Toastmaster’s 2011

1. Toastmaster’s 2011 Queen’s MBA

2. Agenda • Vision • Objectives: Competent Communication Goals • Information on 4 week Seminar • Notable Differences between us and official Toastmaster’s • Outline of Roles • Rules for Table Topics • Organizational Tools for Impromptu Speaking

3. The Toastmaster Vision. • 'to provide a mutually supportive and positive learning environment in which every member has the opportunity to develop communication and leadership skills, which in turn foster self-confidence and personal growth '. • Any objections? Any Amendments?

4. Objectives: Competent Communication Project Goals • 10 meetings for the year with one Speech type per meeting • The Icebreaker • Organize your Speech • Get to the Point • How to Say It • Your Body Speaks • Vocal Variety • Research Your Topic • Get Comfortable with Visual Aids • Persuade with Power • Inspire your Audience

5. 10 Meetings + 4 Week Seminar • Priya will provide more information re: 4 week seminar

6. Differences between our Club and an official Toastmaster Club • We do not have an official charter. This implies: • No ‘Badges’: We cannot give official recognition for any speeches you may do. If you are a current Toastmaster, you must have your own VP of Education sign off on that speech. • We will go through the Competent Communication Project Goals as a group not as individuals. • If you were to join an official Toastmaster’s Group afterwards, you would have to start at the beginning of the project goals.

7. Possibilities for Learning: There are many! • Many roles to be played that involve significant learning: • Typically will have two speakers per meeting and two individual speech evaluators • Other roles: Chairman,Toastmaster, General Evaluator, Table Topics Master, Table Topics Competitor s ( 10 per meeting), Word of the Day Master, Grammarian/Ah Counter • Learning opportunities not only for public speaking but active listening, providing feedback, giving Toasts, speaking off the cuff

8. A Word on Attendance: • Attendance is Voluntary as is participation. However: • All volunteers for speaking and roles must give VP’s 1 week notice before next meeting if unable to perform their specified function .....and now descriptions for the available roles.

9. Chairperson: You Control the Meeting and Being on Time is Crucial. • Call the meeting to order. • During the meeting, try to stick to the agenda. You can: • add or subtract comments • shorten the time allotted for the General Evaluator's report or other reports • ask only a few guests for the comments • Adjust Table Topics timing if there are extra items or a speaker cancellation to adjust the timing of the meeting.

10. Toastmaster: Master of the Toast. • Give the Toast of the Evening. This should be about 2 to 3 minutes in length. The toast should be about the theme of the Evening, preferably with a refreshing twist at the end • At the end of your mini-speech, announce the toast by saying 'Please rise and toast with me to x'. The group repeats whatever you said for x. Keep it to a maximum of three words that are easy to repeat • Introduce the speaker: should be maximum one minute long, and designed to get the speaker 'off to a flying start'. Introductions should be penetrating, original, well thought out comments.

11. General Evaluator: A Teacher by Example. • 5 min. Speech to give your impression of the meeting including comments on: • was the meeting on time? • evaluations • handshakes • clapping • how the Sergeant at Arms welcomed guests • the tone of the meeting (dynamic, subdued, boisterous etc.) • Evaluate the Table Topics Master, Toastmaster and Chair's conduct • Should point with enthusiasm to the good events in the meeting

12. Speech Evaluator: As an evaluator, you will benefit by: • Experiencing the art and skill of judging a speech • Reinforcing your ability to speak succinctly and in a logical manner by evaluating a speech without prior preparation • Experiencing and reinforcing the art of analytical listening; and, • Enhancing your listening skills in interpersonal relations. A Speech Evaluator should focus their 2 minute evaluation on: • How well the speaker met the speech objectives...Template provided • What the speaker did that was effective • One or two areas in which you would suggest improvement.

13. Helpful Hints for the Speech Evaluator • Respond to the speaker in terms of his/her effect upon you. • DO NOT reiterate what the speaker said, but what you perceived • AVOID phrases, such as: You should ... You must ... Don't…Try to ... What you really mean is ... You are ... You did ... You were ... • USE personal statements whenever possible, describing your reactions to the speaker, such as: I felt ... It seemed to me… From my point of view ... My reaction was… My impression was… • AVOID impersonal statements such as: They say ... One must ... People are… • Give honest feedback. If you are confused, say so. If your reaction was negative, say so unless you feel that the speaker would not benefit by the disclosure of a negative reaction to his efforts. If your reaction was positive, say so. • Avoid giving feedback on things over which the speaker has no control • Provide specific suggestions for improvement. Use descriptive personal statements to give a 'how to' approach to the feedback. Phrase these suggestions in terms of the probable effect of their implementation upon you and other members of the audience.

14. Table Topics Master. • Leads the impromptu speaking part of the meeting • Awards the Best Table Topics Speaker • Select the Table Topics before the meeting and write them down. • Topics should relate the theme of the meeting • Be creative! You can use pictures, cues from games like Balderdash, fortune cookies etc. • Invite participants (typically 10) and hand out selected topics. • After Everyone Speaks: Conclude the session with a funny remark and ask everyone to vote for the Best Table Topic. Collect and tabulate votes. Announce the winner at the end of the meeting.

15. Word Master. • The Wordsmith/Grammarian selects a "Word of the Day". It is announced at the beginning of the meeting and it is posted on the podium and on the back wall for easy reference. • explains the word's meaning and encourages the members to use it correctly and as often as possible during the meeting. The Chair will call upon the Wordsmith for the number of times the word is used during the meeting

16. AH Counter. • Count the number of times that the word ‘ah’ is used throughout the entire meeting • Tell the group at the end of the meeting.

17. ‘Rules’ For Table Topics. • Participants should not look at topics until the speaker before them begins. • Instruct the timer on the green, amber and red lights: Green at 30 seconds, Amber at 45 seconds and red at 60 seconds. • Start by saying ' Mr/Madam Table Topics Master, fellow toastmasters and welcome guests'

18. Tips for Table Topics. • Address the topic only if you want to. If you don't like the topic, talk about something else! You can say, 'That is a very interesting topic, Madam Table Topics Master, and it reminds me of ...' • If you like someone else's topic, get up and speak on that topic. You can refer to that person by name: enjoyed Bill's comments, but he left out one important fact… • You may stall for time by reading the topic out loud and saying, 'That is a fascinating topic, Mr/Madam Table Topics Master and I have thought a great deal about it without coming to any firm conclusions. Therefore, when I speak on it, I can only think out loud that… By that time you can proceed. If your mind is still blank after that, you can pass. • Make it up! If all else fails, make up a story.

19. Organizational Templates for Impromptu Speaking. • Make your response complete in terms of organization, with an appropriate opening, body and closing. This can be a challenge due to the limited time and the challenge of coming up with something to say. • Examples of organization include: • Past, present, future • Position on an issue, reasons, example, and summary • Set up, unexpected punch line • AlDA (win their Attention, arouse their Interest, create a Desire, stimulate Action or Agreement)