TOASTMASTERS INTERNATIONAL NEWSLETTERtmdistrict38.org/PDF/District 38_ Dec Newsletter.pdf · 2014-12-23 · D38 Newsletter 12/2014 Page 2 Message from our District Lt. Governor of

D38 Newsletter 12/2014 Page 1

District 38

12/2014

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Members’ News 4

Club Spotlight 5

Fall conference wrap up 8

Educational Achievement 10

Members’ Story Highlights

Yasmine Mustafa 12

Recently won 1

st Prize and

Audience Pick at Temple University’s 15

th Annual Idea

Competition, Yasmine tells you how her toastmasters experience supported her to achieve this success.

Brian Young 13

A sound engineer and event producer, Brian shares his tips on the topic “Don’t let preventable sound problems ruin your speech”.

Current

Status

Distinguished

Goal

Paid

Clubs 149 163

Members

Payment 3615 7566

TOASTMASTERS INTERNATIONAL

NEWSLETTER

During the October renewal period, only 149 clubs renewed, presenting a gap of 14

clubs needed to reach Distinguished District status. Additionally, within that gap are 10 clubs,

which have renewed fewer than 8 members and are consequently not identified as a paid

club. The 90th Anniversary of Toastmaster International on October 22

nd kicked off a year

long celebration for Toastmasters around the globe. Our celebration was the nightcap to our

Division B Humourous and Table Topics Speech Contest. With 60+ Toastmasters gathered

in Collegeville at the home of the forthcoming Collegeville Toastmasters enjoying a buffet

offering of hot and cold foods, a customized cake, I offered a toast and there was a special

recognition of Past International Director, Past District Governor John Foster, DTM, Past

District Governor Lillie Foster, and Past Distinguished District Governor Elliot Dennis.

The honor of a Presidential visit, which occurs every five to six years, was bestowed

upon us as we hosted International President-Elect Jim Kokocki, DTM during our Annual Fall

Conference. Jim’s visit included experiencing Main Line Toastmasters club meeting,

Positively Charged Toastmasters club meeting, the forthcoming Bancroft Toastmasters club,

a meeting with the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, and being the featured

speaker of our conference.

While we have many great memories of this year to reflect upon; we have even

greater memories and accomplishments to create. Are you on target for your year-end

goals? Is your club on target for its year-end goal?

District 38 Toastmaster Define Your Excellence! Inspire, motivate and produce like

never before. The time is now, there is much to accomplish towards our district goal of

achieving President’s Distinguished. You can help us get there.

Cynthia A Brown, DTM

District Governor 2014 - 2015

District News And Events

Message from our District Governor

Cynthia A Brown, DTM

Dear fellow Toastmaster,

As we approach the halfway mark of the 2014-

2015 Toastmaster’s year there is a lot to reflect upon: new

clubs joining the District 38 family, District level contests

with a field of 7 contestants, the 90th

Anniversary of

Toastmasters International, and hosting International

President Jim Kokocki, DTM. As we approach the

halfway mark we recognize we are challenged in our

count of paid clubs towards our goal of President’s

Distinguished District 38.


Message from our District Lt. Governor of Education

and Marketing

Greetings Fellow Toastmasters,

It’s hard to believe that 6 months have

passed since the beginning of this term.

We have already celebrated Thanksgiving

and experienced our first snow of the

season. As for our District 38, we have

much to celebrate.

Club Officers, Area Governors, and Division

Governors, thank you for attending training

over the summer. According to TI, “training

is the heart of Toastmasters”. Attending

training shows your interest and

engagement. Club officers who attend

training represent a positive spirit in clubs

for members to flourish. With the help of

Division and Area Governors, we were able

to conduct 15 trainings. These trainings

occurred in locations near club officers for

easy access. Additionally, these trainings

were given during the week as well as

weekend maximizing accessibility.

November 14th

and 15th, we enjoyed our

Fall Conference. Here, Toastmasters were

entertained by a Tall Tales Showcase and

“Rocked D38” by dancing and singing with

a live band. Thank you to the Conference

Co-Chairs, Deborah Butler (right below),

and Kyle Zieba (left below)

For all of your hard work and dedication

as well as leading the planning

committee.

Toastmasters International President-

elect Jim Kokocki (picture above),

captivated us with his educational

sessions on leadership. Educational

sessions were given by our very own,

Dan Ally, Paul Sharkey, Jessica Conn,

Cheryl Velasco, Sherita Nzali, Shel

Taylor, and Ken Krawchuk.

Congratulations to our contest winners,

John Brown for Table Topics and Hemant

Marathe for Humorous Speech.

As we remember the fun filled past 6

months, let’s look ahead to an even better

rest of the year. I look forward to seeing

you at winter trainings and the Spring

Conference. Division D will be hosting the

Conference located at the Double Tree

Hotel, in Mt. Laurel NJ from May 15-16.

Help “Define Your Excellence” by

attending District 38 events and enjoy the

journey to successful year.

Barbara J. Spause, DTM

Lt. Governor of Education and Training

2014-2015

Barbara J. Spause, DTM


Tis the season to be grateful. We have

just finished celebrating Thanksgiving and

District 38 has much for which to be

grateful. I wish to thank Paula Tomko, DTM

and her 2013-2014 Team for leading

District 38 to Select Distinguished. Next, I

wish to thank Cynthia A. Brown, DTM and

her 2014-2015 Team for continuing the

culture of excellence and for providing the

vision for 2014-2015: President’s

Distinguished. Our District’s stretch goals

are: 10% club growth (i.e. 173 paid clubs),

10% growth in membership payments

(i.e. 8,077) and 75% of clubs

distinguished (i.e. 118 clubs). These

goals are achievable but the District will

need your dedication and assistance.

Tis the season to be helpful. You can help

by keeping your ears and eyes open for

opportunities – opportunities for chartering

a Toastmasters club in your community or

company. If you have a lead, please

contact your LGM, Brian Cavanaugh

([email protected] ).

You can help by letting more people know

about Toastmasters. One way to

accomplish this task is to hold an Open

House during this holiday season. Your

club is probably one of the best kept secrets

in your community or company. It’s okay to

toot your club’s horn and let the world know

what great things your club is doing by

helping your members grow and develop as

communicators and leaders. The District is

here to help you in hosting an open house

and we will send you a package of

information to guide your club in planning

and executing a successful and fun open

house. Please contact our District 38 Open

House Coordinator Lisa Heimbach

([email protected] ).

Message from our District Lt. Governor of Marketing

Brian Cavanaugh, DTM

Another thing you can do is to make sure

that every Toastmasters meeting is a great

meeting. By focusing on making every

meeting great, you will not only attract new

members, you will retain current members

– both critical in helping District 38 become

President’s Distinguished. The District can

help you to make every meeting great. If

you e-mail me ([email protected] ), I

will gladly send you a list of fun meeting

ideas. As my gift to you during this holiday

season, please find below my “12

Toastmasters Tips To Make A Meeting

Great”:

To hear a musical rendition of these 12

Toastmasters Tips, please check out the

District 38 Sound Cloud

(http://soundcloud.com/tmdistrict38 ).


Lt Governor of Marketing 2014 - 2015

12 Toastmasters Tips

To Make A Meeting Great

1. Start the meeting right on time

2. Have an agenda

3. Trained, responsible functionaries

4. Only well-prepared manual

projects

5. FUN, CREATIVE TABLE

TOPICS!

6. Positive, helpful evaluations

7. Everyone participates

8. Guests are warmly welcomed

9. Guest matched with a member

10. Guests thanked and encouraged

to join

11. Next week’s schedule is read

12. End the meeting on time

mailto:[email protected]


http://soundcloud.com/tmdistrict38


Q: How long have you been with Toastmaster? Tell us a little about your

journey with toastmasters.

A: I have been a toastmaster for 15 years. I originally joined HDR toastmasters but

at some point could not make the meetings when I changed jobs. In 2005 I joined

Princeton TM club. Due to conflict with my other obligations I can’t attend as many

Princeton club meetings as I would like. Thus about six months ago, I joined the

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation club.

Q: Have you competed in humorous contest before? What key factors made

you succeed this time?

A: This is probably my fourth Humorous speech contest. On one previous occasion I

won the club contest. I have never made it past the area level before this year. I

attribute my success to suggestions and encouragement I received from friends at

both clubs. I modified my speech between the club contest and the district contest

based on those suggestions. At TM people go out of their way to help you succeed.

Q: Can you give other toastmasters some suggestions on how to be better at

humorous speech?

I don’t consider myself an expert at humorous speech. My suggestion is to try

different things to find out what works on the audience. Many times what I think is

funny doesn’t get a laugh but people find something else funny. Be willing to keep

what works and throw away what doesn’t. In general TM members are easiest

people to get a laugh.

Q & A with Hemant Marathe,

The 1st

place winner of 2014 District 38 Humorous Speech Contest

Hemant Marathe (Middle) with

Chris Boraski (Left), President of

Princeton Toastmaster Club and

Jack Levitt (Right) contestant

interview chair who is also a

member of Princeton

Toastmasters Club .

Special thanks to all contestants for making the conference great!

John Brown (Right), 1

st place

winner of 2014 District 38 table

topics contest with Barbara

Spause, Lt. Governor of

Education and Training.

Members’ News

Humorous Speech

Division Area Club Table Topics

Division Area Club

1st Place:

Hemant Marathe

F 61 Princeton

Toastmasters Club

1st Place:

John Brown A 10

Franklin & Marshall

Club

2nd

Place: Glenn

Freezman G 70

Main Line Toastmasters

Club

2nd

Place: David Easlea

G 70 We The

Speakers

3rd

Place: Jerry Shockey

D 41 Boardwalk

Toastmasters

3rd Place: Chris

Hampton D 44

Voorhees Toastmasters

Club

Kevin Stepanuk

C 31

Positively Charged

Toastmasters Club

Kristina Egger

F 62 Washington

Crossing Club

Frank Vowinkel E 52 Lehigh Valley Toastmasters

Club

Christina Babb

G 70 We The

Speakers

John Langel A 13 Susquehanna

Icebreaker Club

Alex Brown B 24

Delaware County

Toastmasters Club

Deborah Leach B 22 Siemens

Toastmasters Club

Jen Kuzo E 53 PPL Power

Talkers Club

Note: Contestants other than first 3 place winners are listed in the order that they competed.


Club Spotlight

Jim Kokocki DTM, International President Elect, presented corporate recognition award to

ACE Group Philadelphia and United Healthcare.

Alexandra Speers, President of ACE Philadelphia Toastmasters Club shared in her introduction: “Many of our members have

expressed how much Toastmasters has helped them improve their speaking and leadership skills in a professional environment.

The true friendship built among my colleagues is wonderful as well.” Robert Poliseno, Regional Executive Officer ACE Mid-Atlantic

Region gave an acceptance address and spoke highly about the values toastmasters brought to his company, “Confidence and

communication skills are two important things club members get from their toastmasters experience. These are important for

anyone to become a successful individual. Toastmasters’ spirit of continuous improvement aligns well with our company’s

underlying business objectives . . . we’re always trying to get better at what we do.”

Members’ News

The Day I Met the Smedleyans

It was a warm busy evening in May. Roads were swarming

with people in motion wearing different colors and styles of

clothes. Happy children were eating ice cream or cotton

candy. Parents were holding their children and walking on

pavements, families were riding bikes or sitting on cement

Blocks and chatting as they watched the boats sailing on the

lake. No! I am not talking about a city in the United States. I

was in a different city far away from the United States, namely

Colombo, the trade capital of Sri Lanka. I travelled to my

lovely homeland in July to visit family and friends.

(to be continued on page 6)

From left to right: Robert Poliseno, Regional Executive Officer ACE Mid-Atlantic Region, Cynthia A Brown D38 governor, Alexandra Speers Pres of ACE Philadelphia Toastmasters, Jim Kokocki Int’l Pres- Elect

From left to right: Karuna Bheemreddy Pres of Horsham Consortium Club, Kimberly Lees-Pratt, Pres of United We Speak Toastmasters, Jim Kokocki. Int’l Pres Elect


Members’ News

The Day I Met the Smedleyans (continue)

Stories behind your club name – Call for contributors

Does your club have a unique name? What does it mean? What is the history and story behind it? We would like to

hear. Please write a short article within 150 words and send it to [email protected] before end of Feb. The chosen

stories will be featured in next district newsletter in March 2015.

I wanted to linger that evening on the streets watching

cultural activities, relaxing at outdoor restaurants, and

sipping hot tea, absorbing everything happening around

me. Especially after experiencing the brutal winter

trapped in my Pennsylvania home, the streets of

Colombo were a welcoming place that I decided to leave

one evening to attend a local Toastmaster meeting. I

dragged a friend of mine and reluctantly got into a “tuk-

tuk” (the natives’ fond name for a three-wheeler cab

powered by human runners) to go see a Toastmaster

meeting in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

The meeting was held in a second floor of a school

building. I entered, strangely hoping to see the familiar

faces of Siemens Toastmasters Alex, Leeann, Laurie,

Brian, and others, but instead I met unknown yet warm

and charismatic faces of Rayhan, Nadie, Lakshan and

lots of others whose names I do not recall. On the left

hand side, there was a long narrow table laid with

pastries, soft drinks, tea and coffee. It really was a

delicious start to the meeting since most members come

after a long day of work. After a brief chat with people in

the hallway, I entered the meeting room. Inside I could

see a well-organized room with agendas lying on chairs.

Some people were already sitting inside.

My friend and I sat in the back and waited. The meeting

started with one member trying to imitate another member’s

voice and the rest of them involved in a guessing game of

identifying the person. Soon I realized that this was the theme

of the meeting because it was repeated many times thereafter.

I found it to be a fun and interactive way of involving everyone

in the room. Next, a mentee spoke about what he gained from

his mentor and how their relationship helped him to improve

his skills. Then came one of my favorite sessions: The Round

Robins. It was a constant talk about one topic by every

member in the club. The topic was protests in colleges and

how would members react to it. Would they participate or

avoid it? Everyone gets 20 seconds to speak and when one

person ends his part of the speech the next person should

start the speech from the last word of the person before him. It

was not easy but it was a great impromptu rehearsal. This was

followed by three great speeches: an icebreaker, tenth speech

and a speech from an advanced manual. The speakers were

really good: the flow, the gestures, everything spot on. Even

the icebreaker was flawless; it did not seem like a first speech.

So all of you travelling Toastmasters: when you are in a

different country, try attending a Toastmaster meeting. I

guarantee that you will learn something new in that hour you

spent as a visitor with Toastmasters.

Disna Weerasinghe, CC, CL,

Member of Siemens Toastmasters Club

Later on, I learned that 2014 Toastmasters World

Champion Dananjaya Hettiarachchi is a Smedleyan. I am

not surprised about it because Smedley is an advanced

club, and I believe they have many more world

champions in training.



A Youth starts a Youth Leadership Program at Plainsboro

Members’ News

During the spring of 2014, Sneha Jeevan, a high school student

from Plainsboro, NJ approached Plainsboro Library and

expressed her interest to start the very first Youth Leadership

program (YLP) at Plainsboro, NJ. Having volunteered as a Mentor

at the YLP in ETS, Princeton, and at the YLP in Pennington

Library, Sneha was eager to start a similar program at her

hometown - Plainsboro. Julie Donaldson, of Plainsboro Library

graciously granted the use of Library facility to conduct the

program. Lou Arango, the President of Princeton Toastmasters

(PTM) sponsored the program. Jeevan Ravindran and Angie

Hee, who are members of PTM, were co-mentors.

The program started on May 3rd

2014, concluded on June

21st.Thirty middle school kids participated in the program. All of

them were attending such a program for the first time. Jean

Shipos of ETS Toastmasters, and Jack Levitt of PTM were the

Chief guests in the Opening ceremony. They motivated the kids

with entertaining speeches.

The 8-week program focused on developing public speaking skills,

building self-confidence and honing leadership skills. Kids were

divided into classes. Sneha lead the 6th

to 7th grader’s class and

Jeevan and Angie lead the 8th graders class. Each meeting was

structured like a typical Toastmasters meeting starting with the

word of the day and ending with taking roles for the future

meetings.

The program offered an open and accepting environment.

Mentors – Sneha, Jeevan and Angie encouraged kids to express

freely. Kids’ speeches and laughter filled the Science room at

Plainsboro Library. They had fun while mastering the

fundamentals of public speaking and leadership. Enthusiasm of

the kids fueled the class going at full speed week after week. The

program also featured many guest speakers, who educated kids

in different aspects of delivering a successful speech. Marianne

Grady and Hemanth Marathe of PTM were guest speakers for

two sessions.

Towards the end of the meeting, many parents came to the

podium and expressed their appreciation for the mentors

Sneha, Jeevan and Angie (featured in the picture below).

Mentors mentioned that seeing the kids perform at their

best was the best reward for them. Sneha and Jeevan are

currently planning for another Youth Leadership program

that is slated for 2015 spring.

Jeevan Ravindran, CC,

Member of Princeton Toastmasters Club

By the graduation on Sat, June 21st,

many kids had transformed from a

cocoon to a beautiful butterfly. The

kids’ performance enthralled the

parents. The chief guest – Todd

Greenwood of Princeton Toastmaster

inspired the kids with a captivating

speech. The potluck lunch arranged

by the parents marked their gratitude

for the Toastmasters program.


Thank You

District 38 is very appreciative to the following sponsors and

advertisers who helped make our Annual Fall Conference a

success. Please consider supporting them in the future, as they

have supported us today.

Sponsors

• PECO Energy Friday Fun Night Entertainment

Advertisers

• Pat Rocchi Communications

• Bell Noontime Toastmasters Club

• Brody Professional Development

• Parallel Voice Productions

• Dr. Sharan A Rahman, MD, MBA

• PPL Power Talkers Club

• YTB Travel Network Shannon Thompson, Agent

• John Dancey, Inspirational Speaker

• United Healthcare

• Franklin Retirement Solutions

• Positively Charged Toastmasters Club

• YTB Travel Network, Ruth E. Dameron, Agent

Message from District

We hope you continue to enjoy the complimentary gifts provided in each attendees’ bag of a

portable phone charger, Toastmasters 90th Anniversary button pin, 2013-2014

Select Distinguished District Lapel Pin, and a Toastmasters 90th Anniversary Window cling

decal.

2013 – 2014 Awards Presented

at the Fall Conference

Area Governor of the Year

Michael Anderson Area 24 C

(Distinguished)

Division Governor of the Year

Barbara Spause Division B

(President’s Distinguished)

Toastmaster of the Year

Michael Kelly

Poem

ab

out T

oastm

aste

rs

2014 District 38 Fall Conference



Congratulations to members who are

achieving their goals! The following

members earned one or more

education awards from July 1st to

December 10th

:

Division A

Bass, Lewis M

Brown, Naomi E.

Cano, Jorge A

Davis, Scott R

Divers, L. Richard

Gordon, Matthew

Gule, Jeanne

Harder, Cindy S

Harder, Tom L

Heckman, Ed

Kanth, Alicia

Krouse, William H.

Manning, Rhonda L

Marsicano, Peggy J

Modi, Mihir G.

Oniskey, Jude

Orendi, Theresa Lee

Ortiz, Hector R

Patterson, Joan R.

Rouse, Jacquelyn G.

Royer, Eileen A

Rudy, Beth

Seid, Arlene G.

Smith, William

Tatum, Kristina Lee

Taylor, Shel

Verma, Rakesh

Zdankiewicz, William A.

Division B

Bullard, Charlene D

Deshmukh, Vinita

Essai, Leeann M.

Golden, LaVerda M.

Grand-Pierre, Felicia

Guerin, Michele

Hodgson, Philip G.

Holton, James S.

Hu, Tianjing

Jaworski, Joseph

Krieg, Gerry

Muscavage, Janet M.

Ronca, Debra M.

Rosado, Christina Nichole

Sparrevohn, Anna

Verhake, Carol A.

Division C

Astillero, Christine

Balike, Ravishankar

Dunbar, Tiffaney Joy

Flam, Karen

Gao, Sara

Golodner, Larisa

Kemp, Jean V.

Kennedy, Michael J.

Laurie, Janis

Lees-Pratt, Kimberly

Matta, Catherine E

Myerson, Judith M.

Ngaba, Cynthia

Nusslein, Donna

Parker, Kesha S.

Satchell, Marvin E.

Seabrook, Hilary

Sharkey, Paul

Shillington, Julianne

Slobodyan, Oksana

Sorg, William

Thompson, Shannon

Division D

Ayoub, Shahinaz

Barker, Richard P.

Beamer, Stephen F.

Cooper, Bruce L

Cranston, Virginia A.

Derosier, Lola M.

Di Pietro, Jean J.

Espinoza, Julian F

Faturos, Diane C.

Fraundorfer, Stephen

Goldberg, Matthew J.

Hampton, Christopher

Jackson, Cecilia S.

Kouhoupt, Richard

Lake, Rhonda S.

Liszewski, Adam D.

Mendenhall, Henry H.

Nelson, Silas

Noar, Scott R.

Owens, Robert D.

Rouba, Joyce F.

Saba, Abiola

Samuel, Jim

Thomas-Dennis, Kimo S.

White, Ray

Zieger, Richard Martin

Educational Achievement July – December 2014


Educational Achievement July – December 2014

Division E

Biege, Neal W.

Bolthouse, Ellen

Carpien, Annette

Forgash, Jack P.

Fuller, Rei Makino

Hnatow, Jessie A.

Jung, Seungho

Lai, Henry

MacNair, William H.

Manis, Rhonda

Marathe, Yash

Mast, Robert F

McMann, Terrell C.

Mercedes, Bladimir E.

Patounas, James

Reese, Thomas R.

Rennie, Shawn James

Sofarelli, Bonnie

Stanvitch, Lisa J.

Vaughn, Lindsay

Youpa, Joshua D.

Division F

Bennett, Lois

Bhuta, Sashin

Cao, Lillian

Chawla, Jaipreet

Ferrara, Marianne

Galochkin, Dmytro

Gandhi, Pranav

Hagerty, Philip

Klon, Anthony

Krishnajee, Siva

Macarthur, Tali

Malone, Justin T

McVeigh, Jeanette Allison

Mecca, Valerie

Mellon, John

Nayak, Deepak Krishna

Okolo, Isy

Ovens, Joanne E.

Reynolds, Ainsley A.

Richardson, Patricia A.

Shetter, Thaine A.

Shipos, Jean

Shlegle, David C.

Tatum, Kristina Lee

Vijay, Sony

Division G

Babb, Christina

Bergey, LeeAnn

Bowen, Chester Lee

Fosco, Meg Ann

Gill, Thomas J.

Haddock, Hong

Harris Cooper, Wanda A.

Kitzen, Jan M

Laufer, Kara

Martin, Patricia

Murali, Ram

Schlatter, Robert L.

Smith, Judith Fox

Toder, Bryan

Waldspurger, John E.

Watkis-Barnes, Carol

White, Stephen Frederick

Wood, Michael J


To say that I’m thankful to everyone at Bell Noontime

Toastmasters is an understatement. I’m truly touched by the generosity and support of

the group. The feedback, suggestions and support made a

world of difference in my pitch and I learned invaluable tips I can

carry forward to future presentations. I’m lucky to have

found this club!

ROAR for Good

Yasmine Mustafa (fourth from left)

Entrepreneur, Founder of ROAR Member of Bell Noontime Toastmaster Club

Members’ Story

In a span of a few moments, I went from ecstatic joy to

utter panic. My company, ROAR for Good, was named a

finalist at Temple University’s 15th

Annual Idea

Competition. Out of 300 submissions, we were one of ten

companies invited to participate in a “Shark-tank” style

presentation and compete for a grand prize of $2,500.

Then I read the fine print.

I would be required to deliver a 2-minute pitch (with strict

instructions not to go a second over) and I had to answer

questions during a 4-minute Q&A. And the event was only

5 days away.

5 days away. My panic quickly

expanded into outright anxiety

as I worried about what I would

say, if I can get the message

across in two minutes, and if I

would stumble over my words

in a rush to get it all out.

To provide a little bit of context,

ROAR is a social impact

company aimed at diminishing

violence against women using

technology, empowerment, and

educational programs.

We’re developing self-defense jewelry that activates a

loud alarm and bright light when triggered, notifies

family/friends of the person’s location, and instantly calls

the authorities. It integrates with a mobile app that informs

users if they’re approaching an unsafe area using crowd

sourced safety tips. The idea is to take the funds from the

accessories and invest them in educational programs that

teach young kids about respect and consent with the goal

of making safety devices obsolete one day.

It wasn’t until a couple of days later that I emailed my

Toastmasters group President, Adrianne Arthur, with the

news asking if I could leverage the group to practice my

pitch. She responded within 10 minutes and messaged

everyone asking if folks could help before or after our next

meeting (the agenda was already confirmed).

meeting (the agenda was already confirmed). Besides the

encouraging words of support, one of the members slated

to speak gave up her slot so I could practice at the

meeting and another said he would bring a projector – we

were set.

Not only did I present my pitch but we also did a mock

Q&A session where the group grilled me with questions

about the device, market, and industry. They also provided

feedback about how to make the pitch more powerful and

half the members stayed after we ended our meeting so I

could practice one more time.

I learned two key things that

made the difference in my pitch.

First, to take an extra breath

every time I wanted to

emphasize a point. I was

worried about sounding

rehearsed since I’ve practiced

dozens of times and the second

tip was to reframe that thought

in my mind – to use it as

advantage for being prepared.

I walked into the event

confident & ready for my turn. I

won First Place ($1k prize)

AND Audience Pick (another $1k prize). Also, two of the

investors asked me to follow-up with them when I was

further along with the concept.

http://www.useroar.com/




Don’t Let Preventable Sound Problems Ruin Your Speech

Members’ Story

Brian Young

Brian Young is a

sound engineer, event producer and member of HDR Lawrenceville Toastmasters in Lawrenceville, NJ. For more than thirty years, he has provided audio and production services for corporate meetings/conventions, concerts, recordings, commercials, Broadway and off-Broadway shows and a wide range of events for Fortune-500 companies, non-profit organizations, celebrities/superstars, bad wedding singers and U.S. Presidents. Brian will present several free Sonic Survival for Speakers lectures in central New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania for fellow Toastmasters who would like to host these educational events. The program combines simple, practical audio advice with entertaining stories from the world of live events and runs approximately 60 to 90 minutes, including Q&A. To schedule a presentation, call Brian at 609-838-2458 or 212-665-3204, or email [email protected] information can be found at www.sonicsurvival.com

Have you ever wondered why so many speeches

and presentations are disrupted by sound

problems? Although certain types of audio

anarchy are beyond a speaker's control, many

other sound problems happen when public

speakers do not use microphones correctly, do

not choose the right types of microphones and do

not properly plan and communicate their

audiovisual needs in advance. Fortunately, there

are many simple ways in which speakers can

prevent some of the most common types of sonic

distress.

As a sound engineer and an event producer, I

joined Toastmasters in order to become a better

public speaker and present lectures about event

planning and sound. I then created Sonic

Survival for Speakers™, an entertaining,

informative talk (and forthcoming book) designed

to help public speakers cope with microphones,

acoustics and audiovisual planning. In the

following paragraphs, I'll share a few basic

concepts from the program.

One of the most common, most detrimental

mistakes that many public speakers make is

holding the microphone too far away from the

mouth. Even highly experienced speakers

sometimes commit this regrettable audio faux

pas. I worked with a famous comedian who has

unintentionally frustrated sound engineers and

audiences on countless occasions with this bad

habit – often holding his microphone a foot or

more away from his mouth, even when speaking

softly.

Other problems occur when certain microphones

are positioned in ways that accentuate those

annoying “popping” sounds, which, if the PA

system is large enough, can sometimes go

“BOOM!” – like the sound of Warren Buffet

dropping his wallet.

Additional audio difficulties arise when “podium”

mics and lavalier (“clip-on”) mics are not

positioned and used correctly. The proper use of

common types of microphones is an essential

public speaking skill that can be quickly and

easily learned by all of microphones is an

essential public speaking skill that can be quickly

and easily learned by all.

When offered a choice of microphones,

selecting the right type can be extremely

important. Many speakers prefer the hands-free

flexibility of a wireless lavalier mic (a.k.a. “lav,”

“clip-on,” “body mic”). However, in some rooms

and with certain types of voices, lavaliers can be

especially problematic because of their tricky

sonic characteristics and higher potential for

feedback. I once had a prominent speaker with

a very soft voice insist on using a lavalier in an

acoustically challenging theater. At the

beginning of his talk, several people up in the

balcony started shouting, “We can't hear you!”

Without missing a beat, he looked up at them

while pointing at the people downstairs and

yelled, “Don't worry about it! I'm not talking to

you! I'm talking to them.”

During the sound check, you will speak through

your microphone while it is adjusted to maximize

quality/intelligibility and minimize the risk of

feedback. This might take anywhere from ten

seconds to a few minutes. Although some

sound systems will not work well even with a

sound check, this simple test is usually one of

the most effective ways to prevent many

unpleasant sonic surprises.

An important, universal rule of proper

“microphonology” is to always do a

“sound check” before your speech.


GREAT VALLEY

TOASTMASTERS is sponsoring a

YOUNG LEADERS PROGRAM

Young Leaders Workshop:

When: March 2, 2015 7:00-9:00 PM

March 9, 2015 7:00-9:00 PM

Where: East Whiteland Township Building

209 Conestoga Road

Frazer, PA 19355

Final Speech Festival:

When: March 15, 2015 12:30-2:30 PM

Where: Hershey’s Mill Golf Club

401 Chandler Drive

West Chester, PA 19380

Great Valley Toastmasters Club is sponsoring a Toastmasters Young

Leaders Program.

We will meet for 2 evenings in March and work with students through the

Toastmasters Young Leaders Program manual covering such topics as:

How to write a speech

Using gestures and voice inflection in your speech

Table Topics

Active Listening and Evaluation, and more….

Our work will culminate in a luncheon at Hershey’s Mill Golf Club that will

feature youth speakers delivering their prepared speeches and seasoned

Toastmasters demonstrating Table Topics.

COST: $50 per student for the entire event

$20 per person for the Luncheon only

For more information:

Carol A. Keith, VP of Membership

[email protected] OR [email protected]

TOASTMASTERS

If you’re looking to improve your

speaking skills

Toastmasters is the answer without the

frills.

We have people from all ages and

professions you see

and usually our guests become

members my meeting three.

We give out roles and practice much

and each speaker adds their own

personal touch.

Table Topics gets people to think on

their feet

and members can’t wait to join in and

jump out of their seat.

The roles of jokemaster, tip of the day

and grammarian are important you see.

I volunteer to learn & grow but in the end

it’s up to me.

Now the Toastmaster of the meeting

sets the tone

i’m sure he or she plans & organizes

with members over the phone.

We usually have four speeches on our

meeting night

and yes some people have stage fright.

An evaluator’s job is not to find fault and

disgrace

remember no one is perfect in the

human race.

Many clubs give out BEST Speaker

Ribbons to people with the

highest vote.

This should be based on the delivery &

what they wrote.

If you like what you read and want to

learn more

come to your local Toastmasters Club to

explore.

By: Glenn F. Laveson, ACG

VP Public Relations

Lower Bucks Toastmasters Club




Toastmasters International

23182 Arroyo Vista Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688-2620

www.toastmasters.org

District #38

www.tmdistrict38.org

Contributors

Thanks you to many Toastmasters,

who provided resources and

content to this issue of D38

Newsletter, including:

Alexandra Speers, ACB, ALB

Brian Young

Barbara Spause, DTM


Carol Keith

Cynthia A. Brown, DTM

Disna Weerasinghe, CC, CL

Glenn Laveson, ACG

Hemant Marathe, CC

Jeevan Ravindran, CC

Yasmine Mustafa

Submission deadline for Mar issue:

Feb 28, 2015

[email protected]

Message from Newsletter Editor

From August to September, I conducted a survey among current VP PRs of all district

38 clubs. Thanks very much to those who responded. I would like to share a few

interesting findings here.

Club website is crucial to club success

I connected the 2013 – 2014 club distinguished status with the answer to “Does your

club have a website?” and the result is stunning. Among non-distinguished clubs,

33% don’t have a website; among distinguished clubs, 25% don’t have a website;

among select-distinguished or president-distinguished clubs, 100% of them

HAVE a website. If you are a corporate club that cannot use Google Sites or Free

Toast, you should make sure your club has a digital “home” on your company’s

intranet. If you are a community club that already has a website, think about ways to

differentiate yourself from websites of other clubs in your area.

Social media involvement increased

40% of clubs who responded said they are actively using social media, a 5% increase

compared to two years ago. Besides Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, a few clubs

particularly mentioned MeetUp and how effectively it brings guests to each one of their

meetings. There is a moderate fee required to start a meet up group but definitely

worth it according to clubs who use it actively.

Best practice shared by survey respondents

A warm, kind and encouraging environment, a professional toastmaster and inspiring

speakers, contest combined with an open house are useful tools to attract guests.

When it comes to retaining members, team up new members with experienced ones

in a mentorship program or hold fun events like picnics or special meetings like

Ghostmasters at Halloween.

Does your club have a specific challenge that you need help with? Please feel free to

reach out [email protected]. I’d love to help.

Yours in service

Sara Gao, CC, ALB

District Public Relations Officer, 2014 - 2015

Toastmasters International

23182 Arroyo Vista Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688-2620

www.toastmasters.org

District #38

www.tmdistrict38.org

http://www.tmdistrict38.org/


http://www.tmdistrict38.org/

Documents

TOASTMASTERS INTERNATIONAL NEWSLETTERtmdistrict38.org/PDF/District 38_ Dec Newsletter.pdf · 2014-12-23 · D38 Newsletter 12/2014 Page 2 Message from our District Lt. Governor of