This is outrageous. Here’s Matt cross-dressing as Ms Santa Claus at our fabulous club Christmas Party and that’s me as gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson at our Hallowe’en Party.

Anyway we’ll be dressed more appropriately on Feb. 4 and you should attend regardless of how we’re dressed. AFter all, you never know. One speech I did a few years ago ended with me in a Speedo. It was not a pretty sight but as I have been told too often it was memorable. Parliamentary Procedure Workshop

A contest night is a special time especially at First Oakville. Tonight we get to hear from some of our most courageous speakers who are putting themselves into a competition that can lead to the World Championship of Public Speaking.

This is a huge challenge and it’s not too late to get involved in two ways.

First, you can still register as a competitor. Toastmaster rules state that you can throw your hat into the ring anytime before the contest chair is formally introduced to the audience.

But, you might say I haven’t practiced my speech enough. Folks there’s no reason why you can read your speech from the lectern. You’re not likely to win but you stand a pretty fair chance at placing. If you place, you’ve got time to practice before the Charter Party (Which everyone should attend. It’s not only the social highlight of the year but a great party and celebration of Toastmasters.).

But even if you’re not competing there’s a second way to get involved.

Our speakers need the best audience we can create. Not only that, our speakers will appreciate any suggestions you might offer to them after the meeting.

If you are a mentor and one of your mentees is speaking you really should offer your thoughts on how to improve and to provide a support face in the crowd.

Besides if you attend the contest tonight, you just might find the courage to compete next year.

See you this evening!

Taking a Risk on Mentoring

Last night’s theme was ‘Taking Risks’—urging us to venture out of our own “box”.  An excellent topic, thanks to our chair, Val Clements,  to start off our new year!  It got me thinking about who or what helped me step out of my box in 2011.  My mentor!  I would like to suggest that we all venture out a little farther with our mentoring relationships in this last half of the Toastmaster year and see where it takes us.

There is a wealth of knowledge in our club—waiting to be tapped if only we have the courage to ask for the help.  With the guidance of my mentor, I have grown in areas that I didn’t expect.  I thought I would become more technically proficient—such as where to strengthen my content or delivery.  And my mentor has assisted me with that for sure.  For example, one area where I think many of us miss the boat, including me, is matching our speech to our project goals.  I have seen some great speeches but unfortunately, they were not conducive to the purpose of the project—like vocal variety or body language.  A mentor can bring that to our attention.

For me, the most surprising benefit of having a Toastmaster mentor, has been that he challenges me to be more courageous in my speeches—making me step out of my ‘box’ and get  comfortable with the uncomfortable.  I found this can be a humbling but worthwhile experience, as the payback is always a better end product that boosts my self-confidence as a speaker.

I challenge each of us to invest more of ourselves in our mentee / mentor relationships this year.  And don’t be afraid to ask for it—mentors love the challenge and will grow from the experience just as much as the mentees!

Take a risk and venture out of your box!

Here’s an excerpt:

A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 2,300 times in 2011. If it were a cable car, it would take about 38 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

Thank you to the planning committee and all those with roles during the evening.

Everyone played their parts with energy and enthusiasm, there were lots of laughs, music and games, and we even had a hilarious table topics session. I particularly enjoyed watching Lili Cretu have so much fun delivering hers. She had us all in stitches.

There really was a great Toastmaster atmosphere in the room,. This was one of the best Christmas parties I can remember and part of the success came from the strong support we had from members. The room was full with over 50 people in attendance all looking to have a fun time as always. Everyone participated in some way to make the evening a hit.

Special thanks to David Locke who entertained us at the beginning of the evening with his trumpet playing and then played piano and led us in carol singing at the piano downstairs to close out the evening. David also took on the challenge of whipping our flash choir into shape through nine hours of practice. It was well worth it as the singing was one of the highlights of the evening for me.

Also my thanks to Peter West and Mike Cauterman who spent the entire evening watching the party through their cameras to record the evening. If you were not able to attend the party, go view the photo’s on Peter West’s site to get a glimpse of what transpired. Thanks also to the Quality Hotel staff; the food and service throughout the evening was great!

With the Christmas Party behind us, our next big party is just around the corner.

As I write this, it’s literally nine weeks to the Charter Party! The organizing committee has been hard at work since October and has a fabulous venue and agenda ready for the event. With the Christmas Party as an example, this club knows how to throw a party and have fun. All we ask of you is to support the club and come to the party. Don’t miss out on this one.

Pencil the 11^th February into your diary if you haven’t done so already.

Toastmasters International’s focus is around “Where Leaders Are Made” and one thing leaders do is plan, make decisions, organize, direct and delegate. Participating or leading a committee gives you an excellent opportunity to practice these skills and watch others do the same. It’s a great learning opportunity and a very rewarding experience when it comes together and works well.

Take the Christmas Party planning as an example. How do you put an evening together like that? How do you get ideas for a theme? How do you delegate?

In this example, the chair (Elaine Collins) did an excellent job at pulling ideas out of us, leading us to a decision on a theme then delegating or asking for volunteers for certain rolls and having regular follow-ups to keep everything on track.

Everyone felt involved and empowered so that it was a positive experience for all. In essence, with great leadership, and when everyone’s pulling in the same direction, you get a great result. So if you want to improve your leadership and planning skills, jump in when there’s a call for the next committee

It was my pleasure to be the auctioneer and with so many books we really had to power through….and we did.

Awaiting word from our treasurer on the take for the night but it should be pretty good.

Unfortunately this is likely the last of the book auctions thanks to E-Readers which I suspect will be very popular this Christmas.

My Kindle has over 75 books onboard with 50 of them finished and 25 to go.

First Oakville meets Thursdays from September to June at 7:30 at the Quality Inn on Bronte Road south of the QEW.

Last Thursday’s business session was ‘confusing’ as a guest indicated, and honestly I used to feel the same way.  Heck, I still feel that way sometimes!

For example, I questioned the Parliamentarian about the necessity of the Chair to request New Business.  The Chair of the evening decided to end the business session upon completing Business Arising from the Minutes, a bit earlier than indicated in the agenda.  As Secretary someone had indicated to me, by anonymous note, a new motion and was not presented an opportunity to raise it; I inquired about protocol as to whether this was permitted under Robert’s Rules of Order which govern our meetings.

Now the Parliamentarian may not have been paying attention and stated that the Chair had indeed requested new business, and I must have missed it, where the Chair admitted to me that she had deliberately omitted doing so.  During the discussion the anonymous member was not forthcoming in asserting his right to make a new motion, so I let it slide.

Regardless, at break a seasoned member commended me on my point.   She told me next time I could make a motion to Suspend the Rules.  Consulting Parliamentary Procedure afterwards, I was reminded this particular motion would allow us to ‘set aside rules that interfere with action desired’ and require a Second and a 2/3 Vote by the assembly.  This would have delayed the end of the business session for the member to bring forward his important new motion.  Also, she reminded me I could have kept the Chair in the loop ahead of time too.

Every meeting presents an opportunity to learn about how formal meetings are conducted, which is important to committees and governments internationally.  I am personally and professional grateful to learn in Toastmasters something that applies to my own goals moving forwards; communication and leadership skill continue to be invaluable in traditional business and political worlds.

~Eleanor Hayward RMT, Secretary 1^st Oakville Toastmasters