This is an excellent opportunity to extend your leadership skills, it is great fun and you get credit towards your Advanced Leadership Bronze award. If you have been a Toastmaster for more than 12 months you should definitely be considering a role; if you have been a Toastmaster for less than 12 months this a great way of learning more about the club and Toastmasters – Go for it !

Link to the roles and responsibilities description. The officer roles to be elected are the following:

• President
• VP of Education
• VP of Membership
• VP of Marketing
• Secretary
• Treasurer
• Sgt. at Arms

If you would like more information about each role, please feel free to approach any of the current officers. They are waiting for your call and can be contacted either through EasySpeak or by sending an email to enquiries@toastmasters.no.

Hope to see you there!

Gisèle – VP Membership

The next morning of our arrival we attended the meeting of one of Gothenburg’s 6 Toastmaster Clubs: “Saturday Breakfast”. Although it was not part of the training, our learning started there. This club’s focus is to give deeper evaluations to speakers. Their method is quite interesting:

• Each participant gets a copy of the evaluation sheet in the speaker’s manual for the particular project they are fulfilling
• Each question in the Evaluation sheet will be taken by a different person who will read results at the end
• A “Lead Evaluator” is appointed to coordinate the evaluations of participants
• Evaluations are given at the end of each speech, not in its own section at the end as we do
• There is no General evaluation
• There is no vote or awards

The result is that each speaker gets thorough feedback for each element of the evaluation and all participants get to practice evaluation. Everyone in the room listens attentively because they all have a part to play in relation to the speech.

This could be an interesting way to satisfy advanced speakers. I believe all members of the Saturday Breakfast Club are advanced speakers.

Throughout the morning, we were inspired by Urban’s “Time to Praise”-speech about Steve Jobs; we learned about Awareness as a way to reduce our “Ahs” and “ums” with Stefan; Birthe demonstrated how to handle Criticism playing roles with Paul, and Susan encouraged us to practice Face Yoga and “kiss the ceiling” as a way to fight wrinkles!

Officer’s training started at 1:00 pm. Kyoko was the Toastmaster and started with a presentation about corporate communication and how it can be applied to our Toastmasters’ promotional goals.

District 59 in numbers:

• 2011: 211 Clubs in 18 countries, 5000 members and 8 languages
• 2012: expect approx. 250 clubs
• 2013: expect approx. 300 Clubs

Key takeaways (quotes from speakers):

• “Make members win! Help them reach their goals”
• Toastmasters is known for public speaking. What’s the relation with leadership? “When you teach a person to speak, to find their voice and get their message across with conviction and clarity, you turn them into leaders and motivate others to take the lead!”
• “Share Toastmasters’  stories around you, in your networks: being a Toastmaster is about sharing stories about Growing People”

Best-Practice Share Workshop

The day was sprinkled with workshops in teams that helped us know the other clubs better and share best practices about the different challenges our Clubs have in common. Some of these challenges are getting new members, keeping the ones we have, financing the club and strengthening engagement both from board members and regular members.

Getting new members:

Free initiatives:

• Have an active club website, using key words that people search for on the net
• Be proud of your Club and your efforts! Talk about the club and your activities in your social networks (LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, blogs)
• Introduce Toastmasters as a part of  your individual development plan with your employer
• Have a “Secret Greeter” at meetings to make sure every new guest and member is received properly
• Share stories about successful Toastmasters! If you know any…  Here’s a start

Promotion on a low budget:

• Customized Pens! With the Toastmaster logo and base line “Where Leaders are Made!”
• Notebooks also with logo and baseline.

The idea is to produce something cheap that people will 1/keep 2/show to others 3/ trigger curiosity about Toastmasters and hopefully pull them like a magnet to the next meeting.

About keeping members

Other than organizing meetings (and eventually starting a dedicated club) to give deeper evaluations, we all agreed that keeping members is all about meeting their challenges and helping them grow further, especially the more advanced speakers who can help in raising the level of the entire club.

Events are key to create more unity within the club and Contests give everyone the opportunity to challenge themselves and learn from others. Organizers get to use and develop their leadership skills.

Our Oslo Club is a great networking Hub for Oslo newcomers. We should nurture our “club culture” by organizing more social gatherings such as Christmas parties, summer parties, club anniversaries and “crowning” ceremonies when a member completes a manual.

Challenges for a non-profit organization

Finally, when discussing the different challenges that non-profit organizations face in general, we came across our Financials. Here are some pretty good follow-up points we should be looking at to improve our Club’s Financials in order to afford more events and launch promotional activities:

• Register our club as a non-profit organization with Oslo Kommune. One of the clubs in Gothenburg did this and as a result they got a free venue for their meetings!
• Look for sponsorship from private companies
• Organize lotteries
• Develop Social Media campaigns
• Customer Relationship Management: keep track of guests and put together a follow-up plan; Make good use of EasySpeak to save time on Administration and use it instead for promotion

There points should be investigated further to know what can be done and how. Could be worth it!

Conclusion: remember to have a back-up plan!

The day ended with a great speech about “Transferring your learning to your successors”, describing how knowledge transfer throughout the year is as important as having as a “spare tire” when going on a road trip.

One of my favorite quotes from the closing speech were:

• “Leadership is about reducing complexity to reach a clear purpose”
• “Sharing knowledge is co-creating wealth and growth”

I passionately agree with these statements and thank Mikael for putting it so eloquently.

We need to learn how and when to share crucial knowledge about managing our club so that we don’t have to start from scratch at every Board change.

It should be a part of our internal processes to classify information in an effective way for all members of our club to follow-up and update. With all the new technology available, we really have no excuse. It’s really about having a plan and executing on it. This in turn goes back to engagement.

Engagement is what feeds our club’s progress, not money. It is what turns our ideas into action and it is what Leaders are made of.

Are you engaged to reach your own communication and leadership goals? Are you committed to give what you can to our Oslo Club? As a Member? As a Board Member? I know we are, we just need to act on it.

I am happy and proud to be part of our Club and look forward to making it grow with all of you!

Best,

Gisèle – VP Membership

If you have any ideas or specific comments,  please send them to us through the enquiries form in this website or to me at gisele@lechevallier.net

You are invited to attend this session – or to watch it online.  To watch it online, you can do so live, via webstream. Simply go to www.toastmasters.org/February2012BoardBriefing. If you miss the opportunity to watch it live, check back on the website and view the recorded version at your convenience.

Sincerely,
Toastmasters International
www.toastmasters.org

Geir kindly made me aware that for some of you, it’s not possible to edit your CL progress. I’m in the process of solving that issue and will get back to you as soon as I find the answer to that issue. In the meantime please bear with it.

Thanks for using EasySpeak and have a jolly good day!

Your IT support, Gaëlle

Forretningsutvikling Oslo AS

Storgata 20
0184 Oslo
6th floor.

5 minute walk from Central Train Station and across from “Eplehuset”. Ring doorbell and take the elevator up to 6th floor.

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2012 is full of promises! One of them is the new meeting management system we have implemented to make it easier to register for roles and requesting speeches. So if you want to log on EasySpeak please click here and save it in your bookmarks!

Oslo Toastmasters on EasySpeak

If you need an account, please contact us at enquiries@toastmasters.no

Are you scared of talking in front of people?

People fear public speaking more than anything else. Anxiety over a simple presentation can be debilitating. Moreover, sufferers are typically embarrassed and reluctant to admit they have a problem. They hide a deep concern about the phobia’s affect on their careers in an industry that values presentation skills so highly.

I know quite a bit about this subject. As a senior high-tech executive for many years, I’ve given a number of speeches. Some would even say I am quite good at it. That’s why it will surprise a lot of people to know that I have a fear of public speaking.

Sure, I’ve come a long way. At this point, the residual anxiety I feel is certainly manageable and may even help my performance. Since I’ve put so much into conquering this beast, I thought I’d share what I learned along the way.

What causes it?

Understanding the general causes and relating your feelings to those of others will help you to feel less isolated. That’s a good place to start. I’m not a behavioral specialist, but this is my understanding of the primary causes.

Fear is a funny thing

Once your brain learns a certain neural pathway, it’s sometimes difficult to unlearn it. It’s a survival mechanism – the fight or flight response that generates adrenaline. Some people seem to be more susceptible than others are.

In any case, the fear may begin early in your career, and it may simply recur whenever you find yourself in a similar situation. The neural pathway is, for lack of a better term, burned into your brain. Of course, you can unlearn it. After all, you’re a reasonably intelligent human being. But it takes time and practice. Those deep, animal reactions are difficult to overrule.

Your fear may initially relate to insecurity, either in general or with respect to a specific subject or circumstance. There’s something about standing up there, with all eyes on you, that makes some of us feel like all of our secret fears and insecurities are revealed, as if we’re emotionally naked.

In some cases, you may actually have doubts about your ability or knowledge of the material, for example. I would call that a rational cause for concern. You may worry, perform poorly, and subsequently suffer anxiety at the very thought of doing it again.

Some data suggests that successful, career-minded people are unusually susceptible to this fear. Apparently, if you’re driven and achievement-oriented, you’re likely to worry more about performance and appearances. If you’re the kind of person that has to succeed at everything to feel good about yourself, that could add just enough anxiety to make public speaking an uncomfortable, if not a terrifying experience.

How do you conquer it?

Well, there really is no wholesale cure, so to speak. But in a way, that’s good news. As big and bad as this fear is, it really only takes a small amount of time, understanding and practice to conquer it. You see, fear is a natural response to a wide variety of stimuli. As I said before, it’s an ancient survival mechanism. It’s how you interpret it, however, that counts. Courage is recognizing your fear and doing the right thing anyway. You have to face your fear, and that’s where the answer begins.

Face your fear

Admit that you have a problem, seek to understand it, and have faith that you will eventually conquer it. As I said, you’re not only far from alone, but you’re in very good company. Isolation is a big part of this fear. Talk about it with friends and family. Get it out. Then be brave and determined. You can conquer this and you will.

Know your material cold

When you do get an opportunity to present, it’s important to put your best foot forward. You need to know your material backwards and forwards. Be clear on the key points you want to get across and be prepared to converse intelligently on the subject. What we call “thinking on your feet” is really about confidence, knowledge, and preparation, not about any particular skill-set.

Take the pressure off yourself

Most people spend the vast majority of their waking cycles thinking about themselves. Most of the time, they’re not even paying attention to what’s going on around them. You think the whole world can see how nervous you are, but the truth is that nobody will notice a thing. Even if they did, if you consider that half your audience has the same fear you have, they’re likely to be empathetic.

Interact with the audience

This takes us back to isolation, the feeling that you’re standing up there all alone; all eyes are on you; all the pressure is on you. Interact with your audience. Draw them into your presentation by asking leading questions and encouraging interaction. You’ll instantly feel more comfortable, and so will your audience. A great side benefit is it will make you a far more dynamic and engaging speaker.

Ask what’s the worst that can happen?

That simple question can diffuse so many life problems it isn’t funny, and it certainly applies here. What if your hands shake? What if you screw up? What if you’re so nervous you pass out? Or your pitch is so bad that you don’t get the funding for your project? First of all, none of that is going to happen; it almost never does. It’s all in your head.

The point is you’re not going to die or lose your loved ones. You’ll always have another chance; there will always be other opportunities to shine. Don’t think of your speech or presentation as an event; think of it as part of the process of life. Fear is part of it. Have courage and faith, you’ll get through it.

Last word

If you have the means, or your company will pay for it, hire a speech coach. Most top executives have been coached along the way. Coaching helped my anxiety and certainly improved my presentation skills. A good coach can teach you relaxation techniques and ways to control your breathing.

The absolutely worst thing you can do is ignore your fear and shy away from speaking publicly. Reducing your fear and anxiety is all about reducing your isolation and boosting your confidence. The only way to do that is to understand it, work at it, and get out there and speak.

For those who haven’t joined us in a long time, our new location is at C J Hambros plass 5, in the offices of Frivillighetens Hus. When you arrive, dial 302 and ring the bell so someone can let you in. Once inside, take the elevator to the 3rd floor (See the exact location on this map).

Frivillighetens Hus is centrally located, and easy to reach by tram or subway. Find the easiest way to get there here.

We will begin at 5:30 pm sharp, so try to be there a few minutes earlier to find a seat and get settled. Those arriving late (after 5:30) can still be buzzed in but may have to wait a couple minutes until someone can get to the door.

There is tea and coffee available for everyone.

Hope you can make it!

Weddings is one of the great use of public speaking.

You may be thinking to yourself that public speaking doesn’t concern you because you will never become the company president or tour the world giving speeches like Tony Robbins.

However, the first time you are asked to give an impromptu speech at your best friend’s birthday bash or propose a toast at your parent’s 25th wedding anniversary, you may be reminded of just how wrong you were.

Many of us think of giving speeches as only related to a person’s job. Although it’s true that employees often need to give speeches, you may be surprised how many times you end up in a similar situation outside of the office.

We can probably all remember a time when we watched as an unsuspecting groomsman or bridesmaid was asked to give an impromptu speech to the newlyweds. The huge crowd of people goes silent and the spotlight focuses directly on the person. Everyone then collectively cringes as the look of terror on the individual’s face is permanently captured by an uncle’s video camera.

You might also think back to one of your high school classes. You will probably never forget the first time you were told to stand at the front of the classroom and discuss your opinions about the current topic. Your frozen look of fear will be met with sighs of relief from people all around the room. You know they are thanking their lucky stars that you were picked instead of them because that’s exactly what you would do if you were in their place!

Learning public speaking skills will prepare you for embarrassing situations like these and will reduce your fear and anxiety.

Besides that, it also improves your self-confidence in all areas of life. Whether you are giving a speech to a boardroom of executives or addressing your classmates at a high-school reunion, learning to speak effectively will improve your self-esteem. Your ideas will be taken more seriously and you will no longer be referred to as “that stuttering, incoherent fool” at your next office party.

The more you practice speaking to people in different settings, the easier it will become. The next time you have to give a public speech, you will gain comfort that people are actually listening to you, rather than trying to catch up on their sleep. You may not be blessed with the eloquence of Bill Clinton or Jesse Jackson, but you can definitely learn to speak with more confidence. Practicing the art of public speaking will improve not only the way others think about you, but also the way you think about yourself.

You don’t have to quit your day job to become a motivational speaker, but you can learn to speak more effectively in large groups. Those skills will reduce your anxiety in social situations where you may have to give unprepared speeches and they will also increase your self-confidence.

Just remember that even the most professional public speakers were probably very nervous when they gave their first speech! With a little time and effort, you will be able to speak in front of almost anyone without a second thought.