Geoff, after our break, delivered a toast to Usain Bolt and his record breaking performances on the athletics field recently.? Jorgen welcomed our 5 guests for the evening, each had an opportunity to advise us why they had come along to out meeting and hoped to get from Toastmasters. Dale took on the road of the Toastmaster and introduced: 1) Elke, who had worked on her competition speech (’broomstick and colander’), since winning the club competition and used this session as a ‘live’ run-through. A really great effort. 2) Mark delivered an advanced speech (from ’speciality speeches’ manual) to present the competition trophies to the worthy winners of the Humorour Speech Comptition (Geoff and Elke).

Elke was well evaluated by Geoff and Mark was reviewed by Jorgen.

Aris, another of our visitors, prepared and delivered the “Did you Listen” assignment. It was obvious that Aris had been listening and an excellent list of questions were delivered. Peter presented to us his Timers Report (so we all had and understanding of how we scored with respect to the timing objectives of the assignments). An impromptu was delivered by Mark, from the Leadership Excellence Series (Giving Effective Feedback).  Although as short notice this was well presented and proved some practice tips on how to manage and provide feedback to direct reports. Excellent.

Our 5 visitors also gave their feedback on the evening’s proceedings. A very positive meeting this evening. The meeting was closed by Dale at 7:20 pm.
__________________________________________________________________________

** Update** The next meeting for Blue Tongue Toastmasters (16th Sept) will coincide with the Area 47 Humorous Speech and Table Topics Contest and thus we be attending this to support Geoff and Elke. Our regular meeting venue / format will return on 30th September (agenda to be sent out after Area Contest). When: 7.15pm, Wednesday 16th September (for 7.30pm start) – There are music lessons in the venue up until 7pm. Where: Lane Cove Music & Cultural Association Inc 266 Longueville Road Lane Cove  NSW  2066 How much: $10 for club members (club will subsidise) and $18 for non-members This is at the other end of Longueville Road from the Epping Road side & Lane Cove Shops end. Plenty of parking close by. Jason Chan has offered to collect any members who need a lift from IBM (I assume to leave at 7pm). Please confirm with Jason directly ( jaschan@au1.ibm.com) if you need a lift. Please mail or call me should there be any questiions.

Best regards,
Mark Ransom VP Education Blue Tongue Toastmasters ph: 0419 767 250 mransom@optusnet.com.au

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agenda bttm 13may2009

If you think of a club meeting as a project, then you can see the general evaluator as a kind of project manager. As GE, your responsibilities include:

• Ensuring the speech and leadership project evaluators know their responsibilities
• Supervising the timer, grammarian and Ah-Counter
• Evaluating everything that takes place during the club meeting
• Making sure each activity is performed correctly

Several days before the meeting, contact the person who will be Toastmaster of the meeting and confirm the meeting programme. You should also develop a checklist to follow during the meeting so you don’t have to keep all the details in your head.

When discussing the meeting program with the Toastmaster, ask what evaluation format to use. Typically, an evaluator is assigned to an individual. The general evaluator may set up any evaluation procedure he or she chooses, but it should fit into the meeting program. Remember, too, that every evaluation must be brief and complete. Review the Effective Evaluation manual for different evaluation formats.

You’ll also need to contact members serving as:

• Timer
• Grammarian/Ah-Counter
• Individual evaluators

Remind them of their assignments, and brief evaluators on their responsibilities, the members they will evaluate and the evaluation format to use. Make sure the evaluators understand that evaluation is a positive, helping act that enables fellow Toastmasters to develop their skills. Point out that an evaluation should enhance the speaker’s self-esteem and encourage evaluators to prepare thoroughly for their role. Recommend that they call the member they’ve been assigned to evaluate to discuss specific project objectives.

Your final task before the meeting is to prepare a brief verbal explanation detailing:

• The purpose, techniques and benefits of evaluation so guests and new members will better understand the function of evaluations.
• How evaluation is a positive experience designed to help people overcome flaws and reinforce good habits in their presentations.

On meeting day:

• Arrive early.
• Make sure all evaluators are present and that they have the appropriate speaker or leader’s manual.
• If an evaluator is absent, consult with the vice president education and arrange for a substitute.
• Ask each evaluator if he or she has any questions about the project objectives to be evaluated, verify each speaker’s time and notify the timer if there are any changes.
• Take your seat near the back of the room. This will ensure you have a good view of the meeting and all its participants.

The Toastmaster of the meeting usually introduces the general evaluator before the Table Topics portion of the meeting. But your club may have a different order for introductions, so check with the Toastmaster or VPE before the meeting if you’re not sure when you’ll be introduced.

When you’re introduced:

• Stand by your chair and deliver the explanation you prepared.
• Identify the grammarian/Ah-Counter and timer and have these members briefly state the purpose of their jobs.
• Request the word of the day, if your club has one, from the grammarian and then be seated.

During the meeting, use your checklist and take notes on everything that happens (or doesn’t, but should). For example: Is the club’s property (e.g. trophies, banner, educational material) properly displayed? Were there unnecessary distractions that could have been avoided? Did the meeting, and each segment of it, begin and end on time?

Study each participant on the programme, from the person giving the invocation or thought for the day to the last report by the timer. Look for good and less than desirable examples of preparation, organization, delivery, enthusiasm, observation and general performance of duties. When it’s time to begin the evaluation portion of the meeting, the Toastmaster will introduce you, again. This time, you’ll go to the lectern and introduce each evaluator. After each recitation, thank the evaluator for his or her efforts.

Finally, give your general evaluation of the meeting:

• Use your checklist and the notes you took during the meeting.
• Phrase your evaluation so it is helpful, encouraging and motivates club members to implement the suggestions.
• You may wish to comment on the quality of evaluations. Were they positive, upbeat, helpful? Did they point the way to improvement?
• When you’ve completed your evaluation, return control of the meeting to the Toastmaster.

Being general evaluator is a big responsibility and it is integral to the success of every single club member. People join Toastmasters because they have a goal – they want to learn something. The club is where they learn. If the learning environment isn’t focused and fun, members won’t learn what they joined to learn. Your observations and suggestions help ensure the club is meeting the goals and needs of each member.

And what do you get out of the deal? You get the chance to practice and improve your skills in critical thinking, planning, preparation and organization, time management, motivation and team building!

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.

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.

There are many roles to fill, and each job is designed to improve the members’ public speaking and leadership skills. Program participants must know and understand their duties so they can prepare for them. Some roles can be combined – for example, the Ah-Counter might also be the grammarian or listen for uses of the word of the day.

• The Toast
• Toastmaster
• Table Topics Master
• Timer
• Table Topics Responders
• Grammarian
• General Evaluator
• Evaluator
• Ums and Ah Counter (Grammarian)
• Sergeant At Arms

Attention: Toastmaster Clubs, Business and Technology Editors

For immediate release

Blue Tongue caught in ‘net!

The Blue Tongue Toastmasters web site looks set to become one of the world’s leading Toastmasters sites, with the kind donation from CreateMy.com.au to the build the club a new website to take the club into the 21st Century.

Blue Tongue Toastmasters is a Not for Profit Organisation, whose focus is on improving communication and leadership, but neglected the new most important form of communication, the Internet. With 99% of Australians on the Internet now it is more important than ever to have an effective website to communicate with you stakeholders.

The website (bluetongue.org.au) allows the community to see what the club is, the many benefits, when the upcoming meeting, to contact the club and interact.

“We are excited to work with a club which is providing the community with such a wonderful service. Public speaking is fear of many people. Learning skills such as how to deliver a impromptu speech is very important for business people. To donate a website to such a fantastic organisation is an honour.” Dale Hurley, founder of Create My.

“When you build an effective website your business will grow. Every business needs a website and it must at a minimum communicate who you are and allow interaction. Usability is often overlooked in favour cost-saving which in the long term costs more in lost sales”, says Hurley.

e-businessguide.gov.au highlights a number of benefits of having a high value website, primarily:

• Make it easier for people to do business with you
• Create cost-savings and operational efficiencies
• Create additional revenue
• Reach more customers and markets
• Improve marketing and promotions

The Blue Tongue site, contains when and where meeting are, public speaking tips, and forums where the community can “talk” with other people and experts, along with other web 2.0 technologies.

CreateMy.com.au has pledged to create and donate a community website every 2 months to a Not for Profit Organisation. If your NPO needs a new website contact dale info@createmy.com.au. Create My is a website design and development company in the North Shore which specialises in websites to help small businesses grow online.

For further information, contact: Dale Hurley, Founder and CEO, Create My, dale@createmy.com.au, 0403 599 026.

People join Blue Tongue in order to:

• Develop their public speaking skills to persuade and convince others
• Learn to put their ideas across clearly and with conviction
• Improve their self-confidence before a group of people
• Learn to think quickly and clearly under pressure
• Learn to listen effectively and critically
• Learn to supportively evaluate someone else’s presentation
• Train to become a good leader

When you join the Blue Tongue Toastmasters Club you receive a complete training kit covering all aspects of speaking and evaluation. This kit includes Communication and a Leadership manuals. This manual reflects the years of experience Toastmasters has in helping people just like you. It takes you step by step through the art of making and evaluating speeches.What specifically will you learn to do as a Toastmaster?

In the Blue Tongue Toastmasters Club you will learn by doing

In particular you learn by doing with your efforts evaluated by your fellow Club members. You will be gradually introduced to the various roles within a Toastmasters meeting. Gaining proficiency in these helps build up your skills. The exercises will teach you how to:

• Give an impromptu speech
• Give a prepared speech
• Evaluate what you hear
• Introduce speakers
• Be a more effective leader of people
• Chair and run meetings

BTTM opens up networking and mentoring opportunities

How we communicate informally at events is every bit as important, if not more so, than being in the spotlight giving a speech. Knowing how to mingle and network may be more important to our overall success in life than anything else. BTTM gives you the skills and opportunities to network and have a mentor or mentoree which will help you grow professionally.Whether you work in a corporate environment or from home, whether you are a student or retiree, Toastmasters is the most efficient, enjoyable and affordable way of gaining communication and leadership skills.

You will become a better speaker

Toastmasters will give you the skills and confidence you need to effectively express yourself in any situation. By learning to formulate and convey your ideas, you open a new world of possibilities. You will be more persuasive and confident when giving presentations and you will improve your one-on-one dealings with others.

Your leadership skills will improve

Leadership is the art of persuading others to do what you wish. To succeed, you need to communicate, and you need to work as a team. In Toastmasters, you’ll do both. And you’ll find out how to vary your approach to suit the needs of different people, be they the audience for a speech, the committee for a fundraiser or your coworkers and managers.

When you Join you will join 235,000 other members who are wanting to succeed

Toastmaster has more than 235,000 members in 11,700 clubs in 92 countries. The meetings are organised so that everyone will have a chance to speak, should they want to. You schedule your own speaking assignments a few weeks in advance, so you’ll have plenty of time to prepare.

Speaking assignments are varied, with the first one designated as an “ice breaker” – a description of yourself and your life that lasts between five and seven minutes. You’ll be assigned a mentor to help you settle in and get through your first speaking roles. As you grow in confidence, you assignments will grow with you.

Importantly, whenever you stand up and speak, you receive encouraging, helpful feedback on how it went and how you can improve next time.

The membership is great value

While it is free to come along membership offers a range of benefits primarily teaching you to be a better speaker and leader. BTTM and Toastmasters International runs a number of courses for the members to progress from their first speech (the Icebreaker) to being a Distinguished Toastmaster. Membership is $40 (once off) + $50 each six months i.e. $90 for the first six months than $50 for each six months after that. Initially membership includes several manuals to guide you to be a more effective speaker and leader and continues to provide more advance courses as you progress over the years.

Blue Tongue Toastmasters (BTTM) is apart of the international Toastmasters organisation whose primary aim is to help you and it’s other members improve their public speaking skills. This is achieved through a number of different speaking exercises to cover the various types of situations where you will be addressing an audience. Toastmasters Clubs in Australia are the best place to improve both your communication skills and your leadership skills. Toastmasters will help you overcome any fear of public speaking while learning skills that will allow you to become more successful in whatever path in life you have chosen.

BTTM meets every second Wednesday at 5:45pm in the IBM Centre

Meetings are bi weekly on odd numbered weeks of the year e.g. week 1, 3, 5…51 of year. We meet at the IBM Centre on Level 13 Room 5 (601 Pacific Highway St Leonards, NSW). The meetings are held on Wednesdays nights at 5:45pm.

Blue Tongue is a non-profit educational organisation

Blue Tongue and Toastmasters International are non-profit educational organisations. Our members learn communication and leadership skills by practicing public speaking and working with others in a warm and friendly environment.

BTTM is a diverse group of professionals

Blue Tongue is a friendly group of professionals. Our members range from those who are just starting out their careers to members who are enjoying volunteering in the community since retiring. Our members include business owners, professionals working in the North Shore, PhDs and community leaders.

Everyone is welcome to come along and participate for free

Everyone is welcome to come along, watch, participate and join. It is completely free to come along and participate! When you come along you will be welcomed into the group of warm, kind-heart people who want to help you. It is free and there is no obligation to join so come along to the next session.

After a few sessions if you wish to join, the membership is great value

While it is free to come along membership offers a range of benefits primarily teaching you to be a better speaker and leader. BTTM and Toastmasters International runs a number of courses for the members to progress from their first speech (the Icebreaker) to being a Distinguished Toastmaster. Membership is $40 (once off) + $50 each six months i.e. $90 for the first six months than $50 for each six months after that. Initially membership includes several manuals to guide you to be a more effective speaker and leader and continues to provide more advance courses as you progress over the years.

BTTM opens up networking and mentoring opportunities

How we communicate informally at events is every bit as important, if not more so, than being in the spotlight giving a speech. Knowing how to mingle and network may be more important to our overall success in life than anything else. BTTM gives you the skills and opportunities to network and have a mentor or mentoree which will help you grow professionally.