Educationals

Administrator D64 Blog

Rap It Up! We’re All About The Growth!

If you were at the District meeting on Saturday, October 3, you were witness to my first rap performance. I explored my potential as a rapper. Drake and K-os don’t have anything to worry about.

If you want to try your hand at motivating your fellow members to get out there and find new members (or you just want a taste of the fun), here are the words to my Club Growth rap.  It’s a parody of Meghan Trainor’s song, All About That Bass. Before you try to perform it, I suggest you listen and sing along – lots!

Chorus:

We’re all about that growth, ‘bout that growth, no shrinking! 

We’re all about that growth, ‘bout that growth, no shrinking! 

We’re all about that growth, ‘bout that growth, no shrinking! 

We’re all about that growth, ‘bout that growth!

Yeah its pretty clear; you can’t run with too few

Let’s find new members, members like we’re supposed to do

We’ve got those great skills that employers embrace

All the right clubs in all the right places

If leadership skills are your end and all

We know our Toastmasters is the right call

If you’ve been searching, searching, just look us up!

And we’ll work on speaking skills from the bottom to the top

Yeah, a member she told me, don’t worry about our size!

When it comes to Toastmasters, that message is nothing but lies!

You know, Charter strength (20) or increase your members by five

For it’s not enough to keep a club barely alive.

Chorus: say it with me!

If you are a true sucker for punishment, there’s a little more but I spared our District leaders at the meeting.

I hope to see you all next time, November 21 at the semi-annual meeting.  A better reason to come is to find out what’s happening, how you can benefit and best of all, to hear Mike Storkey, TI’s President Elect deliver a keynote (free for all members of District 64).

Remember: growth is good.

Administrator D64 Blog

March 2015 – Toastmasters Month in Manitoba

Originally published March 3, 2015 in the Winnipeg Free Press

The Province of Manitoba has issued a Proclamation declaring the month of March as Toastmasters Month. To celebrate this, we have challenged all of the Toastmasters
clubs in Manitoba and NW Ontario to open their doors to guests at their Open House. Visit for free. Information on Open Houses can be found at www.district64.ca.

What you will find at an Open House is an example of a regular meeting in a friendly, supportive atmosphere where we share information and practice how to improve our communication and leadership skills. You will hear many topics being discussed, ranging
from family stories, practice for business presentation and even tall tales.

The tall tales speakers will be practicing their outrageous presentations for the upcoming speech contests starting in March. While the World Championship of Public Speaking hopefuls will be starting their path to the Toastmasters International Convention in August
in Las Vegas!

What’s in your future?
Do you have an important presentation to make and are not sure how to do it well?
Perhaps it is a Toast to the Bride, maybe it is a work presentation or it could be a delicate
subject that you want to bring up to a friend or member of your family. Toastmasters can
help.

Through Toastmasters’ self-directed and personalized program, you can practice your
presentation, get feedback on what works and what could be improved so that when the
day comes, you can be a star.
• Special event – March 21, 2015 at Holiday Inn Airport West.
❍ 9:00 am – Hear all about District 64 activities and events from the District 64
leadership.
❍ 11:00 am – Join us for a celebration of our 90th Anniversary at a Showcase
featuring specialty clubs with expertise in all aspects of Toastmasters.

To see how Toastmasters can help, please go to http://www.toastmasters.org/Resources/Video-Library/five-basic-publicspeaking-tips

There are Toastmasters meetings every day of the week (day and evening) in Manitoba and North-West Ontario that would welcome you. Go to www.toastmasters.org/findaclub or call 204-338-7401 to find out more. No experience necessary.

Administrator D64 Blog

New Year’s Resolutions – have you broken yours already?

Originally published January 20, 2015 in the Winnipeg Free Press

Was it to lose weight, eat better, save money, be more assertive? All very good goals but hard to achieve without a support system. If one of your goals is (was) to be a better speaker, leader, communicator or simply to gain more confidence – your next step should
be to visit a Toastmasters Club. There you will find a friendly supportive atmosphere where people practice and develop their communication and leadership skills with the help of a great support system. You will find people having fun, talking about interesting things, giving positive feedback while demonstrating different levels of communication skills.

For speaking skills development, there are a set of manuals to work through at your own pace starting with the Competent Communicator Manual – a set of 10 speech guidelines that get you started speaking in front of the club. They include the Icebreaker (speaking about yourself), and end with Inspire your Audience. Some of the others are Your Body Speaks, Organize your Speech, and Get Comfortable with Visual Aids. Michael Bayer CSP, says “everything you ever wanted to know about public speaking is in these manuals.”
If better leadership skills are your goal, there is The Competent Communicator manual which identifies how being part of a Toastmaster meeting can improve skills such as Critical Thinking, Giving Feedback, Time Management and Team Building among others.

For more information on any of these topics or manuals, go to www.toastmasters.org. For general information on better communication techniques, I invite you to visit http://www.toastmasters.org/Resources/Video-Library.

Let this be the year you take the step forward to better listening, thinking and speaking and make your New Year’s resolution a reality. To hear more comments about Toastmasters, please go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WStG9TnG0Gw

There are Toastmasters meetings every day of the week (day and evening) in Manitoba and North-West Ontario that would welcome you. Go to www.toastmasters.org/findaclub or call 204-338-7401 to find out more. No experience necessary.

Administrator D64 Blog

Toastmasters and your company

Originally published November 18, 2014 in the Winnipeg Free Press

Are you looking for persuasive presentation skills that will give you an edge? Are you
interested in learning to communicate as concisely as possible without creating
misunderstandings? Are you searching for leadership skills that build strong teams? Is
Toastmasters the answer? It can be.

Toastmasters is a non-profit, educational organization that has become the answer for many companies around the world. Meetings are held on company premises, typically during lunch time or off hours. The Toastmasters program gives employees the skills and confidence to progress in their jobs. The result is that the employees deliver stronger presentations, lead more productive staff meetings and relate better with clients and colleagues. Members of corporate clubs say meetings also boost camaraderie and provide opportunities to interact with individuals in other departments.

There are over 20 companies in Winnipeg that have formed Toastmasters Clubs and several others are in the process of forming. How can you go about forming a club at your workplace? The key is gaining the support of a decision maker who can authorize the
creation of a club. Arrange a sample Toastmasters meeting at your workplace that shows how meetings are conducted, demonstrates the advantages of the program and explains the steps required to charter a club with Toastmasters International. If you want more
information on starting a club, email lgm@district64.ca.

To hear more comments about Toastmasters, please go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZdjoqQrhbU&feature=player_embedded

There are Toastmasters meetings every day of the week (day and evening) in Manitoba and North-West Ontario that would welcome you. Go to www.toastmasters.org/findaclub or call 204-338-7401 to find out more. No experience necessary.

Administrator D64 Blog

Speaking Skills or Leadership Skills?

Originally published September 9, 2014 in the Winnipeg Free Press

Which would best help you succeed in your career, in business or in your personal life? Why choose when you can have both! Toastmasters International can help you to develop these “soft skills” that are so necessary in today’s workplace.

Toastmasters International is a non-profit educational organization that has been helping people hone these important skills through participation in regular meetings. Guidelines for skill development in both communication and leadership are offered. Prepare and practice at your own pace, while receiving immediate feedback to help identify specific areas for development, in a friendly, supportive and affordable environment.

Picture yourself in this scene. You are standing in front of a group of people, sharing your ideas. The audience is listening intently, nodding in agreement and laughing with you at your stories. Toastmasters can help make this a reality for you.

There are Toastmasters meetings every day of the week (day and evening) in Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario that would welcome you. Go to www.toastmasters.org or call
204-338-7401 to find out more. No experience necessary.
Watch for our upcoming columns with Toastmaster tips that will be appearing bi-monthly in the Tuesday business section of the Winnipeg Free Press.