The Guelph Area Speech contest will take place at the Evergreen Senors' Centre on Friday, February 26, starting at 7:00 pm. Past Club President Mina McClusky will represent the Stone Road Toastmasters in the International Speech Contest. Marion Reidel will be our club's respresentative for the Evaluation contest.

This is a wonderful opportunity to see a series of high level speeches. Admission is only $5.00. Come on out for an evening of entertainment.

How To Get Everything You Want

Stoneroad Toastmaster Anca Preda demonstrated her Educational Presentation skills on Jan. 4th when she informed the group about an excellent motivational resource. Brian Tracy's book "How To Get Everything You Want- Faster Than You Ever Thought Possible" had a number of great ideas to benefit the club members. Anca gave a quick verbal summary of the book and also provided the group with a written synopsis from "Soundview Executive Book Summaries" an online resource.

As the theme of the evening was New year's Resolutions, one of the key points from the book that was highlighted was the concept of "S.M.A.R.T." goals. Not only was evidence presented to prove that the written establishment of goals is extremely powerful in leading to success, it was also clarified that S.M.A.R.T. goals are the most productive. This acronym stands for goals that are:

Specific

Measureable

Attainable

Realistic

Time bound

When goals meet these criteria, they are focused on daily to keep them ever present in your consciousness, then the potential for achievement of the goals is greatly increased.

Members reflected on the value that the Toastmaster's program has brought into their lives, and one individual told the group his success story. Previously he had been seeking work for over a year and he is now in a new and challenging employment situation, partly because of the confidence he gained and was able to demonstrate in interviews. Recently he gave a presentation to his colleagues, which went extremely well, causing his supervisor to comment of the strength of the club member's speaking skills. Toastmasters has made a difference in his life.

Setting Toastmasters Goals for 2010

Yes, it’s that time again – time to promise yourself you’ll shed a few pounds, restart your exercise program and finally finish reading that Tolstoy novel you’ve been working on for the past few years. As a Toastmaster, you’re probably thinking about setting a few New Year’s resolutions for yourself or your club. While we heartily encourage you to do so (Finish that CC! Encourage everyone to help your club earn that DCP award!), we’d like to offer some advice on how to make your 2010 resolutions stick:

• Write them down. The simple act of committing your New Year’s resolutions to paper (or to an electronic document, if you prefer) will help you remember them and act upon them later. Ideas that stay trapped in your mind don’t have the staying power of ideas that pass through your hands onto a document of some sort. The idea here is really just to perform the act of writing down your goals more than to create a reminder for future reading, though if you happen to write it down in a place where you’ll retrieve it and read it later, so much the better.
• Pace yourself. Divide your goals into smaller, easily achievable steps, then spread these sub-goals as evenly as possible throughout the year. For example, if you want to complete your CC by the end of 2010, and you’ve only completed four projects, you’ll find it easier if you set yourself the goal of completing one of your remaining speeches every two months.
• Schedule them. Once you’ve decided on a pace you can live with (one manual speech per month? one new member every other meeting?), mark your specific goal dates on a calendar, and do your best to achieve those goals.
• Share your goals with others. If you tell your family, friends and fellow Toastmasters about your goals and aspirations for the year, you will create your own personal team of well-wishers who will provide you with the encouragement and motivation to get the job done on time.
• Set attainable goals. Don’t be too hard on yourself. Before you set yourself up for disappointment, make sure you’re being realistic about what you can comfortably achieve in a year’s time. It’s much better to set yourself an attainable goal and surpass it than to set the bar too high and become discouraged.

Whatever your New Year’s goals may be, remember that you don’t have to do it alone. Your fellow Toastmasters are there to help, and many of them have already walked the path you’re walking now. So don’t be shy – ask for help if you need it, and before you know it, you’ll have the courage to conquer the next year’s resolutions.

(Article courtesy of Toastmasters International)

Congratulations Town & Gown

The Stoneroad Toastmasters send a sincere "well done" to the Town & Gown Toastmasters Club this week. Their representatives won both the Table Topics and Humorous Speech Contests at the Oct. 16th, Area 62 Competition.

Danve Castroverde, the defending Table Topics champion, reclaimed his title with his eloquent response on the theme "A Sound Investment". He spoke of the important he places on his formal education and how it has been an investment into his future success.

Hakeem Shittu, last year's international speech winner, tickled the audience with is tale of learning English as a second language. With the use of a minimal prop he transformed into a cruel instructor from his childhood, and he clearly illustrated how ridiculous the rules of English are.

Best wishes to Danve and Hakeem as they represent Guelph at the Division Contest on Friday, October 23. The contest will be held in the Davis Centre at the University of Waterloo. Six competetors will be entered in each event. The evening begins at 6 pm and will cost $10. Everyone is encouraged to attend.

CONTEST WINNERS

On Monday, October 5, the Stoneroad Toastmasters held their annual contest for Humorous Speeches and Table Topics.

Five people competed in the Table Topics portion of the event. They each gave an impromptu speech for 1 to 2 minutes on the subject of "What does the Fall season mean to you?" Congratulations are extended to Marion Reidel, who was selected to represent the club at the area contest.

In the Humorous speech section of the contest, the topics included the nature of laughter, reminiscences of childhood and the frustration of getting lost. The club is proud to have Linda Neff represent us at the area contest with her speech "Where Am I?"

The area contest will be held on Friday, October 16. The location is expected to be announced this week.

INSPIRATIONAL SPEAKER

The Civic Leadership Prayer Breakfast of Guelph is honoured to present inspirational speaker Kim Phuc, "The Girl In The Picture." Kim was 9 years old, living in South Vietnam when on June 8, 1972 she was severely burned with napalm bombs. Naked and terrified, Kim's image was caught in the Pulitizer Prize winning photo shown here. With over half of her body burned, it was not expected that Kim would survive. The photographer, Nick Ut, took Phuc to an American hospital is Saigon. Two years later she returned to her village and was used as a proganda symbol for the Communist Government.

While studying in C uba in 1986 Kim met Bui Huy Toan, whom she married. They honeymooned in Moscow and during their flight back defected while in a stop-over in Gander, Newfoundland. Kim now lives in Ajax and speaks worldwide about forgiveness. She raises money for the Kim Foundation, which is a not-for-profit organization committed to funding programs that "heal".

This event will also feature music from Juno Award winner Deborah Klassen.

Friday, October 23, 2009

Delta Hotel & Conference Centre

Stone Road at Gordon St., Guelph

6:45 Hot Buffet, 7:00-8:45 Program

Cost $20 each, table seat 10, parking included

This event is sold out except fora handful of tickets that Stone Road club member, Blake, is holding in reserve. Email the club if you're interested.

PRESENT AN IDEA AND BE HEARD

Education session by Terri Millar, based on an article in "Toastmaster" magazine, Sept. 2006.

When you are asked to speak at a meeting it is a valuable opportunity to influence others. You are in a position to gain the respect of colleagues, and it is a chance to learn as well as teach. The following are five important points to consider.

1. Be Prepared

If you have advance notice of the presentation take time to plan out your comments. Do some research to gather statistics and other relevant information. Find out who the audience will be and the time allotted, so you can meet expectations. Review the notes from previous meetings on the subject, so you can build on past work.

If it is a spontaneous opportunity don't panic. Pause and gather your thoughts. Pick one big point that you want to make and make it clearly. Frame your comments logically. Speak with authority and you will appear confident and thus be more influential.

2. Listening Is Just As Important As Talking

Check the pulse of the group by listening to their comments. Assess whether they prefer interaction. Listen to the previous speakers and build on their comments to make your remarks more powerful. This linking of ideas also gives the meeting continuity. You may need to revise your planned input in light of prior comments.

3. Lead With Questions

This is a mens of checking the pulse of your audience. When you clarify their needs it connects you to your audience, and also ensures their focus.

4. Don't Marry Your Ideas

Finding solutions is a process and is usually the result of group input. It is important not to be emotionally attached to your ideas. Be prepared to adapt, don't get defensive, and don't worry if someone else gets the credit for an idea you initiated. On the other hand, don't brush off a compliment. Be humble, but accept credit when appropriately given. Share credit with others when they've contributed, acknowledge their input graciously.

5. Know When NOT To Talk

Watch for opportunities to hear feedback, it's a powerful learning experience. Know the power of group contributions and listen to questions. This is especially important if you're new to the group. Listening can help you understand the meeting culture and group dynamics.