The Voice - Toastmasters D95 Newsletter

NEWSLETTER “New Beginnings”

District 95 Toastmasters Volume 1 Issue 1 January 2017

www.toastmasters95.org

TOASTMASTERS INTERNATIONAL

TOASTMASTERS 2 WHERE LEADERS ARE MADE INTERNATIONAL

Editorial New Beginnings

Contributors

Halfway through the 2016-2017 Toastmasters year – the -me is right to launch our very FIRST newsle6er!

Umesh Agashe

Since District 95 officially came into being on July 1, 2014, it has grown into 12 Divisions, 60 Areas, and 267 clubs, spanning across 17 European countries:

BrigiJe Herder, DTM

Judit Jakab

Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Austria, Hungary, Romania, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Ukraine, Bulgaria and the Republic of Moldova.

Kalina Lazarova (photos)

Tomasz Makowski

Jyotika Rajput Mehra

The recently approved REFORMATION proposal means that the Toastmasters map will look completely different by 1 July 2018. 2

Owe Mikkelson, CC

‘The Lmes they are a changin’ (as the song says). 1

Baira Negrui

As we conNnue this journey, it’s important to look back, celebrate and move forward as speakers and leaders in our unique community. This is the focus of our first issue – made possible by the Nreless efforts and paNence of all contributors listed here.

László Szűcs Michele Tan, CC, CL Katharina Weiss

May their work inspire you to comment, and contribute to future issues!

The -me is right for us – the 7000 plus members of District 95 - to share our stories and insights with each other, with the Toastmasters world and beyond.

With your help we can turn the ‘whispers’ here into THE VOICE of District 95.

The seed is planted.

Warmest,

Wendy Wendy Husser, ACG, ALB Public Rela-ons Manager 2016-2017

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2

Drawing: Beate Keydel

Lyrics from Nobel Prize Winner Bob Dylan’s, “The Times They are a Changin” 1964.

For more informaLon visit: ReformaLon Approved

The VOICE, V. 1, Issue 1, January 2017

District Core Team 2016-17

Michal Talaga, ACS, ALB District Director

Andrei Popescu, DTM Program Quality Director

Neal Greenspan, DTM Club Growth Director

Justyna Broniecka-Klim, DTM Finance Manager

Joanna Chmiel, DTM Administration Manager

Wendy Husser, ACG, ALB Public Relations Manager

Tuire Vuolasvirta, DTM Immediate Past District Director

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CONTENTS 02 EDITORIAL New Beginnings

32 Lessons Learned Through My Journey at Toastmasters

By JyoNka Rajput Mehra

35 Toastmasters Transforms!

Excerpts and Impressions from Speech #2: Charity Begins at Home

By Baira Nergui

38 District 95 Hall of Fame DTM & Triple Crown EducaNonal Awards

05 Leaders and Leadership Who is Who and Who Does What?

08 Visions and Goals 4 Core Team Members

By Umesh Agashe

09 These Boots Were Made for Leading

By Wendy Husser, ACG, ALB

39 Headliners District 95 Members in the Public Spotlight

11 District Execu-ve Council 2016-2017 Notes & FuncNons OpportuniNes as a Club Officer

41 He Came, Saw and Shared Knowledge Toastmasters Unplugged! Workshops with Kees Broos, DTM

By Katharina Weiss

13 Call for Nomina-ons!

District Officer ElecNons 2017-2018

By Tuire Vuolasvirta, DTM, Immediate Past District Director Chair, District Leadership Commijee

42 Happy Birthday to You! First HanseaNc Celebrates 15 Years

By Michele Tan, CC, CL

15 The Club Experience Achievement Unlocked!

New Clubs Chartered!

19 Die Reise zum neuen Redeclub in München Von der Idee bis zum Chartern des Klubs Von Brigije Herder, DTM

22 Presen-ng the Budapest Toastmasters Club!

A Group of Extraordinary People

By Judit Jakab

44 Toastmasters Efekt!

The 2nd NaNonal Toastmasters Conference in Poland

By Tomasz Makowski

58 Unbox Yourself! Memories from Warsaw District 95 Fall Conference 25-26 November 2016

60 Be A Berliner! Next District Conference!

24 Esbjerg Toastmasters The First 18 Months of Club 4517292

By Ole Mikkelsen, CC

61 Appendix: District ElecNons NominaNon Forms

26 The Road to Washington with László Szűcs

By Umesh Agashe

30 My Trip to the World Championships Impressions and Opinions from a 1st Timer

By Ole Mikkelsen, CC

FYI: Our members in Romania produce a superb hard-copy, monthly magazine in English and Romanian!

Like us, Follow us, Tweet!

District 95 Fan Page

@tmidistrict95

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Toastmasters95 The VOICE, V. 1, Issue 1, January 2017

Leaders & Leadership “Leadership is what we call it, when someone steps up and causes a change to happen . . . “– Seth Godin, Entrepreneur & Author

All Diagrams, Leadership Roles Descrip-ons and text in this sec-on adapted from the District Leadership and Club Leadership Handbooks - available at: www.toastmasters.org

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Who is Who? Who does What?

District 95 Core Team 2016-2017 Roles and Responsibilities

District 95 Elected Officers – “the Trio” DISTRICT DIRECTOR (DD) Responsible for directly administering and overseeing the district’s day-today operations, finances and human resources. Presides over District Executive Committee meetings. Appoints district leaders and committees.

Works directly with Toastmasters International on operational matters.

Responsible for preparing and submitting plans and reports to World Headquarters.

Michael Talaga, ACS, ALB

PROGRAM QUALITY DIRECTOR (PQD) Responsible for all aspects of education and training within the District. This includes supporting quality club programming and member retention efforts. Promotes the Distinguished Club Program. Oversees the planning, organization and execution of district conferences. Second-ranking member of the District Executive Committee.

Andrei Popsecu, DTM

CLUB GROWTH DIRECTOR (CGD) Responsible for all aspects of marketing, club building and club-retention efforts within the district. This includes defining an overall marketing strategy for the district, and developing outreach and retention efforts.

Recruits, trains and supervises club building team(s). Assists clubs and the District Director in appointing and supporting club sponsors, mentors and coaches. Third-ranking member of the District Executive Committee.

Neal Greenspan, DTM

IMMEDIATE PAST DISTRICT DIRECTOR (IPDD) Provides counsel and guidance to district leaders. Plans, directs and organizes projects and committees as requested by the District Director. (For example, the District Leadership Council which oversees District Officer Nominations.) Ensures that the incoming District Director receives all pertinent district documents prior to 30 June. Serves as a member of the District Executive Committee and District Council. Encourages members to accept leadership positions.

Tuire Vuolasvirta, DTM

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District 95 Appointed Officers 2016-2017 ADMINISTRATION MANAGER (AM) Responsible for maintaining the historical records of the district, recording and distributing meeting minutes and otherwise maintaining accurate, timely records of district business. Organizes, records and keeps accurate records of District Executive Committee and District Council meetings. Responsible for all district correspondence.

Joanna Chmiel, DTM

Justyna Broniecka-Klim, DTM

FINANCE MANAGER (FM) Tasked with the fiscal oversight and management of the district. Works closely with the District Director, Program Quality Director and Club Growth Director to ensure that the district is making cost-effective decisions – within policy – that result in effective fiscal management. Recommends programs for using district financial resources. Assists the District Director in developing a realistic budget based upon the goals of the district. Records, monitors, forecasts and evaluates the district’s financial performance. Responsible for the requisition, receipt and disbursement of district funds.

PUBLIC RELATIONS MANAGER (PRM) Responsible for coordinating publicity efforts in the district. Establishes and maintains lines of communication between the District and its members and between the District and the public using various media. Develops a comprehensive communication plan at the beginning of the program year to increase awareness of Toastmasters through all available media. Informs members and local communities of District events (conferences, training) and member achievement. Acts as guardian of the Toastmasters brand.

Wendy Husser, ACG, ALB

In order to support the Club Growth Director’s activities, this year’s District Core Team was expanded to include two additional appointees (Deputy Club Growth Directors):

David Gelkin, ACS, ALB Deputy Club Growth Director

Ewan Scattergood, DTM Deputy Club Growth Director

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Visions and Goals

Perspectives from Four District 95 Core Team Members Compiled by Umesh Agashe (September, 2016)

Michal

Andrei

Joanna

Wendy Vision for this Year

Vision for this Year

Vision for this Year

Vision for this Year

It’s true, leadership positions in the district are measured in numbers. But being an individualist at heart, I’d love to see individuals learn. On 1 July I would like to say to myself: I made it possible for my team to learn a lot this year!

I see each and every member in District 95 achieving at least one educational award by June 2017 and perceiving a growth that helps them outside Toastmasters, too.

To be the best organized and managed district in the world.

I joined Toastmasters way back in 2001. Things have changed, but my vision has not: become the best speaker I can and help others do the same.

Top 3 Goals Prepare the team for the next year when we will need at least 11 core team members.

Learn as much as I can while doing this.

Survive…and the numbers game President’s Distinguished Everything.’

How Toastmasters or Members Can Help You Achieve These I think my role is mostly to motivate and inspire – two things I’m not a master of.

It’s very helpful that I have good examples to show.

Our team is full of people eager to do more than is expected of them.

Top 3 Goals Have at least 134 clubs Distinguished by June 30.

Build a stronger trainers team at District level.

Implement a Club Emissary Program.

How Toastmasters or Members Can Help You Achieve These I encourage every member to set a realistic objective for the end of the year and put all the energy into achieving it. I also recommend reaching out to a potential mentor – a member with more experience who can provide counsel and resources throughout the year. If every member focuses on this, all goals at Area, Division or District level will be within easy reach.

Top 3 Goals To let people know they are well taken care of.

To add a human touch and playfullness to district communication and, To automate #allthethings Personally, I will use this year to sharpen my email writing skills in order to sell better – also to speak better German. Some of our German Toastmasters faced that already.

Top 3 Goals Promote and enhance the flow of accurate, transparent and easilyaccessible information.

To identify the things that make District 95 unique and transform them into PR we can all be proud of.

To be visible and support as many members and clubs as possible.

How Toastmasters or Members Can Help You Achieve These

How Toastmasters or Members Can Help You Achieve These

I already got a lot of feedback about my way of writing emails and notes. I note down everything and implement it step-by-step. So for me it means a lot to receive responses to what I prepare.

No one can be truly successful without helping and being helped. I would like to keep this spirit alive and well in Toastmasters and beyond.

8 The VOICE, V. 1, Issue 1, January 2017

These Boots Were Made for Leading?

Memories and Impressions from D95 Officers Boot Camp Helsinki, Finland 18-19 June 2016

By Wendy Husser, ACG, ALB

When I think of Boot Camp, I think of tough guys and GI Janes crawling through mud and slime! Fortunately, the District 95 Officers Boot Camp focused on education – not endurance! (Except in the case of Division E Director, Wiktoria, who showed great endurance while travelling to the venue… but that is another story!)

Equipped with ideas, enthusiasm and cookies from our home countries, we arrived safely at the pristine venue in beautiful Helsinki. (Well, most of us arrived… District Director, Michal didn’t - his daughter decided to arrive in this world earlier than planned…(but that is ALSO another story!)

Photo by W. Husser

Ready, Set, GO… the deep dive into District business. Presentations from ALL of the Division Directors, strategies for club building, brainstorming for member retention strategies and club officers training, how to deal with the WOES of the dues increase, division controlling tools, finalizing the District calendar, and the budget, the budget, the BUDGET! Whew!! Luckily, the action-packed days were expertly managed by Andrei (our PQD) and Joanna (our AM). I asked myself: Who are these people? I asked them: What can we expect from you this Toastmasters year? Following are some of the impressions I gathered.

Photo by W. Husser

“If you are the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room.” (Our PQD’s favorite quote) ** Get in touch if you know the source.

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District 95 Division Directors 2016 – 2017 These Boots Were Made for Leading ?

Memories and Impressions from Helsinki

By Wendy Husser, ACG, ALB

Bea Binze, ACG, ALB (Division D) Dhiraj Paryani, ACB, ALB (Division G) Julia Moser, ACB, ALB (Division C) Piotr Chimko, ACS, ALS (Division B) Krzysztof Kopec, ACS, ALB (Division J) Ulla Törnroos, ACS, ALB (Division A) Wiktoria Kowalska, ACS, ALB (Division E) Lukas Liebich, ACG, ALB (Division L) Karla Viebahn, ACB, ALB (Division I) Gabriela Roivainen, ACS,ALB (Division K) Emilia Bradea , ACB, ALB (Division H) Mirja Iannuccelli, ACS, ALB (Division F) Not pictured – ever present!

Photo Collage by W. Husser

DIVISION DIRECTOR Elected district officer leads the division by supervising, motivating and supporting the Area Directors. One of the primary goals of the office is to ensure that each club achieves its mission and fulfills its responsibilities to its members. Coordinates division activities, sets division goals and assists in training area and club leaders.

Reports regularly to the district trio. May form a Division council to help facilitate achieving club, area and division goals.

AREA DIRECTOR (In District 95) appointed District Officer who leads the Areas by serving the needs of clubs. Responsible for assisting and motivating clubs to achieve Distinguished status. Assesses club membership and leaders’ willingness to grow. Area Directors conduct club visits twice a year in their respective areas and submit Club Visit reports. Area Directors are responsible for coordinating Area events (i.e. contests, conferences, club officer training) and are supported by Division Directors. May form an Area Council to assist in achieving goals.

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District 95 Executive Committee 2016 – 2017 (Core Team, Division Directors, These Boots Were MadeArea forDirectors) Leading ?

MemoriesPoland and Impressions from Helsinki2016 Poznan, 10 -11 September

By Wendy Husser, ACG, ALB

“Area Directors act as the direct liaison between the district and the clubs. They help district leaders to understand and meet the needs of each club. It is important that Area Directors have the support they need – the success of the district depends on it. “ -District Leadership Handbook

The District Execu-ve Commi6ee meets at least 4 Nmes per year. A quorum is required to conduct District business such as:

• Review and approve the District Success Plan

• Present the District budget to the District Council for approval

• Oversee the district’s financial operaNons

• Review recommendaNons and reports of other district commijees Michal Byrczek, ACB, ALB (i.e., Realignment Commijee, District Leadership Commijee) District 95 Parliamentarian

• Recommend the assignment of clubs to areas and divisions

Group photo by Michal Jurkowski, ACB, ALB - Area E4 Director, District Webmaster September, 2016

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Celebrating our Club Officers These Boots Made for Impressions from Were 1st Round Training Memories and Impressions from Helsinki 1 June – 31 August, 2016

Leading ?

By Wendy Husser, ACG, ALB

“We empower individuals to become more effective communicators and leaders.”

- Toastmasters Interna-onal Mission Club Officers play an essen-al role in achieving this mission! They gain prac-cal leadership experience while helping others grow in their personal and professional lives.

- Club Leadership Handbook

On the road with Division K Officers

Club Presidents and Vice Presidents of Educa-on represent their clubs at District Council Mee-ngs (DCM) held twice a year (at District conferences).

Clubs are also represented at Annual Business Mee-ngs held during InternaNonal ConvenNons. The Club President and Secretary are responsible for assigning the club’s votes, should they be unable to a6end. (Proxies)

“Put Your Hands Up in the Air”with Division L Officers!

Frankfurt Business Club Officers and Division F Director, Mirja Iannuccelli

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Call for Nominations

District Officer Elections for 2017 – 2018 Toastmasters Year

By Tuire Vuolasvirta, DTM (Immediate Past District 95 Governor) Chair, District Leadership Committee (DLC) – 2016-2017

Dear Fellow Toastmasters,

On December 15, 2016 the District Leadership (Nomina-ng) Commi6ee (‘DLC’) officially opened the NominaNons for Officers to serve in the Toastmasters year 2017 – 2018. We are looking for leaders to serve District 95 and three of the future districts created through the Reforma-on:

District C (Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden)

District D (Poland, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania)

District F (Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Republic of Moldavia, Slovakia, Ukraine and CroaNa)

A. Officers to be elected during District Council Mee-ng ('DCM') on 20 May 2017:

District Director

Program Quality Director Future District C

Program Quality Director Future District D

Program Quality Director Future District F

Club Growth Director Future District C

Club Growth Director Future District D

Club Growth Director Future District F

Division Directors

B. Officers to be appointed by District 95 Director

Public Rela-ons Manager

Administra-on Manager

Finance Manager

Area Directors

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C. Officers to be appointed by D95 Finance Manager

Assistant Finance Manager Future District C Assistant Finance Manager Future District D Assistant Finance Manager Future District F

District Leadership role descripNons and informaNon can be found in the District Leadership Handbook.

There is no fixed line of succession nor is there an automaNc, guaranteed progression from one office to another. All posi-ons listed above are open for nomina-on.

According to Protocol 9.0 (‘District Campaigns and ElecIon’), all candidates are allowed to send one campaign mailing to the District Council Members between 1 January and 31 March. Then, arer the list of nominated candidates is made public in April, all floor and nominated candidates may send one more campaign mailing to the District Council between 29 April and 20 May.

District 95 will provide 3 training sessions for its future District Leaders: 1. Sunday 21 May - 11 - 6 pm - Berlin, Germany 2. Weekend of 9-10 September 2017 (locaNon to be determined) 3. Weekend of 10-11 February 2018 (locaNon to be determined)

The elected or appointed District Leaders are strongly encouraged to ajend the training in Berlin in preparaNon for the 2017-2018 Toastmasters year. Official recogniNon for your service as a District leader will be achieved at the end of your term, when you have fulfilled all requirements and a6ended at least two training sessions.

How does it work?

Check the minimum District Leader Qualifica-ons and Responsibili-es for the posiNon and ensure these are fulfilled before you submit any forms.

Check the willingness of the nominee to accept the nominaNon, when you nominate someone.

Complete the following 4 forms, include a photo and all the ajachments: Candidate Applica-on Form, Biography Informa-on, District Leader Nomina-ng Form and Officer Agreement & Release Form.

Send all completed forms to dlc@toastmastersd95.org.

NominaNons will close Midday (CET) 28 February 2017.

Any quesNons can be directed to dlc@toastmastersd95.org.

• Members can download the District Leadership Handbook: www.toastmasters.org • See the APPENDIX for examples of ALL nomina-on forms.

14 The VOICE, V. 1, Issue 1, January 2017

The Club Experience Toastmasters clubs provide a supportive and positive experience in which members are empowered to develop communication and leadership skills resulting in greater selfconfidence and personal growth.

h6ps://www.toastmasters.org/Find-a-Club

Best Odessa Speakers

Rhetorik im Gebrüder Schmidt Zentrum

Biz Labs Toastm asters

Stockholm Interna-onal Toastmasters

Congratulations!

10 out of 10 DCP Points!

The Leader Ship (Łódź, Poland) – December 2016 15

First Hansea-c Toastmasters Rhetorik Club Frankfurt Toastmasters CENTRUM

Hannover Speakers Club Cologne Speakers Düsseldorfer Toastmasters Toastmasters Krakow Dnipro Hills Club Mercury Toastmasters Berlin Vienna Toastmasters Club Bydgoszcz Toastmasters Professionals POZnaj Toastmasters Toastmasters Pila WrocLove Speakers Toastmasters Poznan Verbal Victory Esprit De Corps Toastmasters Club Toastmasters Cluj Toastmasters Lasi SIRIUS TOASTMASTERS Toastmasters w Orange Speaking Elephants First Toastmasters of Lithuania Amplion Brno Toastmasters

Congratulations!

Kölner Sprechbar Toastmasters Na Szczycie Krakow Public Speaking Club Inspire Rzeszow Toastmasters Chamber Toastmasters Club Berliner Meisterredner Berliner Redekünstler HanseRedner Rostock Adlershof-Toastmasters Steglitz Toastmasters Toastmasters Dresden Skylarks Toastmasters Pest-Beszéd Toastmaster Klub Toastmasters Gdansk Toastmasters Gdynia Toastmasters Bydgoszcz Torun Toastmasters Rednermanufaktur Stu6gart Ramstein Speakers Associa-on Rhetorik Club Wiesbaden Rhetorik Club Mainz Rhetorik Club Bergstrasse Karlsruhe Toastmasters Club Ericsson Stockholm Toastmasters Toastmasters @Ideon CPH City Toastmasters Oslo Toastmasters Club Aarhus Toastmasters Esbjerg Toastmasters Club Toastmasters Constanta Oradea Toastmasters Toastmasters IDEST Munich Toastmasters Club Munich Prostmasters Toastmasters Club Effec-ve Communicators Toastmasters Polska SA Łódź Toastmasters Toastmasters Leaders Toastmasters Bialystok Speakers In-Spire by BNP Paribas Tampere Toastmasters Virtual Speakers Prague Speakers Club Prague Business Toastmasters Professional Toastmasters Praha MSD Prague Toastmasters Toastmasters Petržalka

* Standings as of 19 January, 2017 – DisNnguished Performance Reports at www.toastmasters.org

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New Clubs Chartered!

Good News Postings Shared on our Facebook Pages

by Neal Greenspan, DTM Club Growth Director, 2016-2017

Cologne Advanced Toastmasters

Toastmasters Business Leaders

Districts 95's first chartered club of 2016 – 2017! Cologne Advanced Toastmasters! CongratulaNons to the enNre team including Thomas Rose, President, Sebas-an Pieper, VPE, Chris-an Bahss, AD and club Treasurer as well as Ulla Törnroos, Division A Director. Best of luck in the upcoming year!

Districts 95's second chartered club of 2016 – 2017! Toastmasters Business Speakers! CongratulaNons to Artur Sójka, Aldona Bochen, Krzysiek Kopeć, Konrad Kuligowski, Ola Kulesza, and the enNre team!

CSC Warsaw Toastmasters Club

Districts 95's third chartered club of 2016 – 2017! CSC Warsaw! The SECOND new club in Warsaw – this Nme in Area J3! CongratulaNons to the team, Tomasz Dziurzyński, Jakub Anderwald, Joanna FinkFinowicka, Katarzyna Kanadys-Olszanka, Piotr Malec, Jack Orr, Danuta Kęsicka, Rafał Trochimczuk, Amrutha Varshini, Krzysztof Kopeć, and AD, Maciej Kietliński. Well done, J3!

Redner-Klub Kyiw

District 95’s fourth chartered club of 2016-2017! Redner-Klub Kylw! The first chartered club in Division B this year. It's also the first German-speaking club in Ukraine and all of Division B. The credit goes to Iryna Lomachynska, Vlad Demchyk, Anna Shumeiko and Bohdan Trotsenko plus current AD, Svitlana Osipchuk.

CongratulaNons! Wow!

Rădăuți Toastmasters

District 95’s fi•h chartered club of 2016-2017! Rădăuți Toastmasters! The club was nearly charted during Călin Gîlea's direcNon. The two people who were heavily involved in chartering the club were: Bogdan Horodinca and Lucian Popescul (who is also the current President of the Club).

CongratulaNons to the whole team!

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Toastmasters Dortmund

District 95’s sixth chartered club of 2016-2017! The team behind Dortmund Toastmasters is Katharina Banczyk, Guido Ka6winkel, Bozena Banczyk, Chris-ne Siepe, Alexandra Bo6a, Dirk S-ller and Manuel Kers-n and AD Maija Löffelbein. Way to go team!

ZAP hoch 4

Happy to announce new club number 8 for the year! ZAP hoch 4 in Nussloch, Germany. CongratulaNons to the team, President: Karl Heinz Hellmann. Sponsors: Marty Pullens and Patrick Knapp.

Mentors: Gabriela Fonseca and Oliver Hauss, AD!

Hamburg Interna-onal Speakers

And lucky number 7 so far for District 95! CongratulaNons to all involved in this great achievement - The team behind Hamburg Interna-onal Speakers is Ingmar Höhmann, Markus Krause, Max Ansorge, Chris-an Gülich and Ninja Reineke. AD Dorothee von Freier!

Stadin Sanasepät

And not to be outdone, the first Finnish-speaking club and number 9 for District 95! Well done to all those involved! Jukka Tykkyläinen, Eveliina Gelkin, Peter Kangas, Antonio Dias and Tuire Vuolasvirta were the key people behind the chartering of the new club Stadin Sanasepät in Helsinki!

Speakers of Łódź

Need advice or support to build a new club in your area? Want to share your exper-se and experience? Know about exis-ng clubs that need a “boost”?

Contact the Club Growth Director and team!

The 10th new club for District 95 for the 2016-2017 year!

CongratulaNons to club sponsor: Elena Pawęta and mentors: Justyna Szumińska and Maciej Jabłoński! Well done for creaNng this new club in such short Nme!

18 The VOICE, V. 1, Issue 1, January 2017

Die Reise zum neuen Redeclub in München Von der Idee bis zu Chartern des Clubs von Brigitte Herder, DTM – Präsidentin, Redeclub-München

Am 29. Juli 2016 feierte der Redeclub-München sein Gründungsfest und die offizielle Anmeldung bei Toastmasters International. Ein historisches Ereignis und wichtiger Meilenstein für alle Clubmitglieder und natürlich für die Officer des Clubs. Das ist der Anlass für diesen Bericht über eine spannende Reise von der Idee bis zum Chartern des Clubs als Anregung zum Nachmachen.

Die Durchführung des Rhetorik-Seminars unterstützten erfahrene Mitglieder vom Club Speaker‘s Corner und anderen Clubs aus München. Am Ende dieses Seminars waren die Teilnehmer so begeistert, dass sie unbedingt weiter machen wollten. Da kam die Einladung zum neuen Redeclub-München gerade richtig. Während dieser Vorbereitungsphase hat sich das SpeechcraftProgramm von Toastmasters International erneut als sehr nützlich bewährt. Es hat geholfen die ersten Mitglieder zu akquirieren – schließlich gehören zu einem neuen Club mindestens 17 Mitglieder, die noch nicht oder in keinem anderen Toastmasters Club sind.

Unter den Toastmastern aus anderen Clubs kristallisierten sich die ersten Freiwilligen heraus, die ebenfalls Interesse hatten, als Officer einen neuen Club mit aufzubauen und andere, die bereit waren, in einer Doppelmitgliedschaft dem neuen Club beizutreten und diesen so zu unterstützen.

BrigiQe Herder, DTM, PräsidenIn, IniIatorin und Sponsor Redeclub-München

Am Anfang stand der feste Vorsatz von Brigitte Herder und Edgar Niklaus, Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM) zu werden. Und zum DTM gehört eben die erfolgreiche Sponsor- oder Mentorschaft für einen neuen Club. Da sich zu dieser Zeit kein neuer Club in München in Gründung befand, beschlossen beide, selbst einen aus der Taufe zu heben.

Erste Aufgabe bei Gründung eines jeden neuen Clubs ist immer die Mitgliedersuche. Zur Gewinnung von möglichen Interessenten wurden verschiedene Angebote entwickelt. Den Anfang machten Workshops zum Thema "Spontane Reden". Später wurde ein Rhetorik-Seminar nach der Vorlage des Speechcraft Programms von Toastmasters International angeboten.

Im Officerteam wurden dann die strategische Positionierung und Ausrichtung des Clubs entwickelt und beschlossen: Der Redeclub München sollte seine Hauptausrichtung in der Rhetorik für den Beruf erhalten.

19 The VOICE, V. 1, Issue 1, January 2017

Im Clubprogramm bedeutet das heute, dass sehr viele Reden unserer Mitglieder deren berufliche Themen zum Inhalt haben. Die klassischen Stegreifreden nehmen einen kleineren Platz ein als in anderen Clubs, dafür üben wir spontanes Sprechen in Job- und anderen Interviews oder simulieren Pressekonferenzen, in denen es darum geht, Rede und Antwort zu einem vorgegebenen Standpunkt zu stehen. Gutes Training für berufliche Situationen sind auch Übungen im Dialog mit Partnern wie der schnelle Austausch von Argumenten in Diskussionen nach vom Topicsmaster vorgegebenen Themen.

Edgar Niklaus (MiQe), VP-EducaIon, Sponsor und IniIator, Redeclub-München, beim Stegreifreden-Moderieren mit unserem Clubmitglied, Veronika und Gast.

Clubmitglieder, die bald im Beruf eine Rede oder Präsentation halten müssen, können sich von einem erfahrenen Mitglied bei der Vorbereitung der Rede unterstützen lassen. Sie können dann die Rede in einer Kurzfassung in 5-7 Minuten im Club zum ersten Mal vortragen und erhalten zusätzlich zu ihrer Bewertung Feedback von den Clubmitgliedern.

Diese stehen anschließend allen unseren Mitgliedern als Videoaufzeichnung zum Lernen zur Verfügung.

Das Officer-Team traf sich alle 2 Wochen, um in einem kurzen Meeting die nächsten Schritte, die Aufgaben bis zum nächsten Treffen und den kommenden Clubabend zu besprechen. Für alle auftretenden Probleme konnte so gemeinsam eine schnelle und funktionierende Lösung gefunden werden. Diese konstruktive, regelmäßige Zusammenarbeit war einer der wesentlichen Erfolgsfaktoren beim Aufbau des Redeclubs-München. Weitere unterstützende Faktoren sind auf jeden Fall die Unterstützung durch die erfahrenen Toastmaster als Mitglieder im Club, und als zeitweise Gäste von anderen Clubs, ganz besonders vom Sponsorclub Speaker's Corner. Das intensive Marketing zur weiteren Mitgliedergewinnung über unsere Webseite, über soziale Medien, mit Flyern und Plakaten, das als kontinuierliche Maßnahme betrieben wurde, hat sich ebenfalls sehr bewährt.

Ganz klar lief nicht alles so glatt, wie sich das hier anhört. Wir hatten einige Hürden zu nehmen. So zum Beispiel, dass wir schon kurz nach dem ersten Clubabend uns einen neuen Raum für unsere Treffen suchen mussten. In einer Großstadt wie München ist es nicht so einfach, in der Innenstadt einen bezahlbaren Raum zu finden. Und als dann die Anmeldung bei Toastmaster International anstand, ging es darum das Geld für die Überweisung der Chartergebühren auf dem Clubkonto verfügbar zu haben. Aber auch hier hat das Officer-Team ganze Arbeit geleistet, und so konnte rechtzeitig zum Ende des Toastmasterjahres der Club bei Toastmasters International angemeldet werden.

Das ist jetzt schon mehrfach so passiert und wir haben durchweg sehr gute Rückmeldungen von unseren Mitgliedern erhalten, dass sie so wesentlich gelassener und auch erfolgreicher ihre echte Rede in ihrem Berufsumfeld halten konnten.

Eine Besonderheit in einem neuen Club ist, dass es nur wenige erfahrene und viele neue Mitglieder gibt. Das heißt: Nichts läuft von alleine bzw. so selbstverständlich wie in einem etablierten Club. Wichtige Themen – z.B. Rollen und Ämter im Club, Aufbau von Bewertungsreden, konstruktives Feedback geben, Nutzung von Easyspeak und die Einbindung des Clubs in die Toastmasters Organisation – erläutern Mitglieder in Educationals.

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The VOICE, V. 1, Issue 1, January 2017

Das Gründungsfest war dann der krönende Abschluss der ersten Etappe unserer Clubgründungsreise. Zum Aufbauteam gehören Gudrun Wahnschaffe als Schatzmeisterin, Justin Hegler als Vizepräsident Public Relations und Schriftführer, Edgar Niklaus als Vize PräsidentEducation und Brigitte Herder als Präsidentin. Unsere Reise mit dem Redeclub-München geht weiter und so freuen wir uns auf die nächsten Herauforderungen und viele Gäste.

Die Gründungsmitglieder vom Redeclub-München mit Urkunden von Links nach Rechts: Andreas, Rosina, Beatrix, Kristen, Michael, Veronika, Petra, Gudrun Wahnschaffe (Schatzmeisterin), JusIn Hegler (Schri]führer, Vizepräsident-PR), und BrigiQe.

Unten: Marc und Edgar. Im Vordergrund: Mel Kelly, Moderator des Abendprogramms.

Wir treffen uns an jedem 1. und 3. Montag im Monat um 19 Uhr (Eintreffen 18:45 Uhr) in der Kreuzstraße 8, München in der Nähe vom Sendlinger Tor (Eingang: Wing-Wave-Zentrum).

Webseite: http://www.redeclub-münchen.de/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/redeclub Twitter: https://twitter.com/redeclub

Autorin: Brigitte Herder, DTM Mitglied bei Speakers Corner München und Mitgründerin vom Redeclub-München

21 The VOICE, V. 1, Issue 1, January 2017

Presenting the Budapest Toastmasters Club!

A Group of Extraordinary People

By Judit Jakab, Vice President Public Relations

Dear Fellow Toastmasters, Let me introduce to you to the world of the Budapest Toastmasters Club!

First of all, I am very proud to represent this group of extraordinary people. In our club , you not only become a leader and a better speaker, you’ll also be a part of a big and welcoming family. Our club gathers a variety of personality types, such as: the serious grammarian, the dreamer, the cartoonist, the funny, the geek, the sophisticated, the rock-loving achiever – you name it – and the best part is that we all fit very well together and that our group keeps growing.

We learn a great deal from one another, which motivates us not to miss any of our exhilarating meetings.

We currently have around 40 members from all over the world: 10% English native speakers, 40% Hungarians, 20% other Europeans, 10% Asians and a handful of world citizens! I would like to share a few examples, in case you are wondering what exactly makes our club outstanding. Our leadership team had a team-building weekend in July, 2016. We had an amazing time while developing our business plan and allocating responsibilities – all for the benefit of our club. I feel privileged to be part of such a brilliant and

thriving team that works so hard on taking our club to the next level!

We also have more casual gatherings outside our regular club meetings. One of them was a Potluck Picnic in August, 2016 where our members could bring their families. We had a lovely time playing, sharing food and getting to know one another in a more casual environment.

22 The VOICE, V. 1, Issue 1, January 2017

Potluck Picnic in the Park, August,2016

BELOW: Typical BPTM evening ďŹ nale atmosphere and an example of our Italian cartoonist who summarized our meeNng with such brilliant art!

As we are becoming friends, as well as supporters of each other’s development, we organize dinners and social outings. Alongside having fun, we also look after one another, which makes us feel secure, cared for and connected.

If you would like to visit our splendid club please do not hesitate to contact me at: vp-pr@budapesttoastmasters.org Have a Fantastic TM year!

Judit Jakab VPPR, Budapest Toastmasters

23 The VOICE, V. 1, Issue 1, January 2017

Esbjerg Toastmasters

The First 18 Months of Club 4517292

By Ole Mikkelsen, CC, Vice President Membership

Esbjerg is the 5th largest city in Denmark, located in the southwestern most part of the country. The city is Denmark’s hub for oil, gas and offshore wind activities. For this reason, there is a large number of expats from around the world here: Iran, USA, Poland, Venezuela, Angola, China, India, UK, Norway and many other countries. One of these expats, Fanshuang Kong from China, found herself in Esbjerg in the fall of 2014 after having relocated from Aarhus (also in Denmark) to Esbjerg for a new job. She was a member of Aarhus Toastmasters and missed her regular TM meetings. What do you do? You of course start a new club!

With the assistance from the Area Director, her old club from Aarhus, and 3 new friends in Esbjerg, Fanshuang organized the very first demo meeting in December 2014. This immediately led to the formation of Esbjerg Toastmasters as a provisional club with a 5member board. Through diligent work and promotional activities, led by Fanshuang, Esbjerg Toastmasters chartered as club 4517292 in October 2015. The club has already organized a corporate event (November 2015) for the business leaders in Esbjerg, as well as participated in several other events directed towards the general public such as various international days organized by the city council, and promotional events directed towards local schools, colleges and universities.

At Esbjerg Toastmasters we also aim to socialize outside of our regular Toastmasters meetings: We occasionally have a snack and nibble-master, whose task it is to bring along snacks for everybody to share after the meeting. At other times we congregate in local pubs and cafes afterwards. We also organize two member parties every year; a summer party and a Christmas party. Members of Esbjerg Toastmasters have also participated in a number of area and division conferences and competitions. We organized the Area G5 Fall Conference 2016 and one of our members managed to move on to the Division G Fall Conference 2016 in the Humorous Speech contest, where he finished in 3rd place.

We have strong ambitions to keep getting members to compete and participate in area, division and district conferences, as well as expanding the club beyond the roughly 20 members we have now.

One of our members is now also the president of a provisional club in Kolding, a city 60 km E of Esbjerg, and we try to help them get chartered. They have their meetings on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of the month while we have ours on the 2nd and 4th , at 18:00 so we can easily visit each other.

We meet at:

Esbjerg Main Library (Esbjerg Bibliotek) Nørregade 19 Esbjerg, Denmark

Cover photo from our Facebook Fanpage: hjp://bit.ly/2iTy93h

24 The VOICE, V. 1, Issue 1, January 2017

The Member’s Journey

“Remember the Member.” – Mike Storkey, President, Toastmasters Interna-onal, 2016-2017 The VOICE, V. 1, Issue 1, January 2017

25

The Road to Washington with László Szűcs District 95 Semifinalist Toastmasters World Championships of Public Speaking 2016 An Interview with Umesh Agashe (September, 2016)

Tell us about your first Toastmasters meeting, how it started?

When I attended my first TM meeting in 2013, I was asked to do Table Topics. I got a sentence to speak about: "The most embarrassing moment ...". I realized that I was there, real time, but I didn't have the courage to speak about it. As an engineer, boxer and technical leader I didn't know why it was so frightening. It was such a bad experience that I didn't show up for two months. However, my friend convinced me to give it another shot. I went back to face my challenges of public speaking, but the reason that made me stay was the community. I started to compete immediately as I considered it as the fast track to improve my communication skills. This year I won the District contest in my third competition season and so many people helped me that I owed them to focus wholeheartedly on my speaking skills. That is why I quit my job and was working so hard on the road to Washington DC.

At the District 95 Spring Conference 2016 Timisoara, Rumania.

With Mohammed Qhatani, World Champion of Public Speaking 2015, other winners and friends.

How you started your preparation for the International Speech Contest 2016? Did you participate in more than one club contest or only one?

After winning the District Conference, I put together a great helping team and planned more preparation phases. June was dedicated to improving the content part of my district winning speech “Good News and Bad News”. Besides this, I came up with the final speech idea as well. The speeches were mostly ready by June. Then came the delivery part, I delivered the speeches in Hungary, Germany and London as well. I got many opportunities from our District clubs to improve my speeches. I got 3 days of coaching from our amazing speech expert, Olivia Schofield, who took my speech to the next level. I am very thankful for this.

Olivia Schofield, Finalist, World Championships of Public Speaking 2012. A guest at Mercury Toastmasters, Berlin, July, 2016.

26 The VOICE, V. 1, Issue 1, January 2017

A visit to Berlin: Olivia SchoďŹ eld, members from Mercury Toastmasters, Spreeredner, Center Berlin, and many well-wishers!

How your club supported you to enhance your speech at Area, Division and District level.

My clubs provided me with continuous mental support, speech slots and evaluations. Not only my clubs (as I am member of two clubs), but also lots of District 95 clubs and friends supported me. I got support from unexpected places as well. I got coaching from Ed Tate (World Champion of Public Speaking, 2000), I got support from Presiyan Vasilev (World Champion of Public Speaking. 2013) and Garret Garrels, who is a multiple public speaking champion, also supported me. Last but not least, my friends supported me a lot! It was incredible that 8 people came with me to the States from Hungary. I believe I had a bigger and more supportive team than any athlete at the Olympic Games in Rio. I will never forget these months.

Olivia SchoďŹ eld,

Photo from Toastmasters Hungary Facebook FanPage: hjp://bit.ly/2jqpeG0

27 The VOICE, V. 1, Issue 1, January 2017

Did you use the same speech at all levels until District or different speeches?

Yes, I used the same speech. I knew that I needed lots of humor in it, so after the area level I changed about 40% of the content, the complete first story was changed - which made it more humorous, and also helped to keep the speech “fresh” and interesting for me. I got very valuable feedback, which made my speech more impactful.

After winning District Championship, things must have changed. How does a semi-final at the World Championship of Public Speaking different from a District level contest? Do they have any new rules?

As far as I know the rules are the same at all international speech contests. Of course, the number of judges and the audience is a lot larger. That is why as a rule of thumb, I cut about 20% of my speech, because I knew that the bigger the audience, the longer the speech would be.

From my original 730 words I moved to 600. This way, I could take my time and really focus on the delivery.

Photo from Toastmasters Hungary Facebook Fan Page

How are the groups for the Semi-Finals formed? Do we have the same groups of Districts contesting every year or do they change?

I don’t really know how they form semifinals, but I have to tell you that it was a very high quality semifinal, with 5 professional speakers out of 9 contestants. I hope to meet them again one day at the final stage, so I hope the groups will be changed. Those people are incredibly good speakers.

Please share with us your experience of participating in the Semifinals in Washington, your mentors, your preparations and receiving the trophy!

Our Semifinal 10 was simply the best contestant team I ever experienced. It was super team building and I have become friends with all of them. We even had nicknames – I am the Hungarian prince for them J. We organized programs after the semifinals – we visited the Washington Spy Museum and went to the airport together. I am very lucky that I met these awesome speakers.

Happy moments! Facebook Photos The VOICE, V. 1, Issue 1, January 2017

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Please share with us your message for all the Toastmasters of District 95 who would participate in their club level speech contests.

The famous quote by Lao Tzu says “The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.” This year’s speech contest really made a difference in my life, give it a whirl, participating in a contest will improve yours, too.

On stage with Joel Dawson and Josephine Lee

29 The VOICE, V. 1, Issue 1, January 2017

My Trip to the World Championships (As a Delegate) Impressions and Opinions from a First Timer

By Ole Mikkelsen, CC

I have always wanted to see Washington DC: the monuments, the memorials, experience the history. Then, in April I realized that Toastmasters Annual Convention and the World Championships of Public Speaking would be in DC in 2016 – I knew I had to go!

I managed to scrape enough money together to book the trip.

August came and I flew from Denmark to DC! I spent a few days sightseeing – Washington Monument, the White House, the Capitol, Gettysburg, MANY museums! And then the TM international convention opened August 17th.

View of the Capitol Building. On-Line photo from Toastmasters InternaNonal.

On the first day, there was a nice get together for first timers that explained what would be happening over the next 4 days. The opening ceremonies followed, with a parade of flags for each country that had a TM club. There was a very well delivered keynote about leadership by a former World Champion, Ed Tate, and a VERY professional and an extremely HILARIOUS comedy act from NY, the Water Coolers (look them up at YouTube!).

Day two was the semifinals. They ran in parallel sessions, so it was impossible to see more than 3 semifinal sessions - each with 10 speeches. I made the most of it and saw 3 semifinals from end to end. The first 2 speeches I watched were very personal and focused on personal experiences of lifelong abuse. The speeches were delivered very well, but they were not clinchers: Too personal and the solutions they had come up with were very specific and not easy to generalize from. They also didn’t place; a professional speaker won the semifinal.

In the 2nd semifinal I found all the speakers to be equally good. Then speaker 9 came on and just blew everybody else away, in my opinion. He had a very good topic - getting older - and used his suit as a metaphor for that. It was very well thought out and I was sure he would win - which he did.

30 The VOICE, V. 1, Issue 1, January 2017

The 3rd semifinal was where our D95 contestant, László participated. Again, one speaker distinguished herself from the rest and I was sure she was going to win, which she did. I wasn’t so sure about 2nd and 3rd, but I thought that László certainly had done better than average. And he did come in 3rd, for which I heard he was very happy.

In between the semifinals, there were other things going on – lunch, shopping the at Toastmasters Marketplace, and keynote speeches from a rather wide range of professional speakers on a range of topics. For example how to use stories, not facts, to get your point across (people tend to remember stories where facts are included, rather than just the facts themselves). Generally they were all very good and enjoyable.

On day three the highlight for me was the Golden Gavel award. This is an annual award Toastmasters gives to an individual distinguished in the fields of communication and leadership. This year it was given to Tony Buzan, who you may never have heard about.

But some of you have probably heard about Mindmapping and Mindmaps, which are his inventions. He gave a very fascinating lecture about his life and Mindmaps.

Day four began with the World Championship final! Everybody got a guide, so they could judge for themselves. I was actually quite confident that I had all 3 correct, but it turned out that I only got 3rd place correct - judging is subjective… The winner was Darren Tey from Singapore, and it was 3rd year in a row that a non-American won the competition, which has never happened before. There were 5 females in the final, which I also don’t think has ever happened before.

List of speakers for the World Championship Finals!

The annual business meeting followed. It was supposed to last for 3 hours but took 6 due to issues with the voting machines… Quite amusing, but overall a massive failure, though it was well conducted. It was followed by the gala dinner, which included lots of dancing with glow sticks - “you had to be there” - J !

Overall, the speeches and most of the keynotes were enjoyable; that was what I came for and they didn’t disappoint. Interestingly, I found very little difference between division level speeches and semifinal speeches: Mostly related to body language, as there are large stages at the (semi)finals, and we generally don’t have that at the division levels. I think that if you win the division level, then you definitely have a serious shot at making it all the way to the top and winning!!!

Interesting to me was that some of the contestants remarked on the size of the stage during the interviews - they had to walk a lot to cover the stage, which they were not used to. Something to keep in mind in our own speech competitions!

View of the Lincoln Memorial. On-Line photo from Toastmasters InternaNonal.

31 The VOICE, V. 1, Issue 1, January 2017

Lessons Learned Through My Journey at Toastmasters

By Jyotika Rajput Mehra

Let’s raise a toast to Toastmasters, An organisation, where leaders are made...

Welcome to a Place, where we love to communicate; where we enjoy being in a mindful state; Welcome to an Environment, where our words are truly treasured; where our public speaking skills are consistently measured;

Welcome to a Group, where we are always warmly welcomed; where we are always inspired and never judged;

Welcome to a Community, where we emote, express and overcome our fears; where we are constantly encouraged by our peers; Welcome to a Society, where we feel enthusiastic and cheerful; where we perceive “Communication” to be our best tool;

Proud to be a Toastmaster, where leaders are made...

Feels fulfilling... to be empowered, to move forward and accelerate...

April 2014, it was the first time that I had come across “Toastmasters International” (TI) through an advertisement over the notice board at my work place. Inspired by the powerful words over the pamphlet, I decided to join my corporate club. A promising journey of empowering self began since then. My participation went beyond my own club and I enjoyed playing voluntary roles at several TI events in and around my city (Delhi, India).

Flow of time flew me down to Stockholm in 2015 and the keen interest made me continue my association with this community.

I believe what I have learned till date in my short journey with Toastmasters, is not merely a set of lessons, but dearly valuable principles of communication that I look up to everyday in life.

As I share these lessons, I consider them to be insightful for those: • Who wish to join the Toastmasters International community, • Who have just begun their edifying journey, or • Who just wish to know more on the subject of “communication”

.

[PS: In general, “communicaLon” refers to the act of imparLng or exchanging informaLon by speaking,

wriLng, or through any other medium. However, for the sake of simplicity, in the informaLon menLoned

below, the author has preferred using the term “communicaIon” in place of “verbal communicaIon” (except

in points #9 and #10), and “Toastmasters” in place of the “Toastmasters InternaIonal” organisaLon as a

whole.]

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The VOICE, V. 1, Issue 1, January 2017

Lesson Learned #1: Words are the Soul of Communication, while Expression is its Body

We might be particular of WHAT we speak, but HOW we speak is the actual game changer! Our language may contain the most suitable adjectives, but if we do not organise our words in the framework of appropriate voice and tone; the correct meaning of the message to be conveyed can be easily lost.

At Toastmasters, we track our success story of public speaking by learning the “How” tactics of communication. Thanks to the ever supportive group of people! Just as a desirable packaging adds to the true essence of the product inside; our body language including the eye contact, hand gestures, movement, proximity with the audience, and further so, is important altogether for supporting our communication.

Lesson Learned #2: Speaking is Just the First Half of an Effective Communication; the Other Half is Listening, Understanding and Responding An effective communication includes a good speaker and a good listener. That’s the way of developing an authentic association between two people. Also, listening should be “good” for the very purpose of gaining perfect understanding of the speaker’s original intent; because it is only then that the listener gains the ability to candidly respond to the speaker.

At Toastmasters, filling the comments section of the feedback form, conforms to the second half of the communication process and lets the speaker know about the listener’s opinion of their speech. Also, the person in evaluator’s role provides a detailed feedback to the speaker. Now isn’t that a great way of practising effective communication instantly!

Lesson Learned #3: Multi-Cultured Environment Make Us Gain the Power of Resilience

Being in a multi-cultured environment can be encouraging as well as accommodating. As we tend to see a broader horizon displaying the beauty of assorted beliefs and opinions, our knowledge-base is widened by the facts about new places and people.

The bigger picture allows us to be open-minded and expand our comprehending abilities of people’s experiences.

At Toastmasters, we learn the power of being resilient.

As a consequence of listening to all sorts of speakers from diverse cultures and backgrounds, we gain the most wonderful interpersonal skill of learning new perspectives of knowing life.

The VOICE, V. 1, Issue 1, January 2017

Lesson Learned #4: Step-Up that Confidence

It takes confidence to initiate communication. It takes courage to speak in front of an audience. Not all are experts at it! And even if that gush of confidence is already flowing in our veins; it’s always good to keep up that momentum. It’s always good to consume that positive pill of confidence to illuminate our personalities.

At Toastmasters, as we begin our journey, in the natural course of time, there’s a magic element that tracks our brain cell reservoirs being always filled with the power dose known as “confidence”.

Lesson Learned #5: There’s Nothing Known as “Negative”; It’s All About the Perspective We may like or dislike people for their opinions and the way they communicate. But in no regard do we hold any right to remark their orientation as “negative”! We can always let them know about our disagreement but that doesn’t make us own all the “positivity”. Each one has their own identity of relating and representing things; and as humans, we must respect that fact.

At Toastmasters, the role of Evaluators is essentially great. They analyse the speakers against different performance criteria. They intend to provide a genuinely unbiased response while recommending the alternatives for the part of speech that could have been better. They strictly ignore using negative remarks and focus on truly motivating the speakers.

Their gesture of evaluation in all its regard refers to the various aspects of the speech and not to the speaker in person.

Lesson Learned #6: Real World Communication is Almost Similar to Storytelling

Storytelling is an art! So is public speaking as well!

Presentation is the key factor in both the cases. A story may be fictitious but a lot can be mapped to the real world communication. Just as a story has a plot – a beginning, body line and an end; in the similar way, an effective communication demands to follow an identical structure of organisation.

Toastmasters is a brilliant platform to nurture our storytelling skills by learning the art of public speaking in real time. The set of exceptionally designed manuals offers a step-by-step comprehensive approach to prepare and excel our speech delivery process. Each speech is actually referred to as a project adhering to certain objectives.

Completing a project may seem like overcoming a challenge but it’s all so interesting at the same time!

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Lesson Learned #7: Updating Our Vocabulary is Truly Essential

Communication begins with language; and language is made up of grammar, i.e. the basic rules including words, phrases, idioms, metaphors and many other expressions. Ever noticed how wonderful it feels to learn a new word or a medium of expression and implement the same while communicating! The beauty of any language is observed only when we keep updating ourselves with new vocabulary.

At Toastmasters, we emphasize on polishing our English speaking skills. Each time when a meeting begins, we get an opportunity to immerse into the world of words and expressions. With the “word of the day” concept, each one gets to run their mind for using the given word in some or the other way. And the fun part is that all becomes effortless in an environment of wise and cheerful beings!

Lesson Learned #8: Time is Important

Let me repeat that cliché – “Time is important”; but at times we slip off it! An effective communication does involve time management! Be it formal or informal, when we have important information to be shared, we have to organise our thoughts, words and emotions in a synchronised manner, for the simple reason of respecting the schedule of others as well.

At Toastmasters, the meetings are so impressively schemed that we learn to adapt to an extremely structured system. The person in time-keeper’s role is in charge of constantly signalling every other role player of their scheduled time slot.

Each and every role of the TI meeting is time bound including the break. Therefore, from start to end, effective communication is facilitated through a predetermined agenda and well-monitored time.

Lesson Learned #9: Delight of Double Dose of Communication - Verbal and Written

Communication is probably the best trait gifted to humans. We are the only living species that is blessed with the power to speak as well as write.

Communication makes it possible for us to share our knowledge that is resting in our senses.

Some choose the verbal way while some enter the world of writing. But fortunately, here at Toastmasters, we tend to gain both opportunities – we jot down our emotions, prepare an organised written speech, rehearse it, and then speak out the same, live in front of our audience. Isn’t it a matter of delight to unleash our emotions several times!

The VOICE, V. 1, Issue 1, January 2017

Lesson Learned #10: Unity Makes Us the Best Communicators

“COMMUNITY”... Did you observe anything?

Communication has a lot to do with unity. When we are united, we communicate better! No matter where we are, I truly believe it is the unity among individuals which brings out the best in each one of us. Beyond the barriers of age, gender and culture; it is the unity that propels the feeling of belongingness which further unites people in the relation of togetherness. And it is this power that enables each one of us to showcase our words and communicate to the world.

At Toastmasters, we are one beautiful community of like-minded people who come together for the purpose of supporting each other in becoming the best speakers. The several strategically designed roles make us nourish our speaking instinct. Even if we flaw, we are not judged but encouraged to improve and move forward.

With my last point, I refer this all to be a part of a nonexhaustive journal of learning through the massively empowering community of Toastmasters International. There seem to be many more countless benefits of being a part of this wonderful public speaking organisation.

Joining TI undoubtedly contributes in expanding one’s perspective towards life. “Toastmasters” makes people embark on an ever-lasting journey of effective communication, where they constantly progress, not only by accomplishing their own goals but also by supporting and caring for their fellow members.”

Author: © JyoNka Rajput Mehra is a member of the Toastmasters District 95 ‘Stockholm Interna-onal’ club.

This excerpt was featured in her blog: The Seed of Joy – JRM’sœuvre - jyoLkarajputmehra.blogspot.com . Further contact details: www.linkedin.com/in/jyoLkarmehra | jyoLka.rajput@gmail.com

Disclaimer by Author: The menLoned informaLon is purely based on the author’s feelings, percepLon and experience.

The purpose of this arLcle is to inspire the readers thereby spreading the knowledge of the valuable afributes gained in the learning process at Toastmasters. It does not claim to instruct on behalf of the organisaLon of Toastmasters InternaLonal, or alter readers’ set of beliefs.

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Toastmasters Transforms!

Excerpts and Impressions from Speech #2 “Charity Begins at Home”

By Baira Nergui

“If you get out of Toastmasters all there is to get out of Toastmasters, you will never get

out of Toastmasters! “

– Helen Blanchard, First Female President of Toastmasters InternaNonal

Reading this quote makes me think that there is so much more that I don’t know about Toastmasters because if I am asked to provide a quote on Toastmasters at this point, I could only say, “Toastmasters is the place to have INTELLIGENT FUN!” Yes, so far I have been having intelligent fun hanging around intelligent people, who are mostly businessmen, consultants and coaches. Outside the club, I have been amusing myself by thinking about and writing about what happened during the club meetings, and after-event drinks at Schönhauser.

Baira Nergui

But when it comes to tangible takeaways from Toastmasters, I think it is still too early for me to notice any significant change in my own development.

However, as I read about others’ experiences in the May and June Toastmasters magazines, apparently, Toastmasters transforms! Throughout the magazines, there are numerous examples of then-and-now comparisons of skills development and how those polished skills helped improve business performances and achieve larger social goals, etc. So knowing what I don’t know yet, perhaps I should use this speech as an opportunity to find out what else is out there.

35 The VOICE, V. 1, Issue 1, January 2017

An article, “9 Ways to Spot a Leader” featured in the June 2016 issue said: “The key question that a leader must ask is, “Why”? When she understands the Why, she can lead to the How.” So I think I should start with the “Why” first.

I think - to put the whole Toastmasters thing into perspective - it is a safe playing ground for people to learn from repeated attempts and experiences. So far, I have read and spoken to my peers about the senior Toastmasters, who have claimed to benefit from the program, boasted strong developments in storytelling, internal-clock-building, speechwriting, coaching, leading, handling Q&A sessions and weaving humor into speeches.

For example, Raajeev Aggarwal, DTM and businessman from California, used Toastmasters as a bridge to build a stand-up comedy career. “I used my Toastmasters participation to try new jokes. I tell my fellow Toastmasters that I am using them as guinea pigs.”

Katherine Scott, DTM used Toastmasters to transform herself from a singer to a voice coach. “Everything I learn in Toastmasters is essential for achieving another one of my goals – to be skilled at doing online videos and podcasting.”

With the improved skills set, Toastmasters around the world have not only enjoyed personal satisfaction by turning their hobbies and passions into new careers, they have also achieved substantial business growth and larger social goals.

For example, Pauline A. Blachford, CC tells how the veterans in her Toastmasters club taught her to use interesting and humorous stories from her professional experience…” as a way to demonstrate my expertise without feeling like I am giving a sales pitch. It’s working, as most of my clients come to me from my speaking engagements.”

“Toastmasters doesn’t just change people; it also affects organizations. One club was built for an association of people with learning challenges and Toastmasters gave a voice to those who had never had a voice before. One woman, a member with learning challenges, gave a speech at their fundraiser and it generated $145,000 in contributions. That’s a big-picture impact that goes far beyond counting ahs and ums!“ - Toastmasters Magazine, June 2016

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So that was to talk about the “Why” of Toastmasters. Now let’s talk about the “How?”

I think that Toastmasters should be a lifestyle for Toastmasters. If we really believe in Toastmasters, we should open up as much space for it as possible in our lives. This means, we should be engaged in it - not only at the club meetings, but also outside the club meetings through social activities and online platforms. We should be the loudest cheerleaders of Toastmasters in our communities and personal and professional circles, because we know that people will only benefit from it! And when we do that, the proverb, “Charity begins at home” will be true for us! We can help our family and friends as a start!

Among our fellow international Toastmasters, there are many who do this. Peter Kossowan has chartered 164 Toastmasters clubs in Canada. The magazine article says that Kossowan constantly prospects for potential clubs. His advice for us: “Invite people with leadership ability and ask them to invite people in their network. Talk about it everywhere. Chartering a club is incredibly rewarding – it brings the greatness of Toastmasters to a world that desperately needs strong leaders and communicators. You are qualified to start a club, and you are up to the task. “

Baira’s Speech Notes

In closing, I would like to call my fellow Toastmasters to live Toastmasters as a lifestyle! Be proud of it, talk about it everywhere and ignite inspiration in others to join Toastmasters!

Finally, I would like to finish my speech with a quote from Buddha:

“Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.”

Author: Baira Nergui is a former club officer and member of the District 95 Business Club Frankfurt Toastmasters.

This arNcle features excerpts from her blog, Gi•s and Miracles – www.girsandmiracles.com

37 The VOICE, V. 1, Issue 1, January 2017

District 95 Hall of Fame Educational and Leadership Awards (Standings from 9 January 2017)

Distinguished Toastmasters (DTM)

Corinne Simonet Karsruher Redeclub e.V Peter Gronemeier Hedgehog Toastmasters Club Tobias Schlosser EffecNve Communicators Klaus-Ulrich Moeller Rhetorik Club Wiesbaden Paul Talacko Amplion Rafal Trochimczuk Toastmasters with Orange Naomi Carrington-Hockman Ramstein Speakers AssociaNon

Triple Crown Achievers Kees Broos Naomi Carrington-Hockman

3 4

Asit Kumar Dalai Corcoran David Marinela Dimitrova Friederike Galland Darryl Kevin Heron Danusia Kesicka Adrian Tomasz Kozak Lukas Liebich Dirk Loffelbein Julian Moldenhauer Karolina Natkanska Jacek Pieczynski Eryk Pietrak Tobias Schlosser

3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3

Katrin Schulze Patrzcia Szych Paul Talacko

3 3 3

Malgorzata Trojanowska Aleksander Georgiev Vladimirov Matous Zaremba

3 3 3

LDREXC, ALS, CL ACG, CL, DTM, ALS ACB, ALB, CL ALB, CC, CL ALB, ACB, CL CL, ACS, ACG ACG, CL, LDREXC ACG, ACS, CL ACB, ALB, CL ACS, ACB, CC CC, ACS, ACB ALB, CL, ACB CL, ALB, CC CC, CL, ALB CL, CC, CC ALS, LDREXC, DTM ALB, CC, CL CL, CC, ALB LDREXC, ALS, DTM ALB, CC, CL LDREXC, ALS, ACS CL, ACB, ALB

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Headliners

District 95 Members in the Public Spotlight

January 2017 – Riga.

The LaNvian naNonal newspaper, DIENA carried an arNcle featuring the Riga Toastmasters and their member, engineer Davis Golds. Davis is the 2016 District 95 Humorous Speech Champion (English)!

January 2017 – Düsseldorf.

Dr. Thomas Rose, 2015 District 95 Interna-onal Speech Champion appeared as a guest in a broadcast by the regional network, SAT1 NWR! Dr. Rose (Thomas) used his experNse in rhetoric and body language to analyze the interacNon between governing coaliNon partners in North Rhein Westphalia! (In this case - Hannelore Kra], Minister President NRW and Green Party Leader, Sylvia Löhrmann)!

October 2016 - Budapest.

Toastmasters were invited again to the Forbes Flow event (sponsored by Forbes Magazine).

Members shared their experNse, coaching speakers on the Sweet&Small stage!

August 2016 - Berlin.

Many months of mammoth efforts by Toastmasters from Division C (Northeastern Germany) finally culminated into ‘Wachsen bei Toastmasters’! The one hour program simulaNng a typical meeNng, was broadcast in German by the local public television staNon, ‘Alex’ in Berlin! The project was the brainchild of Sascha Goldman, ACB, ALB of the Spreedner and Spektrum clubs, Berlin.

December 2016 – Toastmaster Magazine.

The Member Forum of last month’s issue featured our fine club, Rhetorik im Gebrüder Schmid Zentrum in Stujgart and its love for the great outdoors!

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“Let the Good Times Roll”!

Special Events and Happenings

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He Came, Saw and Shared Knowledge

Toastmasters Unplugged – Workshops with Kees Broos, DTM September 15th / September 20th 2016

By Katharina Weiss, Vice President Public Relations

The Vienna Speakers Club had the pleasure of welcoming Kees Broos, DTM and Past District 95 Director.

Kees Broos – as I now know – is a unique Toastmaster: Highly experienced, successful, and at the same time down-to-earth, helpful and willing to pass on all his knowledge.

The Vienna Speakers Club, its guests and Toastmasters from other clubs, had the possibility to benefit from Kees’ knowledge and experience during two fantastic workshops.

The first workshop turned out to be a real membership campaign. It was called “Toastmasters Unplugged” and its main purpose was to make Toastmasters more well known. Our guests had the possibility to immediately start practicing public speaking by introducing themselves. Additionally, we tested our leadership skills and found out about our outstanding abilities and areas of possible improvement. Next, participants had the chance to evaluate their communication style – whether their style focuses on ideas, processes, people or action. Last but not least: the “marshmallow challenge”. We had to build the highest possible construction out of spaghetti with a marshmallow on top of it. The “cheater” lost, but we had a lot of fun!

A few days later Kees conducted a second, “Toastmasters only”workshop. Again an amazing evening – not only fun, but also a possibility to complete a module from the Success Communication series.

We started to extend our mental flexibility: Found ways to look at the world from new perspectives, and trained putting ourselves in someone else’s shoes. One highlight was learning about the PIN Response. If you ask yourself what that means – it’s about understanding things in a comprehensive way. The acronym means: positive, interesting, and negative aspect(s). This strategy gets us used to avoiding one-dimensional perspectives, and encourages us to find positive, negative and interesting aspects in every statement or situation. This part was most interesting to me: Talking to fellow Toastmasters about any hypothesis that came up in their minds – from a central fingerprint database to standardization of clothing – and reflecting on their statements from various perspectives. All in all, the one thing Kees warned us about came true – we got infected with ”Toastmasteritis”!!

‘Sweet As’ with Kees Broos, DTM (photo provided by K. Weiss)

“Expand your comfort zone and have fun” with the Vienna Speakers Club. MeeNngs are held on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month at 18:45 at the upper floor of Café Vindobona (Wallensteinplatz 6, 1200 Vienna).

Google the Vienna Speakers Facebook: hjps://www.facebook.com/viennaspeakers

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Happy Birthday to You!

15 Years of Fun and Achievement – Photos and Impressions Submitted by Michele Tan, CC, CL , Vice President Public Relations

The First Hanseatic Toastmasters club was born on August 10, 2001. The club celebrated its 15th birthday on August 27, 2016! The birthday bash was a fun-filled evening complete with homemade birthday cakes, drinks (with and without), friends from the HanseRedner, Redner Club Bergdorf, Power Speakers Stade and SALSA Hansa style! Here are some great photos for our District 95 album. Here’s to 15 more years!

Curious about your club’s anniversary? Have a look at this list… Don’t forget to send pictures! StaNsNcs for Club Anniversaries

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First Hansea-c Toastmasters meet every first, second and third Tuesday of the month at the Staatliche Handelsschule Berliner Tor, Hamburg, from 7-9pm.

Website: hjp://hamburg.toastmastersclubs.org/

Happy Anniversary also to our Rhetorik-Club Bergstraße e.V which celebrated its 10th anniversary with a full Jubiläumsprogramm in November!

Die Mitglieder treffen sich vierzehntägig dienstags von 19:30 bis 21:00 im Nebenraum der Gaststäje Weiherhaus in Bensheim-Auerbach.

Webseite: hjp://www.rhetorik-club-bergstrasse.de/

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Toastmasters Efekt!

The 2nd National Toastmasters Conference in Poland

By Tomasz Makowski, Vice President Public Relations Bydgoszcz Toastmasters Professionals

On 18 – 21 August, Bydgoszcz became the capital of Toastmasters in Poland! The 2nd National Toastmasters Conference, “Efekt Toastmasters” brought over 250 people from all over Poland, and a few foreign countries to the Polish city on the Brda and Vistula rivers.

The name of the conference comes from the so-called “butterfly effect” from the chaos theory. The thesis of this phenomenon states that an air vibration caused by a butterfly flapping its tiny wings can eventually result in a massive hurricane on the other side of the globe.

A single small decision can affect countless aspects of our lives. And that decision is to join Toastmasters. This influence has been dubbed, “Toastmasters Effect.”

“…a small decision can affect our lives – that decision is to join Toastmasters.”

The 4 days of the conference were called: The Effect of First Impressions (Thursday, 18 August) The Effect of Integration (Friday, 19 August) The Effect of the Effect (Saturday, 20 August) The Effect of Inspiration (Sunday, 21 August) On the first day of the conference there was a National Toastmasters Meeting in Polish. The most experienced Toastmasters from Poland participated in an exciting meeting open to the public.

On the second day the participants were enjoying what Bydgoszcz has to offer. Later on the same day Finals of National contest of Speeches and Evaluations in Polish took place. It was an evening full of inspiration.

On the third and fourth days the participants had a chance to listen to the valuable lectures that were all connected in some way to what we learn and do in Toastmasters: about building a team, creating humor in speeches, voice emission and much, much more!

Collage featuring of some of Efekt’s superb workshop presenters.

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“The idea of the conference was born because Toastmasters in Poland had a need to integrate. Toastmasters from all over Poland wanted to meet!�

The main attractions of the third day were live telecast of World Championship of Public Speaking and gala dinner. At gala dinner, awards were given to contest winners and outstanding members of Toastmasters International. The division directors also talked about upcoming events and organizational changes. After each day of the conference there was an integration party. Toastmasters who participated in the conference could integrate with members of the clubs from the other side of Poland who they had never met before! Attendees said that the event was very well organized, the city was fantastic and everyone enjoyed their stay!

We will keep you informed about future Efekt Events!

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Unbox Yourself!

Some Lasting Impressions from our District 95 Fall Conference, 2016 November 25-26 - Warsaw, Poland

Distinguished Toastmasters

Workshops

Slide Decks from many of the workshops can be found here: Michal Talaga, District Drector with Tobias Schlosser, Naomi Carrington-Hockman (center), Rafal Trochimczuk. Photo: Lukasz Koscinski

h6p://fall2016.d95conf.org/coverage

Tuire Vuolasvirta, Immediate Past District Director with Presidents DisNnguished Area Directors, 2015-2016. Photo: Lukasz Koscinski

Hall of Fame

Our Brilliant Keynote Speaker , George Yen, DTM Unboxes

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Unbox Yourself! Our Winners!

Some Lasting Impressions from Our District 95 Fall Conference November 25-26 2016 Warsaw, Poland

English Table Topics (With Clara Vincenc Cismaru, Contest Master)

1. Stephanie Brush (center) 2. Mike Hurst (right)) 3. Ranjith Vengatesh (le•)

English Humorous Speech

1. Davis Golds (right) 2. Peter Hajdu (center) 3. Marc Schuck (le•)

German Humorous Speech

1. Marek Schiffer (center) 2. Steffen Grützki (right) 3. Frank Lenßen (le•) German Table Topics

1. Friederike Galland (center) 2. Jörn Nagel (right) 3. Andreas Fehrens (le•) PHOTOS: Lukasz Koscinski The VOICE, V. 1, Issue 1, January 2017

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Be A Berliner !

District 95 Spring Conference and Speech Contest Welcome!

A warm welcome to the fabulous, varied and unique city of Berlin. Berlinous, Pomp and Glamour await you for the Toastmasters District 95 Spring Conference 2017. You will hear great speeches and workshops in German and English. Our special guest, Mark Brown, (World Champion of Public Speaking, 1995) will inspire us with a grand Keynote Speech and workshop in his own special manner. A breath of fresh air from the ‘Golden 20s’ will permeate the atmosphere.

This will reach its climax with the Gala Dinner. Not only the music and the dancing, but also your choice of costume will create the atmosphere. Be inspired by the ‘Golden 20s’.

Register now and be swept into the era of the ´Golden 20s.

We look forward very much to seeing you in Berlin.

Your Conference Team Visit our website: hjp://spring2017.d95conf.org/team/

Latest! Call for workshops! DEADLINE 11 February 2017!

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APPENDIX District Leader Elec-ons Nomina-on Forms

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