Updates & Posts

We will be adding more articles to this page. To start: here are articles on speaking and articles giving personal views on the on the power of Toastmasters and an exciting joint meeting between London and Namibia.

Parlez-vous francais?

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Experience French gave me an opportunity to step out of my comfort zone…” Veteran member Annelise Lepage spoke about the history of the club: “the idea to launch a bilingual francophone club originated from a desire to practice the French language, while at the same time, develop one’s public speaking and leadership skills. The target … Read more

Demystifying the role of the Club Growth Director

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Demystifying the role of the Club Growth Director Having read a number of Area Director visit reports, one of the things that struck a chord with me is that many of you may not know what the District Leadership Team does and what other roles are available within our great organisation. I thought I’d focus … Read more

Growth Together

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Growth Together We were delighted so many of our members renewed and we were fortunate enough to attract new members as well We have already started planning for next March’s renewals! Firstly we are always looking for ways to attract and retain members to give ourselves a solid base. Our team ensures at least one … Read more

Reflections from our Program Quality Team

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The Toastmasters calendar has plenty of fixed points that we all work with.

Your Area Directors have been busily completing the first round their Area Visit reports for your clubs.

Now your Area Directors are gearing up, with the Division Directors, to hold Toastmasters Leadership Institutes (TLI), in January and February. The TLI events are open to all members to attend, with the bonus for club officers, that attendance at TLIs counts towards their club’s officer training record. There will also be further Club Officer Training (COTs) events across the District.

Why attend training? TLIs and COTs are a great opportunity to review your Club Success Plans and track how far your club has come on your goals set and along with the Distinguished Club Program (DCP). This is often the time to re-consider how the plan is panning out, network with fellow officers, share ideas and tweak your club’s success plans.

Contests

As contest session for the autumn draws to a close, I trust you have all enjoyed the imagination of our fellow members as much as I have. With such brilliant nonsense, hilarious humorous stories spun and weaved to make us laugh. With table topics answers that hinged on tall tales. It has been fantastic to join all your events and be duly entertained. For all the Division Contest winners, congratulations, and see you at the District finals in May.

Trainers Bureau

November saw the first virtual “From Speaker to Trainer” sessions delivered to a blended audience of members from both District 91 and District 71. In total 17 Toastmasters were coached in the dark art of training (as opposed to speaking) by one of our 5-Star capable trainers, Sam Warner.

This course covers comprehensively how to design and create a training course or session, which is quite different from writing a speech. All the component parts are revealed from setting the objectives and gap analysis, through to handling a difficult audience and evaluating the course success. Delivered using Zoom for the first time, it was pacey, packed with information and the participants had no chance to doze off with the interactive segments and exercises.

If you are interested in attending the next course, it is being held on Friday evening on 5 and 12 February 2021. It will be online, using our friend, Zoom. You need to attend both sessions to get your certificate. It is completely FREE to attend. I will be taking the lead as Trainer for the February sessions. Further training sessions will be announced in the new year.

District Webinar Series

The benefits and value of our membership shine brightly, as members have stepped forward to deliver and present, webinars. So far, our webinars have covered everything from; personal resilience, getting paid to speak, managing your energy, starting new clubs, running successful contests, youth leadership, speechcraft, closing the sale and a regular for our Area Directors, their huddle. Plus it was a District highlight to hold the inspirational interview with Toastmasters International Second Vice President, Morag Mathieson.

The District webinars are held on Sunday evenings, the virtual doors open at 18:45. The webinars commence at 19:00 and run through to 20:00. Our District PQD Webinar Manager, Andy Hessey will greet you. The December webinars are already in place. The next tranche will be ready soon for the new year. To register, go to the District 91 website, you can click the link on the District Calendar or go to the Webinar page.

Thank you to all that took part in the series and for those members that have attended and supported these events.

Back to school for Toastmasters

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Back to school is a usual September activity for many whether a parent, student or a Club member! September is a time for new challenges and opportunities.

When was the last time you brought a friend to a meeting? When was the last time you entered a Speech Contest? When was the last time you took on a Club project?

As a Club officer myself (Sergeant At Arms) I had a busy summer, from running a Zoom course for my members who were tempted to take the leap and be the Zoom Master of a meeting, to proposing a fully costed plan for running a hybrid meeting when it becomes possible.

Witnessing the start of our Club Contest is always inspiring and an experience one will never forget. If your Club still needs to run its Autumn contest, jump in and experience it, you will not regret it!

I remember fondly when at school, university or starting a new job, the exhilaration of doing something new, meeting new people, creating new friendships. As a Club member, we get to do all of this, at every meeting! So why not invite a friend, colleague or other-half to the next meeting and share with them why you are a member!

Now that we are primarily meeting online, being local is no longer a restriction, and I took advantage of visiting other Clubs around the globe from the Middle East to the Americas. And every time, I gained a new idea, better understood cultural identities, and got energised from the experience.

As a member, I love that we have been able to recruit members in my Clubs from other continents and bring this once in a lifetime opportunity to all my Club members, this is enriching and this is what brings us all together.