Issue 9, Volume 1
A word from President Dan
We had a fabulous meeting last week with the added bonus of us being dressed in Halloween themed costumes. All the costumes were great, but Terry Lynch stole the show with his impersonation of Donald J Trump. There was lots of fun and laughter, humour has become such an awesome part of our club.
Our meeting this coming Wednesday is an impromptu (table topics) contest. We have 5 competitors so far. Each competitor will speak on the same topic. They will be let into the room one at a time to prevent them from preparing for their talk. The contest takes impromptu speaking to a higher level. As Toastmasters we strive to be ready to speak on our feet in a moment’s notice.
Table Topics Contest Rules
The Table Topics Contest follows all rules outlined in the General Rules section of this rulebook. In addition, the following additions and exceptions apply.
- All contestants must receive the same topic, which must be of a general nature. The topic is selected by the contest chair.
- The topic must be of reasonable length, must not require a detailed knowledge, and must lead to an opinion or conclusion.
- Contestants will receive no advance knowledge of the topic until the moment they are introduced by the contest chair.
- Contestants must not use digital or other devices during the contest to gain an unfair advantage.
- When the contest begins, all contestants except the first must leave the room and remain under the supervision of the contest sergeant at arms.
- Introduce each contestant by announcing the contestant’s name, the topic, the topic, the contestant’s name.
- At the conclusion of each speech, the next speaker is invited into the room.
I will send out a second notice regarding the contest when I have finalized all the positions.
Our club meeting on November 13th will be our Charter Ceremonies. We will be presented with our Charter documents both for the club and for the Charter members. It is important to attend this meeting if at all possible.
November 20th will be a table topics debate night with Joan as the Table Topics/Debate master. Look forward to a fabulous Table topics session that night.
In respect to the membership of our club; We have a healthy member participation; however, life and business keep club people from being able to attend some, all or none – of our meetings and social events. We have 24 members of which 21 are active. Of the active members it means that we will have an average of 15 to 18 members attend each meeting, which is a sign of a healthy club. Our objective is to have 25 active members with 18 to 21 attending, which means we should plan on getting and maintaining 30 members. Having said that, if you are wanting a
friend or co-worker to join our club, now is a good time to tell them before we have to create a waiting list. Looking forward to seeing you at this weeks meeting.
Dan
dan.white@taxauditsolutions.com
Update from Education Director, Julie
Choose Your Pathways Project
At the meeting held October 30 members were encouraged to set up their profile on Toastmasters International website and choose their first Pathways Project. Several members have already completed this task – Congratulations! For those members that would like assistance getting set up , I can activate the path that you choose for you. Please e-mail me at julie@taxauditsolutions.ca and tell me what path you have chosen or request a meeting time for a tutorial. I can demonstrate how you take the quiz and pick your path using a computer. We are encouraging all members to choose their path by November 15 if possible. Pathways is optional and members do not have to participate.
Get Started on Level 1 in Pathways
To help members get motivated I wanted to simplify Pathways. There are 11 paths to choose from. Each Pathway starts off with the same level 1 project. What this means is that no matter what Pathway you choose, they all have the same level 1 assignments. Level one assignments are: Icebreaker Speech, Evaluation & Feedback Project and Researching & Presenting Project.
Ice Breaker Speech
Many members have already completed their Icebreaker Speech. In order for you to receive credit for this you must first choose a path. Once your path is activated I can register your icebreaker completion. I will continue to work with members to get this task completed.
Evaluation & Feedback Project
The next project in sequence is all about evaluations, receiving feedback and giving feedback. This is an excellent project. The assignment requires members prepare and deliver a 5-7 minute speech on any topic and receive an evaluation. The member then delivers a second speech (it can be the same speech) and works on incorporating the feedback received the first time around. The evaluator is to be the same for both speeches. The member is then scheduled to be an evaluator themselves and must evaluate another members speech. An experienced toastmaster will provide a written evaluation of the evaluators 2-3 minute speech.
When the evaluation project is complete you are well on your way in level 1. As you can see, level 1 is designed to provide speaking opportunities to members and integrates well with the basic club agenda. If we all spend some time working on the feedback and evaluation project we will gain skills and confidence in two important areas – speaking and evaluating.
In next week’s letter I will discuss the Researching & Presenting Project. This is the final project required to complete level 1.
Cheers,
Julie
Bits and pieces from Terry Lynch, editor
New Website:
Thanks to Todd Morgan, our new website is now in place and will host an online version of the newsletter.
Please let me have your contributions!
In order to keep the newsletter relevant and be of value to our members, please let me have any feedback/input/comments that you would care to contribute. This is vital to generating the synergies that we need to continue to grow both individually and as a group.
Theme for November 6 Meeting: “TBD”
Cheers,
Terry
terrylynch@rogers.com
(416) 315-1787