Toastmasters Leadership Institute Winter Session for Areas N3 and N4. Time: Registration 8:30 – 8:50 AM; Program 9:00 AM – 12 Noon
Place: Leisure Services Center, 1412 6th Street E, Menomonie, WI
International & Table Topics Speech Contest Schedule
The 2012 Speech Contest Rulebook is attached. More forms and certificates for the speech contest are downloadable at the Toastmasters International web site.
CVTM  Club Contest scheduled February 16, 2012, at 7:00 PM at Globe University. The Area N4 Contest is scheduled for Thursday, March 15, 2012, at 7:00 PM at Globe University, 4955 Bullis Farm Rd, Eau Claire, WI.
The Northern Division Contest is Saturday, April 14, 2014, at Rasmussen College, 1101 Westwood Drive, Wausau, WI 54401. Registration is 9 AM and the contest starts at 9:45 AM.
The District 35 Table Topics Contest is May 4 and the International Speech Contest is May 5 at the Spring Conference at the Hotel Meade and Conference Center, 451 East Grand Avenue, Wisconsin Rapids, WI.
Thank You
Gene Radtke
N4 Area Governor

My annual company Christmas Dinner Party occurs in January this year. I thought that I should use my Toastmaster skills to speak about the Holiday season with emphasis on the New Year. Almost everyone at my workplace knows that I am with Toastmasters and they will be looking for my newly groomed public speaking skills.

I decided to search for ‘Christmas Speeches’ -and for ‘New Year’s Speeches’- and I was disappointed by the quality of what I read. Granted, I did not spend a whole afternoon searching for something but I did look for a half-hour and did not find the right tone, sentiments, or substance that I thought would be appropriate for a group of people that work together and who do not know each other’s private lives.

Can you help me locate some speeches that express the holiness of the season and also inspires people for the New Year? I will write my own speech and it would be very helpful to have something that I can draw ideas from.

Thanks for any help that you can provide.

Barb Weisenberger, of Chippewa Valley Toastmasters,  took First Place! Congratulations, Barb! Her telling of a story that had a runaway Rabbit, a Turtle, her seven year old daughter, and her husband in the Emergency Room was exceedingly well done.

Second Place was earned by Susan Engebrecht, Wausau Morning Toastmasters, with a story of her first ice fishing event with her outdoor husband.

Jeff Eble, Stevens Point Toastmasters, won Third Place with his telling of his one-game one-play football career.

Other speakers in the Humorous Speech Contest were Tim Kelley of the New Richmond Toastmasters, Patty Ann O’Hara of the Wausau Morning Toastmasters,  Carol Prince of the New Richmond Toastmasters, and myself.

The Evaluation Contest occurred immediately afterward. First Place went to Kathleen Wesselink of Eclectic Image Toastmasters and Second Place went to Jeff Viergutz of Marshfield Toastmasters.  Tim Kelley of New Richmond Toastmasters was the third contestant in the Evaluation Contest.

As usual, I was completely calm, during the Humorous Speech Contest, until the speaker before me presented. Then the butterflies hit me, my throat went dry, and I assumed the look of a stone sculpture… well, not quite that bad, it was easier this time than any other but there is still room for improvement.

I never understood the fear some people have of taking tests. Throughout my academic years I never had a problem taking any math, history, or other tests. I knew what I had learned and that I would not forget it during a test. Speaking publicly is different though for me. It is less about what I know and more about what I do. And for a guy who can never do the same thing twice the same way, it’s a challenge to take my “practice speech” and deliver it to an audience. My practice speeches are awesome, just ask me! I have the cadence, rhythm, timing, and ‘pauses for effect’ down pat. Yet that all melts away when it’s time to perform.

One of the advantages of joining Toastmasters is to develop your  public speech delivery just as well as your private. It is a joy to watch and listen to speakers and learn from them. It’s not an easy process but the journey to speak publicly has to begin sometime. Why not now?

If you are uncomfortable speaking in public like I am, please come join us at Chippewa Valley Toastmasters. Every meeting is filled with examples of what to do and , of course, what not to do. Learning by doing, developing experience, and sharing your experience with others is the best way to gain skills to speak well in public.

I hope to see you at our next meeting, November 3rd, 2011… See the header tab for location and directions.

I entered the Humorous Speech Contest last year and had great fun with it. The key, I think, is to pick a topic with which you are very familiar and that resonates with the masses and find the humor in it. The time limit for the humorous speech is 5-7 minutes.

Please consider entering the Humorous Speech Contest.  In addition to speakers, we need judges (5) and timers (2).  I am the contest chair, so please let me know if you are speaking or would like to serve as a judge or timer.  Thanks!

I’ve pasted the rules below.  You can also find out more about the Humorous Speech Contest on the Toastmasters International web site.

Humorous Speech Contest Rules
The Humorous Speech Contest follows all rules outlined in the General Rules section of this rulebook.  In addition, the following additions and exceptions apply.
1. The subject for the humorous speech shall be selected by the contestant. The speaker shall avoid potentially objectionable language, anecdotes, and material.
2. The speech must be thematic in nature (opening, body, and close), not a monologue (series of one-liners).

Thanks much….Arlene

See you all in 2 weeks

Barbara Weisenberger, President

I have been with Chippewa Valley Toastmasters just a few months but I want to share with you what I think is the single largest value of participating in our club: You learn to think on your feet.

This is a tremendous advantage if you participate in any group or if you regularly volunteer yourself in community projects.  You may not know it but most of us begin our lives on an equal playing field when we graduate from high school. We have no money, no place of our own, no material possessions, and no experience.  Twenty or more years later, *poof!* we find that we have had careers in an industry, we now have experience, a little money, material possessions ( too many!) , and a place that we call home.

One thing that we learn from our experience is that those who are comfortable talking with groups usually appear to have just a little more of everything than those who do not.  This ability to comfortably speak was not acquired at Office Max or your local bowling alley. It was ‘learning by doing’. For many of us,  that speaking experience was tough to learn on our own and it was often fraught with humbling and embarrassing moments. There is no need for that when you have Toastmasters to help you acquire and develop your own natural speaking style.

Everyone speaks differently. Your own style will emerge as you work your way through a Toastmaster program that guides you through mastering your own voice and your own body gestures that reflect you… at your best.

The speaking experience at the club is relaxed and your club members provide you positive feedback on what worked well and then, perhaps, they will give you a little challenge to do more of something the next time you speak. As a CVT member,  watching and listening to other speakers gives you role models to follow but not to mimic. And one of the greatest learning tools available is an environment that permits you to model after your peers.

And then one day it will happen.  You will find yourself in a group of people and you will have  something to say. The words will flow effortlessly from you and,  as you are talking,  you realize that it is because of all the practice you had at Chippewa Valley Toastmasters.  When you have finished, you will see people nodding their heads in agreement with what you said and you will then know that you have acquired a new skill.

Chippewa Valley Toastmasters provides the experience for you to  learn how to think on your feet.

Come visit us. You can attend as many meetings as you like as a guest. Listen to the speeches and the evaluations. When you are ready, become a member and begin learning to think on your feet.

Dale

“I had an issue come up here at work that really involved a company-wide solution.  To handle things like that we have an “Innovation Committee” set up which considers and often interviews people who make suggestions.

I made a suggestion and was told at 12:30, that they would like to have me speak about my idea at 2:20.  I had several projects scheduled, so I was not able to work on what to present until about 1:15.  I put to use everything I’ve ever used at Toastmasters that has been successful and was amazed when I was told what a polished presentation I had given.

Only the gentleman who asked me to give the presentation on such short notice and myself knew how little time I had, but because of the “power” of my comments, it has been passed on for further review and it certainly didn’t do anything to hurt my standing in the company.

I think, too often, we can forget how important what we practice at our meetings is.  It truly does develop our abilities to speak clearly and effectively, even with short notice.

I know the training is this weekend and look forward to listening and learning much more — and I also know that this time, I’ll be paying even closer attention.  It’s kind of like my eyes were only half open before — they’re wide open now and I can’t wait to pick up some more tidbits.”

Barb’s experience perfectly illustrates many of the benefits of Toastmasters.  By attending Toastmasters meetings and developing her skills on a regular basis, she was ready to step up at a moment’s notice when it was really important.

Whether you’re a seasoned speaker who could use some polish, or a novice starting from scratch, there’s a friendly, supportive place for you to learn and grow at our club.  We invite you to attend a meeting and see for yourself!