Dear Blue Tongue members, intending members and guests,
The last meeting (Meeting #119) was held on Wednesday the 15th April and chaired by Mark. Daniel took on the timing assignment and Dale presented an impromptu (i.e. at very short notice) Word of the Day “Foot” encouraging us to use it througout the evening.
We had 1 visitor at the meeting – Mark, who later handed in his completed new memberhip form.
I want to extend a warm welcome to Blue Tongue Toastmasters newest members: Ying, Damien & Mat. Your new member kits are on their way.
Dale’s Table Topics session was focused a passion of Dale’s – the internet. The individual table topics all tested us and the session was very well prepared and presented by Dale. Geoff and Mark evaluated the the speakers.
After our break Mark lead a discussion on oppotunities to better promote the Blue Tongue Toastmasters club (this is one of the assignments for the Competent Leader award). Some fantastic ideas were discussed by those at the meeting and some of us have a little bit of homework for the next meeting.
Elke took on the Toastmaster assignment and introduced Mat who delivered his Icebreaker telling us of sibling rivalry and bungy jumping. A very entertaining 1st speech. Mat was evaluated by Jorgen who provided contructive comments. Our second speaker was also delivering their Icebreaker – Geoff. Geoff related to us assembled some of his personal history and then one of his passions Kayaking and a recent charity-raising trip he organised. Geoff was evaluated by Elke. The last of the prepared speeches was Mark, who as part of his Advanced Manual (Interpretive Reading) presented an excerpt from Oscar Wilde’s ‘The Important of Being Earnest’. Contrustive and fair evaluation was provide by all attendees (led by Elke).
Geoff prepared some questions to test our listening skills. Dale delivered his ‘My Word’ assignment as well as evaluating our use of filler words such as Ums & Ahs. Daniel presented a thorough and succinct Timers report.
Elke, with our last meeting assignment provided us all feedback, through her general evaluation, of the meeting as a whole.
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The next meeting for Blue Tongue Toastmasters will be held on Wednesday the 29th of April 2009 at 5:45pm, Level 13, 601 Pacific Highway, St Leonards.
I have attached below a draft agenda for the meeting. Please let me know by COB Tuesday the 28th of March, if:
a) You will be attending the meeting or send your apologies
b) Would like to deliver a speech
c) Would like to present any other assignment – I am looking for members to take on the following meeting assignments:
Sergeant at Arms
Timer
Speech (1)
Visitors Welcome
Evaluators for table topics (2)
Evaluator for speech (1)
Best regards,
Mark Ransom
VP Education
Blue Tongue Toastmasters
ph: 0419 767 250
Blue Tongue Toastmasters Meeting 15th April and Draft Agenda for next meeting on 29th April 2009
April 23rd, 2009Evaluator
April 5th, 2009Evaluate 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.
Toastmasters
April 5th, 2009Toastmasters 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.