Last Thursday, a group of Toastmasters gathered to support Mike Carlo at the 4th Thursday Networking group. The following videos feature Mike’s speech on public speaking.
Tag: toastmasters
Volunteering Led to Toastmasters
I grew up in a family that values volunteering. I carried the orange UNICEF box to collect change on Halloween as a girl, watched my parents actively engage in the community through the Jaycees, and joined my grandmother in delivering mail to patients in the hospital as a candy striper.
The foundation of service to others was firmly established in my upbringing. I continued to volunteer throughout college, career and kids when time permitted. In 2010 service switched from being a pastime to a priority. I was invited to join the local chapter of a global organization focused on literacy.
Room to Read began in 2000 on the belief that World Change Starts with Educated Children. Room to Read operates in 14 countries and has an extensive volunteer network worldwide. I read the book by the founder, Leaving Microsoft to Change the World, and was immediately hooked.
Club Spotlight: Hunterdon Speak Easy
It’s easy to think of Toastmasters as one giant homogeneous organization. As any Toastmaster will tell you, that is far from the truth. Each club has a unique personality. Club Spotlight seeks to help current and future members find the right club(s) for their Toastmasters goals.
Club: Hunterdon Speak Easy Club
Charter Date: December 7, 2004
Recent Awards: Talk Up Toastmasters Award 2016-2017
Why Hold a Club Contest?
For most people, the seasons are Summer, Fall, Winter, and Spring. For Toastmasters, the seasons are Officer Training, Contest Season, Officer Training, and Contest Season. For Fall 2017, District 83 is holding two contests: Tall Tales and Table Topics. Club contests are traditionally run in August. Winners move on to Area contests in September and Division contests in October, eventually culminating in the District contest at our Fall Conference on November 18.
But why hold a club contest at all? Here are four great reasons:
Meet the District Officers: Manny Reyes
Name: Manuel A. Reyes, ACG, ALB
Position: Program Quality Director
Club(s): Impact 21, What Exit?, Brunswick Advanced, and Brunswick Toastmasters
Other positions: At the club level, I have been Club President, VP of Education, VP Public Relations, Secretary, and Sergeant-at-Arms . I have also served as Area 42 Director 2015 – 2016 and Division D Director 2016 – 2017.
How long have you been in Toastmasters? Since April 01, 2014.
What are your plans for the district/area/division?
The theme for this Toastmaster Year is “New Beginnings”. And I like to think of this theme as the start to great things. In the year ahead, I want to see our members grow in their communications and leadership skills. I want to ask everyone to set a goal to complete a personal milestone, like to move up or add one communication or leadership award. For example, leveling up from CC (Competent Communicator) to ACB (Advance Communication Bronze) and so on.
We all have a new opportunity to reassess where we are today and where we want to be a year from now. As long as everyone keeps sight of where they are headed, we should be on the right track.
For a starting point, let me remind you of Lao Tzu quote. “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” And if you are on your path today, then take the next step.
Are you ready for the D83 Fall Conference?
Conference Chair Dave Chapman talks about the Fall Conference, which will take place on November 18, 2017.
One Level Up- Module 1: Planning for Success
Our District 83 theme for this year is “New Beginnings”. This means a new way of acting to move at a much faster pace, a new vision to take our members to new educational heights exploring our resilience, to acquire new abilities no matter what obstacles or hurdles appears on the way, and find consistent practices to overcome the distractions trying to disrupt our advancement.
For everyone to achieve my challenge to move “one level up” in your educational and/or leadership program, we need to come to the realization that if we don’t plan the year-end outcome, we cannot arrive there. Or as Zig Ziglar used to say, “You can’t hit a target you cannot see, and you cannot see a target you do not have”.
Continue reading “One Level Up- Module 1: Planning for Success”
From Toastmasters to Officiating a Wedding
In 2015, I joined Toastmasters. At the time, I never intended to officiate a wedding. Even though I was ordained, I had never used my ordination. That changed when a mutual friend of the groom told me that his friend needs someone to officiate the wedding. I jumped at the opportunity, but internally thought “Kevin… what do you think you’re doing? This is a wedding, not explaining the rules to a board game.”
Before the wedding, I met with the bride and groom and they explained to me what they wanted. It was nothing out of the usual as far as wedding ceremonies go. The day of the ceremony, I made sure I had the wedding certificate ready and kept practicing the script the bride and groom wanted me say.
Continue reading “From Toastmasters to Officiating a Wedding”
Twitter for Toastmasters
Twitter is an invaluable tool for Toastmasters today. It lets you interact with other Toastmasters all over the world, sharing ideas that make the organization as a whole stronger. However, for non-digital natives, once you create an account, it’s easy to get lost in a sea of hashtags, @ signs, and 140 character-long thoughts.
Hashtags are used on both Twitter and Facebook and are used the same way for both. They are used to highlight key words. Don’t hashtag minor words. #the is meaningless. What words do you want followers and potential followers to find your content under? In the Toastmasters Twitterverse, the most popular are #toastmasters, #leadership, and #publicspeaking.
A lesson from @google: When it comes to Powerpoint slides, less is more. #toastmasters #publicspeaking https://t.co/rummL5dMjD
— Freehold Phrasers (@FreeholdToast) June 4, 2017
D83 Introduces One Level Up Webinars
Starting next week, District 83 is going to embark on a new endeavor, which is to answer those impending questions. Sometimes you can’t find the answers to those questions easily, but, because of years of Toastmasters experience, some of our District leaders have the answers to or can at least to point in a way to solve certain types of challenges.
D83 One Level Up webinars are not going to take you from zero to sixty in six seconds flat. Our goal is to help you reach 100 percent of your goals, even if it takes a little more time than driving at maximum speed on the NJ Turnpike. Remember is not how fast you come to a solution, but how robust and permanent your solution is to your club.
The webinars will cover different topics and will be tailored to your needs. They will be a roadmap to what is happening in District 83 at any given time as well as the tasks that your club should be working on, if you have elected to follow the Toastmasters International calendar and are working on meeting the necessary points to become Distinguished, Select Distinguished, or President’s Distinguished.