Newtown Toastmasters

Call for volunteers!

2011-04-28T15:13:00.002-04:00

The most commonly overlooked component of Toastmasters is the Leadership Program. Toastmasters provides an opportunity to gain and practice leadership skills that are sought after by employers. For years I have heard the question; “How can I gain experience if no one will give me a chance?”
Well now is your chance. Are you interested in developing and executing marketing plans, taking charge of an organizations finances or coaching others to achieve their goals? As an officer of Newtown Toastmasters you will get that chance. Additionally your participation will earn credit toward leadership credentials
We are asking that anyone who is interested in a leadership position beginning in July to ask one of the current officers for more information.
The time you put in is what you can spare. Working together the leadership team will enable Newtown Toastmasters to continue to thrive.

Local Toastmasters club kicks off 2011 International Speech Contest

2011-02-23T14:51:00.000-05:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
A winner will be chosen from Newtown to represent Newtown Toastmasters in the next round
Newtown, February, 23, 2011 — Newtown Toastmasters joins more than 12,500 Toastmasters clubs from around the world participating in the 2011 Toastmasters International Speech Contest on Wednesday, March 2. It is the world’s largest speech contest, with more than 30,000 presenters in 113 countries vying to become the next World Champion of Public Speaking. The contest is free and open to the public.

“Speech contests are a unique and exciting part of the Toastmasters program,” says Pat Johnson, Toastmasters 2010-2011 International President. “These competitions challenge members to push beyond their clubs and fine-tune their skills. In a club, members are evaluated; in a contest, members are judged.”

The International Speech Contest begins at the local club level and proceeds through the area, division, district and final levels. Eighty-two district semifinalists compete during the four-day 2011 Toastmasters International Convention held Aug. 17-20, in Las Vegas, Nevada, at Bally’s Las Vegas Hotel & Casino. Nine contenders make it to the final round on Aug. 20, where the winner is crowned the Toastmasters World Champion of Public Speaking.

“Participating in a contest challenges you to improve your delivery and reach outside of your comfort zone. It also provides a great opportunity to learn from accomplished speakers.” says Tom Long, 2010 Newtown Toastmasters speech contest winner.

To enter the contest, a person must be an active member of Toastmasters International and have completed at least six speeches from Toastmasters’ Competent Communication manual, the first manual in the Toastmasters communication program. All participant speeches must be original, presented in English and last five to seven minutes. Judging criteria include originality, speech content, organization, voice quality, gestures and timing.

For more information about Toastmasters International contests, please visit toastmasters.org/contest.
Newtown Toastmasters meets on the first and third Wednesday of each month. To visit the club and see the contest, please visit http://newtowntoastmasters.blogspot.com/.

About Toastmasters
Toastmasters International is a nonprofit educational organization that teaches public speaking and leadership skills through a worldwide network of clubs. The organization currently has more than 260,000 members in over 12,500 clubs in 113 countries.

How Toastmasters club meeting roles can save your career

2011-02-07T14:14:00.000-05:00

In tough economic times, it’s important to make yourself as valuable as possible – whether you’re holding down a job or seeking employment. Here’s a hard truth: In most companies, leaders are generally considered more valuable than those who follow. They’re paid more, allowed to plan their own schedules and given a larger share of responsibility.

Given that, what would you do to redefine yourself as a leader?

You could walk into any bookstore and purchase dozens of books on leadership, but they won’t build your confidence. To master a new skill, you must practice it. That includes leadership skills, from conflict resolution to time management. It’s better to market yourself as someone who not only knows about these skills, but has also put them into practice.

You could hire a leadership coach, but how would you practice what you learn? And what about the expense?

The fact is you need all of the above and more – without wasting time or going broke. The best solution is the Toastmasters leadership education track, beginning with the Competent Leadership manual.
The Benefits of Club Meeting Roles

Toastmasters clubs are typically highly energized meetings where participants learn leadership in a safe and fun environment. They do this by assuming meeting roles and practicing their leadership skills in front of fellow members who constructively evaluate their performance every time they take a role. Once you join Toastmasters and try these roles, you, too, can develop your abilities without fear. Moreover, you can build specific skills with each role you perform.

Take, for example, the role of timer. The timer is responsible for keeping the meeting on schedule. In this role, you use a stopwatch, a timing device and a record sheet to help speakers stay within their assigned time limits. The timer develops an awareness of how effective speeches are constructed. If the speaker only has 30 seconds left, you notice how a speech might be tightened or expanded to fill the time limit. This way, when it’s your turn to give a speech, you already know how to get to the point and control your content. This is an invaluable skill for any business leader!

Another important leadership role of a typical Toastmasters meeting is that of the Toastmaster. The Toastmaster gains real-life experience as host at the meeting and as event planner before the meeting. You work with other volunteers to organize a gathering with panache. In job interviews, anyone who has participated in this role can explain the specifics of coordinating and moderating a special event with confidence and know-how. You’ll easily convince a prospective employer that it’s not just something you’ve read about – it’s something you have successfully accomplished.

If you want to be appreciated for your communication skills as a leader, then taking on the role of grammarian is a perfect fit. You not only increase your vocabulary as you discover, practice and explain new words to your club; you also develop your sense of language – noticing what works and what doesn’t. Companies want and need clear communicators. That could be you.

Speaking clearly, of course, relies on thinking clearly. And there’s no better way to develop critical-thinking skills than by taking on the role of general evaluator. With practice in this role, you soon walk into a club meeting alert and ready to take notes on the meeting’s triumphs and challenges. You also learn how to present your report clearly to the group. This role helps you nurture the habit of continually seeking to improve your meetings, your experiences and yourself. With constant improvements come greater successes. As the general evaluator, you take on leadership duties, guiding the speech evaluators to their goals.

Dr. Ralph Smedley, the founder of Toastmasters International, once said, “We learn best in times of enjoyment.” That still stands today, and when you build those valuable leadership skills in Toastmasters, you’ll reap even greater rewards in your career. So, volunteer, have fun and discover the leader inside you!

Meeting Cancelled for February 2

2011-02-02T12:13:00.001-05:00

Due to the severe winter weather headed our way, we want to make sure everyone remains safe. The Toastmaster meeting for tomorrow, Wednesday February 2nd will be canceled. If you were signed up for a meeting role, please touch base with Kristin regarding our next meeting on Wednesday the 16th.
Also keep in mind our speech contest will be the first meeting in March.

Newtown Toastmasters joins more than 12,500 Toastmasters clubs from around the world participating in the 2011 Toastmasters International Speech Contest this month. It is the world’s largest speech contest, with more than 30,000 presenters in 113 countries vying to become the next World Champion of Public Speaking. The contest is free and open to the public.
“Speech contests are a unique and exciting part of the Toastmasters program,” says Pat Johnson, Toastmasters 2010-2011 International President. “These competitions challenge members to push beyond their clubs and fine-tune their skills." In a club, members are evaluated; in a contest, member gain valuable experience preparing a speech.
The International Speech Contest begins at the local club level and proceeds through the area, division, district and final levels. Eighty-two district semifinalists compete during the four-day 2011 Toastmasters International Convention held Aug. 17-20, in Las Vegas, Nevada, at Bally’s Las Vegas Hotel & Casino. Nine contenders make it to the final round on Aug. 20, where the winner is crowned the Toastmasters World Champion of Public Speaking.
Additionally, Newtown Toastmasters will hold a Tall Tales speech contest. Think of a story about the great fish that got away or how the dog stole your homework. Speakers will present tales that are almost believable but stretch the truth with just a bit of imagination. Can you share your best tall tale in 3-5 minutes? I bet you can.
I am sorry there will not be a meeting this week, but you can see we have a lot ahead of us. Stay safe and see you in two weeks.
Regards,
Tom Long

Celebrating the Toastmasters

2011-01-13T16:13:00.002-05:00

To the Editor:
It seems like just a short time ago when a few folks had the idea to start a Toastmasters Club in Newtown. When we were planning the logistics of the first demonstration meeting, we had no idea if this would result in a flourishing club or just a nice idea that would fizzle away. The first meeting drew many interested people and a handful returned to be the first members. Over the course of a year, our Toastmasters organization has grown as people have come and gone from the meetings. We have had over a year of first speeches, themed meetings, and even a miniature golf outing. In October, Newtown Toastmasters had grown enough to become a fully recognized, chartered club of Toastmasters International.
Newtown Toastmasters will be celebrating this achievement on Wednesday, January 19. We are thrilled to invite members of the community to participate in this celebratory meeting. Whether or not you have visited a meeting in the past, everyone is welcome in commemorating the building of this Newtown chapter. We will be recognizing our first 20 charter members and those that helped get the organization off the ground. We are certainly looking forward to what the next years will bring. We hope you can join us on Wednesday, January 19, 7:30 to 9:30 pm, at Edmond Town Hall in The Alexandria Room.
Alenda Calderbank

Important Dates

2010-12-30T09:27:00.003-05:00

Sat Jan 29, 2011 Jan Jam - District Event – all Toastmasters Welcome
The Hartford Tower
22nd Floor 690 Asylum Ave Hartford, CT 06105
Mon Feb 28, 2011 Deadline for Winter club officer training

Sat Apr 2, 2011 Deadline for Club Tall Tales and International Contests

Thu Apr 14, 2011 Area D-5 Tall Tales and International Speech Contests
Trumbull Library Auditorium
33 Quality Street Trumbull, CT 06611
Apr TBD, 2011 Division D Tall Tales and International Speech Contests
Location: TBD
Sat May 21, 2011 District Spring Conference
Clarion Inn Bradley Airport, 161 Bridge Street,
East Windsor, CT 06088, 860-623-9411

Five tips for confidently speaking up at meetings

2010-12-29T16:14:00.001-05:00

The way you present yourself in company meetings can have a big impact on your career. If you take the role of passive onlooker, for example, and never offer an opinion or comment, you may be giving off the impression that you're not sure what's going on -- or that you just don't care.

At the same time, if you speak up every chance you get, dominating everything to from the department budget meeting to the planning session for the holiday party, your colleagues may end up thinking that you're overbearing -- or that you just like to hear yourself talk. Whether you're the shy type who usually opts not to speak up -- or you're just the opposite -- here are a five expert tips on making your point effectively in front of a crowd.

1. Practice
2. Get to the point
3. Belly breathe
4. Pay attention to your body language
5. Learn from others

You can read the whole article by Kaitlin Madden of CareerBuilder.com at http://biy.ly/dT46li

Good evening, fellow Toastmasters!

2010-12-28T14:01:00.000-05:00

Hopefully you are all safely inside riding out the storm! We had a great meeting last week, when Alenda put a wise and personal spin on "selling a product". We also got to preview Newtown's brand new arts and literary magazine, "The Newtowner".
Looking ahead, we already have two speakers, a toastmaster, and an evaluator for our January 5th meeting, but we still have a few openings for meeting roles. YOU could be the next

Evaluator

Grammarian

Timer

Table Topics Master

or General Evaluator....
All you have to do is contact me this week at newtowntoastmasters@yahoo.com and let me know which role you'd like to fill!
We will also be discussing our Charter Celebration, which will be held January 19th (in place of our second January meeting), at the Alexandria Room in the Edmund Town Hall.
Have a wonderful and safe holiday, and I look forward to seeing all of you in the new year!
-Kristin Ryan

p.s. If you would like to sign up for a role (especially as a Speaker or Toastmaster) for any of our upcoming meetings in February or beyond, please let me know and I will make sure you are on the agenda. Thanks!

Congratulations to our Triple Crown Winner & Distinguished Toastmaster

2010-11-25T10:43:00.001-05:00

Fred Ferris and Geoff Thomas reached a milestone earlier this year. Since July 1, both Fred and Geoff three Toastmasters awards programs. Fred completed his Competent Communicator, Competent Leader and Advanced Leader Bronze awards. Geoff completed his Competent Communicator, Advanced Communicator Gold and Advanced Leader Silver awards. Geoff's accomplishment also earned him recognition as a Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM) Successfully completing three programs in a single year gains Fred recognition as a "Triple Crown Winner". Both of these are quite an accomplishment.

We all benefit from their experience, support and guidance which they provides each of us as we move towards our personal goals. Please join me in congratulating both Fred Geoff for their hard work and accomplishments.

Leadership In Action

2010-10-29T11:10:00.003-04:00

Earlier this week I attended the Toastmasters Division D Speech Contest at the Fairfield library. The event packed the meeting room with people standing in the back. I would like to congratulate our Newtown neighbor Alenda Calderbank for doing a fantastic job pulling it all together.

Contestants from Stamford to New Haven and north to Cheshire and Newtown were represented. In her role as division governor, Alenda handled program basics such as securing a facility, refreshments, and promoting the event. Her real expertise showed in her ability to delegate responsibility to others for judging the competition, hosting the event, coordinating the input of guest dignitaries, and managing the rules which govern the contests. Everyone involved with producing the speech contests clearly knew their roles and responsibilities. All the volunteers had an understanding of her vision and what a successful night should look like.
The humorous speech contestants had the room filled with laughter and the evaluation speakers gave people an opportunity to consider how they could improve their own speaking skills. Participants did not need to worry about a thing. All aspects of the event were taken care of in a very professional manner.

Congratulations should go to Alenda and all the people who volunteered their time to coordinate a great public event.

Charter

2010-10-12T09:41:00.000-04:00

This month Newtown Toastmasters received a charter fromToastmasters International. This is a significant accomplishment for the 20 Charter Members after more than a year of successful meetings and club building activities.

Now the focus shifts to growing the organization, creating dynamic education program around leadership and communication themes and sharing this success with the local community. A celebration is tentatively planned for November 16. More details to follow.

Congratulations to everyone who worked on building this program.

10/20/30 Rule of PowerPoint

2010-09-22T09:44:00.000-04:00

This article is a few years old but the commentary is still very relevant. Hope you find it interesting.

December 30, 2005

The 10/20/30 Rule of PowerPoint

I suffer from something called Ménière’s disease—don’t worry, you cannot get it from reading my blog. The symptoms of Ménière’s include hearing loss, tinnitus (a constant ringing sound), and vertigo. There are many medical theories about its cause: too much salt, caffeine, or alcohol in one’s diet, too much stress, and allergies. Thus, I’ve worked to limit control all these factors.

However, I have another theory. As a venture capitalist, I have to listen to hundreds of entrepreneurs pitch their companies. Most of these pitches are crap: sixty slides about a “patent pending,” “first mover advantage,” “all we have to do is get 1% of the people in China to buy our product” startup. These pitches are so lousy that I’m losing my hearing, there’s a constant ringing in my ear, and every once in while the world starts spinning.

To prevent an epidemic of Ménière’s in the venture capital community, I am evangelizing the 10/20/30 Rule of PowerPoint. It’s quite simple: a PowerPoint presentation should have ten slides, last no more than twenty minutes, and contain no font smaller than thirty points. While I’m in the venture capital business, this rule is applicable for any presentation to reach agreement: for example, raising capital, making a sale, forming a partnership, etc.

Ten slides. Ten is the optimal number of slides in a PowerPoint presentation because a normal human being cannot comprehend more than ten concepts in a meeting—and venture capitalists are very normal. (The only difference between you and venture capitalist is that he is getting paid to gamble with someone else’s money). If you must use more than ten slides to explain your business, you probably don’t have a business. The ten topics that a venture capitalist cares about are:

1.Problem

2.Your solution

3.Business model

4.Underlying magic/technology

5.Marketing and sales

6.Competition

7.Team

8.Projections and milestones

9.Status and timeline

10.Summary and call to action

Twenty minutes. You should give your ten slides in twenty minutes. Sure, you have an hour time slot, but you’re using a Windows laptop, so it will take forty minutes to make it work with the projector. Even if setup goes perfectly, people will arrive late and have to leave early. In a perfect world, you give your pitch in twenty minutes, and you have forty minutes left for discussion.

Thirty-point font. The majority of the presentations that I see have text in a ten point font. As much text as possible is jammed into the slide, and then the presenter reads it. However, as soon as the audience figures out that you’re reading the text, it reads ahead of you because it can read faster than you can speak. The result is that you and the audience are out of synch.

The reason people use a small font is twofold: first, that they don’t know their material well enough; second, they think that more text is more convincing. Total bozosity. Force yourself to use no font smaller than thirty points. I guarantee it will make your presentations better because it requires you to find the most salient points and to know how to explain them well. If “thirty points,” is too dogmatic, the I offer you an algorithm: find out the age of the oldest person in your audience and divide it by two. That’s your optimal font size.

So please observe the 10/20/30 Rule of PowerPoint. If nothing else, the next time someone in your audience complains of hearing loss, ringing, or vertigo, you’ll know what caused the problem. One last thing: to learn more about the zen of great presentations, check out a site called Presentation Zen by my buddy Garr Reynolds.

Read more: http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2005/12/the_102030_rule.html#ixzz10GX36tDm

Contests Tonight

2010-09-21T08:57:00.002-04:00

Hello Everyone,

Tuesday should be a fun meeting. We have two contestants for each contest. Let's give them our support. Here is who we have on the agenda:

Contest Chair - Alenda Calderbank

Chief Judge - Vijay Santhanam

Evaluation Test Speaker - Steve Singlak

Evaluation Contestants - Tom Long, Kristin Ryan

Humorous Contestants - Cindy Held, Tom Long

Judges - Stephanie Lagana, Maureen Wilson

If we can get a volunteer for ballot counter and timer, that would be wonderful.

We'll see you tonight!

Turning the tables on critical trolls

2010-09-17T19:36:00.000-04:00

I came across this post by Seth Godin and wanted to share it. Consider these points when you are trying to talk through a difficult situation.

How to deal with the colleague/board member/voter who is quick to criticize whatever you're proposing?
It can't work/it's been done before/it's never been done before/you can't do it/we don't have the time/money/skills...
So easy to be right when everyone else is wrong, so easy to be confident when someone else is putting themselves on the line.
I start with this: do we agree that there's a problem? An opportunity?
Do we agree that we need to take action, that something needs to be done, that there's an opportunity here?
If we don't agree on that, then don't waste time listening to my solution. Before we do that, let's spend more time deciding if there's a problem or opportunity here.
Once we agree on that, then the response seems simple: "What do you think we should do?"
"Be specific."

Humorous and Evaluation Contests September 21st

2010-09-02T12:54:00.000-04:00

Newtown Toastmasters will be holding their annual Humorous and Evaluation contests on Tuesday, September 21st. Come see how funny we really are (and not just looking). Contests are held twice a year. Speakers really step up their game, when competing.

New Officers Elected

2010-07-21T22:29:00.000-04:00

Newtown Toastmasters recently elected new officers for the 2010/2011 program year. In recognition of their advancing leadership skills the chapter promoted Cindy Held to President and supported Kristin Ryan as VP of Education, the position previously held by Mrs. Held. The other officers of the chapter are as follows.

Cindy Held: President
Kristin Ryan: VP Education
Alenda Calderbank: VP Membership
Tom Long: VP Public Relations
Vijay Santhanam: Treasurer
Maureen Wilson: Secretary
Fred Ferris: Sgt at Arms

Newtown Toastmasters provides self-paced leadership and communications programs, based on curriculum refined for almost a century. Since it’s founding in 1924, Toastmasters International has helped more than four million men and women develop their public speaking skills and become confident leaders and communicators at work and in their communities.

For more information about Newtown Toastmasters call 203-313-5507.

Getting Closer

2010-07-04T14:56:00.000-04:00

I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday weekend. Summer is a hard time to think about communication and leadership skills but keep this in mind. During the last June meeting another person joined our group. We are getting closer to the number we need to charter and Cindy (as our new President) has us organized for a great year to come.

So its summer, how about some fun. Who would be up for a golf tournament, a minature golf tournament. I am sure there are some fun contest we could come up with. Closest to the hole, most ricochets per hole and others tailored to the course.

Our meetings are great but it seems we also have a lot of fun outside of our speeches and evaluations. What do you think?

But you're not saying anything

2010-06-10T11:46:00.000-04:00

I came across this brief, interesting article about how much effort is applied to message development. Is it really helping at all?

http://bit.ly/9LCQNz

It is by Seth Godin. I hope you enjoy it.

Profile in Newtown Patch

2010-05-22T17:33:00.001-04:00

This week Newtown Toastmasters was profiled in the Newtown Patch by Joel Thompson. Check out the article. http://newtown.patch.com/

Joel, thank you for stopping by. Guest are always welcome. Hope to see you at our Open House on Wednesday June 2, at 7pm. The meeting is in the Parks and Rec conference room at Town Hall South on Main Street. Right behind the police station.

Farms, Inspiration, Maps- Just another meeting of Newtown Toastmasters

2010-04-14T13:49:00.000-04:00

Each week we benefit from having a full agenda including prepared talks on topics I would typically not be exposed to. Many thanks to our VPE, Cindy Held.

Last week Maureen introduced us to the world of window farming. I had no idea it could be that easy to get started, even without a green thumb. You visual aids and the organization of your thoughts made the talk very easy to follow. I think everyone took something away even if they don't plan to start a garden. Additionally, Fred's, points regarding the use of props during his evaluation was right on target.

One of the more difficult things for a speaker to convey to an audience is personal feelings. Steve, we are waiting for you article as a follow up to your talk. Thank you for sharing how your participation in Toastmasters has helped you start a new business and seek funding. We are all pleased to hear that your skills have improved because we see it each month.

I am really glad we created a "How To" segment of the meeting. These facilitated discussions on the tactics needed to improve leadership and communication skills help immensely. After last weeks meeting I may try mind mapping for a presentation at work later this week. See post directly below for more on this topic.

The content and flow of our meetings continues to improve and that is a testament to everyone involved. We have really created a "learn by doing" workshop at Newtown Toastmasters. I look forward to the next meeting on Tuesday April 20.

Hope to see you there.

TL

Organize Your Thoughts

2010-04-11T23:09:00.000-04:00

Many times, we may not have the time, energy or focus to write a speech word for word. There have been those times, when scheduled to speak, I have written down the main points, with the intention to ad lib the details. Perhaps I have written an introduction and conclusion and hoped for the best. A few times I have pulled it off, but there are also the times, I’ve made it too easy to crash and burn.

Most outlines are linear. With confidence and familiarity of the topic, one can speak to the main points, off the cuff. It’s too easy though, to leave out entire points, if the outline is not memorized or the speaker is nervous.

One way to get your thoughts organized, in giving a speech, is through the technique of mind mapping. Mind mapping is a brainstorming and note taking technique, which makes it easier to organize your points and see how they relate to each other. It is especially useful for visual thinkers. Diagrams can be done by hand or using a software tool.

I have found it useful in writing speeches as it allows me to quickly organize my thoughts and get a visual picture of the points I am going to make. Once the speech is created, I am familiar enough with the visual mind map, that I now can picture my topics and recall all points, as I am speaking.
Instead of going into a lengthy explanation of how to create a mind map, I am including two links, which explain the techniques of mind mapping. From there you can find many links to descriptive mind mapping sites.

http://blog.iqmatrix.com/mind-map/how-to-mind-map-a-beginners-guide
http://www.informationtamers.com/WikIT/index.php?title=How_to_make_a_mind_map

There are also scores of blogs, which you can find via your favorite search engine. Here is one that I like:

http://www.mindmapinspiration.com/

This technique is not just for developing speeches. It is widely used for note taking, setting goals, brainstorming ideas, writing and memorization. Give it a try.

-AC

Leadership is...

2010-04-06T14:46:00.000-04:00

Leadership is...

Taking action and setting an example
Listening
Providing constructive feedback and honest evaluations
Setting goals, objectives and outlining the tactics to reach them
Delegating
Taking chances when failure may be an outcome
Going where no man has gone before
Defining success and sharing it with others
Living as you speak
Loud, vocal, persuasive
Giving of yourself and not asking for payment in return
Seeing the glass half full
Recognizing problems as opportunities
Knowing that no matter how bad today is, there is always tomorrow
Taking time to help one person
Unpopular, doing the right thing because you believe it to be so
Understanding that others can be smarter
Being responsible
Life-long learning
Recognizing there is more than one way to get things done
All of the above or maybe just one

Seven Advanced Habits of Highly Effective Speakers

2010-03-16T11:45:00.000-04:00

Paul Barsch provides some interest insights for marketing executives to consider. Get back to the basics to become an advanced speaker.

http://bit.ly/a3irmw

Enjoy the article

Speech Contest Was a Success

2010-03-05T21:13:00.000-05:00

On March 3rd, Newtown Toastmasters held their first speech contest. Three contestents competed in the International Speech Contest. The International contest is a 5 - 7 minute talk, on any subject of the speakers' choosing. Those who attended were inspired by anecdotes of personal triumph, stories of success and tales of historical heroes.

Members and guests were then challenged to a series of Beatles themed table topics. The challenge was met with wit and creativity. All this and there was dessert too!

Evaluations Are Key

2010-02-18T15:20:00.000-05:00

By Tom Long

The path to improving leadership and communication skills is illuminated by quality evaluations. The greates learning opportunities come when others provide concrete examples of strenghts and challenges. Immediate feedback on our performance is essentail to delivering a message that will impact the recipient. For some, commentary may make note of verbal crutches used to fill time between thoughts. Others may need to consider their body language, how their hands cling like shackles to a podium.

Quality evaluations impact others and reach beyond the intended target. Everyone can learn something when an evaluator provides constructive feedback. But, there are three types of evaluations that benefit no one.

1. The World Is Perfect: Telling someone that their presentation or project was perfect and that you "could not think of anything constructive to say" is a waste of everyone's time. Even professional speakers need to improve their delivery. People generally work hard on speeches and overcome self-doubt and fear. They deserve something constructive to consider.

2. Nothing But Negative: To simply hammer someone's negatives, large and small is of no help. This approach coulds the constructive points and disheartens the recipient from trying again.

3. All Vanilla: How many times have we heard "...you need to improve eye contact, body language and vocal variety'? Well who doesn't. This could be said to anyone, anywhere. Give examples, be specific about what you would like to see improved.

The best evaluations provide examples of what worked and what did not. Additional people need to hear and see how improvements can be made. This enables the recipient to digest your suggestions and contemplate how they can be incorporated into future talks.

Lastly all evaluations should find the good and the bad. People need to know what they are doing well so it can be enhanced and continued. If you are truly performing an evaluation to help others then you know that positive commentary can be found in every effort.

Perfection Is Not The Target

2010-02-09T15:06:00.000-05:00

Back in college I had a part in a play. At one point in the production I was to exit the stage and come back a few moments later with a newspaper. When I arrived in the wing of the stage there was no paper to be had. The performance continued to move forward and shortly I re-entered the play. Without a paper I walked on stage, skipped a few lines and made up something about the paperboy not being very good at hitting the porch.

No one in the audience knew I was supposed to return with the paper. No one in the audience knew my lines or how I deviated from the script. When you are speaking before 2 people or 200 the stage is yours. The audience doesn't want you to fail. They want to believe in you and see your succeed. There lies the latitude you need to move away from a script, speak from your heart and talk to the points that only you know so well.

Don't try to be perfect. Your goal should be to effectively get a message across, not speak every word of every line just as you had written it. When preparing for a talk, draft an outline and then shorten it to key words and points you want to hit on. As you practice you will find your voice. Quickly you will re-arrange wording to what makes you most comfortable and gain the confidence to move towards free flowing speech.

Newtown Hosts Speech Contest

2009-10-18T22:39:00.000-04:00

On October 7, Newtown Toastmasters hosted the Division D Fall Speech contests. Over 30 people gathered in the Alexandria Room of Edmond Town Hall to hear Toastmasters compete in Humorous Speech and Speech Evaluation Contest. The contestants came from chapters throughout Connecticut and had previously won their local chapter and area contest. The winners of this event will move on to the District 53 contest held in New York on November 7.

The objective of Humorous Speech is to deliver an original speech with a clearly evident theme that uses humor to enhance the value and purpose. Five contestants succeeded in meeting this goal and kept the audience laughing for the second half of the night. This made a very difficult decision for the judges.

During an Evaluation Speech Contest contestants give a 2 - 3 minute evaluation of a target speech given by a preselected Toastmaster. Alenda Calderbank representing Newtown Toastmasters and UHC Toastmasters stepped forward and delivered a funny compelling target speech. All contestants gave an evaluation of Alenda’s target speech and were themselves judged on the quality of the feedback they provided. It was an opportunity for everyone to learn something about effective communication.

And the Winners Were

Evaluation Speech Contest Results
1st place: Brian Cavanaugh - Sikorsky - DCMA Club #842294
2nd place: Marvin Cross - Nutmeg Toastmasters #764

Humorous Contest Results
1st place: William Miranda - Yale Toastmasters #820
2nd place: Brian Cavanaugh - Sikorsky - DCMA Club #842294

Newtown Toastmasters now has an official website

2009-09-29T21:11:00.000-04:00

Newtown Toastmasters now has an official website. For more information on our chapter, meeting times and locations as well as members, please enjoy browsing http://newtowntoastmasters.freetoasthost.cc/ . This blog will be discontinued shortly and the above link will be the place to go for all Newtown Toastmasters information. See you all at the next meeting!

Another Successful Meeting

2009-08-25T23:10:00.000-04:00

On August 18th, Newtown Toastmasters enjoyed ice cream from the local creamery. Another one of our members completed the milestone of the Ice Breaker speech, and knocked it out of the park. Members listened to an engaging missive of world travel. "See the world before you leave it", became a thought of the evening. As more and more members give their first Ice Breaker speech, they can attest to it being much less scary than once feared. As usual, people stepped up to the challenge of impromptu table topics. This weeks questions kept with the summer vacation theme, as they were all Disney related.

The next meeting is Wednesday, Sept. 2nd. We hope to see you there.

Upcoming Events

2009-08-09T22:26:00.000-04:00

This just in: Newtown has been selected as the location of choice for the Division D fall contests. Division D covers Toastmasters clubs from Waterbury, New Haven, Bridgeport and Stamford areas. This fall, clubs in our district will be holding their evaluation contests and humorous speech contests. The winners from each club will compete in the area contests. For example six clubs in the Bridgeport area will compete in the Area D5 evaluation and humorous speech contests. The winners of the Area D5 contests will go on to compete against the winners of the other 5 areas, in the Division D contest, which will be held October 7th at the Edmond Town Hall. This is a great way for folks in Newtown to see some of the best speakers in western Connecticut compete. This event will also be a great inspiration when members of Newtown Toastmasters are able to compete, once the club becomes chartered.

Don't miss our next meeting on Tuesday, August 18th from 7:00 to 9:00 pm.

Another Successful Meeting

2009-07-20T10:51:00.000-04:00

Just prior to the holiday weekend we had a Toastmasters meeting that got everyone involved and speaking. Even a guest with us for the first time took the stage.

Two of our newest members gave their Ice Breaker speeches like they were old pros. One of the best things about Toastmasters is that it provides and opportunity to get to know others. There were lots of laughs along the way, as the group took on table topics through light, thought provoking discussions.

As membership is increasing, our group is on the right path to becoming a fully chartered club. We now have education materials available to those who wish to join the chapter. We also have had some of our new members step up and volunteer for officer positions in Education and Public Relations. There are still opportunities for those wishing to take a leadership position within the club.

We look forward to seeing you at the next meeting on Tuesday July 21st at 7pm.

Open House Was a Success!

2009-06-06T21:42:00.000-04:00

On June 3rd, we had a successful open house meeting. With refreshments served, around 20 guests got to see what Toastmasters is about. Some of the guests even participated in meeting roles such as serving as timer and volunteering for table topics. Our District 53 governor, Karin Von Känel, was the evening's Toastmaster. She not only kept the meeting on agenda, but provided much insight on what goes on in a Toastmasters meeting. Guests got to hear one current member deliver a prepared speech and then heard a constructive evaluation of the speech, by another member. The table topics questions were fun and very challenging, but those that volunteered, stepped up and gave lively and creative responses.

The open house generated a lot of interest and the next meeting should be lively as well. If you missed the open house, you are more than welcome to come check us out at our next meeting on June 16th. The meetings will be held at Town Hall South (Parks and Recs department, behind the police station).

Open House, Wednesday June 3rd!

2009-05-31T16:44:00.001-04:00

There will be an open house, for all those interested in finding out what Toastmasters is about, on Wednesday June 3rd. Interested folks can see first hand, what a typical meeting entails and how Toasmasters can enhance one's speaking and interpersonal skills. Come participate or be an observer. The open house will take place at 7:00 pm, on June 3rd at Town Hall South. Town Hall South is located at 3 Main street, in the same building as the Police Station (Entrance in the back).

What is Toastmasters?

2009-05-02T23:31:00.000-04:00

So, What is Toastmasters, anyway -- will I learn to make toast?

The mission of a Toastmasters Club is to provide a mutually supportive and positive learning environment in which every member has the opportunity to develop oral communication and leadership Skills, which in turn foster self-confidence and personal growth.

Newtown Toastmasters is a fun, empathetic, diverse group of people who are just as scared of public speaking as you are. We are here give you the opportunity to improve your skills.

Through Toastmasters, you build confidence by learning to deliver prepared speeches, participate in fun improptu speaking excersises and and develop listening skills by providing constructive feedback to other members.

Everyone brings a unique set of skills and experiences to Toastmasters and in return develop effective communication and leadership skills that they bring to all areas of life.