You're introduced to make a presentation. Suddenly, your legs go numb, your mouth gets dry, your mind goes blank and the only thing you hear is your heart throbbing. Sound familiar? For many people, public speaking tops the list of immobilizing fears. And with e-mail and text-messaging becoming near universal forms of communication, many of us don't get enough practice at just plain talking. But there's an old-school solution in this digital age, and it beats the potentially psychologically scarring practice of visualizing audience members in their underwear: Toastmasters. Fall Contest Season
The Fall contest season kicks off with the club contest to be held from 7:00 - 8:00 AM on September 4th. The contest will take the place of the regular club meeting. Mike McInerny is the contest chair and he is looking for volunteers to support the contest and make it a success. There are opportunties to complete the Humorous or Tall Tales events, so contact Vickie if your are interested.
The Area 64 Fall Speech Contest will be held on September 13th at the Hutchinson Technology Development Center. Our club will be the host club. All four clubs in Area 64 will be sending contestants to compete in the Humorous and Tall Tales events. Area Governor Jean Gallagher is soliciting help to support the contest and make it a success.
Registration starts at 9:00 AM, the briefings at 9:30 AM and the contest kicks off promptly at 10:00 AM. A $3 entrance fee covers the cost of refreshments and prizes. Click here for the flyer with map.
Capturing The EGG
What is the EGG? The Elusive Gilded Gavel or EGG belongs to the District 6 Director of Marketing. It's purpose is to encourage members from one club to visit another club and "capture" the EGG. Jean Gallagher, Bob Lea, and Bob Anderson are shown receiving the EGG from the Eagan Communicators members, Dale Phelps, Yvonne Cecchini and Daryl Henderson (pictured on the left side).
It was fun to see how another club conducts their meeting and even simple things like meeting over noon rather than early morning affects the character of the meetings. We are looking forward to another club's coming to capture the EGG from our club.
Not Enough Excitement In A Club Meeting?
How about having a tornado warning go off 2/3 of the way through the meeting? On July 31st, Toastmaster Bob Lea just gave our resident political opinion member, Bob Anderson, his Table Topics question. Just then, the alarm went off forcing everyone to scurry to the designated shelter. Fortunately, Bob Anderson got to finish his Table Topic question on what he would like to write into Senator Barack Obama's next speech on the economy. It was a fun meeting even though the weather forced a change in the agenda.
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Mastering Table Topics
Bob Lea shares some tips on delivering a winning Table Topic speech. Bob's article was published in the April 2008 Toastmaster magazine.
Like David Letterman's Top 10 Lists, here’s our:
Top 10 Reasons To Join Hutchinson II Toastmasters Club
by Vickie Shoutz, ATMG/CL
- Other options to consume your time could be much worse than practicing your presentation skills - like alligator wrestling or getting a root canal.
- Practicing the delivery of an important message is much easier in front of a supportive crowd (we’re not an angry mob).
- It’s a great way to jump start the day as we meet at 7:00 a.m. Your other option is to sleep in and waste good “exercising your brain” time.
- If you feel your life is boring, you can life vicariously through other's adventurous stories.
- Where else can you have a blank mind in front of a room of people that truly relate to your dilemma and be applauded for being brave enough to give it a try?
- It’s a low cost, high return on your investment unlike other returns we may count on like social security or winning the lottery for example.
- When you’re done reading your monthly Toastmasters magazine, you can place it in the bottom of the birdcage and your parrot can improve his speaking skills.
- You receive a Toastmasters Magazine each month that is packed full of great tips and insights that can help you improve your speaking skills. It’s a guarantee that you won’t just toss it in the trash or use it for starting a fire.
- We have high quality members who are there to mentor and provide constructive feedback in order to help you meet your speaking goals.
- When else do you have the opportunity to be a bit selfish and have a whole hour every week devoted to a focus on improving yourself?
Smart Money
We are always looking for ways to make our money work harder for us. Money Magazine published a list of the 50 Smartest Things You Can Do With Your Money. A subcategory within this article is entitled, "Great Ways to Better Yourself." They point out that no one ever got a raise by being a wallflower. Their smart money solution: join Toastmasters.
Toastmasters provides a motivating and encouraging environment where you can:
- Learn to communication confidently and effectively in public.
- Listen critically and provide constructive feedback.
- Improve your thinking ability.
- Learn leadership and project management skills.
- Network with peers and leaders at Hutchinson Technology and in the Hutchinson community.
- Serve your workplace, community and special interest group effectively by being better equipped for leadership roles.
Companies like Hutchinson Technology considers the Toastmaster program to be effective to the point where they will reimburse your membership dues. Your money stays in your pocket. Now that's smart use of your money!
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