Speaking and Listening: Toastmasters Experience

Every month, Toastmasters District 24 leaders (folks who help Toastmasters clubs in mostly Nebraska) get together for an educational session. This month was a special session presented in person by our Region Advisor (someone who assists several Districts) Jamie Pickering. The session was about self-motivation and self-leadership, including discovering the power you may already have without realizing it.  Though the session mostly covered things I had already considered, I thought it was worth drawing attention to the "five points of power" that Jamie discussed.  As Jamie stated, we are unlikely to have large amounts of all five points of power, but we certainly have at least some degree of some of them. The five points of power are: Knowledge - what you know Personal - interpersonal skills and vision Relationship - connections to others in power Task - control over resources or tasks Position - title or authority to make decisions In my job, I feel I have a lot of knowledg...

Rail Talkers invites you to their special event:  "Breadwinners' Tricks and Treats" on Saturday, October 21 at 1:30pm at the  Benson Branch of the Omaha Public Library, 6015 Binney St, Omaha, NE, 68104. Join us to tell a tale, share a reading, or simply be delighted by what others have to say! Those wishing to actively participate get up to 10(ish) minutes to read from the work(s) of others or tell a story of their own creation.  The theme of "Tricks and Treats" is meant to inspire you, though using the theme is not required. The event will have three categories, with a prize for the audience favorite in each category: 1. Readings (read a favorite short story, poem, or other work) 2. Compilations (combine excerpts from various works into a cohesive narrative or message) 3. Stories (tell an original story - real or imagined) Speakers also have the option to receive an evaluation for credit in Pathways!  The "Connect with Storytelling" and "Vocal Va...

 Today was "Dundee Day", an annual street festival in the neighborhood where one of my Toastmasters clubs meets.  As a part of the community, our club hosted a booth at the festival.  At the booth, many people (mostly kids) engaged with club members as we asked them to speak into a microphone and share their name along with a story, joke, or what they liked about Dundee Day.  In return, they got to pick a prize from our table. I saw a wide variety of reactions to this "ask" to speak up.  Some were excited to speak to speak; some needed encouragement before realizing it wasn't so scary; some outright declined the opportunity.  In all cases, though, we got to show people a taste of what Toastmasters is about:  giving people a platform to find their voice and helping them become better communicators in a positive and encouraging environment. When Toastmasters, or any organization, can go beyond our normal meetings and get out into the community, we can re...

Team Building and High Performance Leadership.  These are two projects that popped up in my Toastmasters Pathways curriculum that tied in very nicely with things I already planned to do in my work place.  Thanks to Toastmasters, I can get awards for completing these items, and I get access to additional resources to help me make my efforts more successful. Team Building is a requirement for me to complete Level 5 of my Motivational Strategies path.  An interested thing I saw in this project was that I am encouraged not just to organize a team building event on my own, but to work with a small team to organize an event with a larger team!  This "requirement" prompted me to seek out input from teammates in my workplace as we plan an event for the fall.  Thanks to Toastmasters, I have been encouraged to not just "go it alone" in planning something, but to work with others.  After all, a team building event is most successful if the team it is serving is bought...

 Happy New Year!  Today, July 1, marks the first day of the new Toastmasters year.  I have several "roles" in the year ahead, all of which I have some familiarity with, and all of which merit some goals.  Here are my current thoughts on my goals for my various roles: Treasurer of Club 229 :   Earn the "Early Bird" award both terms (at least 8 membership dues submitted 15 days prior to deadline) Make good use of the discount coupon we received for membership growth - Don't let it expire without use! VP PR of Rail Talkers Get at least one article about the club posted on the internal website of the company (Union Pacific) that supports the club Publish a newsletter summarizing club and member accomplishments at least once a quarter Promote the winner of "Rail Talker of the Year" (and make sure "Rail Talker of the Year", our annual award that we did for several years and stopped doing in 2020, returns!) President of Tech Talkers Complete our Clu...

 A fellow Toastmasters member asked me for tips on running a hybrid meeting and I realized:  What a great opportunity for a blog post!  So here it goes... In our "life with COVID" world, many organizations (including Toastmasters and its clubs) are seeking to offer flexible participation in events.  In other words, we give people the option of whether they want to travel to a designated location to participate in a meeting where fellow participants are also gathered OR join on their own computer, tablet, or phone from their home, office, etc.  This meeting with options for how to attend is often referred to as "hybrid." To run a successful Toastmasters hybrid meeting, you need to consider all four of the following types of participants: "In person" audience member "In person" speaker Remote audience member Remote speaker You will always have both "in person" and remote audience members.  Whether you currently have an "in person...

Last month, I was elected to the position of "Division Director" within Toastmasters.  In this role, I must recruit three "Area Directors" who will each provide insights and guidance to five Toastmasters clubs.  As I reach out to individuals and ask them to fill this role, I reflect on my experience as Area Director back in 2015-2016.  When I agreed to the role, I knew some basics of what was expected of me, but did not understand the whole scope of what I would experience until I was "on the job."  Fortunately, the surprises were overwhelmingly positive and I learned a lot.  What follows are some of my key experiences from my time as an Area Director. Leadership Skills Training .   Area Directors in my District get to attend training every month.  While this may seem like a "responsibility," I found it to really be a reward of the role.  The year I was Area Director, we all took an "Emotional Intelligence" test and reflected on our res...