April 17th, 2010
Dear Blue Tongue members, intending members and guests,
At the BTTM Meeting (number 138) held 7th of April we had a special visitor – Debbie Tibbles (the Hawkesbury Division Governor).
It has been a while since a Division Governor has visited the Blue Tongue club.. Excluding Debbie we had 2.5 visitors to the meeting (Julian (work colleague of Geoff), Vince and Vijay (who joined our club during the meeting)).
We welcome Vijay to our club, and the Toastmasters International Organisation, and will work with him to ensure that he is across all the different areas (skills streams) that Toastmasters offers.
Vijay (as a visitor) presented the “Word of the Day” – Information”. Everybody was encouraged to maximise their use of this word through the meeting. Encouraging all speakers to incorporate this word through their assignments.
Geoff, as the TableTopics master, gave us each an Inspirational Phrase (as used in his book) and asked us to comment on what this phrase meant us.The evaluator for the TT assignment was Mark,, who provided feedback to all participants.
We then broke for a recess break.
After the recess Te proposed a toast that we all joined him with.
Mark welcomed our visitors
We had 2 presentations. Debbie delivered a speech (from the Competent Communication) on her history in Toastmasters; why she joined and what it had given to her personally. It was an inspirational and personal speech that resonated with the room. Debbie was evaluated by Geoff.
Mark delivered a Club Update (educational) to update, those present, how the club was tracking relative to the Distinguished Club Program (DCP). An overview of the DCP was presented and then Mark presented his thoughts on the club’s ability to achieve Distinguished Club Status (for a second year). It appears that Blue Tongue is on track if we continue to encourage members to deliver speeches and look after all visitors so we can properly understand and communicate what TI can offer each of them; that they will want to join our club.
Te took on the Did You Listen Assignment, challenging us all with some great questions.
Vijay presented the ‘Word of the Day’ and Timers report.
Both Vince & Julian offered some insightful comments on the meeting itself.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:18pm.
Tags: blue tongue, competent communication, evaluator, speakers, speeches, timer, toastmaster, toastmasters, toastmasters international
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April 5th, 2009
Evaluate to motivate!
People join Toastmasters to improve their speaking and leadership skills, and these skills are improved with the help of evaluations. Members complete projects in the Competent Communication and Competent Leadership manuals and you may be asked to evaluate their work. At some point, everyone is asked to participate by providing an evaluation. You will provide both verbal and written evaluations for speakers using the guide in the manual. You’ll always give a written evaluation for leadership roles, though verbal evaluations for leaders are handled differently from club to club. Sometimes verbal evaluations are given during the meeting and sometimes they are given privately, after the meeting. Check with your vice president education (VPE) or the Toastmaster if you’re not sure of your club’s method.
Several days before the meeting, review the Effective Evaluation manual you received in your New Member Kit. Talk with the speaker or leader you’ve been assigned to evaluate and find out which manual project they will present. Review the project goals and what the speaker or leader hopes to achieve.
Evaluation requires careful preparation if the speaker or leader is to benefit. Study the project objectives as well as the evaluation guide in the manual. Remember, the purpose of evaluation is to help people develop their speaking or leadership skills in various situations. By actively listening, providing reinforcement for their strengths and gently offering useful advice, you motivate members to work hard and improve. When you show the way to improvement, you’ve opened the door to strengthening their ability.
When you arrive at the meeting, speak briefly with the general evaluator to confirm the evaluation session format. Then retrieve the manual from the speaker or leader and ask one last time if he or she has any specific goals in mind.
Record your impressions in the manual, along with your answers to the evaluation questions. Be as objective as possible. Remember that good evaluations may give new life to discouraged members and poor evaluations may dishearten members who tried their best. Always provide specific methods for improving and present them in a positive manner.
If you’re giving a verbal evaluation, stand and speak when introduced. Though you may have written lengthy responses to manual evaluation questions, don’t read the questions or your responses. Your verbal evaluation time is limited. Don’t try to cover too much in your talk; two or three points is plenty.
Begin and end your evaluation with a note of encouragement or praise. Commend a successful speech or leadership assignment and describe specifically how it was successful. Don’t allow the speaker or leader to remain unaware of a valuable asset such as a smile or a sense of humor. Likewise, don’t permit the speaker or leader to remain ignorant of a serious fault: if it is personal, write it but don’t mention it aloud. Give the speaker or leader deserved praise and tactful suggestions in the manner you would like to receive them.
After the meeting, return the manual to the speaker or leader. Add another word of encouragement and answer any questions the member may have.
By giving feedback, you are personally contributing to your fellow members’ improvement. Preparing and presenting evaluations is also an opportunity for you to practice your listening, critical thinking, feedback and motivation skills. And when the time comes to receive feedback, you’ll have a better understanding of the process.
Tags: competent communication, competent leader, evaluator, leadership, leadership skills, smile, speakers, toastmaster, toastmasters
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April 5th, 2009
Helping members off their crutches
The purpose of the Ah-Counter is to note any word or sound used as a crutch by anyone who speaks during the meeting. Words may be inappropriate interjections, such as and, well, but, so and you know. Sounds may be ah, um or er. You should also note when a speaker repeats a word or phrase such as “I, I” or “This means, this means.” These words and sounds can be annoying to listeners. The Ah-Counter role is an excellent opportunity to practice your listening skills.
Several days before the meeting, use the information in A Toastmaster Wears Many Hats or in the appendix of the Competent Communication manual to prepare a brief explanation of the duties of the Ah-Counter for the benefit of guests.
When you arrive at the meeting, bring a pen and blank piece of paper for notes.
The president will call the meeting to order and introduce the Toastmaster who will, in turn, introduce you and the other meeting participants. When you’re introduced, explain the role of the Um and Ah-Counter.
Throughout the meeting, listen to everyone for sounds and long pauses used as fillers and not as a necessary part of sentence structure. Write down how many filler sounds or words each person used during all portions of the meeting.
When you’re called on by the general evaluator during the evaluation segment, stand by your chair and give your report.
Tags: competent communication, evaluator, toastmaster
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April 5th, 2009
Toastmasters teaches you good communication skills to be a good leader
From a humble beginning in 1924 at the YMCA in Santa Ana, California, Toastmasters International has grown to become a world leader in helping people become more competent and comfortable in front of an audience. The nonprofit organisation now has nearly 235,000 members in 12,036 clubs in 106 countries, offering a proven – and enjoyable! – way to practice and hone communication and leadership skills.
Most Toastmasters meetings are comprised of approximately 20 people who meet weekly for an hour or two. Participants practice and learn skills by filling a meeting role, ranging from giving a prepared speech or an impromptu one to serving as timer, evaluator or grammarian.
Toastmasters makes learning fun
There is no instructor; instead, each speech and meeting is critiqued by a member in a positive manner, focusing on what was done right and what could be improved.
Good communicators tend to be good leaders.!
This non-profit organisation offers a proven – and enjoyable – way to practice communication and leadership skills. Here’s how it works:
- A Toastmasters meeting is a learn-by-doing workshop in which participants hone their speaking and leadership skills in a friendly atmosphere. A typical group has 20 to 40 members who meet weekly or biweekly to practice public speaking techniques. The average meeting lasts one hour.
- Members learn communication skills by working in the Competent Communication manual, a series of 10 self-paced speaking assignments designed to instill a basic foundation in public speaking. Participants learn skills related to use of humor, gestures, eye contact, speech organization and overall delivery. When finished with this manual, members can choose from 15 advanced manuals to learn skills related to specific interests.
- Members also learn leadership skills by taking on various meeting roles and serving as officers at the club and district levels, and by working in the Competent Leadership manual and the High Performance Leadership program. In our learn-by-doing approach, we don’t lecture our members about leadership skills; we give them responsibilities and ask them to lead.
- There is no instructor in a Toastmasters meeting. Instead, members evaluate one another’s presentations. This feedback process is a key part of the program’s success. Meeting participants also give impromptu talks on assigned topics, conduct meetings, serve as officers in various leadership roles and learn rules related to timing, grammar and parliamentary procedure.
Thousands of corporations sponsor in-house Toastmasters clubs. Businesses and government organisations have discovered that Toastmasters is an effective, cost-efficient means of meeting their communication training needs.
Toastmasters groups also can be found in governmental agencies, as well as in a variety of community organisations, prisons, universities, hospitals, military bases and churches.
Tags: basic foundation, competent communication, competent leader, evaluator, eye contact, gestures, good communication skills, good communicators, good leaders, leadership, leadership skills, nonprofit organisation, profit organisation, public speaking, public speaking techniques, speech organization, timer, toastmaster, toastmasters, toastmasters club, toastmasters clubs, toastmasters international, toastmasters meeting, toastmasters meetings, train, typical group, world leader
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