District 71 Newsletter Welcome to our first newsletter of 2010/2011. Thanks to all the contributors to this issue and I look forward to receiving many more articles in the future. Our District Governor’s strap line this year is ‘Inspire with Passion’. I know you will find lots of inspiration in this publication. The Newsletter has a new section - Internal PR, dedicated to news from the Divisions. I hope this page will create connections and establish bonds between Toastmasters in our eight Divisions. Please keep this page brimming over with your news items. Due to a generous number of articles, Education Achievements are held over until the October / November newsletter. Let me know if there is anything you would like to see included in future issues of this publication. Editor: Lucia Hughes DTM Public Relations Officer msluciahughes@gmail.com 353 86 2491051 skype: luhugh
August/September 2010
P 2 Joe Gibbs says ‘Congratulations’ P3 Strap Line 2010 / 2011 P4 Palm Springs Relived P5 New Beginnings P6 Goals P7/9 Inspirational Leaders P10 See contests as an opportunity P11/12 Encouragement from two Champions P13 Dublin ‘Inspire’ P14 A vital role explained P15 Internal PR P16 All Aboard to Inspire P17 External PR P17 Division update
“The final test of a leader is that he leaves behind him in other men the conviction and will to carry on.” - (Walter J. Lippmann)
Congratulations! Once again District 71 obtained the honour of finishing the year as a Distinguished District, ranked 16th in the World. Every year, the bar is raised higher and the ‘competition’ increases. More and more new Districts are taking on the challenge of growing our organisation and bringing the opportunities of Toastmasters to more people, which is what we are really about. The successful finish is gratifying in its own right. However, even more important than the points themselves is what they indicate. They tell us what is happening in D71. - We are continuing to find new club opportunities and to give more people than ever before the facility to benefit from Toastmasters. - We are still top of the league in terms of the number of clubs who have membership greater than 20. This indicates a strong commitment to maintaining our existing club base.
- The number of awards (CC’s, CL’s, ATM’s etc) continues to increase, indicating a growing number of people benefiting from the Toastmasters programme. For many of you, I’m sure the past year has been a challenging one. Hopefully, you will also look back and see it as a rewarding year in which you made a difference and learned something about leadership, and perhaps about yourself. Once again, I would like to say that I have been proud to serve as your District Governor in our 85th year. Thank you for your support throughout the year and indeed throughout my four years on the District Executive. Without the dedicated hard work of volunteer leaders like you, this organisation could not continue to grow and prosper and give more people the opportunity to enjoy its benefits. Without you, there are at least some individuals who might not have had the courage to ‘find their voice’. To our new leaders, take example form those who have come before you. Be inspired by their successes and learn from the challenges they faced – and ‘Inspire with Passion’ Joe Gibbs Immediate Past District Governor
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Inspire With Passion! Many people ask me “why did you choose this as your strap line”? The reason is, I believe that if we are passionate about what we do and share it with everyone we meet then our enthusiasm for this organisation will be infectious! It gives us a ‘connection’ which we can share each time we come together or meet someone new. Every time I walk into a Toastmasters’ gathering or a networking meeting or even a social event, I find that I am drawn to the individuals who are really excited to be there. You will find them chatting to everyone. They will be smiling or laughing and it raises the ‘feel good factor’ exponentially! It makes me feel fabulous and makes me want to stay longer. Isn’t that what we want our members to feel every day? The answer to that is YES! Take yourself back to the first time you experienced passion within your Toastmasters journey. Did it make you feel great? Could you wait until the next meeting? Did you want to tell everyone about it? Did you actively invite everyone you knew to come with you? It’s such an exciting time! It reminds me of the first time I fell in love! What I am challenging everyone in District 71 to do this year is to rekindle that passion you experienced at the beginning of your journey. Fall in love all over again! Start wearing your Toastmasters pin everyday. Start smiling when you give a fantastic presentation and start feeling proud to answer the questions about Toastmasters when people ask. Many of us shy away
and say – “it’s just a little speakers club I’m a member of, no big deal really”. NO - it is so much more! Toastmasters is an educational organization that teaches us public speaking AND leadership skills as well as something that is priceless – confidence and self esteem. Without the confidence we gain, many of us would not go on to reach our full potential. Inspire With Passion and we will reach our goals for this year and:•
You will enable people to discover their confidence and self esteem by inspiring them to become a member of a Toastmasters club.
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You will encourage our Ambassadors in the District to continue to be involved by sharing their vast knowledge and skills.
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You will be assisting our clubs to achieve distinguished status by being involved at all levels.
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You will be proud to have been an active member who helped start a new club for more people to take advantage of our educational programme.
So, it’s up to you to be a connected member of the Inspire With Passion Team! Here’s to a really passionate, productive and inspirational year! Passionately yours!
Teresa Dukes, DTM – District Governor 2010-11
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79th Toastmasters International Convention – Palm Springs Palm Springs – what a beautifully HOT place to hold a convention! Freddie, Jim and I arrived to temperatures of 110 degrees Fahrenheit and decided that the best place to be was . . . . . in the air conditioning! I know that many of you thought I would say the pool but there was very little time for anything but sleeping! Training! Our training began on the Tuesday for two days and these two days were jam packed from 7am to 5pm with everything from Budget Planning to Club Building to Dealing with Conflict. It was the first time that ALL District Leaders Worldwide were being trained at the same time, which gave us a lot of extra information. We learnt how Districts in North America deal with challenging issues compared to how Districts from the rest of the world deal with the same. The one thing that became very clear to the District 71 Team is that we are very spoilt in the leadership we have been privileged to have. Our leaders from the past have driven us to reach our full potential by ensuring that we are following the Toastmasters Mission and Vision. Because of this we are continuously being praised for our successes through the Hall of Fame. This year we again surpassed all our goals and were rewarded by being ranked 16th in the World out of 81 Districts. An extra accolade we can add to our history is that we are also ranked FIRST in the World for having the highest number of clubs with 20 or more members – that was 87.17%! Only 3 Districts receive this most prestigious President’s 20+ Award and District 71 has been in receipt of this for more than 10 years straight. Because of this award many District officers from across the world came to us and asked – “How do you manage to maintain this consistent number of members in your clubs?” Our answer was – “We manage it because the number 20 is a ‘minimum’ requirement and therefore, we don’t accept that a club is sustainable without having that minimum number. As soon as it drops below 20 we take action.” Following up from
these questions I have been asked to join in a few Skype calls with North American Districts to share our secrets! Now that’s progress! Meetings Galore! I mentioned at the beginning there was very little time for anything but sleeping. This is because every year at the Convention there are Elections of the new International Directors and International Officers – the people who are elected by all Districts to run this organisation. As promised to our clubs the District Trio (me, Freddie & Jim) ensured that we met with every single candidate (18 in total) to hear what they had to offer. We could then make a very informed decision at the AGM (on behalf of D71) on the candidates who we felt would represent all members worldwide effectively. These late night meetings really paid off. I feel that the best candidates were successfully elected to their position at the Annual Business Meeting on Saturday morning 14th August. You can find out the list of newly elected officers by visiting TI’s website at: http://www.toastmasters.org/Members/News/Annou ncements/10-11BOD.aspx The Board of Directors briefed us on the many things happening to our organisation. I am passionate about these changes that will occur over the coming years and they all revolve around bringing Toastmasters International more into the 21st century by utilising technology more effectively. It will take time to implement the changes but we are on the road to a really exciting and inspiring journey. Have a look at the 5 Year Strategic Plan that will continue to shape our organisation. http://www.toastmasters.org/StrategicPlan Connections! I will leave you with this last section to think about. Every time you attend any event, it is important to make connections with people you meet - not only at the event but afterwards as well. The Convention was a great place to make this happen and since I’ve returned, I know that there have been well over 100 people who have befriended me on Facebook, Twitter and through email. These connections extend our D71 network further afield to all corners of the world! So, our ‘String Connection’ is really starting to reap benefits for us! How far can we make the string reach – how best can we utilise these connections to the fullest – what’s stopping you from reaching out? Go on – Inspire With Passion! Teresa Dukes, DTM – District Governor 2010/11
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NEW BEGINNINGS I love new beginnings. You have a clean sheet, an opportunity to learn new skills and to hone and develop the skills that you already have. Welcome to the team. Each one of us is in a new role. Your year in office will fly by very quickly, so now is the time to make plans and to develop strategies to implement these plans. Teams, when working in harmony, achieve far more than the same number of people can achieve when working independently. Synergy is used to describe this phenomenon. So, how do you become the effective leader that you aspire to be? Already, all Division and Area Governors received training in June and in most cases, have themselves delivered training to their Club Officers. The deadline for delivering and recording this training is August 31st. A minimum of 4 Club Officers out of 7 must be trained and the Area Governor must send a record of names and roles to the Division Governor. The District Executive Officers received their training at the International Convention in Palm Springs. Leaders acknowledge publicly the achievement by a team member and they support and privately monitor the under-performer. They seek consensus for the team's plans, objectives and timelines - articulating clearly the milestones to be reached on the journey. Good communication is of paramount importance, both within the team and with the wider public. Good Public Relations and Marketing are crucial to the success of all organisations, particularly so in relation to an organisation that is dedicated exclusively to communication and leadership. You will have observed that even at club level, there is a separate officer dedicated to both PR and Marketing. It is my opinion, that in very many clubs these two officer roles are under-utilised. Finally, particularly at Division level, there is a need to make greater use of the many new technologies that are available to us. Telephone conference calls can cost as little as 5 pence/cents per minute. The Agenda can be sent out by email in advance. Agreed Minutes and Action Points can be sent out by email within hours of the end of the meeting while memories are fresh and at almost no cost at all. My wish for you is that you would grow personally beyond your wildest expectations and in so doing be an Inspiration to the person next to you.
Jim Hegarty, Lieutenant Governor Education and Training, August 2010
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GOALS Setting your Goals for the Year At the recent District Officer training, we discussed the growth of our District. Currently we have about 6,300 members. However, the growth rate over the past 5 years has slowed from 9 -10% to 6 - 7% currently. I asked your Area and Division governors whether they felt that perhaps we were meeting a ceiling in terms of our size in this District. If you had been there you would have heard a resounding “NO” from all. Hopefully you too feel that there are many more people who should benefit from Toastmasters. In Great Britain and Ireland, there are roughly 42 million adults between the age of 18 and 65. I shall use this statistic going forward as my ‘eligible members’ number. (Note: our older members are equally welcome, I just don’t have the statistics for them!) But what percentage of that 42 million should be members of Toastmasters? Well, rather than be overly optimistic and state my opinion that they all should be members, I decided to compare our District to other geographies. As you may imagine, the US has the highest ratio of members to eligible population. They have one Toastmaster member for every 1,200 eligible people in the population. The second highest ratio is in Oceania. This includes Australia, New Zealand and the islands around Papua New Guinea, Fiji etc. In this geography the ratio is one Toastmaster member for roughly every 1,400 eligible people. By contrast, in D71, we have one Toastmaster for every 6,600 eligible members of our population.
It is reasonable to think that we could have a member for every 2,500 eligible people in our population within 10 years. This would require a minimum growth rate of 10% in membership each year, and would take our membership from 6,300 to over 16,000 in 2020. This is a challenging but realistic goal for us to adopt as a District. The next question is how to achieve this goal? It will require long-term initiatives over and above what we are currently doing. In our next District newsletter, I will run through my thoughts for how we at District, and you as members, Club Officers, Area and Division Officers can help District 71 achieve this goal. Indeed, if you have thoughts please email me at freddiedaniells@gmail.com. In the meantime, the one idea you should take away as a Club Officer, Area Governor or Division Governor is to target a minimum of 10% net growth in your membership this year for your Club, Area or Division. For most, this should mean adding just a few members more than you lose. Hopefully though, it will provide you with a challenge to ensure that the goal is reached. As part of the Toastmasters mission we have the following line: “It is basic to this mission that Toastmasters International continually expands its worldwide network of member clubs, thereby offering ever-greater numbers of people the opportunity to benefit from its programs.” By growing membership at a minimum of 10% this year you will, I believe, start to fulfil that mission.
Freddie Daniells, Lt Governor Marketing
Moving to the ratios of the US and Oceania would be a major challenge and likely take many years. However, it does guide us to some thought about our targets and goals.
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IMAGINE! John Lennon famously started off one of the greatest songs ever made… Imagine Imagine
going through your whole life never realising your true potential. Imagine not doing something you might enjoy because of fear. Imagine fear controlling your complete existence. My life was completely ruled by a fear so powerful that it undoubtedly forced my destiny, until I chose to step outside of my comfort zone and confront my ultimate nemesis. We all take the simple function of communication for granted and just how simple this is for 99% of people. Just before the exciting start of my Toastmasters journey, I had an acute stammer, which had plagued every speaking situation for over 25 years. Even the simple things such as socialising, ordering a meal and using the phone would prove to be a daily battle. In 2003 I decided that enough was enough and that I was going to take charge of my destiny and I joined a speech control improvement course called ‘The McGuire Programme’ which was to change my life. I discovered a new way of breathing along with various other methods to counteract the fear of stammering. This was when I discovered Toastmasters International. I was now learning to control my speech and I was really enthusiastic to continue the momentum with my personal development. Toastmasters International was to provide everything that I was looking for to develop my communication and presentation skills, in a safe and supportive environment. I will never forget my first ‘Icebreaker Speech’ at ‘Durham Articulate Speakers Club’ in October 2003. My first ever speech that captivated the audience and enabled me to discover the real person inside, that was hidden for so long, unable to portray his true self, for fear of the dreaded stammer rearing its ugly head. I continued to progress through the speeches, reaching my Competent Communicator in just nine months which was something that I was very proud of. ‘Toastmasters International’ was enabling me to develop in all other areas of my life. In 2004 I found myself in front of a Judge…Luckily not for the wrong reason but to be accepted into Norfolk Constabulary as a Special Constable, where I served for over 5 years, before moving on to develop my love of Public Speaking.
I thoroughly enjoy the opportunities of speaking to various external organisations, primarily the ‘Women’s Institute’ around Norfolk and Suffolk, and completely relish the challenge of effectively utilising my Toastmaster training to the best of my ability. I am now serving a second term, as Vice President of Education at ‘Norwich Speakers Club’ and this has been a very exciting challenge to be responsible for the forward development of all our club members. I am very lucky to be a part of a wonderful supportive team at ‘Norwich Speakers Club’ and of course, ‘Toastmasters International’, which has now enabled me to become a more confident and assertive person who really enjoys public speaking. That brings me on nicely to my recent appointment as Area Governor of Area 25, Division G - potentially my biggest challenge yet, to assist all the clubs in the area to continuously strive for excellence. A healthy club doesn’t just run itself. The core of success lies with the enthusiastic members and the club officers who carefully drive the club onwards and upwards. Finding the freedom to communicate has been amazing for me and I am thoroughly excited about my future. I really want to share my enthusiasm with others to help them ‘achieve their full potential’. Imagine going through your whole life never realising your true potential. Take that step, do that course, be the person you want to be. Imagine not doing something you might enjoy because of fear. Don’t hold back anymore, establish what you are afraid of and face your ultimate nemesis. Imagine fear controlling your complete existence. Let your heart control your destiny and ultimately you will always know that you are truly enjoying life and that anything is possible when you put your mind to it.
What are you waiting for?
Russell Eden Area 25 Governor
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A ROAD CALLED RECOVERY Statistics show us that approximately 500,000 adults in the U.K. stammer, which is about 1% of the adult population. So that's me Barry Rix, one in one hundred.
In November 2001 I joined THE STARFISH PROJECT (Supportive Training and Recovery for Individual Stammerer's Harmony). Nine years ago, I started on a road called recovery. This is a road full of twists and turns, and it goes on into the distance probably for the rest of my life. At the end of the day, my stammer has gone nowhere; there is no cure. I stammer every day, not very often or anything like I used to, but enough to know that I can never take my speech for granted. Recovery is not about how much fluency one can have, but about controlling a level of fluency that can be sustained - they are not the same thing. It was all very well learning a technique to help control my impediment, but after forty odd years of trying to avoid speaking, all those feelings of shame, embarrassment, humiliation, loss of dignity, self hate, all that stammering is, I had very little in the way of communication skills.
My speech coach recommended Toastmasters to me, and I well remember my first meeting as a guest. Waiting to introduce myself, heart pounding in my chest, as the Toastmaster of the evening worked his way around the room. My turn, "Barry Rix, revovering stammerer" that was such a fantastic feeling, and it was just the start.
Joining my local club at the time Camulodunum (Colchester Essex), I worked through the CC manual winning three club competitions en route, and serving on the committee.
One of my ambitions was to speak in church, a goal which without doubt, Toastmasters has helped me achieve. Not only do I now frequently lead services, but I also lay preach at four other local churches in the Chelmsford area.
In 2007, along with two other founding members, I put my efforts into helping Chelmsford Speakers Club charter, initially serving on the committee, and achieving CL and ACB along the way. It came as a real surprise to be asked to be Area 1 Governor for 2010/11, a role which to be honest, has taken me outside my comfort zone, but there are times in ones life when you simply have to 'feel the fear and do it anyway', and I was never going to say, "NO", otherwise I wouldn’t get my DTM, which is my main Toastmasters goal. In conclusion, please take a moment to think about something, which perhaps you have always taken for granted - the fact that you can just open your mouth and say what you want, when you want, and how you want.
Let us value the wonderful gift of communication. Barry Rix Area 1 Governor
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Beyond Stammering In Ireland, 48,000 people stammer. I have stammered since I was 6 years old. I struggled through all my childhood and during secondary school. After years of struggling, I decided to attend the McGuire Programme. I completed my first course in 2008 in Wigan, U.K., as all courses in Ireland were fully booked until 2010. I could see an improvement on the first full day on the McGuire programme. After the course, I had both good and bad days. It took a lot of courage for me to join Toastmasters. I tried to join a club before, but always backed out. That is why, when I visited Athy Toastmasters, I joined on the first night and I was assigned a mentor. Everyone made feel very welcome, but I felt a lot of fear being the only one there who stammered. I felt under pressure to speak fast. I decided to do my Icebreaker speech as soon as possible, rather then holding back. My mentor was a great support to me. As a member of toastmasters for only a short period, I have noticed that my
confidence has started to grow a little. I still feel nervous especially when experiencing some turbulence. Membership of Toastmasters has lots of benefits for me. It helps me practice what I’ve learned on the McGuire Programme and gives me the opportunity to speak to fluent people. It is an environment where I am given guidance and encouragement to progress at my own pace. Being a member of Toastmasters will teach me how to become a good public speaker. Most people may feel fearful when speaking publicly; imagine the difficulty doing it with a stammer. I know if I stick to the techniques from the McGuire Programme and continue to receive valuable feedback on my speeches at club meetings -
I will succeed and become a Competent Communicator in every sense.
Janet Lennon
Athy Toastmasters.
Area 28 Division D
Editors Note: Do you remember the buzzwords from the Sligo Conference ‘Stage Time’? The McGuire programme is pleased to offer Toastmasters in D71 an opportunity to have some ‘stage time’ and simultaneously promote Toastmasters. You can do this by arranging to deliver a presentation on ‘The value of Toastmaster Membership’ to their course attendees. See their website for course dates and venues. Barry Rix will be assisting on the December Starfish programme in East Sussex McGuire Programme UK Matt Wilton @ 07838172768 McGuire Programme Ireland Joe O’Donnell 0863429602 Starfish Project UK Anne Blight 1825767268 http://www.mcguireprogramme.com/ http://www.starfishproject.co.uk/
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Do
you want to be a winner?
Not only you, the speaker, will benefit from your efforts, so will your audience. A speech contest is an
Speech contests are an important part of the Toastmasters calendar. In another month’s time, the Humorous speech and Table Topics contests will be held again at all levels. This is reason enough for a lot of members to come out of their comfort zone, push their boundaries and achieve a new level in their speechmaking. A lot of members shy away from the club contest turn their heads and pretend it doesn’t exist. Speech contests are just not their thing. They don’t like the idea of competing, of winning and losing. This is an unfortunate viewpoint as it is not what speech contests are about. In a Toastmasters speech contest there are no losers. One person will take home the first prize, but all other contestants will be winners too. Do you want to be a winner? There is no better way for a speaker to improve their skills than by taking part in a speech contest. You will push yourself to craft a speech to the very best of your ability. You will learn to adhere to strict time limits and, as Darren LaCroix so profoundly stated, it will give you ‘stage time’. When you pass through the levels of competition, you will learn to fine-tune your speech, to use the feedback of your fellow members and you will gain experience for your future speeches. You will observe and learn from your fellow contestants. Even if you are not awarded first prize, you will have grown as a speaker.
ideal opportunity for you to entertain, inspire or educate your fellow members, to get them to laugh, think or act and leave a lasting impression on your audience. You can inspire them with passion. With or without the trophy, you will be a winner! As a speech contestant you will also do your club a big favour. A well-organized quality contest creates a buzz and an atmosphere in a club that goes well beyond the contest itself. People like to associate themselves with a lively, enthusiastic and successful club and your participation in a contest might just result in the signing up of a new member. Your passion and skill will inspire your fellow members to expand their comfort zone and encourage them to become better speakers. You have a chance to represent your club at Area, Division and District level and your club will grow stronger for it. You will be a winner for your club. Speech contests are an important part of the Toastmasters calendar and rightly so. Speakers, audience and clubs will all gain from this challenging and rewarding experience. A speech contest is a win-win-win situation for all parties involved. As a contestant, it is your opportunity to ‘inspire with passion’. There are no losers in a speech contest, only winners. Do you want to be a winner? Werner van den Hemel, Immediate Past Div F Governor
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You too can Write and Deliver Humour Michael Cronin: Humorous Speech Champion 2008 It’s great when somebody makes you smile or gives you a reason to laugh; it allows you to forget your worries and troubles for a while. It’s better again when you can give people a reason to laugh or smile. Before you say “I don’t do humour”, I bet you have been in the presence of family and friends and got them laughing with a story or tale you had. For what it’s worth, I have been a Toastmaster member for almost 14 years and I have seen many members who swore they could never do humour turn around and give a humorous speech. The best ideas for humorous speeches come from the simplest of ideas. Better again if you can do a speech on a subject with which everyone is familiar, such as travel, shopping, holidays. When you get ideas, write them down or you may forget them. As time goes by, you can keep adding other bits. Maybe if you are meeting friends you could try out some of your lines and if they enjoy them use them in the speech. Try and keep the humour easy to understand so that people can ‘get it ‘ straightaway. The speech does not have to full of belly laughs; clever humour can also be very effective. If the audience does not laugh when you expect them to, don’t worry, they will laugh where you don’t expect it. If your speech goes well at club level and you go further in the contest, be prepared for more laughter and maybe applause during your speech. This may put you under pressure for time. During the speech, if you are getting a great reaction and it looks like time will be tight, you should a have a sentence or two that you can drop that will not affect the story. It’s heartbreaking to give a good speech and then go overtime. It’s important that you do not offend anyone when you are giving a humorous speech. The only person you can make fun of is yourself. Give it a go because it’s a great feeling and people really do appreciate that you put in the effort.
David Jones Answers Questions and shares his Wisdom on Answering Topics David Jones Table topics Champion 2008 Q: Can you prepare yourself in advance for speaking at topics? David Jones: Yes. But only in the sense that practice is the best form of preparation. Q: In your opinion what prevents people entering a topics contest? DJ: It could be many factors: nerves, self-doubt, lack of experience, thinking you might embarrass yourself. However, you don’t have to do many table topics before you start to overcome those fears. A few Toastmasters don’t agree with having contests, and so they refuse to enter on principle. But that’s fine – you can’t win them all. Q: Is answering topics a natural talent – or is the talent developed from entering contests? DJ: It’s a skill you can learn. The more topics you do the better you become. Q: When you start, how do you determine the essence of a topic?
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DJ: Every contestant will interpret the topic in his own unique way. Finding the ‘essence’ of the topic really depends on whether the topic resonates with that speaker. If it does, then the speaker can spin their response into gold. If they don’t connect with the topic then the audience will sense that the speaker is struggling. Q: During the contest how do you keep on track while watching the time? DJ: I have been disqualified from quite a few contests, both speeches and table topics, for exceeding the time limit. And every time that’s happened I’ve kicked myself for making such a basic mistake. However, I try not to worry about the lights for the first minute or so because it is more important to plunge into the topic. But once I see the green light is on, then I start glancing at the lights about every ten seconds or so. You have to get into the habit of maintaining eye contact with the audience while trying to check the lights frequently. When I see the amber light then I start wrapping things up. If I actually see the lights turn from amber to red, then I know I can safely squeeze in another couple of sentences. If I glance at the lights and the red is already showing, then I will quickly finish that sentence and stop. Q: Is there merit in repeating the topic question when you make your reply? DJ: There are pros and cons. Repeating the question can serve as a structuring element, forming part of the introduction to what will hopefully be a mini speech with a beginning, middle and end. It’s a safe start, the audience knows what’s going on, and it should enable you to build a clear answer. On the down side, it is predictable, and it will not help to differentiate you from the other contestants who have used the same opening. Plus, everyone has heard the question, so why waste your valuable time by repeating it? On several occasions I’ve accidentally misquoted the question, and knowing I had it wrong I then stumbled about trying to recover the situation. All of which can distract or confuse the audience and ruin your performance. Q: What do you think about going with the first thought that comes into your head, or is that too dangerous? DJ: It takes about twenty seconds from hearing the question, walking on stage, shaking hands, looking out at the audience, to opening your mouth and speaking. In the seven years I’ve been a Toastmaster I can’t recall a single topic when, during that twenty seconds, I’ve managed to think up several different responses and then make a conscious evaluation as to which one would be the best answer to present. I usually have to go with the first thing that comes into my head, hoping that I can develop the response and throw in other ideas as they come to me. Sometimes it goes somewhere interesting, other times it doesn’t ignite. It can be dangerous to go with your first thought, especially if you have trouble censoring yourself. But sometimes dangerous can be best! Q: What part (if any) can attitude play in determining how someone approaches topics? DJ: Before you go on stage you must have a positive attitude. You need the confidence to trust yourself and believe that an idea will come and that you will run with it. When you are on stage, having attitude is essential. The audience has got to see, feel and hear your opinion and passion on the subject. Being objective and dispassionate may help you to construct a rational and even-handed argument but sitting on the fence is very unlikely to win you the topics contest. Q: Finally, do you have any ‘tricks of the trade’ for speaking at topics? DJ: There are two blindingly obvious things that are worth emphasising. First, answer the question. It is perfectly possible to give a highly entertaining response without addressing the question. Unfortunately, in a contest you will not tick all the judges’ boxes if you fail to answer the question. Second, it is vital to impose some structure on your stream of consciousness. If you can, clarify the initial question or statement, identify why this is a problem or how you feel about it, give some examples to explain your position, and then end with a strong conclusion. Apart from that, my advice would be: get as much practice as possible, trust yourself to think of good responses, be opinionated, start wrapping up when you see the amber light, and don’t exceed 2 minutes 30 seconds because twelve months is a long time to be kicking yourself.
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District 71 Autumn Conference WWW.DUBLIN2010.IE @inspiretm2010 Email:bookings@dublin2010.ie Phone: +353861271094
Dublin Toastmasters Club hosts the Autumn Conference Including the Humorous Speech and Table Topics Contest. Venue: Alexander Hotel, Dublin city centre ENTERTAINMENT • • • • • • • •
FRIDAY Fancy dress… theme: Cult Films…wide open to interpretation…lots of spot prizes. Learn Salsa steps with one of the best Dance Performers and Instructors in Ireland - Dr Rumba. Guaranteed that by the end of the night you will find yourself flying across the dance floor and feeling 10 years younger! Sing- song ‘til the small hours.
SATURDAY The Men in Black a 3-Piece band featuring brass and percussion. All band members feature on vocals with stunning harmonies, the emphasis is purely on fun!” After the meal and dancing, we will have a disco. For those who want to change the pace a bit, we’ll have a story- telling informal workshop/idea session The usual sing- song ‘til the small hours.
The conference is a not-to-be-missed opportunity to meet fellow members from various clubs across Ireland and UK, exchange ideas and inspire each other. It is your chance to get to know what is currently going on in your district by attending the Council meeting. The Dublin Club’s top priority is to provide you with both LEARNING and FUN In the words of Ciaran Moore, CC, VP Education Castlenock Toastmasters:
“I attended the Sligo conference this May and found it a fantastic experience and I would highly recommend such conferences, knowing how good it can be shows the way forward!”
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The Role of District Secretary The District Secretary is not elected, but is chosen each year by the incoming District Governor. The purpose of the role is to provide administrative support to the members of the District Executive (the Exec). I was thrilled when Teresa asked me to take on the role, as I really missed the deeper involvement in District activity I had had as Division G Governor in 2008/9. Many people do not realise that all the roles on the Exec are unpaid, voluntary positions and almost all Exec members have ‘day jobs’. So it is vital that we are organised, can quickly locate important paperwork and communicate well with each other. This is where I come in. Most of the work goes on behind the scenes and will not be noticed by most clubs and members – unless (horror of horrors!) it should go wrong. My key responsibilities are to administer and record all the meetings of the District Executive and the larger full District Council and to prepare the Council Packs for the Autumn and Spring conferences. The full Council involves all the Division and Area Governors as well as the Presidents and Vice Presidents of Education of all the clubs. I send out the notices of the official meetings that are held during the conferences and I manage the distribution of the proxy voting forms for the elections at the Spring Conference. I am the person who gives you all those (helpful?) reminders about outstanding actions and deadlines for the Council Pack reports. There is also a line in my ‘job description’ that reminds me of my days working in large corporations – a sort of catch-all to ensure that I would have to get involved with anything and everything. It reads ‘To assist the District Governor with any items required throughout the year, if able’. With the vast experience of a few weeks in the role, I think the Key Skills and Attributes of a good District Secretary are: • Previous experience of being an Area Governor or a Division Governor • Good administrative and organisational ability • Computer skills e.g. Word, Excel, email, PowerPoint and Internet • Flexibility • Having a ‘can-do’ attitude • Being a team player • Lots of friends and contacts all over the District. My vision for my role for the year is: • to provide efficient, reliable administration support for the District Executive team • to help members throughout the UK and Eire to understand what the members of the Exec do and how having a well run Exec supports them and their clubs • to ensure all deadlines are met throughout the Toastmasters year • to ensure that all official District meetings have the necessary documentation to run smoothly in line with our constitution I suppose the role could sound a bit dry. But this is far from the truth! I never know what is going to turn up with the next email or phone call. Although I do not have executive powers, I learn all about the happenings across the whole of the UK and Eire, I contribute ideas to the plans the Exec are making and, So, when I ask for reports, best of all, I hear about the success and challenges or remind you to deal with facing the clubs. To paraphrase that well known your proxy votes, please phrase or saying, “I’m from the Exec and I’m here to help you!” remember: My aim is to help D 71 run more efficiently for you – not to Sandra Lawes CC ALS be a pain in the neck! District Secretary
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DIVISION B:
‘Breathing to Win! How to overcome your nerves on stage’ Interactive workshop with Jayne Storey: coach to elite athletes, business executives and entrepreneurs. www.thelondonspeaker.com Venue: The London Irish Centre, 50-52 Camden Square, London NW1 9XB Thursday 9th September, 6.30pm for 7.00pm start £5.00 Thursday 23rd September, 6.30pm for 7.00pm start ‘Starting New Clubs – The leadership opportunities’. Interactive workshop led by Hilary Briggs DTM, Immediate Past Div B Governor and founder of Early Bird Speakers.
Venue: The Cheshire Cheese, 5 Little Essex Street, London WC2R 3LD. No charge
Division C: The summer club in Dublin had an average of 50 Toastmasters and guests at each of the weekly meetings held in Temple Bar throughout July and August. Visitors participated regularly on the agenda. New members were sourced for several Dublin based clubs. Congratulations to Eddie, Karolina and Peter on this new venture. Dundalk Toastmasters and Colleen Hardy have taken a leap from the zone known as ‘comfort’ by producing their own radio programme. The October newsletter will have all the details.
Division D: Tom Russell is now on Face book! Grace Hughes PR Clonmel club, featured in the O2 ability awards programme on RTE TV. A segment showed her delivering part of a speech in her club. Sadly, Carmel Shannon, member of Carlow club died in July following an illness. R.I.P.
Division H: Dec Cluskey, performer with the Bachelors and Area 32 Gov is interviewed in the August Toastmaster magazine.
Division A: Division Governor Maire Corbett celebrated her birthday recently Workshop: The Art of Effective Evaluation Date: 9th Nov 2010, Time: 8:00pm to 9:45pm, conducted by Ray Ryan. Host Club: Galtees Toastmaster: Area 17: Test speech by 2008 District 71 Humorous Speech Champion, Michael Cronin, which will be subject to sample evaluations. Lucia Hughes, District 71 Public Relations officer, will attend. Venue: Firgrove Hotel, Mitchelstown, Co. Cork. All Toastmasters and guests are welcome. For further details: Ray 086-3675706 or e-mail trjryan@hotmail.com Ray Ryan ACS, CL, Area 17 Governor. Congratulations to Thomond Toastmasters who are celebrating twenty years as a vibrant inspirational club. They are having a dinner on Saturday 25th September in Castletroy Hotel. Tickets 30 euro. Contact Conrad at 061378322 and Bring your Party Piece.
A well attended Area Training 14th July
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All Aboard in Division B to ‘Inspire with Passion’
Well, following District Officer Training in Stanstead back in June, Division B Council members came back passionately inspired to serve all our members. I have always been passionate about learning and challenge myself each day to learn something new. I am the prime candidate for the expression ‘you are never too old to learn,’ but I did have an early incentive when challenged prior to and at primary school to learn how to spell my name – it was Elizabeth Margaret Thorneycroft – not bad eh! 29 letters long, 16 consonants and vowels. It took a while but worth the effort. I have always, throughout my personal and working life, tried to share and pass on whatever knowledge I can, as I truly believe we all learn something new each and every day. It was with this in mind when I approached our new Division B Governor with what you might call an ‘ambitious plan.’ I had a vision, well several actually. I wanted to organise, host and run the largest amount of workshops that has ever been seen. Not only that, but I wanted to promote what I will term as ‘home grown’ talent within the Division as well as inviting ‘big names’. As I have wandered around (not lonely as a cloud I might add), I have been privileged to witness the amount of talent that we have in the Division and I am determined not to waste it. And what an opportunity we now have to utilise this pool of wonderful individuals. Holding the Humorous Speech and Table Topics and the International Speech and Evaluation Contests on a Saturday, we are making the most of this by holding workshops in the morning prior to the start of the Contests. More ‘stage time’ as Darren LeCroix would say. We are now in August and so far have held a workshop in July on High Performance Leadership with three of us organising the evening. We held one in August with
Alan Donegan on how to put together and run workshops. We have two booked for September – ‘Breathing to Win’ with Jayne Storey - coach to top athletes. Our very own Hilary Briggs will run the second workshop on ‘Starting New Clubs’. Several of our Clubs have also been busy running workshops – we had Cardinals presenting ‘Workshop Wizards’ where they ran 4 sessions one after the other – fantastic and not to be missed when we persuade them to run it again. One of the Area Governors is planning to run a workshop on ‘Humour’ in the run up to contest season. October sees us well into Contest mode and we will be lining up 3 or 4 workshops on the 16th October. My, my, I think I can start calling my vision a reality now, don’t you? Just over three months in and we will have run something like 9 workshops – wow! I have changed my name to ‘Bob the Builder’, because when people ask the answer is always ‘yes, we can.’ It doesn’t stop there; we will be running workshops on Storytelling, Voice Coaching, Presentation Zen, Memory, Conflict, Competent Leader, Advanced Leadership and lots, lots more as we progress throughout our Toastmaster Year. I am almost breathless, just telling you about it but as I am a woman of action I will leave you now saying keep your eye on ‘The London Speaker’ as we will be constantly announcing new workshops with great learning opportunities for anyone like me – that is my challenge to you – LEARN SOMETHING NEW EVERY DAY.
Liz Hobbs Assistant Gov DivB
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Division D Begins as it Ended
Pat Foley ACG HPL Division D Governor
Division D finished last year with the awarding of Toastmaster’s highest honour, the DTM, to Joe Mernagh. We have begun this new year with myself, Pat Foley about to receive the same award. Great praise is due, as it takes great dedication and effort to achieve this sought-after award. WELL DONE to both of us! Welcome to Area 50. A new area of Division D. Ulick Stafford is the first area Governor of this area comprising Gorey, Enniscorthy and Wexford. Wexford is our newest club, under the guiding hand of Bettie-Marie BurgerSmit, immediate past Governor area 40. Mary Ryan of Cashel club has taken on the reins in Area 27. A toastmaster for four years or so, she is undaunted by the task that lies before her. She accepts it as a challenge and we are sure she will shine as a new star in the Toastmaster’s firmament. Technically, Area 40 is also a new area but Declan Gannon, an old hand in Toastmasters is not going to let that fact hold him back from making Area 40 the place to be during the coming year. Anne Halpin is holding the fort in Area 8. This can be a challenging time for all our area governors but Anne is in the lucky position of having two formers District Governors in her area to assist and support her if the need arises. All our Area governors are selfless and enlightened in their approach to their specific roles, none more so than Maureen Giblin who has taken on the role of Governor in Area 28. She brings an enthusiasm and infectious approach to the role that is hard to ignore. I feel privileged to be working with such magnificent and inspiring people. Our esteemed and honoured District PRO, Lucia Hughes DTM, joined us for the morning session and left an indelible impression on all in attendance. We decided last June to combine the club officer training into a one-day event. Three areas (10 clubs) came together on Sat 28 Aug to attend COT. We all gathered at 10.30 for coffee and it was non-stop until nearly four o’clock with a short respite for lunch. It was exciting, enthusiastic, encouraging, energising, invigorating and stimulating. What a wonderful group of people Toastmasters are. What an inspiring start.
Promoting Toastmasters PR is about an action plan, which does something to persuade your audience to your way of thinking – to come along to a Toastmaster meeting. Communicating the message about Toastmasters has never been so simple. With technology of an amazing standard at your disposal you can attract a broad and instant audience. To ensure your technology e.g. your club website is working in your interests, follow this simple checklist: • Is your website front page up to date? • Are the contact details visible and up to date? • Does the format appeal to a wide audience Posting a message on a social network site or having a dedicated site for your club will raise awareness where you least expect it. If technology is not your strong point, remember that any form of publicity is worthwhile publicity. A newspaper article, a photograph, a local radio slot or a notice on your community notice board will equally impact on the reader or listener. The most important element in publicity is visibility and continuity. Keep a regular notice in the paper, check the supply flyers on the desk at the library and ensure your club business card is on display in a prominent place. Never underestimate the power of personal recommendations. Try telling one person per day how inspiring membership of Toastmasters has been for you in your life, then offer to bring them to your club (by the hand if necessary!) As promised a dedicated forum for club PR officers has been established on the D71 website and they have already been notified on how to access it. I hope lots of ideas will eminate from this forum to support club PR officers in their task of promoting Toastmasters in the coming year. Lucia Hughes PR Officer
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