POTENTIAL - Tuesday 8th September 2015

I have to say that the very minute I walked into this club, I felt at home. I always look forward to every alternate Tuesday of the month from 17:45 to 20:00.

I learn a lot every time without fail. What I like the most is that everyone is encouraged to learn, grow and be corrected in a loving and safe environment. It is not like work or school where you feel like if you have made a mistake, you are made to feel like you have killed the pope himself.

One can definitely grow in confidence in this kind of environment. I particularly love the speech evaluations where positive feedback is given, where speakers of the night are both encouraged and given constructive criticism.

Tonight, my enthusiasm was definitely not deflated.

Starting with our Table Topics- (Impromptu- speaking and thinking on our feet was encouraged.)

·         You get to learn to speak for a minute on non-researched and non- prepared speeches.

Tonight’s topic took the direction of “Potential”, where the inspiration behind these topics was the late Miles Munroe, affectionately known as “Mr. Potential”

This legend visited South Africa and said something quite disturbing in my opinion, and mentioned that our gold mines in which we take pride are actually not our richest resource, but our cemeteries. “Oh, my goodness, how could that be and whatever did this man mean”.

Well, the reason for his intriguing statement is because at our cemeteries, lay many riches, such as, to mention but a few:

1.       Businesses that were never started.

2.       Books that were never written

3.       Music that was never sung

4.       Relationships that were never started

5.       Dreams that were never fulfilled

6.       Miracles that were never allowed to surface

7.       Opportunities that were never ceased

The list goes, on and on, and on, you can fill in the rest.

I was amazed at the wisdom in speeches of everyone who participated.

I know you are reading this blog and you may not belong to any Toastmaster’s Club, but I would like to pose the following questions to you to think about:

·         Will you die empty or full?

·         What or who is possibly stopping you from fulfilling your God-given dreams and visions?

·         Could you be robbing us of yourself and your gifts?

If the answer is ‘YES’ to any of these questions, my last question to you is, “So what will it take for you to die empty?

Moving right along…..

THE PREPARED SPEECHES

Goodness me! The prepared speeches were outstanding, could’t hear a penny drop during the speech sessions. One of which – by Igor Lesko - focused on one of the biggest monsters in our country, “ROAD RAGE”.

The very next day as I was on my way to work and had a glimpse of this monster as, one woman driver failed to stop at the demarcated “stop sign”. We have our own mini dramas in P.E. too - Jo’burgers, not only you!  Anyway, this lady nearly caused a nasty accident with a car that was driving straight. This driver stopped for a while and instead of carrying straight on, as was his original direction, he turned right and sped after her.

I was so afraid and very thankful that I was not going that direction, as I could only imagine what would happen. I could not, however, stop wondering what happed or how the confrontation unfolded.

This gentleman in my opinion was well within his right to be angry and shocked – but was it really necessary to follow this woman? I am not too sure about that! “What do you think fellow readers?”

Another very true story was told by one of the brilliant fellow toastmasters – Megan Judd - in a story telling form, based on how one of the world’s cruelest leaders was raised. I will not mention his name, just in case his great grand-son or daughter is reading this blog and decides to sue me.

This leader caused much harm to many innocent people in the world. It turns out that he was abused as a child, emotionally, physically and I would even conclude that he was spiritually wounded too. Someone said that wounded people wound others.

Listening to this story made me wonder if abused children also go on to be abusers as adults? It also made me wonder if some people ever overcome their childhood demons? It also made me wonder whether or not it’s fair for the whole world to suffer just because one person was abused?

What is your opinion as you are reading this blog?

Above all though, the best speaker of the night was Awonke Mbete. Wow! as he bravely completed his very first public speech and broke the fear of public speaking. You see, he found safety in the midst of supportive people at Algoa Toastmasters!!!

VIVA ALGOA TOASTMASTERS VIVA!

VIVA!

I will end by following in the footsteps of our fellow toastmaster, Warren Tagg and ask you all South Africans to share a toast to our freedom.

Let us remember that many people of all races, men and women fought for the democracy that we are enjoying today.

Celebrate it and don’t take it for granted!

Follow us on facebook; we would love to hear your comments.

 Ciao for now!!!

Thandi Swekile

Voluntary Victory

A Toastmaster and a lawyer die and go up to the heavenly gates. Saint Peter tells the Toastmaster to wait and lets the lawyer in first. As the gates close, he sees the lawyer greeted with fanfare, music and cheers. A choir of angels descends from above and sings for the lawyer.

As the last anger floats away, Saint Peter finally grants entrance to the Toastmaster.  There is no music, no choir. Confused, the Toastmaster looks to Saint peter for an explanation. 

"Oh, we get Toastmasters volunteering here all the time. This was our first lawyer"

We all come to Toastmasters for different reasons., but basically, it's about that age-old fear of speaking in public.  Once we have been here for a while and our butterflies are flying in formation, our vision shifts and our perspectives tend to change. Some people are quite clear on it - they have come to Toastmasters to learn a skill.  Once they have earned their CC, they leave - job done.  But for others it becomes a way of life; it is who we are.  And for those of us who class ourselves in this group, it becomes the time to volunteer to give back.

Every year - in fact, twice every year , at Club, Area, division and District levels, Speech Contests are held for the purpose of determining who the best speakers are in the Humorous, Impromptu, Evaluation and International categories.  And every year those officers who are responsible for the running of these contests ask for volunteers to assist with the various roles, be they Contest Chairman, judges, timekeepers or tally counters. The strange  thing is that, although it is often the same people who volunteer, those roles are always filled.

The same thing happens annually when a succession plan has to be put in place for the new executive committee.  People today generally complain of being over-extended, or too busy, but somehow a new executive is always found.  Sometimes it is by coercion, usually by reminding them that when they signed up, their Toastmasters pledge said something about serving when they are called upon, but mostly, after having given it some thought, the incumbents do volunteer.

Speechcraft and Youth Leadership Courses are a way for clubs to raise funds, but they rely on the services of volunteers, not only to run the courses, but also to assist those folk by doing educational speeches or by evaluating the member speeches.  If it were not for this assistance, these courses would not happen.

Thinking about volunteering led me to do some research - remember Google only knows? Well, it seems that there are a number of reasons why people volunteer.  Here are just a few of them:

• You will be giving something back - I think all of us in Toastmasters know what a valuable 'thing' it is that we have gained, so we can relate to the idea of 'paying it forward'
• You use your skills to benefit others - These two items seem to tie in together.  I have often heard it said that Toastmasters is the world's best kept secret, but I know that if you have gained something that makes life easier and better for you, you will want others to benefit from it too.
• You experience personal growth - So often, in passing on a skill or helping others, we find ourselves challenged . The result? Personal growth.  Just last year a group of us ran workshops  and assisted as evaluators at the Collegiate All-Girls' Festival.  I know that we went there as the 'experts', but I am sure I speak for all of us who were involved when I say that we learned as much from those  girls as they did from us.
• You see that you can make a difference - I don't think anyone volunteers initially with this in mind. However, it is often a happy by-product of what one does.
• Finally, it's actually good for you! Studies have shown that:
• It reduces stress - focusing on others rather than on yourself reduces tension-producing patterns
• It makes you healthier - Positive emotions, like optimism, joy and having a sense of being in control of one's fate, strengthen the immune system

Those of you who run the Youth Leadership and Speechcraft Courses, and those who assist them, know that while there is no financial gain for us personally, we have all seen lives changed - theirs and ours - because we volunteered to help.

I want to tell you about a picture I came across on Facebook. In it was a group of children, laughing and smiling.  I recognised their faces. They were children I had taught - now more than fifteen years ago. I commented on how quickly the years had passed and before long so many of them responded to me - telling me what they were doing now and how much they had appreciated doing the Toastmasters Youth Leadership course - and what a difference it had made in their lives.

One girl in particular had touched my heart even then. L and her three sisters were raised by a single mom who worked as a domestic. There was very little money, but L was a single-minded girl. She was determined not to be a victim of her circumstances. Doing the Toastmasters course was just the start for her.   She had a knack for verbal communication and she knew it. Her matric results were good; she won a bursary to NMMU where she studied law and today she is a legal consultant with one of the top investment companies in the country. Being who she was, she would probably have got there by herself, but when she commented to me and thanked me for my input in her life, I was really touched.  I felt that I have really achieved something - a victory.

So, if your Toastmasters experience is becoming stale; if you are chasing your own speaking or leadership goals, but it doesn't feel as if it is enough, why not raise your hand the next time someone asks for help with a club project, a Speechcraft or Youth Leadership course? It might make all the difference!

Until next time

Ricky Woods

Here we go again!

 2014 seems like a blurry memory.

 My good intentions of keeping the blog going sadly went the way of all good intentions when Alison relocated and I had to take over the presidency of the club.  However, the timing seems right.  The last blog was almost exactly a year ago. So here goes.



When I first worked my way through the Competent Communicator manual – then called the Competent Toastmaster manual, I had an experience that has stayed with me for a long time. I had prepared a speech called Walk for your Life and although I can’t remember what level it was for, I found it again the other day and I must say, I was quite impressed with how erudite I sounded!

Thinking back on it now, that was probably my first mistake – I was trying too hard. Too many phrases that had to be ‘just so’; too many quotations by people I didn't really know about.  I did what most of us do when I was preparing: I tried to learn it off by heart.

The time for presentation came and I was doing so well.  Then I hit a blank and I started stumbling.  I apologised and stuttered and then had to go back to my notes.  Although I finished well, I ended off feeling as though I had failed.

To this day I can recall the advice given to me by Cheron Joubert – “Nobody knows what you have written; only you do.  If you find yourself faltering, try to recover, but don’t apologize.  Just move on”

It was good advice, but that’s all very well.  It got me to thinking about the time we spend researching and preparing our speeches and whether there isn't an easier way.  Please don’t get me wrong. I believe that there are times when we want to research a new subject or uncover something we don’t already know about a specific area of interest.  There are also times when rehearsing a particular turn of phrase or catchy statement is essential to getting our message across.

 But most of the time we talk about topics that are close to our hearts, subjects that we do not need to research.  It’s my contention that if this is the case, we probably could get away with an introduction; an outline of our material and a conclusion. It’s always a good idea to memorise your introduction and your conclusion, so that you grab your audience’s attention and leave them with something to think about.  The rest will be pretty much ‘doing what comes naturally ‘

Let me give you an example of how you could structure such a speech.

Your opening

As parents we always cautioned our boys about ‘stranger danger’ - you know:

• ·        Never speak to strangers
• ·        Never get into a car of someone you don’t know

But I want to tell you about an incident when I was so grateful for the assistance of a stranger to my son.

Setting up the scene

Our older son, Gareth, who was then six, used to go to art classes near Fort Frederick in Central every Friday afternoon. As I was sick, I had asked a friend to drop him off. She waited until she saw him enter the yard and then drove off. None of us knew that the classes had been cancelled owing to renovations.

Body of the speech

Gareth turned around only to see her car disappearing around the corner.  He really didn't know the area, although he knew that his dad’s office and the church were somewhere in Central.  This was before the time of cell phones, so he had no way of reaching us.  He started to cry. Just then an old man stopped in a car, saw the little boy in his Grey school uniform and asked what the problem was.

Gareth was so conflicted.  Remembering our words of caution about strangers, he didn't want to talk to the man, let alone get into his car.  Yet, he was lost and didn't know where to turn.  Fortunately, he remembered which church his dad worked at and the man drove him there and restored him to his father.

Conclusion – it would be good to tie this back to your opening

I’m not saying one must throw caution to the winds. When it comes to strangers, always trust your instincts and it is probably better to err on the side of caution, but one should also be open to the kindness and compassion that does exist in strangers.

Nothing has been written out. You have an introduction. Then you relate the body of your speech, which is familiar to you. Finally, you link back to the start with your conclusion.

Practising is still important.  It is probably going to sound slightly different each time you do it, but that isn't important.  What is important is timing yourself.  This will allow you to do some on the spot editing.

The beauty of not memorising a speech parrot fashion is that you will not lose your place; so you won’t be upset or disturbed if it doesn't sound exactly as you had planned it. Just focus on your main points and tie it all together at the end.

If it sounds scary not to have a memorised speech, just remember that Toastmasters is about taking risks in a supportive club environment.

Next time, don’t do it off by heart.

Outline. Focus on your content; practise your delivery; be aware of your time – and WOW your audience.

Have you tried to do it like this? Did it work?  What works for you?  Please share your experiences with us so that we can learn from you.

Until next time

Ricky Woods

Google only knows!

I didn’t grow up with television.  In fact, I was at varsity already before they became available.  The first four-function Remington calculators came out in 1974 –when I was in matric. At R74, that was a great deal of money at the time.  What I am trying to tell you is that I really am a bit of a digital dinosaur.

 

Because of my handicap, I used to ask my sons to assist me whenever it came to matters technical or scientific. They would help; but with mounting bad grace.  Until the day Gareth, my elder son, responded to yet another question of mine with: “Google only knows, mom!”

That was a defining moment for me – and the point of my speech:  I’d like to give you some ideas on how to do the research for your next speech.

Why do research?

• It enhances your credibility. You sound more informed on the topic and your audience is more likely to trust you.
• It provides useful information for you to share on your given topic.
• It speaks to those people in your audience who are facts oriented; who need information to remain involved

Research begins with a topic.

Obviously, the objectives that have been outlined for your speech, will have guided you to explore in a certain direction. The usual rules of speaking on a subject that interests you, will apply, but you might want to fine-tune your knowledge on the subject or to explore in a different direction.  

Arthur Conan Doyle (as Sherlock Holmes) It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data.

A way to determine where you want to go with your topic is to brainstorm it.

If you want to tell your audience about reflexology, explore a range of sub-categories in this field, for example: its history; the principles on which it is based and how it compares with more “acceptable” forms of therapy like physiotherapy.

There are a number of options for you to explore:

• You could interview a registered reflexologist 
• Check your library for books or other resources on the subject
• Obtain a wall chart indicating visually how the feet and hands are linked to specific parts or organs of the body
• Do a YouTube search for videos on reflexology in action.  
• Use a search engine like Google, each time defining your search to encompass a different aspect of your subject matter

Your librarian is a veritable mine of information. Many of them have research degrees and would welcome being able to assist you in finding what you need.
 

Some points about interviews

•  You can’t just arrive at someone’s doorstep and expect them to be happy to grant you an interview. Make an appointment. Tell the person exactly what it is that you will be asking and why. Also, how long you expect the interview to take. 
•  Come prepared for the interview. Don’t expect the person to ‘entertain’ you. 
• Specific, open-ended questions mean you won’t waste anyone’s time.
•  Interviews mean you find out information first hand – and you get to meet new people.

.     Most of us want to use the Internet as our only source because it is so easily accessible. It should rather be one of your sources. Also, please note the following: 

• Do you know who has published the site?  Can the material be trusted?
• The accuracy of an article can usually be determined by the cross-references that they provide.
• If you want to refine your search because you can’t find the material you are looking for, make use of the advanced search function of your search engine
• Watch out for sites like Wikipedia.  Don’t avoid them.  They make excellent initial research tools. However, once you are looking for more specialised information, refine your search.
• Make note of the sources where you obtained your information and remember to acknowledge any quotes, statistics or other information that you include directly in your speech.

Statistics – Most people feel the need to use statistics to lend credence to their speech. This may well be so, but do make sure that you have checked out the reliability of your source.

 

Don't be a novelist --- be a statistician. Much more scope for the imagination --- Darrell Huff (How to Lie with Statistics)

Once you have gathered all your information, you will find that you have far more than you need.  Now it is important that you sift and sort the information, until you have organised it into a logical order.

Begin with a catchy introduction.  Here you could use a quotation or statistics to grab the attention of your audience.

Then the body of your speech: three or four points only; each one well-substantiated by means of your research examples.

Finally, your conclusion.  Leave your audience with something to think about. Make them want more.

So, no matter how well you already speak, doing the spade work in terms of your research can only improve the content of your speech.  You might find yourself amazing the computer generation with your own research skills - and the fact that Google isn't the only one who knows!

Until next time

Ricky Woods

In 2014, I resolve . . .

Happy New Year! Again?

 It’s nearly three weeks into a new year and I wonder how many of our resolutions are still intact? Or have you, like so many others, actually given up on making resolutions?

Over the years, I must say I have become quite cynical about the idea of 1 January being different from any other day of the year, with regard to its being able to re-make me. Still, I am too much of an idealist not to reflect on what has past or to think about what I would like to change in the future.

 I was at an ACT Club meeting this week when, in the middle of the Table Topics, I was suddenly inspired. The Topic master had given us a selection of pictures to stimulate our thoughts. They included objects of clothing – mine was a pair of red Hunter boots – as well as other hopefully thought-provoking items. The session had gone well, with everybody managing to speak, including the visitors. Then the final speaker held up a picture of a heart and a stethoscope.


 She spoke about keeping your heart healthy, but not only about the obvious aspects like water and air and exercise and healthy eating. What really impressed me was what she said about spiritual and emotional heart health. Keeping a positive attitude; giving back to your community; meditating, praying; being kind to others and to yourself, will all contribute towards the health of your heart.

 Not only did Aimee win the Best Table Topic award, but she gave me – and I am sure others too – a lot of food for thought. So, in 2014, I aim to practise heart health!

It’s been a while since my last blog and much has happened. End of year exams; going off to mark matric exam papers; the business of Christmas and the rest of the silly season, and now I am back at work and ready to pick up the reigns again.

 To that end, I thought I would spend some time offering tips for those of you who do presentations, either professionally or just as part of your work. I am basing this largely on a link sent to me by Toastmaster Joy Brittan. If you would like to read it, you can find it – and some other useful tips at http://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/10-things-speakers-should-never-say-th.html 

 As we all know, it is not an easy task to win over an audience, especially one that is unfamiliar to you. What follows then is some advice to ensure that you don’t make things worse.

 1. Never apologize.

 There is nothing worse than telling your audience that you are feeling sick, or you are tired from traveling, or you haven’t had enough time to prepare. If you want to be perceived as a professional, then “get up, and show up”. That’s what you and they are there for.

 2. Don’t fiddle with the electronics

Preparation is vital. This includes having a proper sound check before you start. Make sure that you are familiar with the equipment and on good terms with the sound crew. If there is a problem, don’t fuss or draw attention to it.

 3. That goes for the lights too

If you need to see the audience, ask the technicians to turn up the house lights. Better yet, warn them beforehand that you might be doing so. If this is not possible, just smile broadly and carry on speaking

 4. Make sure your slides are easy to read.

An interesting tip I learnt is that the font size should be twice the size of the average age of your audience. So, for 20 year-olds it should be 40. You can do the maths!

A second tip is: no more than 7 rows; no more than 7 words per row. Even that can be too much.

If you want the audience to read a quotation, tell them and then leave ten seconds for them to do so.

 5. You are in competition with the electronic media.

All you can do is ask for phones to be on silent. These days you will be competing with laptops, tablets, Facebook or online gaming. It is up to you to be so good that your audience will not be distracted.

 6. Repeat questions from the audience.

So often, questions from the audience are not heard by other members, so before you go ahead and answer them, repeat or paraphrase so that everyone understands. Otherwise it is just a waste of time.

 7. Be conscious of your time allocation.

This is extremely important. Stick to your allocated time, and don’t let on if you have run short without saying all you wanted to say. When you run out of time, condense it, wrap it up and end well. Then go home and plan better for the next time.

So, in 2014 what do you resolve to do?

Until next time

Ricky Woods

Madiba………and Season’s Greetings 10 December 2013

The country was in mourning and everyone arrived at the meeting with heavy hearts and Madiba uppermost in their mind.
The evening started with the Induction of Gcobisa Makubalo into the club. Welcome Gcobisa!!!
Mike Brosnahan as Toastmaster – appropriately chose Madiba quotes as the theme for the meeting. When it came to Table Topics Angie Kivido had prepared extracts of famous Madiba speeches for us to speak about. Something we were all able to do with ease! Once again a mix of speeches with many tying back to Madiba. Andrew Mthethwa giving an extremely polished CC3 on Values, followed by an inspiring speech by Megan Judd. A welcome return by Mimi Makupula with an after dinner speech - appropriately filling us in on what she has been up to over the last 11 months. And then a heart-wrenchingly, honest speech from Marlene van Wyk, on how an Afrikaner looks back at the impact that Madiba had on her at the time when South Africa moved into a democracy. There was not a dry eye in the room by the time she had finished. This was followed by a prepared reading about Christmas from Glenis Whitehead providing some much needed cheer. All in all an extremely interesting, albeit emotional, evening.
Congratulations to Glenis Whitehead and Louis Erasmus on a tie for the Best Table Topics on the evening. We would like to congratulate Ricky Woods on being unanimously elected as the new President of the Club – a position vacated by Alison’s move to Durban.
A BIG thank you to Alison Immelman for her contribution to the club and best wishes for her new venture in Durban.
And last – but not least – wishing everyone a really good festive season with lots of family, friend, fun and food filled times!!!
See you in 2014
Your interim blogger
Belita