District 71 Newsletter Oct 2013-Jan 2014

Newsletter Oct - Jan

The latest Toastmasters News from D71 Our District Governor Speaks Luanne Kent shares her thoughts as she journeys though the mid-point of her year as District Governor. Read her thoughts on the importance of the DCP programme and Luannes plan for excellence across the District.

Front Page Luanne Speaks The Travelling Gavel Raise your Game

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Quality Clubs Enhanced Member Experience Moments of Truth

The Travelling Gavel Meg Heyworth, has taken up the gavel and “Thomas” has arrived in Area 55, Division H, and a first for the UK. It has been so named after Thomas Paine, one of the founding fathers of America, who once spoke in the room where the Lewes Speakers’ Club meets. The worldwide Toastmasters tradition of raiding the gavel begins across the UK and Ireland.

Boadicea Review Tanzania Visit Transition News

Raise Your Game A distinguished member can translate directly to distinguished club. But how do I become such a focussed member? Hilary Briggs gives us an insight on ways to raise you game. Hilary also explores the opportunities awaiting members who strive for excellence both within and outside of Toastmasters.

More Updates

Boadicea Review Friends, Romans and Countrymen descended on Colchester for the D71 conference in November. A wonderful feast of the best speeches, workshops and networking.

Not to mention nights of “The Craic!” What was the Table Topic given in the final?

Who won the Humorous Speech Contest?

Tanzania Visit Toastmasters from across the UK and Ireland regularly share their Toastmasters skills in important ways outside the comfort of the Toastmasters meeting. In late 2013, Malvern Speakers Club President, Steve Birch, paid a visit to Genesis School in Dares Salaam, Tanzania in order to deliver a Speechcraft Programme to the teachers and senior pupils.

Leadership Opportunities We are looking for individuals who may be interested in working in the following areas    

Article Writing Social Media Speech Craft Youth Leadership

Training will be provided

Transition News Jane Cameron, Chair Transition Committee, details the changes that are coming about as we enter into the transition period of two distinct districts.  What are the new names?  How can we ensure it will all run smoothly?

More Updates    

Resignations Newest Clubs PR Publications Featured in Toastmaster Magazine

Any comments to d71.leader.team@gmail.com

Oct 2013 to Jan 2014

Newsletter Oct - Jan

Luanne Speaks Our District Governor shares her thoughts Dear District 71 Members,

Front Page

It’s hard to believe that we’re more than half way through our Toastmasters season and therefore for our members, our clubs and our District, we’re past the half-way point in achieving our goals that we’ve set for our Toastmaster year.

Luanne Speaks The Travelling Gavel Raise your Game

As a District, we focus on promoting, developing, and sustaining quality clubs. When your club is a quality club, your experience as a member is enhanced.

The tool we use to measure the quality of our clubs, which means the club’s success in serving you as a member, is the Distinguished Club Program (DCP). The DCP recognizes clubs that provide the positive and supportive environment that leads to your success. The DCP consists of 10 possible goals that focus on four areas that contribute to a quality club:

Boadicea Review

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Tanzania Visit

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Transition News

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More Updates

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Educational Awards (6 goals)—to ensure our members are provided opportunity and are being supported and encouraged to develop their communication and leadership skills Membership growth (2 goals)—to increase the enthusiasm of the club –new ideas, new personalities Officer training (1 goal)–to provide the ‘know how’ to develop and maintain quality clubs and to ensure productive meetings Administration (1 goal)–to ensure our clubs are being properly administered (i.e., member dues submitted on time and officers in place)

To be a Distinguished Club, clubs only need to achieve 5 of the 10 possible goals (but of course we should strive for 10) and maintain a minimum of twenty members (or if below twenty, a net gain of five new members).

To help your club be Distinguished, be sure to read Hilary Briggs’ article further in our newsletter on how you can Raise Your Game by being a Distinguished member, but also, encourage your club to run Moments of Truth and to conduct the Successful Club Series, both available for free download from Toastmasters.org.

Every club should be a Distinguished Club It means we’re helping you, our members, to attain YOUR goals—and that’s what we’re about!

Leadership Opportunities We are looking for individuals who may be interested in working work in the following areas    

Article Writing Social Media Speech Craft Youth Leadership

And on a final important note please don’t let your contest winners be disappointed. For a contestant to be eligible to compete in contests, they must be a paid member of the club by the date of the club contest. Prior to conducting your club contests, please print off your membership roster to ensure that all of your contestants are showing as paid members of the club prior to the contest. Failure to do so can result in your winner being declared ineligible at a later stage of the contest.

Sincerely Yours Pictured at the Boadicea Conference, Luanne Kent and John Hennessy, winner of the fancy dress contest.

Training will be provided

Any comments to d71.leader.team@gmail.com

Oct 2013 to Jan 2014

Newsletter Oct - Jan Front Page Luanne Speaks The Travelling Gavel Raise your Game Boadicea Review Tanzania Visit Transition News More Updates

The Travelling Gavel Meet Thomas!

The idea of a travelling gavel is spreading; gavels are travelling in America, Australia, South Africa, as well as other countries. So, what is a Travelling Gavel? The idea of the Travelling Gavel is for one club to hold the gavel and then another club raids and captures the gavel to take back to their own club. The on-going raid and capture is a way to extend the fellowship of Toastmasters among clubs, which leads to shared ideas, talent and knowledge.

Up until now, there hasn’t been a Travelling Gavel in District 71, but fortunately, Area 55 is open to new ideas—and they also like to be the first with anything new. So Area Governor Meg Heyworth has taken up the gavel. A gavel has been ordered from Toastmasters International and transport has been borrowed from Meg’s grandson, and “Thomas” is soon to arrive in Area 55. …And why Thomas? Well, Thomas is named after Thomas Paine, one of the founding fathers of America, and who once spoke in the room where Lewes Speakers Club, an Area 55 clubs, meets—goodness, it was a small world even back then.

As Area Governor, Meg has been encouraging the club members in her area to visit other clubs. As Meg points out--they don’t know what they do not know—and then she heard about Thomas. Meg immediately realised that this was a fun way to get the members involved in visit other clubs. As Meg noted, visiting other clubs exposes the members to new ideas that they can bring back to their own clubs; plus, it establishes camaraderie within the Area, and from what Meg has learned, when members are introduced to visiting other clubs, it can open up a new world. The members start looking forward to visiting other clubs and learning new ideas, they look forward to going to training, going to competitions, and from there to a conference. As members move outside of their clubs, they start to gain more from their membership and then they begin to give back to the organization. Capturing the travelling gavel is a means for the members to have fun, meet new people and speak outside their comfort zone. Plus, it’s an equally fun and rewarding experience for both the host and raiding clubs.

Also, the fun part is only limited by the imagination. In some places, a trend has developed where the raiding party dresses up to add even more enjoyment to “The Raid”---and from the stories on some of the websites, it’s a great success But it doesn’t stop their; Meg has also used this idea as a project for her High Performance Leadership Project—so a double opportunity for success.

Leadership Opportunities We are looking for individuals who may be interested in working work in the following areas    

Article Writing Social Media Speech Craft Youth Leadership

So how will Thomas work? Meg has made enquiries from clubs currently enjoying a Travelling Gavel and has also discussed with other clubs in Area 55, and it seems best that the distance to travel for a capture is not too far. So for now, Thomas will remain within the boundaries of Area 55. Also, since one of the reasons for to introduce Thomas is to add a fun incentive to go to other club meetings, Meg wants Thomas to start travelling as quickly as possible, Therefore, the only requirement for the capture is that the capturing club must let Meg know when the raid took place and who did the raiding.

So, Area 55 clubs, Lewes, Battle, Eastbourne, Tunbridge Wells and Brighton & Hove--on your mark, ready, steady—RAID!!!

Training will be provided

Any comments to d71.leader.team@gmail.com

Oct 2013 to Jan 2014

Newsletter Oct - Jan Front Page Luanne Speaks The Travelling Gavel Raise your Game Boadicea Review Tanzania Visit Transition News More Updates

Raise Your Game Become a Distinguished member Research conducted by Dr. Gail Matthews of the Dominican University of California showed that people who write down their goals, share this information with a friend, and send weekly updates to that friend are on average 33% more successful in accomplishing their stated goals than those who merely formulate goals.

Distinguished and top-performing clubs are the result of the efforts of their members – let’s call them distinguished members. Yet how many of you have the following kinds of scenario in your clubs: Members dropping out of speech projects with minimal notice or only wanting to do speeches and makes him/herself scarce when other roles are suggested, or just not turning up. The impact of these kinds of behaviour is disruption to the programme, wasted speech slots and the dissipation of the precious energy of other club members. So if we explore the concept of the ideal distinguished member, what might they look like and what sort of things might they do? Using the outline of the Distinguished Club Programme as a guide:

Distinguished club goals

Distinguished member behaviours – potential examples

Competent and Advanced Communication Awards (DCP goals 1 to 4) Leadership Awards (DCP goals 5 and 6)

Sets and delivers on personal goals to achieve educational awards Strives for continuous personal growth Sets new goals when the existing ones have been achieved Sets and delivers on personal goals to achieve leadership awards Mentors and supports fellow members to achieve their goals Volunteers for non-speech roles at meetings Does what they say they’ll do – and finds back-ups for those situations when things get in their way Invites guests to come to meetings Acts as a host at meetings, looking after guests ahead of catching up with fellow members Speaks outside the club to promote Toastmasters Writes articles to share what they’ve gained from Toastmasters Volunteers to be on the committee and attends trainings Takes on projects to support the committee – such as running a social event or club contest Pays their dues on time Attends to the details of tasks they’re involved with

New members (DCP goals 7 and 8)

Club officer training (DCP goal 9)

Dues and officer list submitted on time (DCP goal 10)

Leadership Opportunities We are looking for individuals who may be interested in working in the following areas    

Article Writing Social Media Speech Craft Youth Leadership

But what does the profile remind you of? The class swot at school – or perhaps someone with focus and discipline that’s on the route to success and fulfilling their potential? What does your view say about you and, more importantly, why bother? A member who’s on a mission to improve themselves, to help others, and is able to implement the above behaviours consistently will develop valuable skills to help them in their work and personal life, experience personal satisfaction and confidence that is the natural accompaniment to achievement and fulfilling one’s potential, enjoy the camaraderie that comes from belonging to a group that’s focused on sharing and supporting each other. So striving to be a distinguished member brings strong personal benefits to those who are prepared and able to commit. But it has its challenges- especially if the “school swot” image is strong for you! And if you’d like to raise your game and work at being a distinguished member, all you need to do is write down your personal goals, thinking about how Toastmasters could help you achieve them.  Talk to your Club’s VP Education to get your plans supported by the club.  Find a buddy or mentor to support you and keep you on track.

Keep following the approach for a few years and you’ll work your way to becoming a fully-fledged Distinguished Toastmaster! If you’d like more support, as we build towards developing a network of trainers who can deliver material at club, area and division level, we will be engaging with this personal motivation challenge head on.

Training will be provided Please email hilary.briggs@d71.org for further information.

Any comments to d71.leader.team@gmail.com

Oct 2013 to Jan 2014

Newsletter Oct - Jan Front Page Luanne Speaks The Travelling Gavel Raise your Game Boadicea Review Tanzania Visit

Boadicea Conference Review Humorous Speech and Table Topics Contest The D71 Autumn conference in Boadicea, Colchester lived up to expectations. Set in beautiful Essex countryside, this was without doubt a very enjoyable weekend. A butler met me on check in and brought me right to my accommodation in his little golf buggy. I was already getting the royal treatment! Packed with interesting workshops, catching up with old friends, nights of "the craic", fantastic contests this was truly a memorable weekend. Bed sheets and hotel greenery were the order of the day in creating an authentic Roman themed costume.

Well done to Constance Turner and her team for putting on a great conference.

Humorous Speech Contest Winner Brian Faulkner, with a speech entitled "How to castrate a camel", with a speech entitled...... ah you know the drill! This speech had everything, suspense, drama and above all humour. The 6 finalists had to initially get through the semis on the Friday, so this was indeed a very high standard.

Transition News More Updates

Previous winner, Ola Aralepo, was the MC for the final and did an excellent job in warming up the audience and interviewing the contestants. In 2nd place was Glen Savage while 3rd place went to Chris Boden.

Table Topics Contest "What is a friend" was the topic given at both semi-finals, with the top 3 from each contest progressing to the final. For those of you who got up for the Topics Final a treat was in store. The topic this time was "If you were 10 again what advice would you give yourself" The outright winner was David Jones. This is David's 5th time winning the Table Topics Contest.

Leadership Opportunities We are looking for individuals who may be interested in working work in the following areas    

Article Writing Social Media Speech Craft Youth Leadership

Michael J Clarke was colourful as ever and did a fantastic job as MC. In 2nd place was James McGinty while 3rd place went to Peter Connolly.

Other Awards Bishopstown, Co. Cork (Div A) claimed the D71 Club of the Year award while Christina Hession (Div C) scooped the overall Toastmaster of the year. Freddie Daniels also received an award for his outstanding leadership work. Division Governor or the Year went to Anthony Day, while Susie Bloor scooped the Area Governor of the Year award. Club Builder of the Year went to Michael J Clarke while PR Contributor of the year went to Dorothea Stuart. Well done all, take a bow and keep up the good work.

The photos and DVD are now available at http://boadicea2013.org.uk/ Written by Michael Collins (District A PRO)

Training will be provided

Any comments to d71.leader.team@gmail.com

Oct 2013 to Jan 2014

Newsletter Oct - Jan Front Page Luanne Speaks The Travelling Gavel Raise your Game Boadicea Review Tanzania Visit Transition News More Updates

Speech Craft in Tanzania Steve Birch expands his horizons In late 2013, Malvern Speakers Club President, Steve Birch, paid a visit to Genesis School in Dares Salaam, Tanzania in order to deliver a Speechcraft Programme to the Teachers and Senior Pupils, aided and abetted by fellow club member and West Malvern Resident Caroline Bellhouse, Head of Pre-School at the Genesis. Both are experienced Toastmaster International Members and Founder Members of Malvern Speakers.

The Speechcraft programme, developed by Toastmasters International, is a Public Speaking training system of limited duration especially designed for students and teachers alike. It helps overcome the fear of Public Speaking (Glossophobia) whilst instilling the self-confidence needed to address an audience. In this case, it was delivered to over thirty staff members and then to over 65 of the senior students of Genesis International School in Dares Salaam, Tanzania.

Covering voice projection, vocal variety, and thinking on the spot, use of gestures, speaking space and props, the course was very well received, with staff requesting repeat courses each term and students keen to utilise their new found skills in class presentations. The skills taught reach far beyond the classroom, and teach proven methods to improve job interview techniques and getting any message across clearly to any given group of people.

‘You are the movers and shakers of the future in Tanzania’ Principal Ben Hopkinson told the students as he urged them to listen and learn from the Malvern trainers. Mr Birch was awarded a beautiful Brass Plaque, which caught him completely by surprise, in appreciation for his time and efforts whilst the students have taken up his challenge to create and deliver a five minute speech to be sent to him in the coming weeks via the internet. One student said that she was indeed able to ‘harness the energy from her pre-speech butterflies and get the butterflies to fly in formation’ as Ms Bellhouse suggested. Without exception, the student’s speech delivery, confidence and presentations improved throughout the Speechcraft Course.

Leadership Opportunities We are looking for individuals who may be interested in working work in the following areas    

Article Writing Social Media Speech Craft Youth Leadership

Toastmasters International is now worldwide with clubs in almost every country (though not in Tanzania…. Yet!).

All training was carried out during a scheduled holiday and purely voluntary.

Any local people wishing to improve their speaking skills or gain self-confidence in a fun, friendly and positive environment can contact Steve Birch on 01684 568676, email: steve@malvernspeakers.co.uk or www.malvernspeakers.d7.org or go along to Malvern Speakers at the Great Malvern Hotel, Graham Road, Malvern, WR14 2HN on the second and fourth Tuesdays of every month at 7.15pm. It is a truly enjoyable evening and there is always cake! Come along, it’s free for visitors!

Training will be provided

Any comments to d71.leader.team@gmail.com

Oct 2013 to Jan 2014

Newsletter Oct - Jan Front Page Luanne Speaks The Travelling Gavel Raise your Game

Transition News The reformation of D71 will result in two strong districts which are well placed to meet the needs of our members. Our D71 transition year is well underway and at the recent District Council meeting at the Colchester Conference (Nov 2013) we successfully voted on various required TMI procedures to ensure clarity for the incoming Districts. There is still much to do and the Transition Team are working with District Leadership Team and the new ITC team to ensure a smooth transition which provides the best start possible to our two new Districts. There will be a series of Transition updates posted on D71.org plus a specific email address to which members can send questions and suggestions concerning the new Districts. Guidance is provided by TMI on some of the Transition issues and we will continue to consult with our members and, where necessary, a motion will be proposed for voting by our DEC and District Council. Here are some updates on the Transition process so far:

Transition News

District Naming TMI Board announced the two new District numbers; The district number 71 will remain with District A: Ireland, Scotland, North Wales, North England, Midlands and East England. The divisions include A, C, D, E, F, G, M and S The district number 91 will be the designation for District B: Southern England and Southern Wales. The divisions include B, H, J, K, and L

More Updates

Area/Division Naming: we have options on adjusting current Area/Division names and proposals are being circulated for consultation and eventual voting by DEC and District Council.

Boadicea Review Tanzania Visit

District DDP (Distinguished District Program) As part of the Reformation process we are committed to continuing to support Areas with specific concerns i.e. membership recruit/retain, new clubs, achievement of DCP and to ensure increased education support for members.

District Finances Funds in the current D71 reserve account will be distributed to the two new districts according to the ratio of the number of membership payments in each reformed district, with any specific circumstances taken into consideration.

Spring Conference 2014 (Dublin) Following the District Council meeting in May 2014, a separate business meeting will be held for each district A and B to:  Approve 2014-2015 realignment plan for clubs, areas and divisions  Elect 2014-2015 district officers  Discuss/approve future District Conference locations for new Districts

Leadership Opportunities We are looking for individuals who may be interested in working work in the following areas    

Article Writing Social Media Speech Craft Youth Leadership

Training will be provided

D71.org Use of this site, including EasySpeak, for clubs and members will continue to be available with the new address of www.toastmasterclub.org – this address is live! On-going updates and revisions will also be made to this site.

D71 material/assets Existing D71 banners and trophies will remain with the incoming District 71 and new D91 material will be purchased from current district budget. Duplicate purchases will also be made of other district items which are used at district business meetings/competitions i.e. competition timing lights, national flags, projector Member updates and consultation We will be posting updates on D71.org/toastmasterclub.org where there will also be an information page on Transition FAQs (frequently asked questions). You can also send your comments and queries to the following email address D71Transition@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you.

Jane Cameron DTM Chair Transition Committee

Any comments to d71.leader.team@gmail.com

Oct 2013 to Jan 2014

Newsletter Oct - Jan Front Page Luanne Speaks The Travelling Gavel Raise your Game Boadicea Review Tanzania Visit Transition News More Updates

More Updates Stepping down from role Greg Ross, our current District B PRO has decided to step down from his role due to other personal commitments. He will remain a member of his local Toastmasters club. We thank Greg for all the time and enthusiasm he has brought to the role and the bigger District committee over the last 8 months. Greg certainly brought a focused attitude and great project management skills to his role and gave every task he undertook 100%. Greg on behalf of the D71 leadership team we thank you and look forward to crossing paths at some time again in the future.

The role of District B PRO will not be filled until the next election in May. Welcome to our newest clubs Great news! So far this year, 10 new clubs have chartered to join District 71. following clubs to Toastmasters.

Please welcome the

Name

Area

Division

Area

PM-Citygate Toastmasters Nottingham Robin Hood Speakers' Club Fluor Farnborough Speakers Spinnaker Speakers Lewes Speakers Club Malvern Speakers Loquacious Londoners Clerkenwell Speakers Inverness Toastmasters Caledonian Toastmasters

Cork Nottingham Farnborough Southsea Lewes Malvern London London Inverness Glasgow

A E H H H J L L S S

3 39 14 32 55 22 56 34 43 60

Are you interested in starting up a new club? There’s lots of support out there to get new clubs off the ground – contact your Area Governor or Division Governor. Find out more here.

PR Publications Chantal Cooke (External PR Consultant) has opened many doors for Toastmasters. The overall aim is to raise the profile of Toastmasters across the UK and Ireland. And the bonus is – it will also raise the profile of the author as you will be credited on all your articles. Indeed many radio interviews have also resulted as part of this initiative. The following are some publications over the last few months. http://thought-leadership.top-consultant.com/UK/FullArticle.aspx?ID=2234 http://www.businessfirstonline.co.uk/sales/7-tips-successfully-selling/ http://www.the3rdimagazine.co.uk/2014/01/how-to-bounce-back-from-presentation-brain-freeze/

Leadership Opportunities

Featured in Toastmaster Magazine District 71 is getting great press in the Toastmaster Magazine. In the January issue, Adrian Melia, President of Kildare Toastmasters in Kildare, Ireland, is featured in the ‘Around the Globe’ section. Plus, he was also featured in the Q&A on the homepage of the TI website. What a huge honour.

We are looking for individuals who may be interested in working work in the following areas

But the honour doesn’t stop there, because several of our members in Divisions E and S are featured in the February Issue in a fantastic article about special friendships submitted by Moira Beaton of Waverly Communicators.

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Article Writing Social Media Speech Craft Youth Leadership

To view the magazines on the web or your tablet, please visit http://www.toastmasters.org/magazine.aspx …

Congratulations and thank you to all concerned for great publicity for our District.

Training will be provided

Any comments to d71.leader.team@gmail.com

Oct 2013 to Jan 2014