The Pink Rose Newsletter News from Toastmasters International - Area 15 – Summer 2008 Leeds City Toastmasters - York EbOrators - Manchester Orators - Strictly Speaking Harrogate also supporting Dominion Speakers (Warrington) & Fylde Coast Orators (Lytham St.Annes)
Welcome to the fourth edition of the Pink Rose newsletter. As my term of office comes to an end at the end of June 2008, this will be the last newsletter with me as editor. See below what I’m getting up to next year.
I also would like to welcome readers from our two pre-charter clubs Dominion Speakers in Warrington and Fylde Coast Orators in Lytham St. Annes. The purpose of this newsletter is to share with all members of Area 15 the successes of members & clubs, ideas and thoughts to help all members develop and grow, and to keep everyone informed of what is happening in the Area. Hope you enjoy
Michael J. Clarke, Area 15 Governor ACS CL
michael.clarke@shorelinehp.com
Area Governor Update My year of office as Area 15 Governor ends on 30th June 2008. I’ve had a really enjoyable year supporting all four clubs in the Area. At different times I have been a member of three of the four clubs and have thoroughly enjoyed working with the members of York EbOrators, Leeds City Toastmasters & Strictly Speaking Harrogate. During my year of office we have chartered one club, Strictly Speaking Harrogate, two further clubs are at the precharter phase and there are plans to start clubs in Scunthorpe, Chesterfield, Darlington and Hull. All very exciting, and with a growing membership, the Area is in a fine state of affairs. This does not mean we can relax, and amongst the many goals my successor will have, is to continue with this growth. So who is the new Area 15 Governor you may well ask? It gives me great pleasure to hand over the Area Governorship of Area 15 to Jim Gregory of Manchester Orators. Jim is a Founder member of Manchester Orators and has been President of the club this year. I know Jim well and I am very confident that he will do an excellent job in 2008/09. Jim, I wish you well.
Any Ideas? I’m always trying to think of ways in which to get this wonderful organisation more widely known and able to attract so many visitors we have to set up new clubs everywhere. But I have to say I’m nowt but a humble accountant and doing the PR and marketing stuff is not my forte. I totally understand the value of great PR and marketing, but don’t know what works and what doesn’t. Give me a Profit & Loss any day. I’m asking for all of you to help in this quest I have to develop and grow the organisation. What I’m asking is for you to share your ideas on how you think we can do this. Of tell me what has worked for you either in Toastmasters or elsewhere. I don’t want to reinvent the wheel but would like to share ideas that have worked. Look forward to being inundated with ideas.
Dates For The Diary Division E Speaking Competition
11 October 2008
TBC Autumn District Conference
7-9 November 2008
Kilkenny, Eire Division E Speaking Competition
19 April 2009
TBC Spring District Conference
15–17 May 2008
Oxford, England Autumn District Conference
13-15 November 2009
York, England For further details please go to www.d71.org where updates will be posted
Welcome To Our New Presidents st
District Conference
A new Toastmasters year starts on 1 July 2008, and with it each of the Area 15 clubs welcomes a new President and a new committee.
It gives me great pleasure to announce that the White Rose Conference team bid for the Autumn 2009 District Conference has been accepted by District Executive.
Leeds City Toastmasters welcomes Johnson Tam-Lit as their new President. Johnson has been a member for almost 18 months and President is his first officer role. I’m sure the whole club wishes him well. He has a full committee with a mix of experienced members and those taking a role for the first time
The Conference will take place at the Royal Hotel in York from 13th to 15th November 2009.
York EbOrators welcomes Adrian Hall as their new President. Adrian only joined the club in February this year, but when he was asked about becoming President, he took little persuading. The other major roles have also been taken on by members almost as new as Adrian, but the more experienced members have also taken roles to support Adrian and the club. Strictly Speaking Harrogate chartered in December 2007 with their President Sue McQueen. Sue is continuing as President and is supported by some very enthusiastic new members backed by those who helped charter the club. Manchester Orators welcomes LJ Barnsley as their new President. LJ has been a member for over three years and has around her a committee made up of a great mix of newer members and more experienced ones. It is expected that very soon Dominion Speakers, in Warrington, will charter and they already have a full committee lead by President Samantha Carruthers. Fylde Coast Orators shouldn’t be far behind. In all cases, we wish all those taking on a role a very happy and successful year
To get to this stage the Conference bid team of Phil Heath, Anthony Day, Gillian Caldicott, Helen Brewer, Diane Heath, Mary Day and myself have had 5 committee meetings to put the bid together, including a detailed financial plan. We are all very excited about winning the bid and have already had one post-bid planning meeting and have another scheduled at the Hotel. In addition, the team has allocated project roles and are all now tasked to recognise who else can help make the Conference something special. There are many ways every member can get involved but we need to know you are interested. Some members have already come forward, but the team can’t get to everyone, so they need members to speak up. The Conference team agreed unanimously that Phil Heath will be Conference Director, having the unenviable task of keeping the team in order. If you would like to be involved in the Conference in any way, please drop me an email and I’ll pass it on to the relevant team member. Details of what is happening with the Conference will be put on the website over the next few weeks, but I am developing a mailing list of members who want to be kept informed of what is happening with the Conference, and when they are able to book. To be included on that mailing list, please drop me a quick email requesting being put on the list.
Division E Governor As I entered the second half of my year as area 15 Governor I began to think about what role I’d like to do the following year – 2008/09. I’d already taken all the roles at club level that I wished to undertake, so the obvious route was upwards. The next role to go for is Division Governor, and for Area 15 that is Division E. There are 4 Divisions in the UK, and 4 in Ireland. Division E covers by far and away the largest in District 71 and has 7 Areas and 29 clubs at present. The clubs are located from the South West of England to the Highlands of Scotland. This makes it a real challenge to have a profile, Fortunately I was elected unopposed at Killarney Conference, so now the planning starts. The role of the Division Governor, I believe, is to support the Areas and the clubs and also to be a conduit of information with District Executive. I have always strived to be an open and honest member of Toastmasters and will continue to be so. The size of the Division means it is unlikely I will visit every club, but what I do commit to is the following. I will attend every Area speaking contest, every District speaking contest and every Club charter event subject to not having a prior engagement. I am prepared to visit any club that feels it will be of benefit to the members. Please note I do have a full-time job based in Grimsby, so planning and notice is required. What I do commit to totally is being accessible to all members by email or phone – I welcome feedback at all times. Please do not hesitate to talk to me if you have any ideas, complaints or whatever – I promise I will respond promptly.
Role Review – Timekeeper I love being Timekeeper because you are involved in the whole meeting and all aspects. Unlike the General Evaluator, who usually sits at the back of the room with you, there is no need to be making copious notes on everything. All you have to do is record the time – so simple. Or so you may think. The number of times I’ve got so involved in a speech and forgot to indicate the cards/lights - I’m embarrassed to say too many. Timekeeper is a very important role and amongst other things makes sure we all get home at a reasonable hour. Like many other Toastmasters I would speak for well over my allotted time unless I got the coloured cards or lights. So how do you prepare to be Timekeeper? First you have to volunteer to do the role – get your name down on the club meeting planner. Second make sure you turn up for the meeting or let the Toastmaster know as soon as possible if you can’t. That of course stands for any role in the meeting – it’s only common courtesy to your fellow members. At the meeting make sure you have the equipment to do the role – stopwatch and coloured cards or lights. In addition make sure the Toastmaster or Sergeant at Arms provides you with an agenda that shows the timings for all aspects of the meeting. When I am Timekeeper I check with everyone who has a role that they are happy with the timings for their part of the meeting. For some of the longer speeches, the speaker may want the green and yellow warnings different to what you may be thinking. Finally be prepared for your explanation at the front. Check the manual for what is expected, and ask for advice from experienced members. And of course enjoy it!
From a Misunderstanding to a Testimonial
Over the first three or four years I would get irritated and explain in an exasperated manner what Toastmasters International is really about. When someone would ask if I could fulfil the role of MC for them I’d decline. But over the last two years I’ve decided to use these requests as a development opportunity. It is just a different form of speaking and not some totally different form. Earlier this year I was asked to MC the annual ball at work – yes another misunderstanding. Despite nearly losing my voice due to no microphone, it appeared to go well. In fact so well that the Chairman of the Board asked me if I would MC an event he was organising. Who was I to refuse the Chairman of the Board! Well weeks went by with the continual promising that the details would be sent through, but no show. Eventually one day before the event I received a rather brief brief of the event. It was to be the opening of the Humber Seafood Institute in Grimsby. The event was to be attended by Austin Mitchell, the local MP, senior members of the North East Lincolnshire Council, the Indonesian Minister for Fisheries and Agriculture and Antony Worrall-Thompson doing a live cookery demonstration. I was to introduce at least six speakers and explain to everyone present what was happening and where. Unfortunately half the information was missing and I only had the evening to prepare. To say my nerves were on edge is an understatement. The next morning I awoke with the thought in my mind – just treat it as a Toastmasters meeting and you are Toastmaster. As soon as this mindset clicked in I knew I would be alright. Even being given, on my arrival, a completely different brief, when I got there, didn’t faze me. I had to be the calming influence as all around were doing the headless chicken impression. I just kept thinking it is just like a Toastmasters meeting when members fail to turn up for roles and we have to think on out feet at the last minute. I stood on the stage in front of an audience of over 150 people and called the meeting to order. There was the local press, the local radio stations and both local TV stations. I was so much in Toastmaster mode that as I called each dignitary to the front to speak I put out my hand and shook there hand, just like in Toastmasters. Everything went brilliantly well, Austin Mitchell offered me a job in Westminster to help out the PM, I had lunch with Antony Worrall-Thompson and learned the life of a TV celebrity is not all it is cracked up to be, and got some great feedback from all and sundry. What I have learned is that no opportunity to speak should be spurned – it is all a development opportunity. Oh – and the testimonial is in the post.
Plan to Succeed I’m always gone on and on with this old hackneyed phrase – ‘the more you put in, the more you get out’. But that is because I truly believe it. And one of the best ways of doing that is to plan what you intend to do with your membership of Toastmasters. I meet many members who have no idea when they are going to speak, what awards they plan to achieve by when, and certainly have no idea about how to achieve their Competent Leader award. So here are some simple tips that will help you get more out of your Membership. •
How many meetings do you plan to make next year?
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How many speeches do you need to do to reach the next award level?
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How many roles in your CL manual do you need to undertake to achieve your award?
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What other roles do you need to undertake to achieve an Advanced Leader award?
With these questions answered you can then start to plan out what you want to do at each meeting. There is nothing wrong with having a night doing nothing, but it should be a rarity. I tried to do nothing at a meeting this year and failed – they needed an evaluator, so in I stepped. Once you have planned it all out, talk to the Vice President – Education, or whoever hosts the planner, and get your name down for roles. Many clubs are now using the Easy Speak function on the D71.org website to book roles – maybe our clubs could start using it? Once you have booked the roles and the speeches you can start to practice the roles and write those speeches and deliver them to the best of your ability. Remember – ‘the more you put in, the more you get out’.
Officer Training Twice a year the Area Governor delivers Officer Training to the clubs in the area. To achieve one of the 10 goals on the club’s Distinguished Club Programme, there has to be at least 4 officers attending both training events in July/August and January/February. Jim Gregory, the incoming Area Governor, will shortly be letting you all know details of the year’s two events. I want to clarify one big misunderstanding that still exists – IT IS FOR EVERY MEMBER HOW EVER LONG THEY HAVE BEEN A MEMBER! Please can you all look at your diaries when you get the date and commit to attending? Like always, the better trained people are the better the organisation. Book early, book often but above all BOOK.