Appreciated recognition

Proud to announce that I was awarded the District 53 Governor's award for June 2008. Out of 2,500 Toastmasters in District 53, my service to Toastmasters was recognized. I am touched by this recognition. I remain thankful for the stage time opportunities that Toastmasters provides for me to test my presentation material while getting the all important Stage Time, Stage Time, Stage Time.

How about you? Are you taking advantage of the opportunities to develop your communication and leadership skills in Toastmasters? We improve by performing our craft and getting feedback to make adjustments for our next performance. This life is experiential, not observational. Get up and accept the speaking and leadership opportunities that are offered to you in Toastmasters. Of course, this is only if you want to be a better you next year.

Interview with Francisco Saraiva

In an interview with Francisco Saraiva this week, I praised Toastmasters for the benefits I receive for return for active participation. I am a proud member of multiple Toastmaster clubs in District 53.

Rather than bore you with the details, please go ahead and read this interview for yourself. We discuss Toastmasters, foreign accents and the value of my Psychology degree in Public Speaking.

Then go to the Toastmasters website and find a club that is convenient for you. Attend a meeting as a guest and join, to increase your public speaking skills as well as to raise your self-esteem and personal confidence.

Presentation Excellence

An audience member recently asked me "How do I deliver a perfect, flawless presentation?. The answer of course, is "You don't".

Don't strive to deliver perfect presentations, with every word scripted and each sentence grammatically correct. Instead, you should aim to deliver a presentation that is "excellent" and of high quality. Use your own words and communicate the purpose of your presentation to your audience. Don't worry if you think that the language you use is not sufficiently proper for your audience. Focus on conveying your message to your audience. Try your very best to have them leave with your message in their minds. Use activities, metaphors, and stories to communicate your message.

Trying to deliver the perfect, flawless presentation is dysfunctional. The final 10% of the effort you put into delivering a perfect presentation is wasted, because your audience will understand your message with 90% of your energy. If 90% isn't good enough for your audience, then 10% more won't change the situation. Aim for presentation excellence, and let the chips fall where they may.

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Have you noticed that most seminar leaders and conference presenters are very bad presenters. Reading their speeches, zero eye-contact, enough PowerPoint slides to sink the QE2 and running over allotted time. Is is small wonder that most presenters in corporate meetings are also bad presenters? We unconsciously follow the example set by the presenters we see at conferences. We have so few good presenters these days that unless you invest time and energy in developing the correct presentation skills, you will also be influenced by watching bad presenters. You will not even realize the low quality of your presentation skills if you compare yourself to presenters at conferences.

Therefore, don't just follow the example of others. Join Toastmasters, take note of good presenters, and set the example for other presenters to follow.

Reducing Anxiety

"How do I reduce Anxiety before I make my presentation?" was a common question asked by novice presenters.

Liz Trendowski and I presented "From Panic to Power" Public Seminar at the Cragin Library in Colchester, CT last night to a standing-room only crowd. We answered this question amongst the many other topics we discussed.

So how do you reduce anxiety? Well, the best way to reduce anxiety is to prepare thoroughly. Preparation will not eliminate anxiety - but lack of preparation will increase anxiety.

Specifically, during preparation, you can reduce anxiety by:
1. Clearly defining the purpose of your presentation. Then craft your presentation around this objective.
2. Using bullet points for the main points of your presentation, and not trying to memorize every word of your speech. Have confidence that you connect with your audience when you use your own words to convey your main points, and it is OK if you misplace a few words along the way. I find anxiety increases when trying to read a script and make sure that I say each word, and phrase perfectly.
3. Rehearsing your presentation - 10 times. That's right. Rehearse your presentation ten times. Then you will feel very comfortable with it, and will be far less anxious.
4. Internalize your main points. For example, if you are proposing three reasons to stop drunk driving, internalize these three points, so that you can explain them to your friends without event thinking about speech.
5. Practise your speech while driving. Talk out loud, and speak your speech. You will find out the parts that you know and the parts that you need to spend more time.
6. Join Toastmasters to get the Stage Time. Public Speaking is an interactive skill- you get better with experience. The best place to get the experience is Toastmasters.


This is how I reduce anxiety. You can follow these same techniques.

Project Management Opportunity in Toastmasters

Now that we are neck-deep into Spring 2008 Speech Contests in Area B2 (Toastmasters District 53), I clearly see the similarities between successful club contests and successful Project Leadership. I am a Project Management Professional (PMP) and passionate about Project Management. I am planning our Area B2 contest for April 1, 2008 and mentoring a new member to organize his club's contest.

When you enjoy a club speech contest, you don't see the days of preparation. A successful club contest is the result of careful planning and execution of the plan. The contest leaders must lay out a plan, get the forms ready and call on people to fill the roles. Contestants need to create and rehearse speeches. All of this starts weeks before the contest.

Planning a speech contest at your club or higher level is the cheapest Project Management training that you can get anywhere. I don't understand why so few people step up to lead the planning committee and take on the role of Contest Chair. (As a bonus, Toastmasters gives you feedback and credit in the Competent Leadership Manual).

If you want to drastically improve your Project Management skills, then volunteer to organize your club speech contests. This is the cheapest Project Management training you will get in your life, and certainly fulfilling when you experience your well-run contest.

Trains

At our local hobby shop, we saw a flyer for a model-train show. On a whim my son and I drove to the Big E in West Springfield, Mass. to enjoy the train displays and search for bargain priced additions to his model train set. Wow!! We were impressed. We expected a few hundred attendees, at most. Instead we had to wait in line to park and the 4 acres of exhibitions were jam-packed with thousands of model railroad enthusiasts. This is very close to what heaven must be like. Pure bliss for father and son, watching Liliputian scale trains of every size and shape pull freight and passenger to their imaginary destinations.

We were amazed at the volume of trains and the dedication of many men (and few women) who come together regularly to enjoy their hobby. The European Train Enthusiasts - Eastern New England Chapter especially caught my attention because their freight cars are similar to the ones on my train set in South Africa. The couplers are different from the USA models of freight cars and I was instantly transported back 30 years.

The clubs formed by model railroaders got me thinking about Toastmasters and the human desire for affiliation. Model railroaders form clubs and meet regularly to create tracks and scenery for their own pleasure. These clubs do not meet any real need such as providing food or water nor improve employable skills of club members.

Similarly, Toastmasters join clubs to fill a common desire to share our love of public speaking and be with others who enjoy our passion. In contrast, Toastmasters provides training in many skills that benefit the individuals who participate including Public Speaking and Leadership skills.

As you read this blog, if you are not getting the full experience from your club, ask yourself: "Myself am I taking advantage of the leadership and communication opportunities in Toastmasters by volunteering for District officer position or Special Event Coordinator?" What are you waiting for? The opportunity for your growth is available in Toastmasters right now and you are not getting any younger.

Vikas Jhingran - 2007 WCPS, in Hartford

The time was 4 PM. The date was 1/20/2008. The place - Hartford, CT, USA. On a blistering cold, windy afternoon, Vikas delivered another outstanding presentation for District 53 Toastmasters. Vikas shared with us how he lost his first club speech and progressed all the way to the top. Vikas encouraged all the visitors to join Toastmasters.

We heard good news from Karin, our LG Education and Training. District 53 is on track to reach Distinguished status for third year in a row. We had a great time this afternoon and District 53 leaders are looking forward to a successful second half of this term.

How to accelerate your speaking growth

Do you want to grow exponentially as a speaker? Would you like to get a year's worth of growth in one evening?

Suppose that you are a Toastmaster. You speak once a month and receive an evaluation from your fellow club members. After 12 months, you have received 12 evaluations.

Now, if you are impatient like me would you like to receive this feedback in one night? Do you see the benefit of growing at this pace instead of one evaluation per month? If you do, then you need to find, join, or start an Advanced Toastmasters Club.

I attended ProSpeakers club last night. We are an Advanced Toastmasters club meeting in Springfield, Western Massachusetts on the third Thursday of every month. Last night, each of our four speakers got in depth feedback from 13 evaluators. WOW!!

My advice for speakers who want a safe place to test material and grow exponentially, get to your nearest Advanced Toastmasters club.

Join Toastmasters to get ahead, IT eCommerce Projects

In the Aug 13 issue of the Hartford Business Journal Harvey Mackay (the author of "Swim with the Sharks without being eaten alive") recommends that you join Toastmasters.

He writes: "Take a public speaking class or join Toastmasters ... you will never regret it."

Being an Area Governor for Toastmasters, I could not agree more. In fact, I found out about Toastmasters when I read a book by Harvey Mackay in the early 1990's. Since joining Toastmasters I have become a lifelong convert. Enough said - visit www.toastmaster.org, find a club near you, and commit to becoming a lifelong learner today.

On a different note - My team implemented a project today that we have been working on for the past 4 months or so. We had a few minor hiccups but overall it went fantastically well. Good job team. Implementing a successful IT project satisfies a need in my soul to contribute to the Universe, knowing that in some small way I am helping to process transactions more efficiently than we could ever process manually with paper-based systems. I love IT, even though IT systems require so much off-hours support. I am fortunate to work with teams of intelligent contributors who create a pleasant atmosphere when we work on Sundays.

And yourself? What satisfies your soul? Are you in the career that you want to be, if you were given the option to be in any career that you could choose? Post comments and let us know.