Advice – Page 2 – Toastmasters District 83

Toastmasters for the Next Generation

The infancy of Pathways has evoked an array of emotions from my fellow Toastmasters. Throughout the district, I have seen everything from enthusiasm, resulting in some of my fellow members becoming Pathways Guides before the launch to outright declarations of protest. As a Vice President of Membership, I have seen Toastmasters not renew their membership because of their claim that Pathways “has nothing to offer me.”

With a change as big as Pathways being rolled out to an organization of over 94 years, it is easy to see its flaws and even participate in regular debates around the subject as we learn more with each passing month. As we move forward with these changes, I want to challenge my fellow Toastmasters to be mindful of how we discuss both the growing pains and excitement— particularly, in front of newer Toastmasters who may have never been acquainted with the traditional educational program. From time to time, I have noticed newer members who attend a district workshop or conference with excitement over all of the new skills they will learn become deflated when they overhear occasional grumbles and complaints about the only program they have to pursue, Pathways.

It is our job as tenured Toastmasters to encourage our newer members, especially the more apprehensive ones, to lean in and attack their goals at meetings. The best way to do that is through leading by example, even when it means stepping out of our comfort zone. It all comes back to the Toastmasters core values when we look at the big picture. We should embrace Pathways for our newer members or, “Toastmasters of the next generation” as I like to call them, in order to:

Uphold the Integrity of Toastmasters. Our mission and member’s goal are still the same; there may just be more than one way to get there now.
Continue a culture of Respect for our fellow Toastmasters who are working hard to provide the resources we need to make Pathways a success in our district.
Be of Service to others. More knowledge leads to more opportunities to mentor, teach, and share what you know.
Claim our own Excellence. Starting a new learning path does not erase your hard work or skills you have claimed so far in your Toastmasters journey.

Maintain the Integrity of Our Mission to Become Better Leaders and Communicators

A newer member of my home club approached me one evening asking some questions about Pathways. Instead of stumbling through them, half-uncertain, I invited her to come with me to a Pathways workshop being held that Saturday.

Not only did this learning session help this new member get started with her first speech (she will give her second in the next few weeks!), but it also helped the Toastmasters hosting the session with their leadership development. It helped me become more familiar with the resources available to us through Pathways. It gave me more information I needed to lead with confidence, even if it is just in a low-key mentorship relationship for right now.

Toastmasters maintains its integrity by delivering what it promised to from the start, so I challenge you to consider what your goals are in being part of Toastmasters. Does it have to do with communication? Leadership? If so, you’re still in the right place. There is just more than one way to get there now.

Respect the Process of Change and Those Who Work Hard to Smooth the Transition

Everyone is entitled to their opinion on all of the changes going on around us. While we have these discussions and share those opinions, it is important to remember that we have new members to consider those who aren’t tainted by the memories of “how things used to be.” It is easy to play the critic when we have something to compare it to.

Our District 83 Pathways Guides, officers, and directors working hard to educate us on these changes and answer the endless stream of questions. While the changes may be difficult for us, it is important to show respect for those looking to smooth the way, especially with a transition period as long as two years between the rollout and the retirement of the traditional program. Would you complain loudly and proudly if your boss was leading you through a change at work with grace and strong leadership? Probably not. The best thing we can do is be grateful for the wealth of resources we have available to us and use them to our advantage.

Embrace Change Because it’s Showing Service to Others

The topic of change reminds me of my first job out of a graduate school. As a licensing specialist at a large software/hardware reseller, it was my job to learn about seemingly arbitrary licensing rules and relay that information to sales reps. Just as I was getting the hang of these licensing rules and felt confident in my skills, our software partner decided to change the entire licensing structure. We would have a grace period of about two years to smooth the transition for customers, which required a lot of extra knowledge around both licensing structures and how they would work together. Sounds familiar?

Around the same time, I was asked to train a new team member. In a situation that would normally leave me feeling in over my head, I found myself feeling grateful for the opportunity. Learning alongside my trainee and finding answers to questions that had not come yet were all rich learning opportunities for me. Furthermore, I mindfully kept any complaints about all of the changes away from his training to set a professional and positive tone for the work we had to get done.

Pathways aren’t very different! To embrace Pathways does not mean you have to quit the traditional path right away. You can work in both the traditional and Pathways curriculum at the same time during the grace period. It’s all about baby steps. Consider hosting an Icebreaker night for your club, dedicated to speakers knocking out the first speech in their path. A gesture like this could be just what your club needs to get some speakers started in their Toastmasters journey. By setting aside this time for your club, you could be providing a great service to speakers who haven’t been able to get a speaking slot since joining Toastmasters.

Excellence

Finally, being a Toastmaster means we exude excellence in everything we do. Doing an Icebreaker and starting a new learning curriculum, even after earning multiple advanced awards, will not undo the skills you have gained so far. If anything, going back to the basics is a chance to see how far you have come in your skills.

My very first Icebreaker two and a half years ago was a pretty standard one that consisted of me naming off a laundry list of things about myself for several minutes. My Icebreaker just a few months ago for Pathways consisted of me skipping around the room, wrapping a feather boa around a fellow Toastmaster, and handing out party noisemakers, delivering a speech about my independent spirit and how that fit into preparing for my upcoming marriage. The feedback I received and creative risks I took all made the Icebreaker a worthwhile (and fun!) project. We all have something to learn from any speech we deliver. Our excellence will remain the same as we do it.

I encourage you to revisit the core values of Toastmasters and consider what they mean to you as you examine your goals for 2019. Write them out. Ask your fellow Toastmasters how you can help them reach their goals. Pathways is an opportunity for all of us to embrace integrity, respect, service, and excellence in our speaking journey. Join me in leading the way for Toastmasters of the next generation.

Embrace Change

Let me tell you about my day. I woke up this morning and used the percolator to make coffee. I went to the office and sat down at my manual typewriter and used a rotary phone to make some calls. When I came back from lunch, my secretary handed me a pile of pink slips with phone messages and two faxes. I love the modern world.

Obviously change is a big part of our world and impacts our daily lives. No matter how happy we are with how things are, life will change. Change can be expected or unexpected, and in either case, attitude is everything and how we react to change is what counts. The Serenity Prayer directs us to ask that we be granted me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can and wisdom to know the difference.

Here are some tips for having a good attitude when it comes to change.

Accept that change can be good and can be a chance to challenge one’s self to try new things.
Understand why change is occurring. If your company changes its hours, vacation policy or bonus structure, you cannot view this as a personal affront and it may be a sign of things to come.
View change as a new beginning. We celebrate new years, weddings, commencements, new jobs for the opportunities they will bring.
Change is new and takes you away from the same old, same old.
Be curious. Ask questions about the change, its impact and what is expected by you.
Short term does not equal long term. While in the short term, change may require new ways of foing things and the need to adapt. Over time, the “new” becomes familiar and less scary.
Ask yourself, how can I make this change work for me? How will you benefit?

Tomorrow morning, when you’re making Keurig coffee, having breakfast, get to work and check email on your smartphone and laptop and receive a text about a change in meeting time, think about which changes are coming and list the positives of these changes, and you’ll realize that change can be good.

Welcome Visitors

Who remembers their first visit to a Toastmasters club meeting? Were you “shopping” for a club? Were you nervous? Did you feel welcome? Had you visited other clubs? Did you join the first club that you visited?

My informal survey indicates that most people stick with the first club they visit. They would probably never return if they didn’t feel welcomed.

Keep up the good work!

New members are the lifeblood of thriving Toastmaster Clubs:

They provide new ideas.
They expand our vision and network.
They bring new enthusiasm.
They keep us on our toes.
They see things that we have become blind to.
They give us opportunities to mentor.
They replace people who leave.

How do we convert visitors to members? Greet them with a smile; make them feel welcome and “at home”. Make an effort to talk with them after the meeting. Go low-key on the selling of your club; people like to buy, not to be overwhelmed with the sale. Jot down their names to introduce them at the beginning of the meeting. Assign a member to “befriend” each visitor and sit with them during the meeting.

You probably already know everything written here; even so, a gentle reminder is always helpful.

Keep up the good work! Who knows? You may be the reason they join your club.

Expand Your Circle

As time passes we either expand our circle of interests or let it contract. Contracting our circle is easy and safe; expanding it takes effort. Toastmasters is a safe way to step out of our comfort zone.

One reason that Toastmasters is safe is that your are part of a team. I felt the support the members had for each other from the get-go. Safe is not the same as no competition. If competition motivates you, you can join contests. If the thought of losing demotivates you, there is no pressure to compete. The informal competition at club meetings is what you make of it. All competition and Toastmaster titles aim for improvement.

Toastmasters allows you to face the fear of public speaking at your own pace. Start by listening to other people’s speeches and watching them grow. Listen to evaluations and see that everyone has room for growth. Speak at every meeting. Socialize. Encourage others. Take on a small role such as “Report of the Timer.” Introduce yourself with a joke as the Jokemaster and follow up with your Ice Breaker speech. Try to speak at every meeting. The Word of the Day and Grammarian are other opportunities to speak in front of people. When my career involved frequent speaking I kept my fear well under control and settled down after the first minute; when there were gaps between speaking engagements the tension rose.

Listening is another important life-skill. Volunteer for the role of Grammarian; it develops listening and speaking skills. The Grammarian listens closely to all the speeches, synthesizes the results and quickly develops a readout. A minute of advance preparation and jotting down notes is much more effective than giving an ad-hoc readout. When you aren’t the Grammarian listen to other people’s speeches with a new ear. Other speeches often provide a mirror in that I hear things that I either like or dislike in my own speeches. I am encouraged by hearing how others rebound from errors. Listening to evaluations provides insights into what others think are important in speeches. Performing quiet shadow evaluations sharpens listening skills and helps internalize improvement ideas.

Grow with Toastmasters. Stretch yourself at every meeting. Share your experience on the Toastmasters District 83 Blog.

Giving and Receiving Feedback

Introduction

When I joined Toastmasters I was nervous while speaking, uncomfortable receiving evaluations, and had qualms about giving evaluations. This blog might be helpful if you share these feelings. Feedback is important. Leaders receive and give quality feedback; high-performance teams have tight feedback loops. These skills are necessary for personal and team growth.

Receiving Feedback

People don’t join Toastmasters because they are good speakers; they join to become the best speakers they can be. Toastmasters need both encouragement and constructive criticism. Encouragement is important to help continue. Receiving areas for improvement is necessary for growth. Welcome criticism even though it can be threatening.

Some tips for benefiting from feedback:

Don’t be defensive. Control your emotions.
Give thanks and express gratitude for the effort they put in to construct the feedback. It would have been easy for them to say that everything was fine. Thanking them helps control your emotions.
Understand what they said and why they said it.
Ask questions with the goal to understand, not to reach agreement.
Remember they are giving opinions with the goal to help, so there is no need to explain yourself.
Take time to consider what to do with the feedback.
Share the feedback with one or two people you trust. Discuss your implementation ideas with them.
Try at least one idea. Log the others for future consideration.

Better to Give Than Receive

Toastmasters who have completed six speeches have the opportunity to pay forward the help they received. Feedback is precious, so don’t squander the opportunity. Toastmasters seldom give more than one speech per month.

Make the most of this opportunity:

Remember the goal of giving feedback is to help others.
Remember how you feel when receiving feedback.
Read Toastmaster’s Effective Evaluation Manual.
Have your mentor gave tips before the evaluation and suggestions for improvement after.
Consider the speaker –
- A new speaker needs encouragement.
- Experienced speakers need areas for improvement. They can benefit by getting another perspective.

Outside of Toastmasters

Practice receiving feedback. Make sure you are ready to hear it before you ask. I find that I am more sensitive receiving criticism from family members and close friends than from fellow Toastmasters. Don’t give feedback unless invited or unless you are in a position to do so (parent, teacher or manager).

We are interested in your feedback experiences. Please share them in the comments section.

Are You Suffering from Butterfly Effect?

You have been preparing for your speech for days. You rehearsed it many times over your head and you have been waiting for this moment, yet when the Toastmaster announces your name, all of sudden you feel gazillion butterflies swarming in your stomach making you very uncomfortable. You look around nervously. Out of nowhere, you have sweaty palms, your hands are shaking, your heart beats faster than normal, your mouth feels dry, and no word comes out of your mouth when you try to speak. All you want is to run away.

Does this sound familiar to you? I hope not.

However, if you are one of those people who gets nervous before presenting a speech and are suffering from the “butterfly effect,” there are things you can do to calm yourself before you begin to speak. Over time, I have gathered steps from many sources to help calm me when presenting a speech. I am going to share them with you.

Keep in mind sometimes nervous energy can be a good thing because it can be converted into an enthusiastic speech. Therefore, having a little bit of the butterfly effect helps you be more prepared and focused. On the other hand, if the butterfly effect stands in a way of your performance, you can try the steps to calm yourself before speaking.

Continue reading “Are You Suffering from Butterfly Effect?”

Mentoring and It’s Benefits

Many new member feel the need for assistance in navigating how the process works and would like help with preparing for their first speech. By partnering an existing member with a newer member to provide support, the mentoring program addresses this need.

At Midtown Toastmasters, a specially curated position of VP Mentorship was created. The VP developed a club Mentoring Program to provide insight and support to all members. The program partners new and existing members with a veteran member, who helps with preparation of the new member’s first speech or meeting role, navigation of Toastmasters education and leadership opportunities, input on assignments, and anything else the new member may need help with.

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How To Choose A Toastmasters Club

Set Your Goal

Toastmasters can benefit you in many ways. It helps if you know what you want to achieve, and why.

Try to refine your goal down to one sentence, including why you want to achieve it. For example:

“I want to improve my presentation skills so I can communicate efficiently and effectively with my clients and co-workers during meetings.”

Once you know your goal you’ll need to find people and opportunities that will help you.

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Get Ready for the Holly Jolly Holiday Speech!

Don’t give a speech that makes Santa fall asleep!

Holidays are right around the corner. Holiday parties, corporate gatherings, and family events provide an opportunity for you to meet new people and reconnect with old acquaintances. These events are opportunities to put your best foot forward by presenting your ideas and making an impact on your audience.

We are all not born with the gift of confident public speaking but it is an art which we can master. Here are a few tricks to nudge you in the right direction toward public speaking.

1. Join a Toastmasters Club today. Toastmasters provides an informal platform to practice your speech and improve speech delivery, intonation, and presentation styles. This will be helpful in adopting a positive and confident approach to the speech and overcome public speaking anxieties.

2. Overcome stage fright and anxiety by visualizing your speech and the audience. Focus on a friendly face in the audience and draw confidence from positive acknowledgement in the audience. Before delivering your speech, try relaxing breathing exercises, which can be done anywhere, anytime you feel stressed.

Continue reading “Get Ready for the Holly Jolly Holiday Speech!”

How Successful Clubs Earn President’s Distinguished

Successful clubs often earn the coveted President’s Distinguished Award multiple years in a row. Some of these clubs have several things in common.

The club has all seven officer positions filled with most or all of the officers attending club officer training twice a year. The club officers meet regularly and train their successors. The officers develop a Club Success Plan and identify candidates likely to earn educational and leadership awards.

The club makes a point of collecting dues for Toastmasters International as well as club dues if applicable well in advance of the deadline so members and officers avoid last-minute scrambling. Some clubs have a policy of requiring their members pay dues for the full year all at once to avoid collecting again for the second dues cycle.

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