PANIC AND ANXIETY

Stoneroad Toastmaster Michelle Munroe offered a three part educational session on Panic and Anxiety. The fear of Public Speaking is at the top of the list of things that cause anxiety. Michelle explained that the three components of anxiety are:
1. Anxious Thoughts; beliefs or assumptions, predictions and interpretations that we make about a situation. "If I stand up and speak I will be laughed at."
2. Physical Body Sensations: A racing heart rate, shortness of breath, sweat, blurred visions are all symptoms of being anxious.
3. Anxious Behaviours: Strategies that people use to avoid stressful situations. Avoidance, distraction, rationalization and so forth.
Anxiety is simply a fear of what will happen. The brain triggers physical symptoms, therefore the brain can be used to overcome the problem.

2010 Executive

President - Rebecca Anstett
Vice President Education - Shawn Wheldon
Vice President Public Relations - Michelle Munroe
Vice President Membership - Marg Stewart
Treasurer and Past President - Terri Millar
Secretary - Alan Cook
Sargent at Arms - Julia Niimi

The members of Stoneroad Toastmasters are grateful to these leaders for stepping forward in service of our organization. We are proud of the growth and positive atmosphere of our club and know that we can entrust the health of this chapter in the hands of these capable Toastmasters.

Cheers!

JOURNAL YOUR WAY TO BETTER SPEAKING

Over the next two weeks, Stoneroad Toastmaster, Linda Neff, will be sharing with our club a presentation that she gave at the spring conference. Research indicates that we only share 10% of our thought and feeling with the world. The other 90% consist of our private feelings, desires, dreams and personal motivation. Keeping a written journal of these inner thoughts is not only therapeutic, put it also can be a rich resource of public speaking ideas. Socrates taught that, "An unexamined life is not worth living," and so a reflective journal helps us to analyze the events of our lives and how we feel about them.

Everyone has busy lives and taking on another task seems like a hardship. Linda explained that there is not perfect time for writing. The secret to success if to keep your journal handy and write whenever you have a moment. Try to find a routine that works best for your lifestyle. Can you journal during the commute to work, on coffee breaks, over the lunch hour or is bedtime best. Linda encouraged the club members to "make a date with themselves." Tell your family that you have an appointment; they don't need to know it's just you sitting in your favourite coffee shop with your journal.

STAY TUNED AS THE SESSIONS OF THE POWER OF JOURNALING CONTINUE.

AWARD WINNING MEMBER

CONGRATUALTIONS to Stoneroad Toastmaster Isabelle Hershaw. She received an award for long time contributions to the Toastmaster's Program at this Spring's conference in Mississauga.

Congrtulations, Conference and Comments

Congratulations to our own Mina McCluskey for winning the International Speech Area Contest. Mina will proceed to the District competition in Kitchener. The winner there must write a completely new speech and will go on to compete at the Spring Conference.

The Spring Conference for District 86 will be held at the Delta Meadowvale Convention Centre, in Mississauga. It will take place on April 16-18. You can register for this event online at http://www.district86.cloverpad.org/. This is right off the 401, about a 45-60 minute drive from Guelph. You are encouraged to take advanatage of this convenient location.

Share you comments on what is happening. This site is a "blog". You'll notice at he bottom of each article there is the word "comment". If you click on that you can write a comment on the article. Give it a try. Tell folks what you thought of Mina's performance, and cheer her on. Indicate that you're plannng to attend the conference, and get a car pool organized. Interact with this site and it becomes more interesting.

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.