you can or you think you can't, you are right." Don't fall into the trap of thinking, "I can't do a speech this month... it has been too long...I'll just do a few table topics and hang out at the meetings." Push yourself and learn by doing !

[Did you know that elephants in the circus are kept in one place by a tiny rope tied to a small stake in the ground. The elephant could easily pull out the stake but they are trained from a young age to accept the idea that they cannot escape. Learn from an elephant and don't let your thinking tie you down!]

We all know that Toastmasters is incredibly cost effective when compared to other forms of schooling or training. Many people probably spend more on coffee than they do on personal development ... are you one of those people?

[Elephants are also very frugal with their money.
I'll bet you did not know that.]

Congratulations... you now have been introduced to the elephant in the room.

Don't let your goals (or your fellow members) be trampled by an elephant when it becomes time to send in their dues!

We all need to be a part of Toastmasters ... now more than ever!

Posted by your friendly neighborhood D53 pachyderm expert!

Multiple World Champions at Adv.TM meeting Thurs.9/25 at Ridgefield (CT) Library, 7:30pm

Attention Advanced Toastmasters !

When you read the headline above, I'm sure you said to yourself, "There must be a catch. Multiple World Champions don't just show up at a Toastmasters club's meeting."

There WILL be World Champions of Public Speaking at the meeting this Thursday ....

.... on DVD.

Now, before you dismiss this opportunity, let me tell you what we are going to do . . .

As a club, we will be watching the winning speeches by multiple world champions of public speaking and evaluating them using the methods we use for our own Advanced members.

Do you think that the world champions did nothing wrong and that was how they became champions? Not necessarily. Do you think they did some things EXTREMELY well and that helped them to become world champions? Probably. In either case, their performances have something to teach us !

FREE SAMPLE !!! Click here to see a small sample of Ed Tate, World Champion of Public Speaking. What do you think he did well? What could he have done better?

Join us on Thursday, 9/25 at DiversityUSA Advanced Toastmasters in the "History Room" at the Ridgefield Public Library starting at 7:30pm. Guests are welcome !

Ridgefield library is located at 472 Main Street, Ridgefield, CT 06877
click here for a map showing the location. Directions are available on the library's web site: http://www.biblio.org/rdgfldpages/direct.htmÂ

Please pass this invitation along to any Toastmaster who has achieved their CC or Advanced Communicator awards. We would love to have them attend a meeting and learn about opportunities for growth through DiversityUSA Advanced Toastmasters Club.

Posted by Dave Wheeler

President, DiversityUSA Advanced Toastmasters, 2008-9

District 53 LGM, 2008-9

theshot92@gmail.com

860-309-0070 (cell)

UPcoming meeting dates: 4th Thurs. of each month

Photo of Darren courtesy of http://www.richesinniches.com/book/

We have a new survey >>>>>>

In anticipation of the upcoming Fall Conference, we have created a new survey.

Check it out ... over there in the right margin....>>>>>>>>>

Please submit your votes by filling in the "check boxes" in the table on the right and hitting the "Submit" link at the bottom!

Sales Communication Skills ...for Toastmasters

In a previous post, the concept of a Sales Communication Skills (SCS) Workshop was presented.
(click here to read more about it).


Below is an overview / agenda of the SCS workshop.

Intro (2-3 min.)
- basic housekeeping
- agenda / goals
- introduce trainers

The importance of Sales (3-5 min., motivational)
- Role of Sales in business and other organizations
- Personal selling & persuasion
- Motivation (Why are you doing this?)

Product Knowledge (Why is it worth selling?) (8-10 min., Exercise / Presentations 30 min.)
- Features vs. Benefits
- Exercise... what are you selling about Toastmasters? Develop 1 min. Elevator Speech (in pairs)
- Present TM Elevator Speech

Lead Generation / Keeping the pipeline full (8-10 min., Exercise 30 min.)
- Advertising / Web marketing
- PR
- Networking
- Research
- Exercise... Research companies in D53 that are good candidates for TM.
- Review results of exercise

[ Break ] 10 min.

Questioning / Listening (8-10 min., Exercise 30 min.)
- Uncovering needs
- Exercise... (Role play sales calls to companies re: TM), handouts with predetermined "needs"
- Group feedback from exercise

Gaining Customer Commitment and Follow-Through
(Speaker 10-15 min., Exercise 40 min.)
- "Closing" questions (3 best)- Overcoming objections
- Persistent follow up
- Exercise... (Actual sales calls to companies re: TM)
- Group feedback & follow-up action steps

Wrap-up. Group Feedback on overall program. (15 min.)



Total Time: 2:34 - 2:48... realistically around 3 hours.
The larger the group, the longer it will take to get through all the exercises, participant presentations and feedback sessions. Current estimates based on a group of approximately 10-20 people.


Networking Opportunities:

Since the whole workshop is targeted to be done by lunchtime, it is theoretically possible (assuming the instructors are in a good mood) that they could take attendees out to lunch ! How about McDonald's if at least one demo meeting is scheduled ... or a nice sit-down restaurant if they schedule 4 or more demo meetings?

We are still trying to find a location where the workshop could be held. It would be ideal if we had computer / internet access. We assume we will have telephone access since most people have cell phones (if there is cell coverage). Since many of the exercises involve calling actual companies, the workshop would need to be on a weekday, probably 9-12.

We are also looking for experienced Sales people (or Sales trainers) that might want to 1) serve as "Sales Advisors" to the whole process of developing the workshop or 2) Present a segment as part of the workshop.

If you are interested in attending or presenting or just have suggestions, please contact District 53's Lt.Gov.-Marketing, Dave Wheeler at theshot92 [at] gmail.com.

What's your club's "rituals"?

A recent article by Jackie Huba (click here) about the importance of rituals for die-hard Pittsburgh Steelers fans in cities outside of Pittsburgh got me thinking about whether or not there were any rituals within Toastmasters that added to the experience of a meeting.

Jackie points out...

Rituals are the code of ceremonies observed by an organization. They are the shared experiences of a group. They create emotional glue. To an outsider, a ritual can be weird, wacky or just plain stupid. To people inside the organization, they may be metaphors for life, death, or renewal. For never-say-die Steelers fans, rituals can symbolize all of the above.

She also provides some fun examples ...

... at the Chicago Steelers bar (and others I've visited), the rituals were abundant:

• A live polka band playing the Steelers' fight song after scores


• Wiping one's feet on an opponent's jersey at the front entrance


• A gregarious fan leading the crowed in the "Here We Go
  Steelers" chant before crucial 3rd downs


• A ready supply of Terrible Towels to wave when the team makes a great play


• The wearing of Steelers jerseys, t-shirts, hats, earrings, etc.


• Serving Iron City beer (a Pittsburghian brew)


• Reserved tables for regulars


• Tailgating in the bar parking lot before games, just like at
  home

Does your Toastmasters club have any rituals?

Perhaps all the club officers make it a point to talk to guests and ask them what brought them to Toastmasters.

Then if the Toastmaster introduces the guests during the meeting and asks them "what brought them to Toastmasters" it gives the guest a chance to speak in front of the club (after having practiced their response before the meeting when all the club officers asked the same question).

In one of my clubs, we always ask if anyone has had a "public speaking success outside of the club". We feel that this is important because Toastmasters is about developing skills in a supportive environment, but the acid test is when you apply your skills in the "real world" !

What rituals could your club develop to boost the excitement of each meeting?

Have you heard about a new ritual that will be started at the Fall 2008 District 53 conference?

It is being called "The Parade of Banners" and if you saw the opening ceremonies of the Olympics... well, you have not seen anything until you have seen the D53 Parade of Banners !

Clubs are encouraged to bring their (full size) club banner and nominate someone (who will be at the conference) to carry your club banner in the Parade. Don't worry if your club does not have a full size banner... contact Mike Aron, Chairperson for the Parade of Banners, for alternative ideas.

Will this become a ritual for District 53?

Come to the Fall conference and find out.

As Jackie's article summarizes...

... it's repetition of rituals combined with emotional subtext that creates meaning. People will tell their friends and family about the rituals they experience when the context is right. That just leaves it up to an organization being open and brave enough to establish and follow rituals that's difficult...

As the District theme says ... Be The Change You Want To See !

... and build the rituals that will take your club to a new level !

Announcement: Division A Contest

From: Alison Easton
Date: Sep 12, 2008 4:12 PM
Announcement: Division A Contest

Dear Fellow Toastmasters!

The Division A district officer team and West Conn Toastmasters cordially invites you to the Division A Humorous and Evaluation Contest!

When: Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Time: 7:30pm – 10:00pm
Where: Wooster School library
91 Miry Brook Road
Danbury, CT 06810
All contestants please RSVP by Monday, September 22nd to Alison Easton

Google Location Link:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&t=h&msa=0&msid=101768772676331454250.0004563ae1d5d03f06a02&ll=41.369168,-73.495992&spn=0.005507,0.013486&z=17

Contestants & participants (judges, timers, counters, etc) should arrive by 7:00pm for briefings.
Light refreshments will be served and there will be a silent auction of TM goodies to help defray the cost of the room.

Please contact Alison Easton, Division A Governor or Anne Swartout, President of WestConn Toastmasters if you would like to be a judge, timer, counter for the contest.

Humorous Speech Contestants:

A1 Winner -- Derek McGee, Poughkeepsie Area Chamber Toastmasters, club 4396
A1 1st runner-up -- Maureen Creagan, The Bureaucrats Toastmasters, club 790849

A2 Winner -- Jose Hernandez, IBM Poughkeepsie Speechmakers Toastmasters, club 315
A2 1st runner-up -- Patrick Meaney, IBM Poughkeepsie Speechmakers Toastmasters, club 315

A3 Winner -- Louis Ruidisch, Henry Hudson Club #4507
A3 1st runner-up -- Louise Messina, Henry Hudson Club #4507

A4 Winner -- Dan Rapley, Wooster Heights Toastmasters club 9685
A4 1st runner-up -- Pete Lane, Socially Speaking Toastmasters club 4720

Evaluation Speech Contestants:

A1 Winner -- Richard Basener, Poughkeepsie Area Chamber Toastmasters, club 4396

A2 Winner -- Bob Cohn, Putnam Speaks Toastmasters, club 4839
A2 1st runner-up -- Patrick Meaney, IBM Poughkeepsie Speechmakers Toastmasters, club 315

A3 Winner -- Patricia Hendrickson, Catskill Club #9542
A3 1st runner-up -- Carole Hurst, Orange County Club #9315

A4 Winner -- Kevin Wortman, WestConn Toastmasters club 599
A4 1st runner-up -- John Tepedino, Barnum Square Toastmasters club 1701

Thank you! Any questions, please let me know.

Alison Easton
Division A Governor - District 53

Sales Communication Skills ...for Toastmasters

"Sales is like TableTopics ...
... just more challenging!"
- D53 Public Relations Officer, Angela Lussier

Have you ever thought that your business would improve if you developed Sales Communication Skills?

Would your career get a boost if you could sell your ideas inside or outside your company?

Sales4TM Workshop

District 53 is developing an "Introduction to Sales Skills for Toastmasters" and we are hoping to schedule it in October (or November) at the latest. It will be scheduled on a weekday for about 3 hours, probably in the morning.

The Basics
This workshop starts out by covering the basic building blocks of Selling & Persuasive Communication and will take your existing Toastmasters knowledge and speaking skills to a whole new level.

Why Sales?

We will address why [the function of] Sales is necessary for a successful organization as well as the preconceptions and myths surrounding Sales.

Hands-On Training

Attendees will participate in a series of exercises where you will do actual research (lead generation), develop a sales script and make actual calls to actual prospects (for corporate TM clubs). Each exercise will include feedback plus ideas to help overcome future challenges (e.g. mindset, systems,etc.)

If you are interested in learning more about this event, please send an email to Dave Wheeler, D53 LGM.

Dave's email address is theshot92 [at] gmail.com. If you would like to take a larger role in the workshop (organizer, presenter, coordinator), please let Dave know as well.

A Gavel that fits in an envelope....

I found this neat "gavel" via a post by Neatorama blog and while they call it a "mallet", it looks alot like something that Toastmasters could put to good use !

The cost (on the vertdesign.com website) is $40 and they have a bunch of other very interesting products as well..

I wonder how many people would be able to make it into a mallet / gavel if they did not have directions? Sounds like a neat puzzle for the Toastmaster on your Gift List!

Taking on [Tabletopic] Questions

Two recent articles (1) (2)by Scott Ginsberg, "The Name Tag Guy" or "Mr.Approachability", provided some great hints that you could use in your next meeting during Table Topics.

Here are his 10 ideas for responding to questions ...

1. “Well, there are a couple of answers to that question.”

2. “Well, that depends on how you define the word ‘x.’”

3. Word distinction ... between two commonly confused or misused words.

4. Pause.

5. “Well, let’s take that in pieces...”

6. Reverse the question.

7. “You know, I’d really have to think about that.”

8. "It doesn’t matter.”

9. “OK, well, that’s really THREE questions…”

10. I don’t know.

Since there is probably a TableTopic question in your near future, you might want to check out Scott's articles !

Article 1 (items 1-5)
Article 2 (items 6-10)

Brutally Honest and Caring Evaluations

As the Evaluation Contests progress from the club level to the area level all around Connecticut, New York and Massachusetts, I am reminded of the real reason for giving evaluations... to learn new ideas that you can use in future speeches and improve you speaking skills!

Darren LaCroix, 2001 World Champion of Public Speaking, gave me an interesting idea in his recent newsletter that could apply to the upcoming evaluation contests and anyone who wants to give (and get) excellent evaluations that help you improve.

Brutal, Honest . . . Caring?
by Darren LaCroix

How do you know if people truly care about you? Seriously? Is it when they're nice to you? How do you feel when someone tells says, "You've got something in your teeth." Do you want to know?

... At our last coaching camp, one of the attendees told me they'd heard I was "mean" when giving feedback. Really? At first I got defensive. Then it dawned on me that I'm no different. Receiving feedback is different from each individual. Different people will take the same exact feedback in a different
way. What is the "purpose" of the feedback? To show that you're better? Or to help grow?

... Some presenters are surrounded by people who can't give them a higher level of feedback. They're the "king" of their club, and they may be content with that. This is probably pretty good for their self-esteem, but it's not good for their growth. What kind of people are you surrounded by? Are they helping you grow?

.... How do you look at feedback from people who have more expertise than you?

... No mentor ever "niced" me to the next level.

Darren brings up a good point... growth comes from feedback... but the one part he does not touch on is that it is equally important to present the feedback in a manner that will be accepted.
Here are some ideas you might want to consider the next time you give an evaluation ...

- A lot of people use the "Sandwich Technique" (a constructive criticism with a compliment on either side) but I've often seen evaluators who are overly harsh with their "constructive criticism" and insincere with the compliments. This effectively defeats the whole idea of the Sandwich Technique.

- The "Simple Suggestion Technique" is another idea where you simply phrase your "constructive criticisms" as suggestions or ideas that you (the evaluator) might have tried. This takes the emphasis off of doing something WRONG (which is harsh and raises the speaker's defenses) and puts the emphasis on trying something DIFFERENT.

- Another way is the "Clean Slate Approach" where you start with "Here are some suggestions for your next speech... " This helps take the focus off of what went wrong in this speech and puts it on the next speech (which is a clean slate). The speaker will be less defensive about his or her next speech and may actually use your suggestions (which is really the mark of an effective evaluation).

- The "Challenge Approach" works with some speakers, but not with all. It can be started "With everything you did right, the one thing that would take your speaking to the next level is ..." This statement should grab the speaker's attention and may even motivate them to see if they can really "take their speech to the next level" !

- The "Perception Approach" starts out with "My perception of your speech is that ...." This is especially good when you want to address the speaker's theme or overall goal for the speech. If the speaker did not clearly get his or her key points, this will be an important skill for them to develop and will show incredible improvements in future speechs (if they are given a good evaluation and they take it to heart).

These "lead-in's" can help you present the feedback ... without turning off the speaker. There are also variations on these as part of the Toastmasters Module, "Evaluate to Motivate" which is a great [pre-written] speech that anyone can edit (to "make it your own") and give to your club.

What about the Speaker?
Of course, as Darren points out, it is still the speaker's responsibility to be open to the suggestions (that's all they really are) and incorporate what makes sense.

Evaluations can be emotionally charged and it is important to do them well so that the speaker improves and the audience can learn from the evaluation as well.

Contests too !
How was your club's Evaluation contest? Be sure to attend your Area and Division contests to see some excellent evaluations and, of course, you will want to attend the District 53 Fall Conference on October 10th & 11th to see the winners compete for the top prize for evaluations !


Advanced Evaluations:
If you already have your CC and want an even higher level of evaluation for your speeches, you might want to consider joining one of the Advanced Clubs in District 53...

• DiversityUSA Advanced Club, Ridgefield (CT) Library,
  meets on the 4th Thursday, 7:15-8:45pm.


• ProSpeakers, Springfield (MA) Chamber of Commerce
  meets on the 3rd Thursday 6:30-8:30pm.


• Central CT Advanced Toastmasters, meetings 4th Wed @ NU, Berlin, CT
  
• NEW Advanced club forming... Capital Advanced Toastmasters, South Saratoga Chamber of Commerce office, near Albany, NY. Meets the 1st Monday of the month, 6:30-8:00pm. Contact Melinda Burns at mburns14 [at] nycap.rr.com for more info.

Congratulations: A New Club in Division E

Welcome and Congratulations to the Club sponsors, charter members and all who made this new Toastmasters Club possible.

ESPI Toastmasters Club (O) Open to all interested parties

Meeting Place:

Energy Services Providers, Inc. (ESPI)

877 South St, Pittsfield, MA 01201

District: 53

Area: E1 (Thanks to Ann Bloch!)

Club Number: 1223576

Charter Date: 08/20/2008

Meeting Time: 12:30 pm, Wednesday

Phone: 866 937 3774

Energy Services Providers, Inc. (ESPI) supplies electricity and natural gas, and a variety of other energy cost savings services (energy-efficient lighting, HVAC, compressors, controls, etc.) in several states. ESPI is currently the fastest growing electricity supplier in the State of New York.

Presidential Citation for Ute Brinkmann

From: Roger H Brown

Subject: Presidential Citation
for Ute Brinkmann

On behalf of the members of District 53, we extend Congratulations and Thanks to Ute Brinkmann, DTM for the dedication to excellence and the contributions made to District 53, its Clubs and its members.

Ute was presented with a Presidential Citation from TI President Chris Ford at the Hall of Fame ceremonies at the annual TI Convention held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Ute's award reads:

The Presidential Citation
is presented to

Ute Brinkmann, DTM

for outstanding contributions to Toastmasters International
and its program of Communication and Leadership

Chris K. Ford, DTM, President
International Convention
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
August 2008

District 53 recognized at International Convention

Congratulations to our '07-08 District Leadership Team!

At the Hall of Fame ceremonies at the 77th Annual Toastmasters International Convention held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada our District 53 was recognized as a Distinguished District.

In the picture, we see our top 3 leaders for 2007-08 holding recognition awards: Marsha Kiley "Excellence in Marketing;"Karin Von Kaenel "Excellence in Education and Training;" andWill Ryan "Distinguished District."

The Distinguished District Program recognizes those districts that meet Toastmasters International’s growth and educational goals. The program, which begins July 1st and ends June 30th, sets goals in the areas most critical to a district’s success. Every district that meets all its goals and the program prerequisites is awarded the designation Distinguished District.

Photo caption: From left to right,Ute Brinkmann (Presidential Citation recipient), R7 International Director Val Albert, Deb Grehn, Don Logie, LGET Marsha Kiley,DG Karin Von Kaenel, Immediate Past TI President Chris Ford,IPDG Will Ryan, and Rich Couture.

NOTE: Thanks to Roger Brown for passing along this post.

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

Ignite ... a new(?) speaking format

I just heard about an interesting speaking "format" called Ignite.

If you had five minutes on stage what would you say? What if you only got 20 slides and they rotated automatically after 15 seconds? Around the world geeks have been putting together Ignite nights to show their answers...

Ignite usually has two parts: the Ignite Contest, where people make things, and Ignite Talks, where presenters get 20 slides and five minutes to make their point. Sometimes I've only had Talks, but the contest is fun and can serve as a great warm-up for the talks.

This activity is similar to Pecha Kucha (check out this post for news on that) and either format might be adapted to create an interesting Toastmasters theme meeting. (Don't forget the D53 Meeting Theme contest wiki !)