DISTRICT 112 Annual Conference – REGISTER NOW May 3 – 5. Hamilton

If you are on the email redirection list receiving this newsletter, I respectfully request that you forward it on to all your club members in order that they also are informed of conversations that are taking place on their behalf at District level.  Thank you, your assistance with this request is incredibly appreciated.

 

District Director

Greetings inspirational valued members of District 112

We are now 2/3’s of our way through the Toastmasters year. Club subs are due for payment, Area Contests are taking place and there are a wide variety of awards being registered for both the traditional and Pathways programmes.

The uptake on Pathways is increasing which is both heartening and rewarding to see as Toastmasters International are working hard to make improvements to the programme based on the feedback they have received, and continue to receive from you, our members.

The awards registered under District 112 since 1^st July 2018 are as follows:

CL        ALB      ALS      HPL   DTM     Level1 Level2      Level3  Level4   Level5   TOTAL:

68          17         19        9          19         251         61          17           6            2          650

We have had another Distinguished Toastmaster award registered since our February newsletter and I take the time now to formally acknowledge and congratulate, Daniel Hovell of Naumai South Taranaki Club.

The achievement of this significant milestone has not only benefited you through the assignments that have been completed but also positively impacted on your club and members through the natural progression of project requirements.

We are drawing nearer to our very first District 112 conference being held at the Distinction Hotel, 100 Garnett Ave, Te Rapa, Hamilton.  Conference Chair Ross Kennedy and the vibrant dedicated committee are working hard to bring you a memorable event we will all be able to talk about and reflect on in the years to come.  To register for Conference go to:

To keep up with the event updates please feel free to like and share the link to the Conference Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/newbeginningsdistrict112

Until next month, I wish you well and trust you will find warming gems in the balance of this edition.

Toastfully yours

Toni Sharp QSM DTM

District 112 Director

021 1147 254

D112director@toastmasters.org.nz

PROGRAMME QUALITY DIRECTOR

Greetings Toastmasters!

The end of February marks also the end of Club Leadership Training sessions.  Your club leadership, and you, have been invited to attend sessions that discuss your club marketing, leadership roles, general running of your club, and other activities.   The Leadership sessions are also opportunities to network and learn about changes coming up.

In case you have not yet provided feedback around the CLT session that you attended then you still have an opportunity. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/D112-CLT2018-Round2

Pathways Support

One area that we would like to expand on is Pathways support and how we can make it easier for members to engage in the educational program.  Moving the educational system from a paper-based system to a computerised online environment is a significant change for all of us, however the rewards in having an expanded learning base are also significant.

The best way that the District can help is with knowledge and the dissemination of knowledge, also understanding what challenges may exist.  Ways that we can do this will include discussion groups using remote computer access, leveraging Toastmasters International and other Districts’ web-based training material and where there are gaps producing our own video material.

In March Areas will be completing their contests and towards the end of the month some Divisions will have their Conference events.  Some Areas started their contests in the latter half of 2018 while others this month will present four contests in a day.  What we learn from these and the feedback we receive will help us determine how we will conduct contests in the future, post the large changes made with the one District Conference per year.

Have you attended a contest event before?  Contests are part of the overall learning exercise that is Toastmasters!  These are opportunities for members to not only compete but also as an audience learn from the contestants by watching and listening to them exercise their skills.

Please endeavour to make the time to attend as many contest events as possible to support the contestants and garner some tips on structuring and presenting speeches!   You will find the Calendar of contest and other events listed here.

https://d112tm.org.nz/district-calendar

Neil

Program Quality Director – District 112 Text:   +64 2 7527 4913 Email:

D112program@toastmasters.org.nz

CLUB GROWTH DIRECTOR

We blinked and February has gone! Scary how quickly time flies with club contests behind us, many area contests having taken place already and a few of our new clubs in formation having had their inaugural meetings.

Our challenge for the next month is to keep track of where all our members are at:

Are our members needs being met? Does every member wish to renew their membership by the end of March? If not, why not?  What can we do to ensure our members are gaining maximum benefit from their membership? If people are maximising their potential through Toastmasters, if they are leaving club meetings feeling inspired having had a great meeting, they are going to be our best advert for drawing in new members.  Please let me know what we can do to enhance your membership experience and what you think we should do to entice people to take up the incredible opportunities Toastmasters offers.

Let us all think about #mywhy. Why did you join Toastmasters? What you have gained from Toastmasters and why you stay? During a Table Topics session, arrange for your Table Topics Master to ask questions in this vein and then video everyone’s answer. You do not need sophisticated equipment to do this, use your phones. It would be awesome if you could share these #mywhy on your website and Facebook page and please do share your top three with us so that we can include these on our District 112 website.

February has been an extremely busy month, with a few clubs being on the cusp of chartering. To mention just a few:

Auckland Airport Toastmasters (in formation)’s charter date is March, with 18 brand new members, one dual member and four reinstated members.  Anna Rybakova experienced the benefits of Toastmasters when she belonged to Ernst and Young Achieving Potential Toastmasters.  This inspired her to become the driving force behind the Auckland Airport Toastmasters club.  I applaud the passion and determination Anna has shown in pursuing the chartering of this club.

Inaugural Meeting of Auckland Airport Toastmasters (in formation)

Marsh Toastmasters (in formation) had a most successful inaugural meeting, with a charter member delivering their very first Ice Breaker at that meeting.  Marsh Toastmasters has submitted their charter documents with an effective charter date of March.  Marsh is chartering with 23 new members and two dual members.  Elmar Nel (Area K5 Director) and member of East Coast Bays Toastmasters, Long Bay Toastmasters and Review Toastmasters has been the driving force behind this club.  A big thanks to Elmar Nel and to Teresa Mitchell (from Twilight Toastmasters), for turning this dream into a reality.

Marsh Toastmasters Inaugural Meeting

Erica Richardson and her team have been working hard to enable the charter of TVNZ Toastmasters (in formation).  TVNZ Toastmasters (in formation) now have enough members to charter and are just waiting on eight membership payments.  (Initially the company was going to be sponsoring payment, but now the members are paying for themselves).  I congratulate Erica on being able to instil in members the worthwhile benefits of investing in their Toastmasters membership.

B:Hive Toastmasters (in formation) held a most enjoyable meeting last Tuesday.  Congratulations to Ellie Dudgeon for driving the chartering of this club (even though she is not yet a Toastmaster!).  This clubs plans to charter within the next three weeks. The calibre of speakers at this club is outstanding, I look forward to watching their progress in next year’s contests!

B:Hive Toastmasters (in formation)

Rosebank Toastmasters (in formation) in Avondale, will be having their inaugural meeting on Wednesday the 20^th of March from 11:30 am – 12:30 pm.  This club is looking for Toastmasters to support their formation.  Please let me know if you are interested. At present it looks as though there is strong interest in this club from businesses in Rosedale Road.

Both clubs in formation in Hamilton, Legen-Dairy Toastmasters (in formation) – the Fonterra club and Word Play on Saturday (in formation) are very close to chartering.

Nicola MacKenzie, our Area P4 Director, is the driving force behind Legen-Dairy Toastmasters and has done an excellent job in bringing the club to a point where they can now submit their charter documents.

Peter Elliott is the inspiration behind Word Play on Saturday (in formation), Peter has advised he has the membership to charter, and is currently determining whether to charter the club in March or April.

Sherman Wang, our Division L Director, is the creator of Toastmasters at Kristin (in formation).  The club has twelve signed members and is hoping to be able to charter in April.  Should you know of anyone associated with Kristin College who would benefit from joining Toastmasters, please encourage them to join the club and have a chat with Sherman.

Avanti Toastmasters (in formation) will be having another launch demonstration meeting within the next few weeks.  They are looking for members in their 40s or 50s to support the charter of this club.  Please let me know if you are interested.

A further opportunity is the Police Toastmasters (in formation), please contact our Public Relations Manager, Rob Wightman, if you would like to assist in the formation of this club.

I am pleased that we have had a few more members who have taken the opportunity to become a club coach.  We will be announcing their names once their club coach appointments have been approved by Toastmasters International.

We are very lucky to have a few past District Officers who are committed to supporting Toastmasters.  These people work tirelessly in the background, encouraging struggling clubs, supporting existing clubs, learning as much as possible about Pathways so they can assist many club members, delivering presentations at CLTs, filling contest official roles and participating in new club demonstration meetings.  I would like to personally thank these Toastmasters without whom we would be lost.  I would particularly like to thank Kingsley Moody and Alun Chisholm for the incredible support they have provided, in many different areas, but specifically with regards to the new clubs in formation.

We only have four months left in this Toastmasters Year, let’s take the opportunity to enhance the lives of our friends, family, colleagues and strangers.  Spread the word everywhere about the amazing opportunities offered by Toastmasters, remember your Toastmasters promise and give of your best to every role you fill and project you undertake – that will enhance your own Toastmasters experience and will encourage our guests to join.

All the best for this month, have lots of fun and grow heaps.

Warm regards

Sharon Kerr-Phillips DTM

Club Growth Director – District 112

PUBLIC RELATIONS MANAGER

BE A WORLD RECORD HOLDER – REGISTER for RUN the RED – Toastmasters.org.nz

RUN THE RED continues to grow. get your Pathways and personal Speeches, Presentations and Educationals ready for April 21-26. Only 7-10 minutespeeches, more if you wish. twice if possible. Advance your Pathways journey. Raise the profile of Toastmasters throughout New Zealand.

Have some fun and be a WORLD RECORD HOLDER

Notes for Speakers Below is the programme that each speaker will be asked to follow.

As soon as possible, go online to www.toastmasters.org.nz – There you can fill in your details including which of the 4 hour sessions you can attend.

There you can fill in your details including which of the 4 hour sessions you can attend.

• Each 4 hour session will consist of at least 16-20 Toastmasters, dependent on how long each speech is expected to be. Plus spectators, 2 Independent Witnesse 2 Independent Timekeepers monitoring the whole event.
• We ask that you consider speaking at least twice, one day time and one night-time (10pm-6am) if possible to help cover the night shifts. Guinness World Records (GWR) requires a minimum of 4 hours between your speeches.
• Familiarise yourself with the rules as any breach of the rules noted by the official witnesses will fail the event. The rules are on the registration page Toastmasters.org.nz.
• The Toastmaster session team will, in addition to their speech; a) Form part of the Audience (minimum 10 at all times).

1. 2 TMs will be outside the room registering Speakers as they arrive at the venue, and issuing their speaking order ticket.
2. 2 TMs will be Sergeant at Arms/ Ushers escorting Speakers and Audience into the room with the minimum of fuss to avoid distracting speakers.
3. 1 TM will be recording the speakers order number speech title and times
4. 2 TMs will be recording times and operating the lights. In addition to the Official Timekeepers. f) 1 TM will be monitoring the video equipment.
5. 2 TMs will be Team Leaders who will know what can be done and what cannot.
6. As Each Speaker completes their speech they take a brief break before becoming part of the Audience again or taking over another role as directed by the Team Leader.

• There will be back up on call as needed. There will be a contact list of available speakers able to come in if needed.
• There will be a public audience to monitor.
• You can leave once you have done your bit and a Toastmaster from the next shift relieves you. The next session will be filtered in quietly after registration outside the room. This to ensure that current Speakers are disturbed as little as possible. Again, the key here is to maintain more than the minimum number in the Audience at all times.
• The speaking Area will be videoed throughout. The official witnesses and timekeepers are there to ensure that the Guinness World Record requirements are complied with.

Easy as….

Rob         Rob Wightman DTM  Public Relations Manager  –  District 112

Text:   021 022 04856 Email: D112prm@toastmasters.org.nz

5 reasons why Toastmasters doesn’t work for some people

Toastmasters International has over 350,000 members worldwide and has been around for ages. Why? The educational program works. Rather than focussing on endless theory and book learning, members engage in highly participative learning that involves regularly giving speeches and taking on a variety of leadership roles during meetings. Why is it, then, that the program works for some yet not for others? Here are some observations.

1. Infrequent attendance

If you don’t come, you can’t improve. When members don’t come to meetings regularly, they aren’t getting on stage and practicing public speaking. Public speaking is a bit like swimming: you’ve got to do it to get comfortable and competent doing it.

Solution: Attend regularly and participate. Remember: to be invited to do roles and speeches you need to let us know you are coming by responding to the attendance emails sent by the vice president of education (VPE).

2. Waiting too long between speeches

Waiting too long kills momentum. When members complete a speech, there is a big opportunity to build momentum by booking in the next speech and taking action immediately on the feedback whilst it’s still fresh. Left too long, however, and that momentum dies, the feedback is forgotten, and it becomes easy to procrastinate on starting that next speech.

Solution: Always have a date for your next speech booked in with the VPE. Contact the VPE so they can give you a slot, and then begin preparing as soon as possible so you can actually deliver your speech on that date.

3. Not taking action on feedback

Bad speaking habits need to be actively addressed. You might have noticed speakers can continue to exhibit the same bad speaking habits no matter how often they attend or how often they have been advised of it when evaluated.

Solution: If you have been offered a piece of developmental feedback, actively identify and implement strategies to take corrective action. They won’t go away unless tackled head-on! Get advice from your mentor or fellow members.

4. Procrastination in preparation

Preparing for speeches often brings out our most unhelpful procrastination behaviours. The result? Our preparation is inadequate and our speech is well below our potential. Leaving preparation to the last minute also precludes mentors from helping.

Solution: aim to get your speech ready well in advance of your designated speech date so you can adequately refine it, rehearse it, and also give your mentor a chance to help you with it

If you don’t ask, you won’t get. Club mentors are willing to volunteer time out of their busy schedules to help their mentees, but the onus is on the mentee to ask! Not using your mentor means progress will be slower.

Solution: Be proactive! Contact your mentor in a respectful and considerate way for support. Be responsive to messages from your mentor. Expecting help at the eleventh hour due to late preparation is not the way to go, so plan your preparation so that getting your mentor’s help is part of the prep schedule

A Facebook post by a DTM in Singapore      D D Daruvala DTM