Manatee County County Administrator’s Office
The Toast
Power Speakers of Manatee County Government News Mag
July 2010 Message from the President How to cut down speeches Member Profile: Rossina Leider The Good, The Bad & The Ugly: Evaluations June Rewind It’s Not Your Grandparent’s TLI Any More! And much more...
Toastmasters District 47, Division F, Area 61 Club #1197988
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July 2010 Issue
Manatee County County Administrator’s Office
Letter from the President We express again our gratitude and appreciation to those responsible for this vision. To be a part of Toastmasters, a worldwide organization promoting excellence and producing dynamic speakers and leaders, is a great opportunity. The establishment of this wonderful organization in Manatee County Government (Power Speakers of MCG) is a fantastic opportunity for all who want to take advantage of it. Toastmaster’s Educational Program encourages excellence and focuses on Competent Communication, and Competent and Positive Leadership. As President, I am pleased to report that all active members have shown diligence, enthusiasm, and a positive attitude. All have expressed a desire to deliver speeches that are good, better, and best. Already we have seen growth and a great improvement in presentations made before the BOCC. We continue to strive to eliminate the habitual “ah’s” and “um’s”. Competent and positive leadership is also accomplished through the educational program which allows each member to practice leadership roles by serving as an officer of the club or participating on the weekly agenda. This training and experience is quite rewarding for us all. It is my opinion that the viability of this club depends on each of us, and our supervisors. We must all continue to maintain positive attitudes. Charles Swindoll says, “life is 90 percent attitude; the wrong attitude will break a company… but a positive attitude leads to success.” Power Speakers MCG is the best place to learn to build our confidence and push ourselves outside of the comfort zone. This is the place to grow and strive for excellence in public speaking and excellence in positive leadership. Let us keep the vision alive.
St ephanie Moreland “If it’s not fun, it’s not Toastmasters!”
Stephanie Moreland President
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July 2010 Issue
Manatee County County Administrator’s Office
Member Profile Rossina Leider 1. How long have you worked for Manatee County Government?
I have worked for the Manatee County since May 2006.
2. Title and department?
Senior Development Review Specialist in the Planning Department .
3. How long have you been a member of Toastmasters?
Since June 2008 when our Club - Power Speakers of MCG – was created.
4. How did you find out about Toastmasters?
Human Resources Department invited County employees to attend a meeting to explain the concept of “Toastmasters” and its benefits to improve our communication skills. Jeffrey J. Mertens (former Manatee County employee and founder of our Club) encouraged Manatee County employees to create and join the new club in Manatee County.
5. Why did you join Toastmasters?
My primary language is Spanish and I would like to improve my communication skills in English.
6. What do you like about the Club?
I like that I can learn about many interesting topics but especially when I can share life experiences with our club members and guests. Also, I have being learning how to improve my communication skills in two ways: when I prepare my presentations and during other member presentations. For example, tools like vocal variety, posture, pauses, visual contact, etc.
7. What is your Toastmasters goal?
I would like to be a better “communicator” in English. When I joined the Club I did not want to talk in front of anybody, I was intimidated because people could not understand me. Right now, I feel more and more confident. I have learned to slow down when I talk; I am trying to deal with “my accent”.
8. Any awards received or working on? I received the “Competent Communicator” award.
9. Why should employees join the Toastmasters?
Toastmasters help you become a better communicator and that is an important skill that can make a huge difference in your professional development.
10. What tip would you give regarding public speaking?
Prepare, organize and practice your speeches, but also try to improve your skills when you have to provide an impromptu speech without any notes or at least minimal notes.
11. What do you do in your leisure time?
I love to go to the beach. Also, I like to listen to music and dance.
12. Favorite type of music? 3
I like almost every kind of music. I love music from the 70s, country music, classical, but especially I love Latin music.
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member corner continued
I recommend everybody join a Toastmasters Club to be a outstanding communicator and at the same time enjoy yourself when you are learning how to be a better professional or a better member of your community through the improvements in your communication skills.
Power Speakers of MCG News Welcome New Members! John Muscato Tammy Boggs Kelli Polanski Phyllis Strong
Meeting Dates To garner new club members Power Speakers of Manatee County Government will be holding meetings at Public Works and the downtown Administration Building. Generally, the first and second Fridays of the month meeting will be held at Public Works at 1022 26th Street East and meetings on the 3rd or 4th Friday will be held in the Manatee Room on the 4th floor of the Administration Building. Everyone is invited to attend. All meetings take place from 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Member Corner The Good, the Bad and the Ugly How speech evaluations can help - or hurt. by carol dean schreiner, dtm
Some time ago I presented a three-hour workshop called “Push-ups for Self-Esteem.” After the session, the meeting planner and I looked over the evaluations. The first three I picked up were from people who had graded the workshop “poor” on everything: the room, the food, the location, the hotel and the speaker. The third person even wrote, “I have been more stimulated at a Tupperware party!” I put the papers down and said, “I quit! If I am that bad, I don’t need to be speaking anymore.” Trying to reassure me, the meeting planner said, “I know exactly which three people wrote these. They do this type of thing every year at our convention. I don’t even know why they come. Do not pay any attention. And read the rest of the stack.”
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I did just that. All the rest had great comments, encouraging comments. Before I left, I said to the meeting planner, “Cecil, I want to know one thing: What on earth do you folks do at Tupperware parties for that woman to like those parties better than my presentation?” Despite the many words of praise I know were expressed that day, the only observations I remember now are those negative comments. There is a saying: “It takes 11 positive statements to erase the one negative one.” Negative remarks stay with us a long time, whether or not we deserve them. So I learned to be careful when offering feedback. And I consider it a lesson worth sharing. Let’s look, then, at how we can offer speaker eval- uations that are helpful rather than hurtful. There are basically three kinds of evaluations: the good, the bad and the ugly. Here’s a breakdown: The Good These evaluations can help you become a better speaker. They usually include comments on things you did well and suggestions to help you improve your speech. If the opinions are expressed in a constructive manner, even tough issues can be addressed. This spirit of helping a fellow speaker improve a presentation leaves everyone smiling.
Schedule at a Glance 7/9- Public Works 7/16- Admin Bldg. 7/23- Admin Bldg 8/6- Public Works 8/13- Public Works 8/20- Admin Bldg 8/27- Admin Bldg DTM= Distinguished Toastmaster Carol Dean Schreiner is a member of the Sooner Club in Norman, Oklahoma, and the Boomer Storytelling Club in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
The Bad These evaluations are generally nonconstructive, petty, or so flowery they convey that the evaluator has not been listening or is too busy giving a speech of his own.
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The Ugly These evaluations spurn the idea of contributing anything helpful. They’re so hurtful that a member could drop out as a result of being victimized by one.
Talk About It
It takes skill to give a good evaluation. And members join Toastmasters in order to build their communication skills – which include giving evaluations. Take the opportunity in your club to discuss how to give evaluations properly. It can also help to have a member present Toastmasters’ The Art of Effective Evaluation program or review some of the other informative materials the organization makes available on this topic. Depending on the methods of your club, the General Evaluator’s role may include evaluating the speech evaluators. If a speech evaluator does not give supportive or constructive feedback, it’s the General Evaluator’s responsibility to point it out and describe for the group how to present suitable evaluations. This can be beneficial to a club, even if performed on an occasional basis, because it lets members know what is expected in an evaluation and what is inappropriate. If the General Evaluator does not handle this sort of task in your club, you should still seek ways to improve this important portion of the Toastmasters experience. In any case, be sure to take advantage of the information and assistance provided by the Competent Leadership manual. This part of the Toastmasters education program offers suggestions and feedback forms for evaluations of speech evaluators. Several questions determine whether the evaluator appeared biased or thoughtless in evaluating a speech. And such reviews are usually
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performed at the same club meeting. Don’t let weeks go by without addressing evaluation problems in your club. No club can afford to take a chance on losing members because of a bad or ugly evaluation.
When to Try and When to Shy (Away From Something)
When you first begin giving evaluations, look at how some of the veterans in the club give them. Try out the techniques you like, to see what fits your personality and abilities. This will allow you to grow and learn. I’m a humorist, so when I deliver an evaluation I try to mix playfulness with pointers. For example, I might have fun with words by saying something like, “You had a great opening and a fantastic body, but you need to change your close.” When I say the last few words, I tug on my own clothes, yanking at the sleeves, to sell the pun. After the chuckles die down, I switch gears and explain what I think truly needs to be changed. Whether or not my suggestions are about the “close” of the speech doesn’t matter at that point. My little one-liner has helped to put the speaker and fellow club members in a lighter mood so they’re more relaxed and receptive to my suggestions. A little light humor is one thing, but you should be careful to avoid a combative or hurtful evaluation. And you should dismiss any such evaluations that come your way. That is not what evaluations should be. Speaker feedback is meant to be given with encouragement and in a friendly environment – especially verbal evaluations. No one should ever cringe when hearing their speech assessed by a fellow member. There are times, of course, when certain points need to be driven home – particularly if the speaker has been a member for several years – but that doesn’t mean to get ugly. No one wants to hear degrading remarks. If a presentation was truly bad, you should talk to the
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speaker in private to offer suggestions for improvement. And make sure you’re always as respectful as possible in your comments. Experienced Toastmasters agree. “In my early days in Toastmasters we had a guy in our club who was downright mean in his evaluations,” says Past International Director Frank Slane, DTM. “I made a vow at that time to make my evaluations acceptable and useful in a kind, courteous and truthful way.” That positive practice served both Slane and his fellow members well. “Applying my philosophy once saved a Toastmaster from quitting,” he says. “She told me after the club meeting that she had come that evening to make that her last speech, and to drop out, but because of my evaluation she decided to stay.” Being respectful and encouraging in an evaluation doesn’t mean making such flowery remarks that you gloss over any constructive criticisms. If that were the case, a speaker would never know how to improve. You can be honest while still being polite and supportive. It’s helpful to preface your remarks by reminding the speaker that you are about to give your own opinion of the speech, and that other opinions may vary.
Give and Take
Just as there’s a good way of giving evaluations, there’s also a good way to receive them. A speaker needs to be open to instructive feedback. When you get the same comments again and again about ways you can improve or things you did incorrectly, it’s a good idea to examine them. There is probably some truth in the remarks, and it may be time to figure out how to change certain habits. Sometimes we are not aware that we have nervous habits that are distracting to our audience. As a professional speaker, I don’t want those kinds of issues to stay with me. It’s much better to hear about negative or distracting problems from my Toastmasters
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family than to read it on an evaluation form from a meeting planner or an attendee. When receiving critical evaluations, look at them carefully. What can you learn from them? Have you heard this feedback before? Did you disregard it because you didn’t like the evaluator? However, sometimes it’s appropriate to consider the source. Does this person ever give good evaluations? Does he ever have anything constructive to say? Does she give everyone a bad evaluation? Does he like to pick on certain people? Could she be jealous or a bit intimidated by you? Do you respect this evaluator as a speaker and person? It’s also important to remember that all evaluations are opinions. The assessment offered isn’t right or wrong – it’s just one person’s thoughts on your speech. Take what you can use, and don’t worry about the rest. Be positive and receptive to the advice that evaluators offer – not defensive. After all, if their suggestions helped you improve, wouldn’t you be thankful for it? In the stories that follow, two speakers reacted very differently to evaluations they received. The value of the experiences were affected by their reactions. One night at a club meeting, I observed a speaker who usually gave extremely interesting and prepared speeches. However, this night anyone could tell she was woefully ill prepared. She stammered and stuttered, stumbled over words and ideas. When she received an evaluation pointing out the awkwardness of her delivery, she said she wasn’t surprised by the criticism. Furthermore, she used the input as helpful advice. From that experience and
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Check out the official Toastmasters video.
evaluation she resolved to do several things: take more time to prepare, not allow her own speech to intimidate her, and remember that as long as she does the best she can, that’s all she can ask. The point is, she used constructive criticism as a springboard for growth and improvement – not something to get angry or depressed about. Here’s the other example: At a club meeting one night, a speaker made a controversial political statement that was not integral to the speech. The evaluator told him she was uncomfortable with the comment. The speaker never returned to the club. When he received that evaluation, he had several choices in how to respond: He could have continued to attend club meetings, and learn and grow; talk to the evaluator, his mentor or a club officer about the evaluation; or just decide that he disagreed with the evaluation and continue to deliver the speeches he felt comfortable giving. But by forming a defensive response and dropping out completely after one remark, he did himself a disservice. We all need to take well-meaning evaluations as helpful, not critical. As Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “Nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent.” Speakers who truly want to improve want concrete evaluations. If we don’t get our flaws corrected, they could block our effectiveness and our progress. Asking for and accepting evaluations will boost your ability to see these pesky yet critical behaviors that, when faced and mastered, become stepping stones to success.
Guest Corner Cut! Making long speeches shorter. by paula syptak price
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I remember hearing an Ice Breaker in my Toastmasters club that went on for 13 minutes. When the new member who gave the speech was told of this faux pas, she was so embarrassed she
almost quit. How I have often wished other longwinded speakers were as sensitive. Why does any speaker go too long? Because “they didn’t plan and rehearse,” says Tim Bete, director of the University of Dayton’s Erma Bombeck Writers Workshop. “There’s no reason to go long unless you ramble and get off topic. “It’s better to keep on schedule and allow time for attendees to ask questions at the end of your speech,” he adds. Darren LaCroix, a professional speaker and Toastmasters’ 2001 World Champion of Public Speaking, says presenters need to know exactly what they want their speeches to accomplish. “I think people are not taking time to edit their speeches for the audience,” he says. “If you ask most speakers what their goal is, they will hem and haw. They can’t clearly state what they would like the audience to do, think or feel.”
The Price of Longwindedness
What’s so bad about going over the time limit? If you’re speaking at a conference, you can cause a whole host of problems. “You put the meeting planner in a pickle,” notes LaCroix. “You mess up the schedule for the rest of the conference. Say the speaker goes overtime by 30 minutes: The planner has to scramble to fix the whole day. Lunch will be late, the hotel is upset. You might think you’re doing the audience a favor by giving them extra time, but you have ruined the whole schedule.” LaCroix says the meeting industry is a small one, so speakers who abuse their time limits earn a reputation. “[Meeting planners] know other people – their counterparts – at other conferences, and they talk.” Presenters who can’t rein in their speeches lose out in other ways, too. Talks that are too long rarely impress the audience, and listeners may miss the point of the speech – or worse. “The immediate effect is that the audience is irritated,” says Max Dixon, a professional speaking coach and consultant. “They look at their watches. One of my favorite speakers wanted
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to end [his presentation] on time but waited until the last three or four minutes to wind down. He started talking faster about one of the more important things; everyone knew he wasn’t going to make it. “It’s like someone running to jump across a 25-foot stream, and everyone is saying, ‘He’s not going to make it! He’s going to land in the middle of the stream.’ The audience doesn’t want to hurt the speaker’s feelings, yet we also don’t want to sit there and not listen. We’re not learning from it.”
Dixon says the audience also loses trust. “We become suspicious. If the speaker doesn’t pay attention to the time, we wonder if maybe he didn’t do his research, either.”
yourself, “What difference can I make in the allotted time I have?” “Don’t just cut the number of words, cut the number of ideas,” suggests Bete, the University of Dayton instructor. “If you’re trying to make 10 points, cut your speech down to the top five. You can always post the other points on your Web site, and tell attendees to visit it for more great information.” It’s better to present sufficient information on a few selected topics, and inform your audience, than to touch inadequately on too many points, leaving your audience at a loss to understand what they just witnessed.
Cutting in a Pinch
Have you ever been in a situation where you were told you’d have 30 minutes to speak – then when you arrived at the event, were asked to do it in 20 instead?
How to Shorten a Long Speech?
It may not happen at a Toastmasters gathering, but “it happens all the time in the ‘real world,’” says LaCroix. “Quite often I’m asked to give an hour-long speech, then I get to the place and find I have only 35 minutes.”
It’s not easy. LaCroix has to force himself to scale back. On his world championship speech, he did a Herculean job of editing, chopping his presentation from its original length of 1,400 words.
As a professional, you don’t get angry. “You come prepared, knowing it will happen. [Time limits] will change – that is normal,” LaCroix says. “Do the best with the allotted time. Our job as a speaker is to help accomplish something as part of a bigger event. We are not the event.”
“Edit, edit, edit,” says LaCroix, who writes out his speeches. After seeing the words on paper, he asks himself, “How can I say the same thing in fewer words?”
“I had to get it down to 800,” he remembers. “I asked myself, how can I say it in fewer words? I was constantly working on it and struggling. Rather than trying to shorten the whole speech, think about how you can take three sentences and combine them into one. If you do it in smaller pieces, it’s a lot easier.” What are you trying to accomplish with the speech? Keep in mind that the audience is thinking “What’s in it for me?” “I have to know: If this is all the time I have, what is most important for the audience to understand when I leave?” – Darren LaCroix Care enough about your message and your audience to edit your talk and give listeners the best information you have. Next, ask
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But how do you cut down a speech on the spot? “I need to know what is most important to my audience,” LaCroix says. “For example, I give a certain presentation: ‘Four Habits Essential to Becoming a Great Speaker, and the Four Things I Learned From the Other World Champions.’ If my time is cut, I tell ‘The Three Habits and the Three Things I Learned.’ If my time is cut
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Manatee County County Administrator’s Office
more, I only talk about ‘The Four Habits.’ I can’t cut down the story that makes the point; I have to know: If this is all the time I have, what is most important for the audience to understand when I leave?” Bete says he always organizes his speeches into separate sections. “So it would be relatively easy to drop a section to shorten a speech,” he notes. To cut a speech in a pinch, Bete adds, “You have to cut chunks quickly without sacrificing content. That’s why writing a speech in sections is so critical.”
More Shortening Tips
“Be sure you pare the speech down to what is absolutely essential to make your point and yet retain interest,” Dixon says. “You have to ration how many descriptive words you have. If you can cut off ten or fifteen seconds [by eliminating a few descriptive words], that helps.” He also says you should be over-prepared – yet ready to cut. “Prepare yourself with stories,” Dixon advises. “When you get up [to speak] with four or five stories, then knowing you can get by with three helps.” And, of course, make sure you practice. “Lack of practice can lead to forgetting parts of the speech, or to long silent pauses that waste time,” says Fred Price, Ph.D., who has taught many technical seminars as well as attending his fair share of them. He suggests eliminating examples from a speech that are too complicated given the time limit. Also, avoid the tendency to use too many examples to make a single point. In the end, it’s clear that tightening your talk so you can deliver it within the time requested is a vital skill to master. As Price notes, “When a speaker uses time poorly, it shows a lack of respect for the listener’s time.”
Toastmasters District 47 News It’s Not Your Grandparent’s TLI Any More! rick furbush, dtm
Questions? Suggestions? Comments? We want to hear from you! Forward your message to Simone Peterson.
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Toastmasters Leadership Institute (officer training) has been transformed into a magical day of friends, food and fantastic workshops. Long gone are the days of driving hours to attend a battery of workshops with lunch in the middle. District 47 has made it possible to attend district sponsored Club Officer training - TLI - in your own backyard! And that’s not the best part. The best part is the quality of presentations. District 47’s overall abilities have skyrocketed in the past years, as evidenced by the incredible speech, evaluation and Table Topics’ contestants. At your local TLI you will receive training from District 47 celebrities and the best of the best. This and all the extra-curricular activities are what set these TLIs apart from yesteryears.
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Club Officer training is not just for officers. TLI is open to all Toastmasters. Why? First, because every Toastmaster should consider holding office at some point. Attending an Club Officer workshop will give you the necessary information to make your future decision to serve as a Club Officer. Second, because TLI has many more learning opportunities than just Club Officer workshops! Considering it takes a great evaluator to be a great speaker, becoming a great leader will also elevate your speaking ability. The good news is, leadership skills can be learned. As many of us have already experienced, leadership and communication skills give us the edge so we can rise to the top! Mark your calendars and register on-line today for the TLI in your backyard! See you there!
Toastmasters International Important Notice to All Members Preparing for single sign-on at www.toastmasters.org. The way members log in at www.toastmasters.org will change when the Toastmasters Web site is upgraded in July 2010. • Each member will need their own individual e-mail address updated in their profile at toastmasters.org. This e-mail address cannot be shared with another member. • Club and district officers will no longer be required to have a separate login to conduct club and district business. Your single member login will give you access to everything you need. Members with a complete profile at www.toastmasters.org will be able to conduct business, purchase products at member-only prices and enjoy other online membership benefits. Simply log in at www.toastmasters.org/login, access “My Profile” and make sure your e-mail address and other information is complete and accurate.
June Rewind June 4
Best Speaker- Olga Wolanin Best Evaluator- Deborah Carey-Reed
June 11
Best Table Topics- Kelli Polanski Best Speaker- Liz Jones Best Evaluator- Stephanie Moreland
Olga Wolanin
Deborah Carey-Reed
Kelli Polanski
Stephanie Moreland
Liz Jones
June 18
Best Table Topics- Olga Wolanin Best Speaker- Sharon Tarman Best Evaluator- Chuck Froman
June 25
Best Table Topics- Jerson Lopez Best Speaker- Olga Wolanin Best Evaluator- Simone Peterson
Chuck Froman 10
Jerson Lopez
Sharon Tarman
Simone Peterson
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