Archives for Community Programs

Feb ’19 Distinguished Clubs and Pathways incentives

Posted on by in Distinguished Club Program, February 2019, Incentives, Newsletters | Comments Off on Feb ’19 Distinguished Clubs and Pathways incentives

February Update on Distinguished Club and Pathways Incentives

John Cox District 71 Program Quality Director


Distinguished Club Incentives

We are doing well.

As at the middle of February 56 of our clubs had achieved 5 DCP goals or better.

The following Clubs – that were not Distinguished last year – have already potentially achieved Distinguished or better status this year, providing they end the year with 20 + members or a net growth of 5 members.  $30 worth of TI shop items are up for grabs.  Many more clubs could join them. The results are changing daily so if you think your club should be on the list please let me know.

  • Div C16     IBM Blue Toastmasters
  • Div E39     Walsall Speakers
  • Div E42     Godiva Speakers
  • Div F12     Loughrea Toastmasters Club
  • Div N31     Chester Corporate Speakers
  • Div N48     Salford Speakers Toastmasters (President’s Distinguished)
  • Div N31     Castle Communicators (Select Distinguished)


Pathways Incentives

Pathways is also progressing well.

Several clubs below are well on their way to achieving four Pathways Level 1s and two Level 2s, or 4 CCs.  The first 30 clubs to achieve these goals will win $20 worth of Pathways ribbons.

Congratulations to Chester Corporate Speakers, Salford Speakers and Capital Communicators (CCs) who have already achieved 4 CC awards – their ribbons have been posted to them.

  • Div A3        Blarney Club                        4 Level 1s
  • Div A11      West Cork                              3 CCs
  • Div A23      Republic of Works TM Club   6 Level 1s
  • Div A49      VMWARE Toastmasters        3 CCs
  • Div D8        Clonmel Toastmasters           4 Level 1s
  • Div E39      Shropshire Speakers              3 CCs
  • Div E42      Godiva Speakers                    3 CCs
  • Div H32      West Herts Speakers             4 Level 1s
  • Div H44      North Bucks Speakers           3 CCs
  • Div J2         Dublin Club                            3 CCs
  • Div J2         Accentuators                          3 CCs
  • Div N31      Chester Corporate Speakers 4 CCs
  • Div N48     Manchester Orators TM Club 3 CCs
  • Div N48     Salford Speakers TM             4 CCs
  • Div N51      A1 Speakers                             4 Level 1s
  • Div S30      Capital Communicators          4 CCs

Please keep pursuing those education awards and getting the recognition you deserve.

Well done to all.  Keep up the great work.

Special Educational Section: Community Outreach Programs

Posted on by in Featured Posts, Newsletters, November 2018, Youth Leadership | Comments Off on Special Educational Section: Community Outreach Programs

Special Educational Section: Community Outreach Programs

Many of our members are actively taking their Toastmaster skills out into the community. Their endeavours raise Toastmasters International’s profile, attracting new members to our clubs whilst having fun and enriching their skills. Here a series of articles have been collated where they share their experiences and tips for best practice.

The articles are broken down into three main sub sections. One each for the two-main community-based programs of Toastmasters International 1) the Youth Leadership Program (for young adults with safeguarding arrangements) and 2) Speechcraft (for adults). The final subsection is devoted to diverse examples that go beyond this, such as judging outside speaking competitions and training or presenting to non-members

Toastmaster Isweri Pillay (Clonmel Toastmasters, Ireland) reviewed this section. Isweri was actively planning for a corporate Speechcraft that is now underway and summed it up better than I.

That is a wealth of experience in these pages. People have been so generous with their contributions. 3 take home messages for me. Be flexible, prepare well and network to get support from other Toastmasters.”

Due to the volume of submissions the Community Program section has been split into three separate print editions of the District Newsletter. This edition we start with the Youth Leadership Program. For the keen the other two outreach topics are available online now

But first some incentives to get you started

Outreach Programme Incentives

John Cox, Program Quality Director

 

Youth Leadership and Speechcraft programmes are a wonderful way to put all that Toastmasters experience into practice, helping youngsters and other members of our communities to gain the benefits of our Toastmasters programmes. It will also help to raise the profile of Toastmasters and gain new members and clubs. District can support clubs running brand new outreach programmes through the provision of advice and guidance, marketing and promotional materials, and Programme Kits worth over $30. Contact Program Quality Director John Cox for more information.

The Youth Leadership Program (YLP) – Case Studies

Speechcraft case studies

Diverse Community Outreach case studies

Speechcraft case studies

Posted on by in Newsletters, November 2018 | Comments Off on Speechcraft case studies

Speechcraft

Speechcraft

If you are an experienced member, Speechcraft is a great opportunity for you to present the fundamentals of public speaking to non-members. It can be offered as an integral part of your club meeting or as a seminar-style program presented outside of your club. The content can be delivered in four, six or eight sessions.

https://www.toastmasters.org/education/speechcraft

In this section we have assembled a diverse range of examples of Speechcraft programs from District 71 and even drawn in an example from New Zealand! The hard won experience behind these case studies will be invaluable to those planning Speechcraft and very fascinating reading for us all. We have so far:

  • Patricia describes the program at Dundalk Institute of Technology (DKIT) and provides a clear guide for the mechanics of the course and her passion for it
  • Danny uses experience from Leicester Leaders to provide much of the strategic thinking needed for planning Speechcraft
  • Sandra reports from the ‘coal face’ as her Speechcraft within the company of Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals Ireland completes to rave reviews from the participants. They were left wanting more!
  • Pat and Teresa describe the Speechcraft in Clondalkin Toastmasters that used an innovative WhatsApp group to keep participants in the loop and engaged – many remained members and two did very well in the contests.
  • Billy describes the Speechcraft inspired Boot Camps he organized to help coach Plain Speakers back to health by opportunistically utilizing the very scarce manpower and financial resources. Three participants became members going on to become committee members.
  • Daniel, Sultan and Luc describe how Cambridge Speakers opened the door to Cambridge University with a Speechcraft for six masters law students which lead to a further inquiry which lead to the application to organized a new corporate club
  • Bob reflects strategically on Speechcraft Camulodunum Speakers run with the University of Essex Public Speaking Society revealing the mechanisms, constraints and opportunities of Toastmastering within Academia.
  • Daniel, Alistair, and Mike  provide a very insightful description of the innovative New Zealand concept of community based Speechcraft Clubs to be found in most major population centres

Read More

Program Quality 2018-19 Incentives Announced

Posted on by in Club Officer Training, Distinguished Club Program, Featured Posts, Incentives, Newsletters, September 2018, Youth Leadership | Comments Off on Program Quality 2018-19 Incentives Announced

Education, Education, Education

By John Cox, District 71 Program Quality Director

Program Quality Incentives

What Will Your Club and Your Members Achieve in 2018-19?

I don’t know about you, but I have often been confused by the variety of terms we use – training, education, development, learning, coaching, mentoring, knowledge, skills, etc.

It is also recognised that a lot of education and training is wasted and doesn’t necessarily get applied in the workplace or in life.

I still wonder what the value of algebra is and why at school they didn’t teach me how to hang wallpaper!

For several years I was a National Training Awards Judge (and my business was a National Training Award winner). Organisations were recognised not for the training they carried out but how that training had been applied and the results achieved. We looked at soft results – greater confidence, teamwork, communications, innovation etc. but importantly, hard results – customer and employee satisfaction, more sales, better product/service quality, greater profitability, etc.

So, what has this got to do with Toastmasters?

Can we see the impact of member achievement reflected in the growth, performance and quality of our clubs?

We run education and training programmes, leading to various awards which are recognised by certificates, ribbons, pins/badges. Less than 10% of our members achieve their CC (Competent Communicator) award but I’m sure that many, many more of our members have gained other benefits – greater confidence and learning – that has impacted on our clubs and their lives in many ways.

We don’t easily recognise or record how that confidence and learning has been applied.

So, I’m keen this year to find ways to encourage and support clubs to put some of that learning into practice and to help recognise some of the other 90% of our members.

You will see that my job title embraces Club Quality, so I’d like to add a final reminder about utilising Moments of Truth to take a snapshot of how your club is performing and to also take a long hard look at member retention. Dues renewal time is another of those moments of truth when we are reminded of members we have not seen for a while and those who are at risk of not renewing their membership. Give them a call and invite them back. Remember that 69% of non-renewing members said that something could have been done to convince them to renew.

Below you will find details of the Program Quality incentives on offer. I wish you a wonderful year.

[Always check the The Latest Information on District Incentives]

Program Quality Incentives Program Quality Incentives

Outreach Programmes

Youth Leadership and Speechcraft programmes are a wonderful way to put all that Toastmasters experience into practice, helping youngsters and other members of our communities to gain the benefits of our Toastmasters programmes. It will also help to raise the profile of Toastmasters and gain new members and clubs. District can support clubs running brand new outreach programmes through the provision of advice and guidance, marketing and promotional materials, and Programme Kits worth over $30. Contact me for more information.

Pathways and Competent Communicator (CC) Growth

We want to encourage more members to achieve their CC and Pathways Levels so for the first 30 clubs that achieve all four CC’s or four Pathways Level 1’s and two Level 2’s we’ll present them with $20 worth of TI shop items.

First Clubs to Achieve President’s Distinguished

We want to encourage more clubs to achieve President’s Distinguished status in the Distinguished Club Program (DCP). So, the first 20 clubs to achieve Presidents Distinguished status, that were not President’s Distinguished last year, will receive $30 value of TI (Toastmasters International) shop items.

First Clubs to Achieve Distinguished

We want to encourage more clubs to achieve Distinguished status in the DCP. So, the first 20 clubs to achieve Distinguished status, that were not Distinguished last year, will receive $30 value of TI shop items.

Corporate Clubs Incentive

We want to encourage more of our Corporate clubs to participate in our officer training programme and club contests. We will award a $30 gift voucher to the corporate clubs that get 5 or more of their officers to the next (2019) club officer training and 2 or more contestants in the 2019 Area contests.

Program Quality News

By Daniel Sandars

We have completed the first quarter of the year so how are we doing?

New Distinguished Toastmasters (DTM)

Program QualityProgram Quality

Distinguished Club Goals 30th September

Program Quality

Clubs with 4 or more Officers Trained

Program Quality

District Officers Trained

 

Program Quality

Congratulations to all involved.