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Welcome to the "NEW" Gavel! Dear MIke,
After much review and discussion, our team has decided on this new format for the layout of our monthly newsletter "The Gavel!"
We hope you find this new layout not only easy to read but helpful to print out and forward as a recruting tool for new members. We have designed the new layout to help you find content more quickly and to make that content even more presentable than ever before. |
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| And the Winner Is
Mike Tuttle, ATM-B, CL
District 22 Governor
Many of you maybe asking the question 'what does that title mean'? It simply means that the World Championship of Public Speaking contest in Phoenix last Saturday was 'simply amazing'. Check the District 22 website very soon for details of the winner.
It also is intended to serve as a reminder that the Fall round of speech competitions is coming up very soon. Check with your club VP Education to find out when your club competition is scheduled, additionally, check with your Area Governor to see when Area and Division are going to be held. Fall is when we hold the Humorous speech and Evaluations contests culminating in the chance to be crowned as District 22 Champion in Wichita on Saturday, October 27th. If you haven't already made plans to attend you should mark your calendar now.
The club level competition gives you a chance to complete task 7 of the Competent Leader manual when you act as Contest Master. Other CL manual opportunities also can be filled by helping with the club level contest; timer and evaluator come to mind quickly.
Being involved in a contest is a great way to deepen your Toastmaster experience as well as help your fellow Toastmaster contestants enrich their experience as well. I can't think of a more exciting opportunity than to compete in front of a FULL room of fellow Toastmasters and make them laugh or evoke deep emotion with a superbly done evaluation. So we will be looking forward to seeing all of you at the contests, either as a contestant or a helper or simply an audience member laughing until you cry or maybe crying at the sincerity of a great evaluation. |
What are you waiting for? 
By Cyndra Melville, DTM
Lieutenant Governor Education and Training
If you haven't done it yet, it's time.. It's important for you and for your club. What am I talking about? Setting your personal Toastmaster goals.
Where do you want to be June 30, 2008? Do you want to have earned your Competent Communicator or an Advanced Communicator award? Don't forget about the Leadership awards.
Look at the page in your basic Communicator manual on what is required and set out a plan to get it done. Express your goals to your club's Vice President - Education. They can help you by scheduling your speeches or perhaps ordering something that you need.
Our goal in Toastmasters is to help each individual member fulfill their needs. Why did you join? Is your goal in alignment with the timetable that you originally set up for yourself?
Ready! Set! Go! |
Teamwork and Timing
by Annette Rude, DTM
Lieutenant Governor Marketing .
How can you make the most of your membership campaigns this year? It seems simple to set a goal of one new member per month, but new members seem to join irregularly. Teamwork and timing can enhance your efforts.
Teamwork
Recruiting a new member for your club is process. It includes: 1) public relations, 2) first impressions and 3) closing the sale. Working as a team, your club members and officers can create synergies that are more than one person can achieve alone.
- Brainstorm and implement strategies to make all three areas effective. Use portions of the Moments of Truth module to guide you. Its most important component is breaking out into discussion groups and presenting solutions. To be effective, you may need to devote a whole meeting to this process.
- Make the three areas complement one another. A good example is having a demo meeting or open house or guest meeting.
Timing
Creating an effective process for recruiting members will work all year long. However, you will get more return for your work at some predictable times of the year.
- The start of the school year is a good time for a special promotion. People associate it with new beginnings. A demo meeting or open house will be more effective in August and September than in November or December.
Toastmasters International encourages membership campaigns during August and September by awarding the Smedley Award to any club that adds five new members during that time. The club is awarded a banner ribbon and a choice of one module from The Better Speaker, Successful Club or Leadership Excellence Series.
- January is a big new member month, since it is associated with New Year's resolutions. Promotions in January can also help you club gain new members in February and March. TI's Talk up Toastmasters membership contest recognizes clubs that add five new members during February and March with a ribbon and an educational module.
- April is, on average, the biggest new member month. Why? I don't know, but I certainly recommend an extra special promotion in March to catch the wave.
Teamwork and timing are like magic ingredients for membership growth. Use them generously to maximize your membership goals.
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| Speech Contests-They Could be For YOU!
by Evie Curtis, ATMG
Masters #8825 Leawood, KS
Why did you join Toastmasters? I joined Toastmasters to learn how to tell a joke without blowing the punch line. What I've learned through Toastmasters has had a big impact on me.
My second speech for Toastmasters was competing in a speech competition - what I considered a "no-brainer." I didn't win the contest, but I learned so much, so fast! I became a better speaker by getting out of my comfort zone and realizing how much I didn't know.
You might be the kind of person that is ready for more of a challenge. You may need stretching past the boundaries created by your club. Have you reached that place where giving speeches in front of your club doesn't pose a big challenge for you?
How would you like an opportunity to speak before an audience who has never seen you before and can't fire you? Perhaps you've been hoping for a more objective evaluation of your speeches. Maybe you're ready to learn some new techniques, some new tricks that other speakers could teach you. If so, I have just the opportunity for you - speech contests!
You can participate in contests in three ways, as:
- a contestant,
- an observer, or
- a volunteer.
Contest Masters always need people to serve as Timers, Vote Counters, and Registration Table Helpers. Also, I recommend that you get trained as a judge. Learning what judges look for and how balloting works is helpful information for a contestant. It gives you a leg up!
Another great opportunity is to serve as a target speaker in an evaluation contest. You will receive the most amazing feedback from the evaluation contestants. Toastmasters holds contests twice a year. The Evaluation and International Speech contests are in the Fall. The Humorous Speech and Table Topics contests are in the Spring.
I bet YOU are ready for a challenge, a little push past your comfort zone, an opportunity to learn something new. Consider serving as a volunteer, an observer, or a contestant in the upcoming contests. You'll learn something new, enjoy yourself, and stretch yourself a bit. See you there! | |
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| Call for Volunteers
District 22 Speakers Bureau
We are in the early stages of assembling the District 22 Speakers Bureau. The Speakers Bureau will be a group of Toastmasters that are available for speaking engagements inside and outside of Toastmasters meetings.
Speakers in the bureau must be Toastmasters in good standing who have achieved Advanced Communicator Bronze or above. They may be nominated by any club officer or district officer. Approval for membership in the speakers bureau is under the authority of the District Governor.
The District Speakers Bureau will be headed by a Chair, who will coordinate speakers with events as necessary.
If you have any interest in participating in this program, please contact your club Vice-President, Public Relations for information. |
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