The CC season is here !

It is January and you know what that means....

Time to set goals for the year and plan for all the great Toastmasters events that are coming up in the next few months !

What types of goals?

How about finishing your CC? Now is the time to get signed up on your club's meeting schedule and let your VP-Education know that you want to finish your CC by the end of April (which could help your club win TM materials if they are distinguished by April 30th) or perhaps by the Spring Conference on May 22nd where we are hoping to celebrate meeting our District goal. If you miss either of these targets, there is still the goal of the end of the Toastmasters year, June 30th, 2010. If you get your CC done by then it could help your club become distinguished and earn a ribbon for your club's banner.

What if I've already finished my CC?

How about doing a second CC? You will be amazed by how much a second (or third) CC helps you improve your basic speaking skills. When was the last time you really focused on Vocal Variety? Or speaking to Inspire? Skills get rusty if they are not used regularly. Polish up your speaking skills and you will be glad you did. Send an email to your VPE right now to get on the speaking schedule ! Don't wait !

Did you know...
... that you can order just the evaluation guides from the CC
manual for only $1.95 ! Click here to order them from TI !

What about Contest and Conference (the "other CCs")?

Your work on your CC (manual) will also help you in your club contest (cc) which could even lead you to the finals at the District 53 Spring Conference in Bloomfield, CT on May 22nd, 2010 !

• Club Contests should be held by March 19
• Area Contests by April 9th and,
• Division Contests by April 30th.

Did you know...
... that you can get credit towards a manual speech for any speech you do as part of the Tall Tales or International speech contests? It just needs to be evaluated in the manual by another Toastmaster !

Contests are a great way to "jumpstart" your progress toward your next award ... plus you get the added benefit of refining your speech as you progress to each level of the competiton.

Remember...

The competition is really with yourself. If you do the best that you can (and learn from the experience)... YOU ARE A WINNER !

Move forward and Enjoy the CC season !

Dave Wheeler

D53 LGET, 2009-10

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!

More "Why Toastmasters?" videos...

We had a great turnout at the Toastmasters Leadership Exchange last Saturday (12/12) in Manchester, CT and a number of people took advantage of our video setup and created videos for the D53 YouTube Challenge .

Check out the District 53 YouTube Channel and all the "Why TM?" videos (we are up to at least 20)...

http://www.youtube.com/user/D53Toastmasters#

Why Toastmasters? Sample Videos

Below are some sample YouTube videos provided by Sherri Rafftery, District 31 Governor 2009-10; Kristen Nicolson, Past Intl. Director for Toastmasters; and Heath Suddleson, Toastmasters Intl.Director from Region 7 2009-11.







If you want to add your own YouTube video for the "Why Toastmasters?" video challenge, be sure to tag the video with D53 (since District 53 is organizing this challenge) and "Why TM" so that your video can be found via a YouTube search.

If you would like your video listed as a favorite on the D53 YouTube Channel, send an email with a link to your video to Dave Wheeler. His email address is theshot92 [at] gmail.com. The email address is listed this way (without the @ symbol) to prevent automatic programs who capture addresses and send spam.

Of course, your video should be "Toastmasters-friendly". If you don't know what that means, ask another Toastmaster or a club officer.

Special Thanks to Sherri, Kristen and Heath for stepping forward and providing these excellent examples !

YTM YouTube Challenge... Why Toastmasters?

District 53's
"Why Toastmasters?" YouTube Challenge
Showcasing the Value of Toastmasters !

How to Enter:
Create a 1-2 minute YouTube.com video where you answer the question, "Why Toastmasters?". Your TableTopics-length speech should articulate what you feel is the value of Toastmasters to the viewer. Basically, it is your “elevator” speech for Toastmasters.

All entries will be in the form of videos loaded to YouTube.com. The videos must be tagged with “D53” and "Why TM" and include the contestant’s name, their club name & number. This information can also be added as text overlay or in the description of the video, but the "D53" and "Why TM" must be clear to judges and searchable in YouTube. (Otherwise, we won’t be able to find all the entries.)

Content of the video should be “Toastmasters-friendly” and in good taste such that it could be shown at a District 53 event. District Sr. Team will determine if a video is disqualified for content.

Speech Time:
1-2 minutes (2:30 maximum total video time)

Who can enter:
Any active Toastmasters member in good standing of a club in good standing within District 53 may submit a video for the D53 Challenge. Members of other districts are welcome to create videos... they just won't be part of the D53 Challenge. The member who enters the video must be in the video for at least 50% of the time. Non-members may assist and even appear in the video but there is not liability assumed by Toastmasters. Entrants assume all liability.

Current and immediate past district officers may enter except for the current District Governor, Lt.Gov.-Education & Training, Lt.Gov.- Marketing and the District 53 Chief Judge. Finalists may not be finalist judges.

Judging:
Public opinion will decide the 10 finalists via YouTube.com’s ability for viewers to rank the videos. An important part of this effort will be how entrants promote their videos (to get “votes”). Finalists will be announced 1 week before the District 53 final event where the finalists will be recognized. Current plans are for the challenge to culminate at the D53 Spring 2010 conference.

Judges will be chosen by the Chief Judge & Sr. Team from all District 53 Divisions. The judges will view the finalist videos online during the week prior to the final event and deliver their ballots to the District 53 Judging Team at least 2 days prior to the final event.

Prizes & Recognition:
Finalist Videos will be shown at the Spring Conference and awards presented for:
1st, 2nd and 3rd Place Overall
Most Humorous
Most Creative

What if I don’t own a video camera or computer?
A videographer will be made available on a first-come, first-served basis at Division contests within District 53. These sessions give an opportunity to members who are not able to enter themselves due to a lack of video equipment or computer access. The number of video slots at the Division contests will be limited so contact your Division Governor to sign up. Keep in mind that these videos may not have as long to accumulate votes online.
Questions?
Contact Dave Wheeler, D53 Lt.Gov.-Education & Training, via email address theshot92 [at] gmail.com. Be sure to include "Why TM?" in the Subject line.

Passing of a great speaker...Jim Rohn

On Dec.5th, 2009 personal development legend Jim Rohn passed away.

If you have not heard of him, check out the YouTube videos below...



Here are the links in case the embedded videos don't work on your computer...
Best Year Ever...Video 1 of 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfA-qNWLBHo

Best Year Ever...Video 2 of 3 (Measurable Progress in Reasonable Time)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2AyudSJl_s&NR=1

Best Year Ever...Video 3 of 3 (The Day that turns your life around)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWOJt1kCYP0&feature=related

D53 Sr. Team goes to training...

Last weekend (12/4-12/6), District 53's Sr. Team (Marsha, Richard and Dave) went to Regional Training where they learned lots and picked up a ton of ideas that will help our district over the coming months.

In addition, there is a tradition at the regional training that each district's Sr.Team will create and perform a skit after the evening dinner. This year, D53 did a parody on the Bravo TV network's show, "Inside the Actors Studio with James Lipton". We had Richard Peck playing the part of James Lipton and Marsha Kiley as the "star" being interviewed. (Dave Wheeler created the clips and ran the audio video.)

While we did not videotape the whole skit, we can pass along the video clips that were used within the skit. The embedded video below features our Intl. Directors, Heath & Annelie...

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Here are the links to all the "film clips" we used...

Holiday Greetings from the Region 7 Intl. Directors (in case the embedded video above did not work for you).

Christmas Story featuring Kristen & Dan

Halloween (we used this as a promo on YouTube.com for our Fall 2009 Conference). This link is to the YouTube video which includes text overlaid on the video with information about the conference. Be sure you have "annotations" turned on when you watch it (so you will get the "full effect").

Its a Wonderful Life (featuring our friends from D31)

The D53 Xmas Dancers featuring Marsha, Dave and Richard.

These were all made using JibJab.com if you want to play around with it yourself.

I am also working on a "YouTube Channel" for District 53 and that is where I will be loading up the "Why Toastmasters?" videos. (They should be there soon.)

Holiday Greetings !
Dave Wheeler
D53 LGET, 2009-10
Move Forward !

Early Bird discount extended to TODAY !

The early bird discount has been extended to TODAY (Oct.20th) only !

Send an email to everyone you know who might want to go to the District 53 Fall Conference!

Here is the link to the registration form and more info...

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

Get your registration into the mail today and SAVE MONEY !

This conference on Saturday Nov. 7th in Saratoga Springs, NY will a ton of fun!

Want Proof?

Check out the video below...

(be sure that you have "annotations turned on" to get the full effect!)

Past District 53 Governor dubbed by Hobo Queen

Karin von Kaenel was officially dubbed by the 2008-9 National Hobo Queen (and current Area A4 Governor) Carmine Coco DeYoung at the Area A4 speech contest on Wed. Sept.30th.

Part of the dubbing process is the awarding of a "hobo moniker" for the honoree and Karin was given the name "Countess Butterfly" due to her background as a statistician and the butterfly logo she had during her year as District 53 Governor.

The picture to the right shows Carmine explaining the award / dubbing process.

Below are pictures of Karin being "dubbed" by Carmine with the ceremonial hobo walking stick.

In the picture on the left below, Carmine awards Karin the Hobo Walking stick which includes numerous butterflies painted on it along with the signature of the Hobo King and Queen. Truly a "one of a kind" memento!

Karin also received a certificate (so she can hang something on the wall when she is out walking with the walking stick) !

Congratulations Karin !

Area A4 Contest results...

EVALUATION CONTEST

First Place – Michael Cummings, Cartus Magnus

Second Place – Don Lococo, Socially Speaking

HUMOROUS CONTEST

First Place – Daniel Rapley, Wooster Heights

Second Place – Croix Sather, WestConn

Third Place – Belle Garafola, Barnum Square

Pictured below (l-r)...

Dan Rapley, Croix Sather, Belle Garafola, Michael Cummings

Area A2 Contest results

Here are the pictures of the Area A2 contest held Friday, Oct.2nd, 2009...

The Area A2 Humorous contest winners are:
from left to right...
3rd place: Darci Rowe, 2nd place: Mike Knopf, Winner: Geoff Crew
Both Geoff and Mike will represent Area A2 at the Division contest.


From left to right...

Winner: Ruth Ray
2nd place: Steve Rock
3rd place: Gerry Buchman

Because Ruth Ray will be unable to attend the Division contest, Steve and Gerry will be the ones attending it on Friday October 9.

A Future Toastmaster ...

Have you seen this YouTube video done by a future Toastmaster?

(Special Thanks to Past District 53 Governor, Roger Brown who brought it to our attention) ...

Roger also sent a link (via PHILIP LEVERE) to an article about how the video came about... click here.

Jim Sacco estimates that his son Josh has watched "Miracle," the film about the 1980 U.S. Olympic men's hockey team's legendary upset of the Soviets, nearly 150 times. Apparently, the movie has made quite an impression on the young fan. ...

... No professional coaching. No fancy editing. No script, because Rizzo hasn't learned to read yet -- he was just 4 years old when his father filmed the speech earlier this year, making it all the more remarkable.

Here is the speech in the movie as presented by Kurt Russell...

What are you born to do? What's your game?

Could your club use a "pregame speech"?

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" !

Winter Toastmasters Leadership Exchange

Did you attend the TLI events this past Summer? If so, you will recognize the tune that accompanies the video below...

If you do not see the video below (after giving it a couple seconds to load), try clicking here.

Speaking to the media

We have all seen it on TV... the interview on the courthouse steps with a million microphones all crammed in front of the attorney's face.

How many of us would be able to handle such a situation? What if we practiced it at a Toastmasters meeting as a TableTopics exercise?

Here are some pointers that I got from a recent e-newsletter from TJ Walker, a speaking consultant who helps people craft their message for the media ...

Preparing your Message for the Interview

1. Don’t talk to reporters without giving yourself time to prepare the message.
   
   
2. Don’t dodge questions!
   
   
3. Answer the question in eight seconds or less and bridge back to your main message for the next 25 seconds or so.
   
   
4. If a reporter asks you a complex, detailed, five-part question, focus on answering the one question that leads you back to talking about your message points.
   
   
5. When listening to a reporter’s question (and you must listen very carefully), don’t think about how your vast database of knowledge can provide 10,000 new facts to answer every nuance of the reporter’s question. Instead, focus on how you can honestly answer the question in a way that allows you to talk about one, two, or three of your message points.
   
   
6. Remember, questions don’t matter. The subject matters.

Now, you just have to come up with some scenarios to serve up to your club members as TableTopics !

Here are some suggestions ("torn from headlines", so to speak) ...

• CEO indited for misappropriation of company funds
• Celebrity arrested for ...
• Tradeshow TV reporters asking about your newest widget
• Politician caught ... (too many possibilities here)
• Evangelist asked about his role in the organization

I'm sure you can think of even more!

Have Fun with it !

(and help your club learn to cope with the media)

Dave Wheeler

Writing your contest speech...

Michelle Russell over at copyblogger.com wrote an interesting article about writing ... which could very easily be applied to your speech for the upcoming Humorous speech contest.

Michelle's article is titled, "Write with a Knife" and she suggests...

... Write for yourself, edit for your readers ...

1. Find the spine of your content and stick to it
2. Cut the first paragraph
3. Don’t over-spice your words
4. Watch out for “creep-in” words
5. Cut exaggerations
6. Find a more precise word
7. Reuse the leftovers

To learn what she means by each of these suggestions, check our the article by clicking here.

Have you signed up for your club's Humorous or Evaluation contest?

Word of the Day...

This Word of the Day comes from the Norwalk (CT) Toastmasters via their new Area Governor, Peggy Jean.

The word is Insouciant which means: in a lighthearted, unconcerned manner: nonchalance.

Here is the entry from Merriam Webster online...

• 
  
• Main Entry: in·sou·ci·ance , noun, : lighthearted unconcern : nonchalance
• 
  
• Pronunciation: \in-ˈsü-sē-ən(t)s, aⁿ-süs-ˈyäⁿs\
• 
  
• Etymology: French, from in- + soucier to trouble, disturb, from Old French, from Latin sollicitare — more at solicit
• 
  
• Date: 1799
• 
  

— in·sou·ci·ant \in-ˈsü-sē-ənt, aⁿ-süs-yäⁿ\ adjective

— in·sou·ci·ant·ly \in-ˈsü-sē-ənt-lē\ adverb

If I were a "Mad Man" (from AMC's television series)

Have you ever wondered what you would look like as one of the characters in the AMC series, "Mad Men"?

No, me neither... but it was fun to check out their site and build a 1950's style avatar.

Check out mine...

I think the tie is a nice touch !

Very professional ... great for presentations (see below, left) !

Not sure about the hair and the smile though...

It is certainly better than when I was "Simpsonized" last year...

Official Car for District 53?

I was coming back from a weekend in New Hampshire and the number on this car caught my eye...

I knew that I had seen it somewhere before, but I could not place it until I got home.

By then I realized that it was an imitation of "Herbie, the Love Bug" (click here for the wikipedia explanation).

Should this be the "Official Car for District 53"?