Friday, July 31, 2015

What's so funny?

Have you ever wondered about the tricks to incorporating humor into your public speaking? Most, if not all, public speakers will tell you that having tasteful humor sprinkled throughout a powerful message will improve the impact on your audience. The operative word in that advice is "tasteful." Richard Pryor might have been funny, but the expletives throughout his message were not always delivered in good taste.


Thursday, July 30, 2015

Assistant Area C2 Director

It is my pleasure to announce that, for the 2015-2016 year, Mr. Carlos Copara will be serving as the Assistant Area C2 Director. I first met Carlos at the July 2015 - LACE South. He introduced me for my presentation during the Youth Leadership track. I was impressed with his poise, his composure, and professional demeanor.

Monday, July 27, 2015

Marketing Workshop

Founders District has a Marketing Workshop scheduled for those who missed the chance to complete training at National University - July 25, 2015. This training is scheduled for August 8th, at Caltech. Click "Read more" to view the flyer.

Speechcraft 2015

BUSINESS COMMUNICATION SUCCESS - Huntington Beach ...
Have you ever had a desire to speak in front of a group of people? Deliver your message with effectiveness and persuasiveness? Speaking in public is a skill that anyone can learn and master with study, practice, coaching, and encouragement. Toastmasters has a proven method to help you go from stage fright -to- stage MIGHT!
sign up at EVENTBRITE

Persuasion 101

One of the most interesting areas of Human Psychology is the phenomena known as "persuasion." Regardless of what you think of the power of media in determining attitudes, opinions, values and consumer behavior, the reality is that our minds are being shaped to accept whatever messages the media moguls create. Edward Bernays (1928) articulated this process of mind-crafting in the classic book "Propaganda." You might be quick to disregard his opinions, but you should remember that he was the nephew of renowned psychiatrist Sigmund Freud.



I wanna be a star!

It's expected that everyone imagines themselves achieving stellar success in their endeavors. Aspirations are called "visions." Having a vision is the first step to success - "what the mind can conceive" is the start of a familiar quote by the great motivator Napoleon Hill. Disney said, "all of our dreams will come true, if we have the courage to pursue them."


Division B Meeting

The August 4, 2015 - Division B Meeting has been scheduled and a special guest invited to attend. Click for more and to see the event flyer.

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

YOUR message to the world!

Do you think you have what it takes to be the World Champion of Public Speaking? Most people answer "no," because they feel nervous standing in front of others to even deliver a one or two minute speech. They start to shake, their heart starts pounding harder in their chest, they begin to perspire and all of a sudden, their mouth is dry. They would rather be anywhere else in the world than on the stage looking at an audience of even twenty friends.


Calendar of Events

My observation is not intended to be a scathing reminder, but a gentle prompting to take full advantage of the resources that we have at our disposal. I am talking about the Club Calendar in your Club Portal. Perhaps, this is mostly relevant to the Club President, VP of Education and VP of Public Relations. We all agree that Toastmasters is not only the best bargain for your professional development dollars, but the best program for teaching and nurturing individuals who want to improve their speaking and/or leadership skills. I once heard someone say, that we make all of our decisions by asking this one single question.


Monday, July 20, 2015

Achievement

Success does NOT happen by accident. Regardless of what you may think, leaders aren't born they are made. They are honest with themselves. Willing to admit weakness and challenges, they address these straight on - moving in the direction of well plotted course. This is true about Toastmasters. When you become a member of a club, like taking the first steps of a journey, you know where you are going and why.

Sunday, July 19, 2015

Building a Healthy Team

With every passing day, I continue to be impressed with the educational/material/resource development of Toastmasters International. Don't even get me started on what an incredible bargain it is to belong to an International organization devoted to supporting the optimum development and success of every single member and club.



Thursday, July 16, 2015

The Club Contest

I have been reminded that there has never been an individual who was awarded the coveted World Champion of Public Speaking, who didn't first compete and win in a local Club Speech Contest. That means, if you have hopes of claiming to be a club that produces award winning speakers, you must have contests.


Meeting Fatigue

Have you ever participated in a meeting that just goes on for eternity? You know that isn't really the case, but when people start ignoring the RED light ... the meeting can become like a runaway train, creating ruts and going where you never wanted it to go. As Toastmasters, we are spoiled by the universality of the well organized and executed Club meeting. They start on time. They end on time. Then, the universe is as it should be - orderly and timely.


What's up with the lights?

During my first visit to a Toastmasters Club, I noticed these lights. It looked like something you would see at a busy intersection. I asked the person who invited me to explain. She just asked me to wait, because an explanation would be coming early in the meeting.


Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Club Agenda Tool

Rembember that the FREEToastHost2 at toastmastersclubs.org is a valuable service which makes it easy to create a customized portal for your club. One of the unsung features of the portal is the AGENDA Builder Tool. I am frequently asked why anyone should use the too. Here is my list of features ...
  • you are able to have an archived record of which member performed which functions
  • you are able to list the speeches by Manual/Number
  • you are able to allow members to volunteer for functions and roles in advance of the meeting
  • you are able to provide a link to the agenda on the Club Calendar so that members, when they are logged in can see the agenda as it is being developed
  • you are able to make the job of the Secretary easier by providing most of the information for them
  • you are able to fill the agenda out AFTER the meeting to reflect what actually happened
  • you are able to give credit for speeches when the speaker forgot to bring their manuals
  • you are able to duplicate meetings, which is helpful for smaller clubs
Perhaps the main reason that using this tool is important, is the fact that even if you only use the tool after a meeting, you still have an archive of past meetings - which makes the job of submitting Educational Achievements easier for the VP of Education.

Your Club Portal

All the clubs in Founders District - Area C2 are taking advantage of the FREEToastHost service to build an engaging presence. Over the past two years there have been a number of improvements that make the free CMS or Content Management System, easier to build and customize. The purpose of this post is to list the Club Website best practices as well as offer some additional functionality to take the site to the next level.


Monday, July 13, 2015

Club Visits

I am looking forward to visiting each of the five clubs in Area C2. Of course, since I belong to Club 100, I attend every meeting. Over the next couple of weeks I will be visiting SpeakEZs - Club 8771, the Stanton Speech and Debate - Club 4007, and when I can roust myself up early on a Thursday morning, Achievers - Club 9331.


Visiting the clubs in the Area, lets a Director discover the unique qualities and offerings. People find and join clubs for a variety of reasons. I hope to find that out. I hope to be publishing my positive observations here, on the Area C2 Directors Blog.

Thursday, July 2, 2015

Installation of Officers

Every year, there is a passing of the torch - from one group of elected leaders to a newly elected group. The installation ceremony allows the club to celebrate the occasion by instituting a little pomp and circumstance. There are three important segments in the ceremony.


Officer Installation Script

District Officer: [ enter the name and office held ]

Will the outgoing officers please stand?
[ call them up by name ]

On behalf of Toastmasters International and Founders District, I thank all of you for your accomplishments and salute you for your service. You are discharged from all further duties and responsibilities as officers of [ name ] Club No. [ # ].



Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Start of a New Year

Every July 1st, we start a brand new year! There is a NEW Founders District Director (previously called Governors), ready to implement a vision for all of the Clubs, Areas, and Divisions. This year, Pan Kao became FDs first District Director. A historical moment, as Toastmasters International redifines the roles to remain relevant in a rapidly changing world.

FD Director Pan Kao has chosen as his motto - “Join and Serve to Prosper"

"My vision for this year is to help you achieve your goals and to keep Founder’s District focused on its mission, which is to build new clubs and to assist all clubs in achieving excellence."

I know that our FD Director has exciting opportunities for everyone throughout the District … from the new member to the highest ranking District Officer. What impresses me most about Pan Kao, DTM is his genuine desire to help every member achieve their goals and dreams within the Toastmasters framework.

So, hold on to your hats, because the 2015-2016 year is underway.

Division C Director

JonClaud Pinto, DTM is the Divsion C Director 2015-2016. I know our Director to be a focused, hard working, disciplined and insightful leader. He is a man of vision and purpose.
 "Who you are makes a difference, and you matter"
is the theme for the coming year in Division C.
I encourage you to invite JonClaud to your Club and Area functions. It is important to remember that our leaders, like us, appreciate the power of the personal invitation. Toastmasters is like many fraternal organizations, even though we exist separately, we are still part of something bigger than our own club.

Good luck to JonClaud and the other Division Directors as they serve to help make the current year a success for everyone.